My assignment? Dinner with the ghost writer.
Now, don’t get too excited. It wasn’t just me and the ghost writer. There were about 60 other people in the room. Still, it was the kind of event that just makes you want to give the town of Cape May a big hug and a wet sloppy kiss ‘cause it was just too cute.
Friends, relatives, true believers and a few skeptics were among the guests. Some coming from as far away as Texas, New York and Boston.
In his book The Ghosts of Cape May, psychic medium Craig McManus paints a vivid picture of a Victorian seaside resort which functions on two parallels. There is the town we, the living, see – in which we move about our day working, shopping, going to the beach, having a cocktail, going out to dinner, completely oblivious to the other world. And there is the town in which ghosts move about. Tending to the kitchen in a busy upscale restaurant; making sure the laundry is done, albeit after midnight, at an old beachfront hotel; keeping a watchful eye over the bartenders in another beachfront restaurant; or just playing tricks on those peevish mortals who insist on getting in the way.
The dinner, held at the The Mad Batter on Jackson Street, (the most haunted street in Cape May) was sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, heretofore known as MAC. We were gathered for the launch and book signing of Craig’s new book The Ghosts of Cape May.
I ask you, where else are you going to have a chance to have a three-course dinner prepared by Mad Batter Chef Jon Davies and hear a psychic medium talk about his encounters with the ghosts moving about town?
The book is based on Craig’s column written for Exit Zero, a Cape May weekly. Between courses, Craig talked ghosts.
First Course: Sonoma Salad –Mesclun greens, fresh strawberries, toasted almonds and goat cheese served with a honey-lavender citrus dressing. MMmmMMmmMM
An Introduction to ghosts-Craig explained why Cape May seems to be so very haunted. Usually a large population of ghosts can typically be found in places of tragedy like Gettysburg. “Ghosts like it here,” says Craig, “They apparently have no reason to cross over. They’re staying at a nice B&B and they don’t have to pay a dime. If you could, wouldn’t you want to stay here?”
People rarely will see a ghost, he said, at least in the physical form that we’re accustom to.
If we do “see” a ghost, which in this form would be called an “apparition,” it is usually as a whispy white or gray form that seems to disappear as quickly as it appeared. Sometimes we may catch a shadow out of the corner of our eye, but science says this is explainable and something the brain, not ghosts, is responsible for.
The time that most people will see a fully formed, yet transparent, apparition is during what is called “twilight sleep.” This is the stage of sleep between being awake and falling asleep where we cannot move around but can see with our eyes and are cognizant of our surroundings. We may not recognize where we are but we can see the room and sometimes…a ghost. In this state, we may see the ghost for just a moment. It rarely communicates anything at this point except a visual presence.
“When I see ghosts, it is with my psychic senses. I see them in my mind’s eye. This is what a psychic medium does. Sees and hear things in their mind that might just be coming from ghosts.”
Most ghostly sightings, said Craig, are in the form of a sound, a smell or a physical phenomenon like the opening and closing of a door or window. “Ninety-nine percent of all ghosts are benevolent and they don’t stay on the third floor because they were mostly servants, they stay on the third floor because they want to get away from people.”
Did you know that if you sell a house in Cape May, you have to disclose whether or not there are ghosts present?
Second Course: Chicken Saltimbocca – Served with marsala sage demi glace and angel hair pasta with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. MMmmMMmmMM
Tales from the Other Side – Craig talked about some of Cape May’s more famous ghosts such as Hester Hildreth whose name keeps popping up all over the place. Hester’s family owned the property currently occupied by Winterwood Gift Shop in Rio Grande. According to Craig, who channeled Hester one night while staying at The Inn at 22 Jackson, Hester got fed up with the clerks “putting all that crap on my stairway and I can’t get up the stairs. So, I moved out.” She moved in with her cousin George Hildreth who owned the house now known as Poor Richard’s Inn at 17 Jackson Street, right next door to The Mad Batter/Carroll Villa. Hester is a wealth of gossip, according to Craig, who taped her during the channeling session. In fact, he had to tell her to be still so the other ghosts could talk.
Did you know you can conduct your own ghost test? Put a microphone or tape recorder at either end of the room you think might be haunted. Then say “Does anyone haunt here?” The sounds recorded are called EVPs or Electronic Voice Phenomenon.
Third Course: Chocolate Lava Cake over crème anglaise and fresh raspberries. MmmMMMmmM
Tour with the ghost writer – Craig gave Jackson Street a thorough going over. There are all sorts of spirits floating around and he dispelled some other myths, namely the tale of Esmeralda from The Inn at 22 Jackson. As the story goes, Esmeralda haunted the turret and loved to play with children. She would disappear along a secret staircase behind one of the beds. Turns out, this tale is a Tall Tale started by the boys who occupied the house in the 70s. Seems a relative, who wrote for a Philadelphia paper needed a ghost story and the boys came up with Esmeralda. Not to say The Inn at 22 Jackson doesn’t have its share of spirits, just not one named Esmeralda.
At the end of the evening and at the end of the book, I can visualize a Cape May in which spirits move about just as we do. It is a world in which there are pets, particularly cats. There are children, widows, guilty widowers, angry mistresses, nosy matriarchs, and handymen – just the sort of folks you would find in the living parallel. They are, for the most part however, dressed in Victorian garb and are unaware that time has passed them by. Unless summoned or annoyed, they prefer to leave the living to the living and for others to leave them alone. And they like to talk to one another – sometimes they even move about the town to pay a call on thus and such, maybe even stay over for a few days. Most importantly, we the reader, can get a sense of the history of Cape May and the kind of life that was lived within the walls of our historic buildings. But, yes, once in a while, the ghosts get lonely or angry and reach out.
Craig’s advise? Listen and respond just like you would in this parallel. Ignore them and watch out.
Now – I know not all of you could be as lucky as me but never fear you can buy the book at Atlantic Books on the Washington Street Mall, at Exit Zero’s Store on Perry Street adjoining Congress Hall, and at MAC’s retail outlet down at The Physick Estate, 1048 Washington Street. You can also buy The Ghosts of Cape May on Craig’s website www.channelcraig.com.
But – and here’s the best news – Craig has joined with MAC, to offer a trolley tour based on the “Ride with the Ghost Writer” tour he gave last Halloween. The trolley tour will run at least through Halloween. The tour is based on his research and encompasses even more hauntings than are included in the book. Tickets for the trolley tour can be purchased by contact MAC at their website www.capemaymac.org or calling 609-884-5404 or toll free at 800-275-4278.
Where to stay? Please – read the book. Take your pick: the baker, the doctor, the mischievous children, the disoriented hotel guests. The Ghosts of Cape May is not only a guide to the other plane but a guide to this one as well. Craig has stayed in and researched some of our best accommodation sites in town. So for those who like to travel, pick up a copy of the book and we’ll see you on the other side.
