On July 29, 1976, Sam Berkowitz (aka the Son of Sam) claimed his first victim in New York. Almost a year later, he stopped. He had killed 13 people and injured 6 more. The name Son of Sam came from his neighbor Sam Carr.
A few years earlier, Berkowitz had shot Carr's dog for barking and keeping Berkowitz awake at night. Berkowitz claimed that after the black Labrador had recuperated, it began to speak to him with the Devil's voice. Of course, it told him to "Kill. Kill"

On June 17, 1775, the Battle of Bunker Hill took place in Boston. At the end of the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War, over 1,200 soldiers from both sides had been killed. The British buried their dead in Boston Commons at the Central Burying Grounds. 
Over time, as Boston grew, the graves in the Central Burying Grounds were covered over and moved to make way for busy streets and even the subway. It is believed that the moving of the graves left behind a stain because the Central Burying Grounds an the Boston Commons are two of the most haunted areas in Boston. People have seen ghostly apparitions, have heard sounds of talking and crying and even felt overcome with sadness.
Just one more reminder of the fact that our world is old and layered more than we know.

I posted a new post on my Musings page. Please check it out and let me know what you think.http://www.southernghosts.com/musings.html

Séance is from the Old French word seoir which means "to sit". It is the spiritualist tradition of gathering around a table with a medium and a group of sitters. The purpose of the gathering is to communicate with the dead. 

On June 2, 1865, the final Confederate army was disbanded when the forces west of the Mississippi surrendered to the Union. This act put an end to the bloodiest four years in American history. By the end of the war, over 600,000 soldiers were dead. There are also more ghosts associated with the Civil War in the US than from any other period. Visit our photo page to see a few pics of Civil War ghosts that were 

On Nov 29, 1864, a group of peaceful peaceful Southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians are massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado. Of course there is always more to the story. The Indians had been pushed off of their land, but decided to try to live peacefully and signed a peace treaty with the American gov't. 
The Native Americans were pushed to smaller and smaller reservations and during the Civil War the Indians began pushing back. The series of small uprising began to concern some of those in charge. Then in 1864, John Evans, governor of the territory of Colorado, attempted to isolate Native Americans by inviting "friendly Indians" to camp near military forts and receive provisions and protection. He also called for volunteers to fill the military void left when most of the regular army troops in Colorado were sent to other areas during the Civil War. 
In August 1864, CGhoshief Black Kettle moved his band to Fort Lyon, Colorado, where the commanding officer encouraged him to hunt near Sand Creek. While the tribe believed that they were dealing with men of honor, the Army began to move troops to the plains, and on November 29, they attacked the unsuspecting Native Americans, scattering men, women, and children and hunting them down. The casualties reflect the one-sided nature of the fight. Nine of Chivington's men were killed; 148 of Black Kettle's followers were slaughtered, more than half of them women and children. The Colorado volunteers returned and killed the wounded, mutilated the bodies, and set fire to the village.
From this outrage, sprang the story of the Ghost Camp. Shortly after the massacre, some hunters were staying in Sand Creek. They awoke the next morning to see a Cheyenne camp a short distance away. The hunters reported seeing dozens of Indians standing around their teepees. Since that time hundreds of people have reported seeing this "ghost camp". People have also heard chanting, screams, singing, gun shots, dogs barking and children playing. Others have felt feelings of sadness, cold spots, fear and anger. 

On Nov 28, 1994, Jeffrey Dahmer was murdered in prison. He was a serial killer and a cannibal, so I personally was happy about this. I remember being stunned by his crimes and now almost 20 years later, there has been a new rash of suspected and attempted cannibals arrested in the US, South America and Europe. This made me want to write a Daily Dose about this horrible crime.
The name Cannibal comes from Christopher Columbus. According to  William Arens' book The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology & Anthropophagy, Columbus discovered the Carib West Indies tribe. While communicating with the tribe, they discovered that the tribe ate human flesh in a special ceremony. Columbus and his crew butchered the tribe's name as they shared the story and the Carib Indians became  the Canibs Indians and over time Canibs became Cannibals.
A fact to keep in mind is all of the tribes that ate humans, murdered their victims in a ceremony. This means there was a spiritual component involved. I'm curious to see if these current cannibals also feel compelled to eat humans on a spiritual level. 
What drives a man to commit the ultimate taboo? Maybe time will tell. In future Daily Doses, I will speak of some of the hauntings, curses and the creepiest stories tied to cannibalism.

The FBI shot and killed a man outside of the Biograph Theater in 1934. They claim the man was John Dillinger, the infamous bank robber. The FBI had an informant who was going to lure John Dillinger to the theater so he could be arrested. 

Useppa Island is off the west coast of Florida. In the past, when pirates sailed the open seas, pirates would use islands around Florida to hide their loot and hold their hostages. 
This is the story of one of these islands. Useppa Island is named after the daughter of a rich Cuban. Useppa was a beautiful young lady who lived in Havana. She was kidnapped by the pirate Jose Gaspar and taken to a small island off the coast of Florida. Gaspar was in lust with Useppa and he made advances with her. She rejected him. This of course made Gaspar furious. He tried again and again, but she kept turning him down. In the end, he told her if she rejected him again, he would kill her.
The fateful day arrived and Gaspar demanded an answer. Useppa looked him in the eye and turned him down for the final time. Jose Gaspar took his sword and cut her head off. 

I got quite a few responses from people who thought yesterday's Daily Dose was sweet. Not all ghosts are scary. Sometimes, they teach us about the undying power of love. 
This story takes place off the southern coast of Georgia on a small island named St Simons. A young woman lived on the island with her husband and their life was a happy one. The only problem she had was  a fear of the dark. Her fear was so bad that she would beg her husband to never let their candles go out at night and he never did. Unfortunately, their love story was cut short and she died a young woman. Her husband never stopped loving her. Unable to leave her in the dark, he would go every night to her grave and light a candle. That way, she would have her light and not be afraid. In time he died too, but then an amazing thing happened. The people of St Simons Island would see a light flickering over her grave at night. If they approached the light, it would disappear only to reappear as they left.
This spook light was investigated by several colleges and paranormal investigators and nobody could figure out the reason for the light. Now there is a wall surrounding the cemetery at Christ Church, but if you believe in love, you just know that the light is still there and it always will be.