This is a PBS documentary on the Centralia mine fire from 1982.. and these images, the smoke and houses and end of times feel, is exactly what I remember from my very early youth..
…and a tremendous amount of people online in Centalia related message boards or Facebook pages are angry and want to run the guy out of town. People called him names like ‘bottom dweller and scumbag’ .. they also wanted to take him to unmentionable parts of the former town.. there are hostile ugly comments being thrown at him. It’s all weird.
Weird because…I actually wanted to do this.. he beat me to it!
I saw the number of people per weekend going to this town to tour and saw a goldmine. The fear deep in my soul held me back.
But the strange outcry of people anti-hot-dog vendor surprises me a little.
People: The town is over. it’s done.
If you think that the 200+ tourists per weekend is big, it will only get bigger.
As a former resident, I may be alone here, I am not angry someone is selling hot dogs in Centralia Pennsylvania.
150 years later–after the town was formed–a celebration will take place in a nearby town. Centralia does not have a location to house hunderds of people for an event.. Centralia is gone. Wiped off the map by a mine fire that started decades ago. It has become a tourist site, Graffiti Highway is seemingly known worldwide, and horror movies have been based off of the goings on.
And those who have read this website for any given time will know: I was born and raised in the little town that died until my family moved due to the mine fire issue in the 1980s..
This weekend, the town is set to come together once more–the last time for many people in their 70s and 80s to see friends. I expect for a lot of people who I know deep down never got over the death of their town, this will be a nostalgic mix of sadness and laughter..
A few days after it was revealed the persons who carried a gun to the White House and was shot by secret service was from Ashland PA, now this news of the syndicated program filming in the coal region is released..
Awful notoriety. We used to be famous for halupkies, block parties, and Centralia. Those were the days.
A little ghost story–one that hits a bit closer to home than anything else I have written.
Tonight, my wife and I took my son Ayden to a birthday party for a classmate at the Ashland Pennsylvania ELKS–sorry for the bad press (or good depending on your point of view) I am giving them on this matter..
The party was fine. It took place in the basement level bowling alley. Kids had a blast.. the cake was fine. And the pizza was as it should be.
There was one moment, though.. One strange event.
You see, the bathroom in the basement is unisex. So both genders shared their turns using it.. At one point, my son wanted to wash his hands. We made him wait because all three of us heard people in there. We figured it would be proper and kind to allow them to finish their business before barging in.
The seconds turned into minutes.. no one was coming out. So I decided to go in.. No one.. no one was there. Not a soul.
The bathroom was empty and quiet. The voices we heard and shadows we saw–all there of us–were gone. Instead remaining were just two urinals and a toilet.
My son had the most amazing reaction of all. He immediately said “we just saw a ghost!” Almost excitedly as a matter of fact.
My wife and I were left pondering a few things. We attempted scientific logic. We tried making excuses for the voices we heard. We wanted to explain the shadows. And funny, both my wife and I independently agreed: We heard and saw three people. We just both agreed on that. Three people.
This is not the first time something unexplained happened to us. I saw things before. I think we all have. We just need to take a step back and consider the times we do. But the funny thing is the acceptance my son had to the entire episode. He sort of, well, just figured he took part in some paranormal event. And does not even know why..
And perhaps that memory will stick. The shadows at the Elks. Almost the same as it was for my at the age of 5 seeing people in the choir of the former St. Ignatius in Centralia, along with hearing whispers come from the confessional ni the church at night.
But Ayden was fine with it all….He went on with life and ate cake, enjoyed bowling, and had a blast.
I did a few Google searches tonight. Nothing found. I did locate a few strange sites about ghosts of Ashland, PA.. but nothing specific about this location.
We do know what we saw. We agree on what we saw. And heard. Shadows along the wall.. voices echoing in the room. No one there and not a trace of humans within.
It was an interesting moment.
And quite possibly my son’s first paranormal event..
Thursday, December 24, 2015
This is my original artwork.. it’s my nostalgic Christmas postcard to you.
The scene I drew in this picture, several years ago actually, is gone now. It is of the former St. Ignatius Church in Centralia, PA, a place I attended Christmas midnight mass for several years when my life began. The road signs are indicating that a highway was closed, most likely because of the Christmas blanket of snow causing mine fire fumes to overtake the highway.. The footsteps? Could be mine walking around .. could be my father, as he was the caretaker of the property for 20 years..
But it’s all gone now. So often, we are greeted yearly with cards of this nature–places that are now gone or changed for good.
My Christmas memories hold this scene in high esteem. They always will. Times were simpler then–even though my hometown was being bulldozed over and people were being forced out. Still simple. A quiet blanket of snow.. This year, 2015, it’s about 60 or so degrees outside of my house. This scene is a memory. As is the town and all buildings that were in it.
And you thought CENTRALIA was a big story!? That town only had a little around 2,000 people when the government forced all to move because of an underground mine fire–mine included.
And with the personal history I can pen about a town on fire, it’s with particular interest that I read this story from the LATIMES written by Matt Pearce..
Giving all credit to Pearce for his words describing the troubling situation, this:
A fire is smoldering beneath a landfill in a densely populated suburb of St. Louis — and it has been there for five years.
Underground landfill fires, or “smoldering events” as some officials call them, aren’t rare. What makes the fire at the landfill in Bridgeton, Mo., so unusual is that it’s less than a quarter of a mile from a large deposit of nuclear waste — with no barrier in its way.
The radioactive legacy of St. Louis’ role in the World War II atomic weapons program has unleashed Cold War-style nuclear paranoia in the area, as some residents debate what kind of gas masks to buy or whether to move away.
When you read more on the subject, you realize that state, local, and federal officials are not in agreement whatsoever about what type of threat this would hold for St. Louis and if it even poses a threat at all.. Sort of like Centralia’s story, scientists and residents are arguing over whether the underground fire is even moving..
More from Pearce:
Even if the underground fire eventually burns out without any problems, the radioactive dump could cause trouble, according to Ed Smith, the safe-energy director for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.
“Either the government puts together a plan for the removal of the radioactive material in a way that is done as safely as possible,” Smith said, “or at some point in the future, I can say with some confidence that a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, what have you, is going to move this radioactive material and other contaminants at the landfill in a way we cannot control.”
I am not an expert. Never claimed to be. But I will say this: The fire will not burn out. History of underground fires sort of showcase that.
And this fire, so close to radioactive materials, needs broad attention in a quick manner.
She noted that “Centralia” will not be a documentary but a story inspired by the town and the people that still live there. The story will be based on the same events that took place over the years, but Averill will add her own elements to the story.
In reality, Centralia currently has around 5 residents, but in the story, Centralia will have roughly 100 residents. Averill wants to portray the current Centralians as heroes who still have hope in saving their town. There will be an element of sadness felt but you will want to be rooting for them to succeed.
Within the timeline of the show, the government is threatening eminent domain to take the town but in the shows timeline, it has not taken it YET. The government’s reason for removing the residence of the town will be for their safety, due to the fire burning below, but the feds will have ulterior motives. The tourism draw of the town will also come into play, where they will have their own walking tour. Graffiti Highway will be included in the show. Averill also said characters will be unaware of the “evil” lurking below.
Even more, according to the interview, Averill has worked on a number of projects in the past. But this, she told the site, is giving her the most widespread attention she has ever received and generated one of the biggest responses..
I AM FROM CENTRALIA, PA. I was one of ‘those’ folks.. my parents moved away as we were in one of the hardest hit part of town due to the mine fire.. But the water is clean. The smoke has cleared.. there are lots of tourists desperate for a view of fire that they will never see.. and graffiti highway is amazing. Now on to the news..
For better or worse, CENRTALIA is going to get some major TEE VEE time coming up very soon.
According to DEADLINE, NBC just won the rights to produce ‘CENTRALIA,’ a project being called a ‘dark’ drama..
Written by Averill, Centralia is a dark character-driven genre soap based on a real town in central Pennsylvania where an underground mine fire has been burning for over 50 years. The remaining few residents of this ghost town are determined to preserve their homes but remain unaware of the evil that is slowly making its way to the surface. Averill is executive producing with Amblin TV’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey
And finally..
Averill has first-hand knowledge of the Centralia story as she grew up in the nearby town of Pottsville, PA. She is coming off an overall deal at CBS TV Studios where, in addition to creating and executive producing alien-themed love story Star-Crossed for the CW, she also worked as co-executive producer on the studio’s CW dramedy Jane The Virgin and producer on CBS’ The Good Wife. She is repped by WME.
I have very, very mixed feelings about this project.. I applaud the idea. It is natural–a ghost town, especially one with the history that Centralia has, is an amazing story. But it is also complex.. I would expect Averill to create a story with respect and beauty–something Centralia had and still does.. But it’s also a situation ripe for attention, entertainment, and profit.
This upcoming project is both exciting and frightening.
After all.. this is my hometown, by default. I know the real story of it. It’s not filled with ‘ghosts’ but instead wonderful memories of times long ago. And I hope that is brought forward in the setting of the series.
Centralia is worth attention. In the best ways possible.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
This is a movie poster blast from the past.. it was called THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, and a was loosely based on the ‘Phanton Killer’ or the ‘Texarkana Moonlight Murders' that took place ni 1946..
The other evening, I got the chance to watch the 2014 remake of this 1976 classic.. The redo was interesting. It was like DICK TRACY meets SCREAM, a movie with cartoonish appeal that also featured a ‘we know this is a horror movie’ attitude like Wes Craven’s late 20th century horror series..
However, any time I watch a remake, I typically go back and watch the original. Either for posterity or just because I want to check off the similarities and differences between each incarnation..
The original SUNDOWN film wasn’t exceptional by any stretch of imagination.. But it created a new genre—it may be one of the least known movies that started the slasher flicks of the late 70s and all of the 1980s. The TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN was brutal at times and most likely difficult to view during some moments in theaters during the Carter years..
But there was one thing that THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN got right in 1976: One of the most memorable posters I have ever seen for a movie, especially a horror flick.. There’s something freakish about that sunset image and the town, that lonely town, tucked safely but dangerously between the trees and mountains.. And that foreboding image of the Phantom with his freakish mask that only displays two eye holes..
This poster has stuck in my mind for years.. Since I was younger and first stayed up late without my parents knowing to watch this on Rhonda Shear’s UP ALL NIGHT, I remembered that poster. . and that quaint image of Americana destroyed by a masked villain to stole innocence..
I was born in 1980, years after this original film.. But as a child of the 1980s, a certain spirit of the 70s was bred into my in my early life..
This image presented on the poster haunted me for two distinct reasons: 1) It reminded me of the scene from ET where Halloweeners begin to the roam the streets at sundown, and 2) the image looks amazingly like the town I grew up in the 80s, Centralia PA—a town with an underground mine fire that met its demise because of that crisis..
This post is not a movie review .. I quite frankly disliked the new remake and the original was lackluster. But it was important in the history of horror movies. It gave us the slasher flick. And it gave me chills each time I thought about that hauntingly beautiful movie poster..
I love stories of abandoned places.. this one is right in Pennsylvania. But after looking at the comments section on the story, I get the notion that there is controversy about this.. lots of people seem to believe BIGFOOT scared people out. Others know it was much more of a worldly issue like economics and environment.. But what exists is a creepy slew of photos worthy of a late night creep out session in your dark living room.
The story sort of reminds me of Centralia..
And despite the urban legends, there is nothing paranormal about Centralia. I grew up there, and despite a constant stream of ghost hunters, the story of Centralia is about human failure, and not one of the other-worldly.
When I was 3 and a half, I was featured in a book. There was a full-spread page with a photo of me leaning up against a borehole in the town of Centralia, smoke was billowing from the background and a group of teenagers were running from the camera–one may have been my brother. The shot looked more like a scene from a third world nation .. But at that point, a mine fire had infected the underground nearest my home and the situation was getting dire.
Yesterday there was a haunting moment when I saw my own past come back for a split second in vivid detail.. the black and white photo of my from 1983 suddenly was in color, standing on front of me.. My son Ayden, incidentally the same age as me when I was featured in SLOW BURN, was standing on front of empty SEARS store shelving in the Schuylkill Mall, Frackville PA.. Sears of closing after the corporate decision to make Frackville one of the many locations that would shudder in 2015. There were only a handful of items left, all marked with an ‘all sales final’ warning under the 70% off all merchandise signs. Business was brisk–people were even rudely clamoring for more money off.. Even the store shelves were being purchased. All things must go. Including history.
When Ayden was in front, I said “look at me and smile!” and snapped the photo with my iPhone. Instead of a smile, I caught him sort of in a wide-mouthed surprised look at what he was seeing. I think he realized that this store, once filled with items to the point where you could hardly walk, was vanishing. Now it’s becoming a giant open field of tiled floors..
As I watched Ayden walk around the soon to be closed Sears at the mall today I realized the importance of this simple photo. When he is 30 or so, retail will be a distant memory. The way we buy everything will have changed.. This picture captured a moment, just one moment, when it was in its final phase..
While he may not remember the day or time this picture was taken, the evidence of it will allow Ayden will impress his own children with tales of malls and how he once, as a child, walked in stores to buy products instead of purchasing them in his body chip implant and have same day drone delivery..
Of course Ayden’s picture is not being published in a book. But it is on his father’s website. And that’s the way things are now.. until something else comes around and makes websites so 2000 and late.
A moment in time.. As life shifts.
Friday, December 12, 2014
The story behind this photo.
It is a statue of Neptune. According to a number of websites, like this one, it is guarding an underground ballroom. The site linked—and many others—are showcasing a number of other photographs of the secret room under a lake in Witley Park in England.. The site has gone viral, as they say.. It is being shared across the internet and people are making their typical sarcastic and somewhat but not really humorous short lived comments about the images featured.
But that’s the internet. A place where news cycles get spun and news stories constantly get recycled.
On this most recent burst of news articles, it all started on REDDIT—things mostly do, either REDDIT or 4CHAN. In this case, a user posted the images of the under water ballroom and …viola.. sent around the globe.
But now this message appears on REDDIT where the image was once hosted:
Hi, folks, I’m the guy who first posted this to /r/interestingasfuck , and it kind of spread from there.
Since then, I received a very polite email from the son of the couple who lives on this estate asking that I please take the post down. They suffer several break-ins on their property whenever information about this room hits the internet, and he’s worried both for their safety and the curious people coming to find the room. Not only is the lake an obviously dangerous place to poke around, the couple also has several firearms close at hand because break-ins are such a problem, and he is worried that someone is going to end up shot because his parents are so scared.
You’re free to do as you please, of course, but I have removed my post. It’s probably too late to do much good, but it’s something we can do to help
Since my visit, I have been informed by a number of sources that the ballroom is now also locked and alarmed. I don’t need to point out that breaking into a locked premises is breaking and entering and is illegal; it’s also against the generally accepted urban exploration rules (somewhere here: www.forbidden-places.net/why.php).
Due to the above, please don’t contact me for access details as I won’t provide them.
I also suggest against visiting Witley as you will have a long walk around the lake only to be confronted by a padlock. If you get spotted wandering about private properly with bolt croppers, expect to be arrested.
I get this feeling, regardless of what the owner of the property hopes for, this newfound internet exposure is only going to lead to further attempts at break ins..
I grew up in Centralia, and still live close by at this point in my life adventure. For decades now, tourists and sight seers have been coming by the town to look for any bit of history or smoke filled mountains from the underground fire that they can. Often they walk away confused and disjointed—you can hardly see evidence of a burning fire, they don’t know that until they get there. I also think that it’s probably best all of the houses besides the few with residents are gone. If not, they’d be broken into by people, things stolen.. valuables trashed. Memories bashed.
Even Chernobyl has looters and people who don’t care too much about radiation, and instead just want to get a piece of nuclear history.
In the matter of the house under the lake: The property owners will not have to face even more news coverage as these images are one again passed around. They must cringe when they turn browse the Net..
