<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Holy crap!</span></strong></span></p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">You're not going to believe the photo below!!</span></strong></span></p>

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<p>First I need to set up our ghostly adventure.  You didn't think I was going to whip out the photo right away and kill the suspense, did you?  ;-)</p>

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<p>On Day 57, the four Ghost Huntresses (me, Christy Jo, Becky Jo, and Sarah) abandoned the comfort and safety of our homes to check into one of the most haunted places in the world.  </p>

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<p>In case you were wondering, yes, we're nuts. </p>

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<p>And also a lot of fun. </p>

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<p>And exceptionally brave when Patron is involved. </p>

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<p>We arrived at the <a href="http://www.jeromegrandhotel.net/" target="_blank"><strong>Jerome Grand Hotel</strong> </a>around dinner time.  The dark and <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">stormy</span> chilly full moon night set the stage for an eerie everning. </p>

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<p>The Jerome Grand Hotel sits on the top of the hill over the town of Jerome which we all agreed looked super creepy.  Christy Jo started freaking out as she drove up the hill.  Apparently, she noticed a bedroom light flashing on and off.   This coupled with the (no) vacancy sign flickering only a "cy" reminded her way too much of the Bates motel. </p>

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<p><strong><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even I, with all of my bravado, had a "What the hell have I gotten us into?!?!" moment.</span></span></strong></p>

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<p>We all shrieked like school girls as we unloaded our bags from the car.  We schlepped up to the hotel and checked in with a front desk attendant who (god bless him) had no idea that I was about to pepper him with 15 minutes worth of questions. </p>

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<p>Now that I think about it, his rambling and long-winded answers were probably a ploy to keep the excited hottie girls from Phoenix down in the uneventful lobby for as long as he could.  His scheme worked. </p>

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<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">We found out that our Room 10 had seen "activity".  </span></strong></span></p>

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<p>Christy Jo flipped through the guest log and found entries for Room 10 which included bed covers flung off in the middle of the night.  The rest of it I can't tell you.  I seemed to have blocked it out as a protective mechanism.  If you want, I can go through hypnosis for another blog day to uncover the lost memory.  Or Christy Jo could just comment below, I suppose. </p>

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<p>When I stumbled around the hotel website prior to our visit, I unearthed stories of wheezing and coughing coming from room corners.  (The hotel was formerly a hospital.  And yes, there were mental patients because I asked in my 15 minute round of questioning.  I knew there had to be some reason why their restaurant is named The Asylum.) </p>

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<p>If you're not catching my drift, there could be crazy ghosts floating around the hotel which is somehow more unnerving than sane ghosts. </p>

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<p>Other guest experiences include (but are not limited to) strange noises, TVs turning on and off, voices, and unexplained smells of dust and flowers.  There have also been reports of cigarette and whisky smells which I think is most obviously a dead country music singer living it up in the afterlife. </p>

<p><br class="spacer_" />Guests also claim to have seen orbs of light, ectoplasm (wtf?!), apparations of a nurse, and a woman in white.  According to legend, the woman and her baby died in childbirth.  The woman in white is distraught over the treatment of her child who was buried in an unmarked grave. </p>

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<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Are you scared yet?  :-o </span></span></span></strong></p>

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<p>Here's a first-hand account from my friend, Perry, who didn't believe in ghosts until after his stay at the Jerome Grand Hotel. </p>

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<p>In the middle of the night, Perry heard kids running up and down the hall.  The kids didn't let up, so Perry exited his room to tell them to stop.  There was no one there. </p>

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<p>When he returned to his bed, the kids ran amuck again.  Perry was officially pissed.  He swung open the door to an empty hallway. </p>

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<p>Perry then camped out behind the door with his hand on the knob.  As soon as he heard the kids directly outside his room, he flung open the door. </p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><strong>No one was there!!!!!  <br class="spacer_" /></strong></span></span></p>

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<p><br class="spacer_" />At that moment, Perry converted to a believer.  Duh. </p>

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<p>Anywho, back to the Ghost Huntresses stalled in the lobby by the wordy front desk attendant...</p>

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<p>When the girls wanted to strangle me for delaying dinner, I graciously thanked Mr. Front Desk Guy, and we were off! </p>

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<p>Or up, to be precise.  We boarded an old-fashioned elevator that is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of Claude Harvey.  Claude reportedly met with foul play in the elevator shaft. </p>

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<p>We creaked open the door to Room 10 and...</p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><strong>Boo!  </strong></span></span></p>

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<p>Nothing happened.  Just wanted to make sure you are still with me.  :-)</p>

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<p>Ghost Huntress Sarah immediately scoured the room while I acted like a ghost paparazzi with my camera.  Guests previously captured images and orbs of light at various locations in the hotel.  You can see those pictures <strong><a href="http://www.jeromeghosthunting.com/Ghost%20Hunt%20Photos.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.  </strong></p>

<p><strong> </strong> </p>

<p>Tech savvy Ghost Huntresses Christy Jo and Becky Jo whipped out their iPad and iPhone featuring the Ghost Radar app. </p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ff0000;">Apple, you crack me up.  Ghost Radar app?!?!  </span></span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ff0000;">hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!</span></span></strong></span></p>

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<p>Ghost Radar not only lit up like a Christmas tree with "activity", but it also spat out words that Becky Jo swore pertained to us!  Again, I have blocked out those words in my post-haunted-amnesia, so the other Ghost Huntresses really need to chime in and comment below. </p>

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<p>In the midst of all this mayhem, I excused myself to the ladies room.  After I finished my business, I stood in the bathroom and...</p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">I screamed bloody murder!!! </span></strong></span></span></p>

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<p>To freak the girls out. </p>

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<p>Nothing happened this time either. </p>

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<p>The girls gasped, "Michelle?!?!" from the room, but when I threw open the door, I found them huddled on the other side of the room ready to make an escape. </p>

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<p>I made a mental note that I seriously hoped nothing otherworldly happened that night.  My fellow Ghost Huntresses would be of no help and would be outta there faster than you can say, "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!"</p>

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<p>After this flurry of photo ops and ghost radar apps, we decided to step out to dinner.  The restaurant was conveniently located right outside our room. </p>

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<p>As we entered the lobby, a really ugly/scary statue of a twisted wee man sat on an old wheelchair.  Christy insisted that I pose for a photo.  She directed me to pretend to push the wheelchair from behind.  I, always the method actress, performed a mute scream this time around.  A false alarm with your friends is one thing; a false alarm with dinner guests could get me kicked out of the joint. </p>

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<p>Christy Jo then spazzed out about something with my camera.  I tuned her out while wondering what kind of food The Asylum served.  Becky Jo flipped out as well as she brought me my camera. </p>

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<p>And now it's time for the photo reveal.  May I have a drum roll, please?</p>

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<p> <strong><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200193.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200193-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a></strong></p>

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<p>Uh-huh.  Those are orbs, baby. </p>

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<p><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>Holy Sh#%balls!!!!! </strong></span></span></p>

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<p>I nearly hyperventilated.  I just took dozens of photos of the room, and those images were crystal clear!!!  Well...all of them except one.  Look closely at the back of Sarah's leg.  It's not a bleach stain, my friends. </p>

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<p><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200192.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2109" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200192-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a><br class="spacer_" /></p>

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<p>It's a frickin' orb!!!! </p>

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<p>Now...when Kimeee saw this photo upon my return, she asked, "What are these 'orbs'?  Have you researched them?  What are they supposedly comprised of?"</p>

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<p>But Kimeee is an attorney, and therefore thinks about things logically and rationally on a daily basis. </p>

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<p>I, as her right-brained artsy fartsy friend, see balls of unknown nature in a photo, think back to the mention of orbs on the hotel website, and need no further explanation. </p>

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<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you?!?! </span></strong></p>

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<p>Ladies and 3 token gents, let's be perfectly candid with each other, shall we? </p>

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<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><strong>THERE IS NO LOGICAL EXPLANATION!!!! </strong></span></span></p>

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<p>There was nothing on my camera lens.  There were no special lighting effects in the hotel lobby as evidenced by subsequent photos in the same location.  You have my word that I did not alter the photo in any way, shape or form. </p>

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<p>I believe I mentioned that the location of the orbs was merely several feet from our room?!?!</p>

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<p>When you experience the supernatural within 15 minutes of arriving at your room, its' time to call out the big guns. </p>

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<p><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200196.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200196-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>

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<p>For the rest of the evening, our fear<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">less</span>ful heroines had become comfortably numb.  So who knows if anything else happened. </p>

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<p>We did scour the hallways with our Ghost Radar and cameras later on with no trace of anything alarming. </p>

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<p>In my humble opinion, the orbs were more than enough. </p>

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<p>So there you have it.  The Ghost Huntresses continue to be ghost magnets. <strong><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2010/11/17/day-51-we-see-dead-people/" target="_blank">(See Day 51 for our backstory.) </a></strong></p>

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<p><strong> </strong> </p>

<p><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">We are now accepting offers for our own Ghost Huntresses TV show. </span> </span></strong></p>

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<p>We're prettier, smarter, and infinitely more talented than those morons on <em>The Jersey Shore</em>.  If they can land a TV gig, why can't we? </p>

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<p>Here's my pitch to The Discovery Channel or similar station:  Charlie's Angels Meets Ghostbusters.  <br class="spacer_" /></p>

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<p>Dreams do come true, my friends.  Dreams do come true!  </p>

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<p>                                                                       ***************************************</p>

<p><br class="spacer_" />Scroll down for more "interesting" photos.</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB210233.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2111" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB210233-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a></p>

<p>None of us noticed this on that fateful night.  You can see another orb in the foreground.  Click the photo, enlarge, and look at what is near Ghost Huntress Becky Jo's ankle.  (She's the one sitting on the bed while checking out Ghost Radar.)</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200194.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2134" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB200194-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a></p>

<p>This was taken immediately after discovering the orbs in the Orbs Gone Wild! photo above. </p>

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<p>Innocuous photo of me goofing off again.  This and the tequila shot photo were both taken with my camera.  I told you there was nothing on the lens!  :-o </p>

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