An alert reader just sent this in to the Weird Massachusetts world headquarters here in my spare bedroom. BREAKING NEWS:

Police in Harwich, Massachusetts, acting on a tip, discovered a Baldwin Acrosonic piano, model number 987, intact, and apparently in tune, in the middle of the woods. If you are missing such a piano with the serial number 733746, it’s important that you contact authorities right away… and then please contact me. I gotta hear the story too.

Also, if you find other pianos in the middle of the woods on Cape Cod, please also contact me. Perhaps we’re witnessing some new paranormal phenomena involving pianos.

If you find a pristine tuba in the woods, please DO NOT contact me. I’ve had my fill of those reports. There’s nothing paranormal there.

For the full story, click here.

I now understand what John Denver meant by “Colorado Rocky Mountain High.” He meant that knocking back four or five beers at 7,200 feet in altitude is like drinking a 12-pack at sea level. I also now understand what Tiffany Johnson (aka Psychic Tiff) means by “Rocky Mountain Oysters.” After sharing a basket of the deep-fried delicacy with Ms. Tiff, I learned that these things just ain’t seafood. Luckily no one will ever know about this little faux pas… unless of course Jason Hawes tells anyone… or shares the video he took of us eating said “oysters.”

This past week the haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, was the scene of the Darkness Event paranormal conference. I was fortunate to speak at the event on haunts, history, and spirit communication. The hotel was packed with paranormal fans, researchers, and people who came to soak in the majestic mountains all around us.

I had the chance to speak with many of the conference goers and met a lot of good folk. Events like these are so important because we get to network with other people who are also asking big questions, plus we get to stand in a room where we’re almost (probably almost) certain we’re not the weirdest person in the building.

For four days we investigated the hotel that inspired Stephen King to pen The Shining, we (and by “we,” I mean “me”) realized that this was also the hotel where they filmed scenes from Dumb and Dumber, and we realized that the “Redrum,” drinks that were so popular at the bar can really knock you for a loop.

I also had the opportunity to take a quick tour of Rocky Mountain National Park just a few miles away from the hotel. Thanks to Ed Laughlin of Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal Investigations, and our Crypto tour guide, Loren Coleman, we drove through the park and spotted bigfoot, deer, crows, bigfoot, elk, big-horned sheep, and bigfoot… just kidding, we didn’t see any crows.

Thank you to Loren Coleman for correcting the previous paragraph to read:

Thanks to Ed Laughlin of Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal Investigations, and our Cryptozoo tour guide, Loren Coleman, we drove through the park and spotted Bigfoot (Anthropoidipes ameriborealis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), raven (Corvus corax), black-billed magpie (Pica pica), Bigfoot (Paranthropus eldurrelli), elk (Cervus canadensis), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and Bigfoot (Gigantopithecus canadensis)… just kidding, we didn’t see any magpies.

Thanks to Darkness Dave Schrader for having me out, and thanks to the other speakers who not only gave great lectures, but were a lot of fun to hang out with: Loren Coleman, Patrick Burns, Grant Wilson, Jason Hawes, Father Andrew Calder, Chris Fleming, and Bill Chappell.

Yesterday history was made in an exciting and emotional election here in the United States. American voters came out in record numbers to elect the country’s first black president. It’s a time of renewed hope that truly anything is possible, and it’s a time to look ahead to a new era in the political landscape. It’s also time for President-elect Obama and his family to start thinking about what it’s going to feel like to live in a haunted house.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the address of a very famous and very haunted house, better known as the White House. It’s where the President lives and works while serving in the executive branch of government. This majestic building holds the Presidents’ family, pets, and a large staff of butlers, chefs, security, and other workers. About 100 people work to keep the White House running — people who are employed by the government and have a job to do regardless of which political party’s candidate is President. The White House has room for parties, meetings, important government events, and, according to many reports… it also has room for ghosts.

A few weeks ago, my new book, Who’s Haunting the White House?: The President’s Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There was published. My first book for younger readers (ages 10 and up), the book explores the haunted history of one of America’s most famous buildings. President-elect Obama will be joining a long and prestigious list of Presidents who have lived and worked in this incredible and haunted building.

Will the ghost of President Lincoln pay Obama a visit? Will some of the many other historic ghostly figures from Abigail Adams to Andrew Jackson make some kind of appearance during the next administration? Time will surely tell. I’m sure, like other Presidents, President Obama will take some comfort knowing the spirits from the past are still around to keep an eye on the country they loved so dearly.

Congratulations to President-elect Obama. If you need any help with the ghosts who still lurk in your new home, call me!