I like learning about urban legends  from my area too..We have a old state run mental insitituon called Northern State in Sedro Woolley Wa..It was running from about 1911 to the late 70's..Then some of the area was turned into a job corps, and some of the buildings were turned into a rehab..But, some of them were left alone for historic reasons..I have heard a lot of stories over the years about them being haunted. And, then there are other places in my area that have been said to be haunted too.

I'd love to join a ghost hunting group however, I'm just way too busy.  Maybe at another time in the future when things slow down.  I'd also hate to bring home something negitive and attach itself to anyone in my family.  I've actually exorscised negitive spirits from two homes in the past for relatives, accuaintances and they said there was no problems after that.  I knew they were real, even I could feel it so thick in the air, you could cut it with a knife.  Currently, one of my Wife's good friends is experiencing some negitive activity in thier home.  I have offered to do this service for them.  You can actually feel it when you drive up to the house.  But I say, if you live negitively, you draw negitive things to you, both physical, spirityally and karma wise.  I've seen way too much to not believe it's real.  Some people don't believe because they have never experienced anything.  In the martial art I teach (Ninjutsu), at the higher levels, we communicate with spirits.  We also believe that what you send out will come back 3 times fold... good and bad.

I have always been interested in martial arts, and I have heard that in some forms of martial arts, spiritual beliefs are a part of them. I would like to learn more.

Well, Look up clips on youtube.  Bujinkan or Ninjutsu.  If you do enough research, you'll discover that we learn things that other arts don't.  How to read a person from head to toe, lie detection, mind manipulation, things like how to handle dogs that want to attack you, how to tell the time by looking at a cats eyes (ever notice that cats pupils change shapes at different times throughout the day?)  It's a great sytle to learn if you're interested in these sort of things.  You won't learn them from arts like karate or taekwondo.  Ninja were spies and assassins.  Those are the arts we train in.  Perhaps find a dojo in your area.  Bujinkan... FYI.  Oh and thanks for the add.

Thanks..Sounds interesting.