CANFIELD Investigator will tell ghostly stories

Ghosts are people without a human body, a paranormal investigator says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Ghosts are not limited to the Halloween period and they should not be feared, according to an author who will appear at Loghurst tonight.
"Ghosts are everywhere and not just in October do they appear or make themselves known," said Alice Whitehill of Georgetown, Pa., who recently became a certified paranormal investigator by taking courses through the International Ghost-Hunters Society.
Whitehill, who wrote the self-published book, "In Tune with Spirits," last year, will tell ghostly tales and discuss paranormal investigations from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at Loghurst, 3967 Boardman-Canfield Road. She will also autograph copies of her book, which is for sale at Loghurst.
"Ghosts are not scary, and they will not harm you," she said, adding that she wants to dispel fears in her program, which she said will be "kid-friendly." "They are people just like you and me, only without their solid human body," she said of ghosts. Whitehill belongs to the International Ghost Hunters Society, which has 16,000 members worldwide.
Beaver Creek ghost
One of the anecdotes she will relate will pertain to the ghost of Esther Hale, which she said has been seen in the Sprucevale area of Beaver Creek State Park for more than a century. Whitehall's interest in studying ghosts began when she saw Hale's ghost in 1995.
The only remnant of Sprucevale, a former canal town, is Gaston's Mill, she said. Hale's fianc & eacute;, John Anderson, a Mahoning County resident and a soldier in the Union Army, was killed Sept. 17, 1862, in the Civil War battle of Antietam.
"It's very active with spirits," as evidenced by recordings and photos, Whitehill said of the park in Columbiana County. During the 19th Century, many people died of malaria while building the canals, including the Sandy and Beaver Canal, which went through the park, she noted.
Whitehill, who has just returned from paranormal investigations in Gettysburg, Pa., scene of the decisive Civil War battle in July 1863, will also discuss the use of digital voice recorders and cameras for documentation in paranormal investigations.
Whitehill also plays Civil War-era music on the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, and she gave a dulcimer workshop at Loghurst on Aug. 9. In her paranormal investigations, she said she finds the spirits respond to the dulcimer music. She also exhibits her sewing and quilting at craft shows.
Pumpkin painting
Today's event will also feature pumpkin painting, a candy hunt, and a tour of Loghurst -- an 1805-vintage farm house and former stagecoach inn. Loghurst, the oldest log structure in Northeast Ohio, is believed to have been a stop for escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad, according to Laura Zeh, operations manager at Loghurst.
Participants are urged to bring a blanket and flashlight. Regular Loghurst admission applies: $4 for adults; $3 for students and seniors and free for Western Reserve Historical Society members and children age 5 and under.
Other special events later this year at Loghurst will be a rug crafting workshop from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 8; Christmas candlelight, craft and carol sing-along tours from 4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 14 and 21; and an Olde German Christmas in cooperation with Maennerchor of Youngstown from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 20.