Okay, not really that kind of spirit, but we have good reasons to be cheerful as our favourite Ufo Guy is back with a very haunting story...
But, enough of my rambling: Bill Knell and his haunting story of Alexandra Holzer is only a few mouse scrolls away...
Alexandra Holzer had anything but a normal childhood. One of
two sisters, she is the youngest born to
Ghost Hunter Hans
Holzer and Countess Catherine Buxhoeveden. She explained some of
the funny, offbeat and frightening moments of her youth in
Growing Up Haunted: A Ghostly Memoir (
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.,
2008). To understand Alexandra, you really have to know a bit
about her parents, so we'll begin there.
Hans Holzer is generally considered to be the father of modern
spirit investigation. The author of over one hundred and
forty-five books and novels, Hans wrote Ghost Hunter in 1963 and
established the methodology that many within the field of
paranormal investigation use today. He received his Ph.D from
the London College of Applied Science and has made appearances
on popular
television programs such as In Search Of and Murder
in Amityville.
Countess Catherine Buxhoeveden, also known as The Haunted
Countess, is a direct descendent of Catherine The Great of
Russia. Born at Castle Rovina in Merano, Italy, she grew up and
eventually married Hans Holzer. Catherine helped research many
of the topics for his books and added her own intuitive,
imaginative and inspired artwork to those projects. The Countess
lives on
Long Island and often shows her art work in The
Hamptons.
After reading almost all of her father's books, I was thrilled
to speak with Alexandra over the phone. She instantly
communicates a sincere interest in spirit investigation.
However, it would be wrong to believe that she is just some chip
off the old block. Alexandra makes it clear that she and her
father do not see eye to eye on a number of issues. One of them
happens to be the subject of demons.
"My father doesn't believe in demons…he says spirits are beings
of light" she told me matter-of-factly. Hans is not alone in his
assessment of evil spirits, however, it does cut a swath across
research by others that do believe in them including Ed and
Lorraine Warren, well-known
ghost hunters and authors in their
own right, and his own daughter. He also seems to find fault
with some of her conclusions as evidenced by a recent debate
over a photo she showed to him and her mother. Alexandra
describes the situation:
"After rediscovering my ability of sight and tapping into my
sixth sense, I began taking photo's around my home. The results
showed anomalies which I concluded were not manmade from the
environment of my home such as dirt, dust or in-door rain. I
became excited and had my mother take some of her own photos. I
explained to her that the objects were probably the physical
manifestations of spirit guides, family members that passed over
and so on. She was just as excited and in her low-key mellow
way, just as astonished to see what appeared on her bedroom
curtains and floors. Shapes taking form, an arm here, a leg
there… That began the topic of our orb conversations. Sounds
like a bucket of chicken: You get the wing, oh look here's the
breast!"
" I took it another step forward by taking some photos during a
function at my sisters house in
Riverdale, New York. I wasn't
just interested in preserving family moments, but was searching
for evidence of life after life on film. What I believe to be a
face appeared in one of the photos. It was just behind my sister
and seemed to come out of her curio. After looking at the photo
a couple of times, she agreed that the anomaly was a face.
That's when the orb fight began."
"My mother, sister and I went to show the photo to my father.
Well, Mr. Ghost Hunter didn't exactly see eye to eye with us. He
emphatically stated, `That's not an orb! I can't see what it is,
BUT it's not a person!' That's all it took to start a ten minute
verbal battle over the photo and its contents. I said, `Look
there is the head,' and he'd reply, `That's not a head, it's the
light coming from the room!' I'd say, `It's shaping here like a
person,' he'd reply, `That's not a person, it's a bug of some
sort perhaps, but it's not a person!' We ended the argument by
agreeing to disagree, but I was still red-faced angry over the
whole thing and the argument was far from over as far as I was
concerned."
That's what is so terrific about Alexandra. She has a passion
that rivals her father's when it comes to spirit investigation.
That passion came through during own phone conversation and in
her description of her relationship, agreements, disagreements,
admirations and frustrations with her dad. She says, "Life with
my father is difficult, confusing and inspiring all rolled into
one." Alexandra continued:
"As a child, he was there for me to hold my hand crossing the
busy
New York City streets. He was there to take me to the
pediatrician when I was sick, but always felt uncomfortable
sitting in the waiting room. He complained about the germs in
those places. Despite that eccentricity, he was entertaining and
very considerate of my likes and dislikes. He once made the
mistake of bringing me toast with orange marmalade when clearly,
strawberry was my favorite. I bellowed at him at the ripe old
age of seven and said, `Father, that's NOT the right jam!'
Laughing, he just smiled, left the room and returned with a new
batch of toast and strawberry jam."
"I long for those days and wish for more, but my father never
allowed me into the paranormal side of his life with the
exception of telling me stories from the past. As old age set
in, it was too late to get involved with that. The man I once
knew had become more difficult and less forthcoming of his
business. Today, all I can do is develop my own path and try to
carry on what little he'll let me until he passes. When he does,
I will be able to continue without walking on eggshells or being
fearful of insulting his ego. He'll be in a better place,
smiling again, and devising a plan to haunt me I am sure!"
I was nine years old when I became aware that my father's
military career and the friends he knew from those days provided
proof positive that Extraterrestrials were visiting our planet.
That awareness became the catalyst which launched my interest in
the paranormal. It caused me to read books on the subject
(including Ghost Hunter) and watch people like her dad on
television. I wondered when Alexandra first became aware that
her father was a famous Ghost Hunter? She provided the following
answer:
"I was around the age of nine or ten years old. It was
Christmas Time and my mother began wrapping up some of my
father's books as gifts for the school teachers. I attended prep
school in Manhattan, so the environment was quiet, proper and
subtle. One day before Christmas break, my class sat watching
our History teacher as he opened up his gifts. I hadn't a clue
what we got him, but was excited to watch him open the present.
I picked out the silver, shiny paper that apparently left
glitter all over any hands that touched it. As he looked at his
hands, I felt very bad and sunk into my chair. He laughed it off
and with a smirk continued to open the package."
"When the paper fell to the floor, a bunch of books appeared
and the look on his face went from a smirk to a serious grin.
`What could it be?' I wondered. `What the heck did mother buy
this poor man?' As the other kids and I crowded around him to
find out, the teacher showed us the covers of the books that
emerged from the wrapping. They were titles like `
The Ghost
Hunter`, `
ESP and You, `
Witches' and `
The Lively Ghosts of
Ireland' by Dr. Hans Holzer! Oh no...that is MY father! I
couldn't believe it. He wrote those? What the heck does he do
for a living? I sank to the lowest point in my chair at that
moment. As if to add insult to injury, I fell off that chair to
the ground with a thunderous thud! It was at that moment that I
wondered if I should switch schools right away or maybe just
leave the planet!"
As a Paranormal Researcher with more years of experience than I
care to admit and children of my own, I can understand how
strange it must have been for Alexandra to face her father's
unusual claim to fame. My own kids always enjoy listening to my
radio and television interviews, but it can confuse them at
times. After all, I am not exactly dealing with conventional
topics. With that in mind, I wondered what Alexandra's earliest
memory of her father's ghost hunting might be? She told me:
"I was around the age of eleven when my father came bursting
into my room announcing he would be on television that evening.
He gave me the time, channel and show's name. I shrugged my
shoulders and said, "Yeah, okay whatever." But when the time
came for the show to air, I was not going to get off that
easily. He stormed back into my room and announced it was on. My
mother, sister and I (and the cat) went into the living room to
watch my father on television. He sat there smiling, commenting
and folding his arms. Although it seemed really funny at the
time, I can now understand his sense of accomplishment as I am
now trying to accomplish the same thing. I might have been bored
when I watched those shows, but I was also impressed and sensed
his fame."
My paranormal `awakening' occurred at the age of nine. I
wondered how and when Alexandra became interested in spirit
investigation. Now thirty seven years of age, she says that a
ghostly experience of her own at the age of thirty two was what
propelled her into the world her father had dominated for so
long:
"I was folding laundry and I heard my late aunt's whisper of a
voice in my ear. She passed from a rare form of Lymphoma two
years before. I had experiences as a child and never felt alone,
but this was something foreign to me that suddenly became
familiar. As I began to open up and allow her in, the dreams
came, then the messages and soon, I was able to read people
naturally. I didn't ask for this second sight or to be a medium
to help others. My aunt allowed me to get back to my roots and
chose the right time for me. I could have picked a better
moment, like before I had four children, but that is not how it
works."
Alexandra Holzer has partnered with Carly-Rose Singer and Shira
Etzionis to form a kind of Charlie's Angels threesome of east
coast ghost researchers called
New York's Pretty Paranormals.
Each one of them brings something to the table of spirit
investigations including Alexandra's vision of what Ghost
Hunting should be. "I want to help people," she tells me. I can
understand her vision and admire the fact that she and her
partners want to do more than just show up at someone's house
with a bunch of gadgets and an emotional detachment that is
unhealthy for all involved.
There is an honesty and sincerity that comes across when you
speak with the youngest daughter of Hans Holzer. She is
motivated, enthusiastic and with as many goals as she has
talents, she is so much more than just the daughter of a famous
Ghost Hunter. You'll be seeing a lot more of Alexandra Holzer.
She hopes to create and host a television show about the
paranormal and I cannot think of anyone better suited to do
that. She's also a prolific author with several books currently
available and more on the way.
Alexandra Holzer is available for radio, internet and
television guest spots and print interviews. She is also
available for Speaking Engagements. For more, visit
AlexandraHolzer.GothicMoods.com
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