From The Archives: Halloween!

Halloween is here and we have one last treat for you. Though it's really more like a trick considering it's just reposting two old treks from the Adventures archive. Two ghost hunts that are pretty weak... but cool because they involve Captain Crash so suck it.

Great Meadows

Before fighting for our nation's independence, George Washington got his start in combat commanding battles in the French and Indian War, a conflict waged over the frontier of the New World. At that time, that frontier was in the immense wilderness of the Laurel Highlands. After suffering a massive defeat with staggering casualties at his makeshift fort in the Great Meadows, the spirits of the fallen fighters still linger in the place Washington once called "a charming place for an encounter."

Bell Mills Bridge

There's something so charming about a covered bridge in the afternoon. In the darkness, not so much. Many of these structures that remain have spooky stories as integral to them as their walls and rafters. As me and Ternous learned one autumn night, the bridge at Bells Mills upholds that haunted standard with a ghost that just won't stop crossing its old rickety boards.

Happy Halloween everyone! May all your paranormal investigations be filled with enough ghosts and ghouls to make you shit your pants.

-Crash

Adventure: Guffey Manor

This adventure is almost as old as the ghost story it's based on. It's one of my earliest adventures ever, let alone paranormal investigations. Yep, this one's a good old fashioned ghost hunt with Ternous and Burns.

Long ago, Burns and I caught wind of  your classic abandoned haunted house. According to legend, the old farmhouse of the Guffey family was inhabited by an elderly couple in the early 1900's. When the old man fell horribly ill, his loving wife attempted to nurse him back to health. She tended to him for days in the big master bedroom upstairs until she came in to find that he had passed on. Distraught over her loss and that she had missed his final moments, she cried at the bedside until she too passed on. Being that the house was so isolated, quite some time passed before the bodies were even discovered and buried in the nearby family plot. Although other residents would move in briefly, they all claimed that those past two residents had never left, lamenting their lonely end in that big old master bedroom upstairs.

Brave (drunk?) teens from the area had been attempting nighttime explorations of the house as it now sits in ruins, completely overgrown and caving in. Yet any that made even past the old graveyard could make it no further than the downstairs. Apparently anyone approaching the stairway would be scared off by noises from above; in particular, the sound of a door shutting. Oddly, it seemed that all the doors had been removed at some point. So what the fuck wer ethey hearing up there? It was enough to send them all running.

But would it be enough to spook the heroes of Team Crash? Find out after the jump by clicking Read More!

Adventure: Darr Mine

With the mining accidents of recent years, it's easy to forget the tragedies of the past. As the steel industries grew in the valleys around Pittsburgh, the need for coal was on the rise. Coal mines were dug plentifully along the rivers in the lesser settled areas and were operated cheaply and dangerously by mostly immigrant workers. The Darr Mine was operated along the banks of the Youghiogheny River and was the site of one of the worst mining accidents in the country. In the early 1900's, an explosion occurred in the mine killing over 200 of it's workers. The blast, which was largely a result for the lack of care by ownership for the safety of the miners, mamed the victims, many of which were disfigured so badly they could not even be identified and were placed in one large grave together. Operations only continued for a few more years afterwards until it was closed permanently.


Of course, ever since, it has been widely believed that the mine is haunted by the poor workers that were killed despite the entrances being sealed off. The sounds of swinging pick axes resonate from below ground and many report hearing the disgruntled, disembodied voices speaking in Hungarian at night. Knowing that fellow adventurer Alpha Omega (AO) was very familiar with the area, I convinced him to help guide the one and only Captain Crash into the dismal remnants of the Darr Mine to look for 219 ghosts as some of the very few to enter in decades.

Write-up and Pictures n'at by clicking "Read More"

Outfitter of the Week: Pa Paranormal Society

Team Crash cannot always be self-sustaining; the Captain and his faithful sidekicks often rely on businesses and various outfitters to obtain gear, services, expertise, and even food. Once a week-- usually on Wednesdays-- Crash or another member of the team will give a shout-out to an outfitter of some sort who has helped us out in the past and deserves a little free advertising here. Help support them because if they're on here, you know they're top-notch!

The Pennsylvania Paranormal Society

So is a group involved in investigating the supernatural with a scientific approach really what would be considered an outfitter? No, probably not, but they certainly have provided Team Crash with some cool insight. And Captain Crash may soon be returning the favor by working with them as a guide. Plus it's freaking Halloween week so I just gotta highlight a ghostly sort of outfitter.

The Pennsylvania Paranormal society may be new, but they're top-notch. Based out of northwestern Pennsylvania, this group is highly educated and views any alleged hauntings as objectively as possible. Their inclusion of science and history often finds alternative explanations for phenomena. That said, these guys have definitely found some screwed up shit in their investigations. Using high quality equipment, some of their photos, nightvision videos, and EVP's are just downright scary.

So if you have a ghost you want checked out give these guys a call. Or if you just are fascinated with that sort of stuff then head over to their website by clicking here so you can see some of the evidence they have revealed.

Tally-ho!

-Crash

Adventure: The Grave of Mad Anthony

This adventure is more of the background story than the actual trip itself. When I was camping in Erie over the summer I knew I just had to track down the location of one of Pennsylvania's greatest legends, General Mad Anthony Wayne. The man was a legend in life and in death, haunted while he was alive and returning the favor after he too had passed on. This one grave represents two of the best ghost stories the Keystone State has ever had: Trotter's Curse and Mad Anthony's Bones. They are perhaps the best tale of the state as it takes place in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, and literally everywhere in between.

Full story, adventure write-up, and pictures after the jump...

From the Archives: White Rock

With Halloween just days away, I'm pulling one of my coolest ghost hunts out of the archives. It's a little blend of remote wilderness, offroading, history, and one hell of a story. It's the tale of the ghost of Polly Williams of White Rock. Below is an overview. Click on the link to see the adventure in its entirety. You know you want to.

White Rock

White Rock is such a strange amalgam. The rugged cliff is located atop a treacherous and mountain in the Laurel Highlands and yet produces sights and views of stunning beauty. But strangest of all when considering the remoteness and the brilliance of the pale outcrop is that nearly 200 years ago it was the sight of a malicious murder.

The grave of Polly Williams to this day recounts her lonely tale of death as her lover sent her toher doom from those loft heights. It is one of the few-- albeit brief-- written accounts of the gruesome old ghost story that has been an oral tradition for generations for the people of Polly's hometown of Fairchance and a few curious travelers. But one important detail is that the spirit of that young girl still laments her untimely end, refusing to leave the place where she was so tragically "cut off in her tender bloom."

Gunz, Mihal, and good old Captain Crash revisited the full story of her murder and followed in her footsteps via Jeep, even camping for the night to see what we could find.

To check out the whole thing in detail, headover to the Adventures Archive by clicking on the 'Adventures' button on the right or clicking right here.

Tally-ho!

-Crash

Halloween Week!

BOO!

Hey everyone, Halloween is fast approaching so making it a theme of the Adventures this week is a no-brainer. Myself and several other members of Team Crash are avid history buffs and more importantly paranormal investigators so throughout the week we will be sharing some of our favorite haunts and spooky places we've visited. Some have been in the archives for quite awhile and others will be freshly posted.

So stop back all this week to see the best hauntings the Pittsburgh region can offer. I promise to leave my sweet costumes out of it. Ok maybe just once...

ROBIN HOOD BITCHES

Tally-ho!
-Crash

Cleveland Sucks Week Comes to a Close...

Well that's all she wrote for the city of Cleveland. Although Paines Falls, Indian Point, Nelson Ledges, the Winking Lizard Tavern, Hard Rock Cafe, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chagrin Falls, Skyline Chili, and the steam tunnels were all pretty sweet, the rest of that city can kiss my ass. Thanks for joining us this week in our demonstration of the overwhelming ineptitude of Cleveland and stick around for a special Halloween theme next week.

Of course, Cleveland can still brag about one thing: at least they're not Detroit!

Adventure: Chagrin Falls

If there's any adventuring abnormality I've encountered the past few years, its that there's some pretty crazy waterfalls within an easy drive of Cleveland of all places. Odd I know. Yes, usually my adventures are more of the "guerrilla tourism" sort that land me way out in the middle of nowhere. But this urban-- well, suburban adventure looked just too cool, and it wasn't too far out of the way en route to Cleveland. So with nothing but my GPS and Malkin jersey I rolled into the suburban town of Chagrin Falls in the WJ to take a few pictures of the locale's namesake: Chagrin Falls. No further commentary needed. It's just a pretty big waterfall on the Chagrin River (creative work, Ohioans) smack dab in the middle of a nice town, just off Main Street. Cool stuff.



Tally-ho!
-Crash

Adventure: Cleveland Steam Tunnels

I uploaded the last adventure that will be displayed in the old format... from now on they will be entirely in blog posts woooo. It's brand new to the website yet it's immediately in the archives. Figure it out. So the final of those classics is an urban exploration or infiltration adventure going along with that Cleveland Sucks theme we started last week. Below is just a little preview. Click on the links to see the whole shebang.

Cleveland Steam Tunnels

During my stay in Cleveland, Sparky and I were downing some drinks at a bar watching hockey waiting for it to get late so we could have some real fun. What fun was it? Urban caving. Sparky knew of a way to get into some old steam tunnels under the city, starting in a passage near the Case Western campus. It was promised to be hot and cramped yet exciting. I chose to actually wear my caving helmet because I'm a badass like that.

Check out the full write-up and all the pictures by clicking here or by clicking on the "Adventures" button on the menu on the right to see this and all the other travels in the archives.

Tally-ho!
-Crash

Travel: Cleveland, OH

When it comes to adventure, Captain Crash can get pretty diverse. While primarily this website focuses on the mountainous treks into the wilderness, some times the members of Team Crash just like to do a little traveling to another city for awhile. Afterall, we're mostly suburb-folks ourselves, and Crash has a special appreciation for history and architecture. Some times we're just passing through and other times we're following a beloved Pittsburgh sports team but dammit we always make it a bit of an adventure so from time to time the pictures end up here in special Travel Blogs.

Cleveland

So the small town life in Clarion was giving me the blues a bit in the late winter and I needed a few days away. Sparky, who had set up camp at the Mistake on the Lake for college for a four years invited me to come spend some time there before he was done. Why the hell not? My primary reasoning was the instances of urban-ex he had promised me, but those will be posted separately because they're a whole other beast. Here is just my little taste of the town the Drew Carey built with old pals Sparky, Harky, and a few Clevelanders they had befriended on gray, rainy day.

When I arrived in Cleveland I was just on the outskirts of the downtown area in Euclid Heights so I could crash at the Theta Ki house on the Case Western campus. I used my first evening to poke around the Heights a bit and see some pretty cool looking buildings, both new and old.

As the night set in me and Sparky headed to some night spots and were happy to learn that the Winking Lizard Tavern would allow us to watch some Penguins hockey. Woo! We had some good food, a few Canadian beers, and an ample amount of vodka to have some damn good times at a good bar.

Later that night Sparky and I would do some urban ex. Good stuff. But the next day as he went to classes I joined Harky for lunch to catch up at a diner of his choice. And a good choice it was.


Then it was time to head into the heart of the city. Oh boy. I must admit though I really liked a lot of the architecture and the historical landmarks and memorials. And that's pretty much all I took pictures of so basically here comes the city of Cleveland from a Crash perspective.




Now as cool as the historical stuff was I was really interested in just one part of Cleveland's history: Rock and Roll. So before I headed down to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it seemed appropriate to head into the beautiful Tower City to grab dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

I made my way down to the Lakefront area of Cleveland to check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and shit. They don't let you take fucking pictures in there! Whatev. Figures the one cool thing in that shit hole and I can't even share it. Jokes. Here's the surrounding area or some shit.





Back at the Theta Ki house Sparky and I were planning out a bar route for the evening when his two female friends were begging him to head to a themed frat party somewhere around his campus. I figured I could wingman for the shmuck... even if the theme is Steam Punk. You may have just said wtf? Steam Punk is a fictional theme in which the setting is a sci-fi inspired futuristic Victorian England in an alternate timeline in which steam power is still the best of technology and bi-planes and airships rule the skies. Seriously. What the hell, eh? Could be fun. Sure enough everyone there was dressed according to the theme so old Crash and Sparky could play the roles of heroic pilots to the crowds before ending their reign of Cleveland.


Well that last part was pretty ridiculous, eh? But hey what can you expect when Team Crash is trying to have some fun in a subpar city. I do have to admit though there was plenty of cold booze, tasty food, loud rock, and good friends. And rain. Lots of rain and grey skies. Lame.

Tally-ho!
-Crash

Outfitter of the Week: Winking Lizard Tavern

Team Crash cannot always be self-sustaining; the Captain and his faithful sidekicks often rely on businesses and various outfitters to obtain gear, services, expertise, and even food. Once a week-- usually on Wednesdays-- Crash or another member of the team will give a shout-out to an outfitter of some sort who has helped us out in the past and deserves a little free advertising here. Help support them because if they're on here, you know they're top-notch!

In keeping with the spirit of Cleveland Sucks Week, the Outfitter of the Week will keep the same theme! Even though it's not really an "outfitter" per se. I don't think there's a member of Team Crash that will argue against the importance of a good place to eat. To us, they're just as crucial to some adventures as a good livery or guide service. And the last time I was adventuring in Cleveland the Winking Lizard Tavern sure as hell proved pivotal.

Winking Lizard Tavern

So. There you are wallowing in the shit that is Cleveland and you need to see some sports. And no, not those jokes that they claim to be sports teams in Ohio. I'm talking about teams like the Stillers and Guins. Where do you turn? Probably a sweet-ass bar with about eleventy billion TV's with access to more channels than you know what to do with. Ask for a Pittsburgh game and ye shall recieve. And odds are, you'll be seated alongside several of your black and gold brethren (or whatever city you're representing, but I don't know why it wouldn't be the City of Champions.)

Of course being able to watch Sid and Geno run up the score against a shit goalie while you're in the blackhole of professional sports is nice, but they gotta have good drinks and food too, eh? No worries my friends. The beer selection is phenomenol and the food ain't too bad. So you can easily wash down your BBQ with a Molson to satisfy your cravings as you proudly clutch that terrible towel.

So the next time you find yourself on Lake Erie's lamest port, stop into the WInking Lizard for a little Pittsburgh safe haven. Woooo.

Let's Go Pens and Steelers!
-Crash

From the Archives: Cleveland Sucks

In case you didn't read the last post, those of us here at the Adventures of Captain Crash are giving this week a Cleveland Sucks theme in honor of the Browns 12th straight loss to the Stillers. Before I even bother posting up any new adventures from Cleveland, I'm going to make sure you kids know that we already have two posted in our archives!

All adventures new and old can be found on a listing by clicking that spiffy "Adventures" button in the menu on the right. There you'll find pictures from my travels to two pretty cool spots in Northeast Ohio, or you can follow the links below!

Indian Point

Not far from a pretty unique looking waterfall, this overlook sits high above the confluence of the Grand River and Paine Creek. The site was once a pretty prominent village for native Americans and the mounds of their fortifications and rock carvings can still be seen after a short hike.

Nelson Ledges

When they say ledges they mean it. Huge boulders make one of the largest "rock cities" I've ever explored with tiny corridors and passages. Within those corridors are features like the Devil's Kitchen and even a waterfall. I guess not all of Ohio is flat.


Check em out!

More Cleveland Sucktitude themed content to come this week, including a suburban waterfall and urban "caving" as well as just my own general sightseeing from the city (hey, Crash likes urban travels too.) Stay tuned please!



Tally-ho!
-Crash