Mark Twain's ghost encounters

To mark the Twain lecture (pun intended) at Samuel Clemens' house this evening by Dustin Pari (aka "The Paranormal Rock Star") and John Zaffis (aka "The Godfather of the Paranormal"), it seemed like a good idea to discuss the author's connection to the paranormal.  Not only is Twain's house in Hartford, CT, is supposedly haunted by his daughter Susie, but maybe Twain himself decided to stick around after his death. 

After all, the great American author was fascinated by ghosts and wrote about them on more than one occasion. For instance, in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, he even wrote that, "I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving." If that's not the account of an author who knew about ghostly sounds, what is?

So, if you're fortunate enough to attend the lecture tonight - and even if you're not (although tickets are still available) - get into the spirit of the Twain house by reading this March 1866 article from a San Francisco weekly called The Golden Era, where the author relates an encounter with mediums and ghosts:

Dustin Pari returns to Connecticut for another round with Mark Twain

Mark Twain famously said he could live for two months on a good compliment, so maybe all the attention his spectre has been receiving lately from the paranormal community will last him an eternity – especially since he said of ghosts that, “I find them better company than a good many live people.”

Still, it’s a good many live people Twain’s ghost will host at his home in Hartford, CT, on Dec. 16 when Dustin Pari, paranormal investigator from the Syfy channel’s Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International, will give a lecture on the field with religious demonologist John Zaffis, “The Godfather of the Paranormal.”

Two weeks after a Dec. 2 Ghost Hunters episode investigating the Twain House aired, attendees will be able to join Pari as he returns to the home to share behind-the-scenes stories from the show investigations and to “educate people on the paranormal realm.”