British Ghost Stories Under Tonight's Thunder Moon

I was so fortunate to get some photos of tonight's full moon! It looked like it was going to be too overcast out there to get a shot of it.

I was all prepared to show a pic I took of the nearly full moon last night. But tonight's moon popped out for maybe 30 seconds tops, and then went back under a cloud. I was lucky to have my camera ready.

Going...

Going...

Gone!

I took those photos in succession. Click, click, click. So that shows how fast the moon was being covered!

July's full moon is called the "Thunder Moon". If you're wondering, this moon got its name because there are more frequent thunderstorms in July than in other months. For those who'd like to get into the nitty gritty of what else is going on in the sky alongside that moon, space.com has an informative page: July Full Moon 2017: When to See the 'Thunder Moon'

Because I didn't think I was going to get a photo of the moon tonight, I took a number of photos of the neighborhood. That way, I thought I'd have something to share. I'll still include two of my favorites here. I love the look of this yard at night. It's like a happy little campground or festival with those lights. And the silhouette of the fence and trees frames the light so perfectly. There's something so old fashioned about it.

So, onto those ghost stories! I discovered a few new ghost shows on YouTube recently. New to me, anyway. I think they'd been filmed sometime back. I was searching on there for "haunted pubs" because sometimes I'm in the mood for British ghost shows. First I found this one:

Most haunted pubs & Inns in Britain With Richard Felix

It just occurred to me that this is the same Richard Felix who is on the Most Haunted TV series.

After watching that show, I read a conversation in the comment section where people were talking about a man named Chris Halton who made similar videos. So I looked him up and enjoyed this episode of his show very much. Here it is:

England's Most Haunted Villages: A Day and Night Investigation of Pluckley, Kent

For those who get my blog posts in email form, I know the videos don't come through. So here are some links to them:

Most haunted pubs & Inns Britain With Richard Felix

England's Most Haunted Villages: A Day and Night Investigation of Pluckley, Kent

These are like "ghost show comfort food", because you're not going to get scared. It's more like someone is giving you a tour around town, teaching you history, and sharing a few local stories. There are some interviews too. It's pleasant ghost show viewing. It's dare I say, relaxing viewing. So enjoy these ghost stories. It's a perfect night to watch them with that full moon out there!

RIP - All souls aboard the Harpooner

Today marks the 200th anniversary since the British transport ship, Harpooner, ran aground and sank near Cape Pine, Newfoundland.

Souls Saved - 177
Souls Lost - 208

Harrowing first hand account 
- December 1816

"On November 10, 1816, the British transport ship HMS Harpooner was wrecked near St. Shott's...The ship was carrying soldiers and their families home to England. More than two hundred men, women, and children died. According to local tradition, some marines who had managed to get ashore, were buried alive when a portion of cliff, weakened by the storm and seas, collapsed on them. The site has since been known as Marines's Cove. In terms of loss of life, the wreck of the Harpooner was one of the worst marine calamities in Newfoundland history. 

Many years after the disaster, some fishermen who were unfamiliar with the history of the area anchored their boat in Marines' Cove. During the night the man on watch saw one longboat towing another. Both were full of men, women and children. A big man was at the helm. As the longboat passed the fishing boat, the helmsman called up to the man on watch, "What's our course to clear Cape English?" The lookout answered, "Nor Nor-east." The watchman believed he had just seen the survivor of a shipwreck so he went below to tell the captain. The other crewmen came on deck in time to see the lantern of the longboat disappear toward the shore. 

The next morning, with a gale blowing, the fisherman searched the shore for signs of the wreck or other survivors. They found nothing. When they told local residents about the lifeboats full of people, they were told that they had seen the ghosts of the doomed Harpooner." - excerpt from Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador by Edward Butts

Spooky Movie Night!

Slightly better version available on VIMEO here.