About
Courtney Mroch, HauntJaunts.net's creator, is a ghost enthusiast with an interest in paranormal tourism. She's long had an interest in ghost hunting, but not in the gather-up-equipment-and-have-an-investigation-all-night-long kind of way. Rather, when traveling, she likes to seek out places with mysterious pasts, haunted histories and ghost stories.
The interest was first sparked after a spooky stay at the Shiloh Inn, then fueled by a haunting trip to St. Augustine. But it was her hitchhiker that kicked the creation of HauntJaunts.net into high gear.
"One cannot consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar." ~Helen Keller~
You see, on New Year's Eve 2008, after already being in the hospital four days and undergoing numerous tests, Courtney learned the 12.5 cm grapefruit-sized tumor in her chest was Stage 2 B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She had just lost her mother to lung cancer in July of the same year. Hearing she was now sick with cancer, too...well, she thought for sure she was a goner. Her oncologist assured her she wasn't...at least not yet.
"Your kind of cancer is curable and has very good survival rates."
Hearing that, she focused on doing whatever it was going to take to be a survivor.
She'd asked her oncologist what she could do to help herself heal. He said the number one thing was keeping a positive attitude. Done. If you've ever met Courtney or have the chance to, you'll quickly see she's one of the most perpetually positive people on Earth. But he also said those who get off the couch and keep living fare far better than those who don't.
Severe pain and adverse reactions to the chemo unfortunately sidelined her to the couch for a couple of months, but then something incredible happened. She started feeling better. Better than better. She felt ALIVE again!
She'd had the idea for Haunt Jaunts for years, and in February 2008 had even started laying the groundwork for building the site, but in March 2008 her mother fell too ill to care for herself anymore. (In addition to lung cancer, Courtney's mom also had dementia.) Suddenly Courtney found herself moving her mom in and becoming her full time caregiver. Then, before she knew it, her mom passed away, Courtney started feeling ill herself and the rest of 2008 was history.
But when she found herself with a second shot at life in 2009, she didn't hesitate to pursue her dreams with a vengeance. That's why HauntJaunts.net. She started it while still undergoing chemo and radiation, but it quickly became her get-off-the-couch motivator.
Then, on May 19, 2009, she found out she was in remission. She believes HauntJaunts.net played a major factor in her speedy recovery, because it's her passion, purpose, and the thing that keeps her off the couch.
HauntJaunts.net's mission is to maintain a database of hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, pubs, tourist attractions, museums, battlefields, parks, etc. that are allegedly haunted or have reports of paranormal activity.
HauntJaunts.net DOES NOT list private homes or places of business that are not open to the public. Therefore, while we love (and encourage) tips on haunted locales, we can't use any that reference private houses, apartment buildings, office complexes, etc. (However, if you're curious about all-encompassing haunted places listed by state and country, we recommend the Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.)
For now HauntJaunts.net's focus is haunted places in the United States. It hopes to expand with International Jaunts in the future.
"To keep our faces toward change, and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate, is strength undefeated." ~Helen Keller~
Bandana Buddies - Courtney and her dog Murphy, who's wearing a bandana in solidarity until his mom's hair grows back.