Two Close Friends Went Exploring In An Old House. What They Found Is Chilling.

When two friends explored California’s famously abandoned Barton Mansion, they probably knew about the potential for something spooky to happen. After all, the mansion is one of the most haunted places in the entire state.

What the friends encountered inside the mansion is something straight out of a horror movie. Luckily, they caught it all on tape.

(via Reddit)

Terrified yet? That figure in the doorway is said to be the so-called Barton Demon who haunts the old mansion. The previous owner, Dr. Ben Barton, was said to have become deeply involved in Satanic worship after his daughters died in the house under mysterious circumstances.

Could it be a hoax? Maybe, but you can see the camera sweep past the doorway earlier in the video, and there was nothing there. Regardless, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well tonight.

Two Close Friends Went Exploring In An Old House. What They Found Is Chilling.

This Was Once A Cornerstone Of American Culture, But Now? A Mere Shadow.

In 1915, the Elks of New Castle, Pennsylvania, were a growing segment of the local population. Their members mostly came from a vaudeville or theater background. To accommodate their large numbers, the Elks built a new, more luxurious lodge in downtown New Castle.

As membership declined in the 1980s, the Elks moved to a smaller home and abandoned their old lodge. It sat vacant until 2011, when the town of New Castle made the decision to demolish the building.

However, before it was destroyed, Matthew Christopher visited the former lodge. The photographer behind the Abandoned America series and book rediscovered the beautiful, old building, full of decaying artifacts from a time long gone.

The beautiful old building from across the street.

According to a local historical website, the Elks didn’t pull any punches when they designed their new lodge. It had some pretty amazing amenities.

“The new building had a large basement and three full stories, with a large meeting/dancing hall on the top floor, a billiards parlor, social rooms, a two-lane bowling alley, a kitchen and dining area, locker rooms and shower facilities, and a reading and writing rooms,” according to Lawrence County Memoirs.

On the third floor of the building is a large theatrical oval room.

Christopher believes the room was designed this way because of the performing background of many Elks members.

According to Christopher, little effort was made by the town to save any of the lodge except for these chairs.

The doors are still on the old bathroom stalls.

Christopher made two trips to photograph the old lodge. Sadly, on his second trip, Christopher discovered that demolition was already underway.

Crews took a wrecking ball to the back of the building.

What a waste.

It’s always a shame to see such a beautiful old building destroyed instead of being rehabilitated. New buildings these days just don’t have the same character that they used to.

For more amazing pictures like these, visit Matthew Christopher over at Abandoned America. You can also buy his latest book on Amazon. Make sure to also follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

This Was Once A Cornerstone Of American Culture, But Now? A Mere Shadow.

This Beautiful Explosion Of Color Is One Of The Coolest Holidays You Never See

Are those people completely covered in brightly colored pigments? Is literally everything covered in brightly colored pigments? It just might be Holi!

Holi is a spring festival celebrated mainly in India, Nepal, and other areas with significant Hindu populations. The festival is a beautiful celebration of color, love, and springtime. It begins with the Holika bonfire the night before, which is celebrated with singing and dancing.

The legend of the bonfire involves an evil demon, named Holika, who tried to trick her nephew into burning alive on a pyre. Through some divine intervention, the nephew was saved, and Holika was burned. The story signifies the triumph of good over evil. Holi also involves the love story of Krishna, a god, an Radha, a beautiful girl. Krishna was worried that Radha wouldn’t love him for his dark blue skin color, so his mother suggested he turn Radha’s face to any color he wanted. He playfully turned her face different colors, and they became a couple.

Holi, in practice, is as fun a celebration as it is beautiful. People gather in public spaces and run around, chase each other, and dance while throwing handfuls of colored dry powder and dyed water at one another.

By the end of it, everyone is covered head to toe in rainbow hues.

After getting covered in colors all day, people then go home, clean up, and visit friends and family. Other practices and traditions will vary from region to region. Holi festivals usually include music and drumming, as well as special Holi treats. One of those treats is Bhang, a drink made with cannabis leaves.

Aside from being a lot of fun, Holi holds a lot of symbolism. It’s celebrated at the end of winter, on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalgun, which typically falls in March. Holi is mostly a celebration of spring, celebrating the fresh colors of the season. For many, it’s seen as the start of the new year. Like many new year celebrations, it’s also holiday about renewal, and sees many people working to repair relationships, resolve problems of the past year, and rid themselves of negative emotional baggage.

Holi is celebrated by people of the Indian diaspora in places like Europe and North America, as well as non-Indian and non-Hindu people in more secularized festivals. Some people are critical of the more secular adaptations of Holi, saying that they aren’t properly respectful to the religious and cultural aspects of the holiday. So if you’re thinking of participating, remember to do so respectfully.

Happy Holi!

This Beautiful Explosion Of Color Is One Of The Coolest Holidays You Never See

Butter Is Wonderful, But Did You Know It Could Be Even MORE Wonderful? Epic.

We all know that butter is a pretty magical food item. Sure, you don’t want to go overboard with it, but it adds a wonderful, creamy taste to pretty much anything. It’s all well and good to put plain butter on food—why mess with a classic?—but there’s so much more you could be doing.

Food blogger Rachel Howden was kind enough to share with the world her recipes for compound butters. A compound butter is butter mixed with other ingredients, creating a flavored spread. It adds an extra kick not only to the butter, but the food it compliments.

The ingredients will vary, but the process is simple. Just get a stick of softened, unsalted butter and mix it with the add-ins until it’s even. A food processor works best if you have one, but you can do this all by hand, too. This will take longer, but it will also be exercise to offset all the butter you’ll eat.

Roll the butter into a cylinder shape, wrap in plastic, and pop in the fridge. You can also freeze them if you’re not going to use them right away. The longer you let them sit, the more the flavors will soak into the butter. Don’t let them sit too long. (Not that this will be an issue, because they are too delicious.)

“But what do I put this magical butter on?” you ask.

Never fear. Howden has you covered there, too, with some recipe ideas using each of the eight flavored butters.

Get the full recipes for the butters and some of the dishes seen here on Howden’s blog. You can follow her recipes, or you can be adventurous and make your own. Practically anything goes with butter, so go wild!

Butter Is Wonderful, But Did You Know It Could Be Even MORE Wonderful? Epic.