Ice cream, psychics and homeless pets come together in Burien event

Looking for something to do this weekend? How about contacting the dead in order to help homeless pets?

A psychic ice cream social will be held at Germaine's Country Kitchen in Burien on Aug. 16.

It will feature psychic mediums Skip and Sharon Leingang.

Also there will be local author, Leslie Rule, whose books--such as "Coast to Coast Ghosts," "When Ghosts Scream," and her newest, "Ghost in the Mirror," - revolve around haunted homes, ghosts and other paranormal happenings. She is the daughter of popular true crime author Ann Rule, a Highline resident.

Leslie Rule will be autographing and selling her books. All proceeds will go toward Angels for Animals, a nonprofit group founded by Leslie and Ann Rule, which seeks to help homeless pets.

"[My mother and I] are just huge animal lovers," said Rule. "We've been contributing and helping out with homeless pets from the time I was a little girl growing up in Des Moines."

Rule also emphasized the importance of having animals spayed or neutered.

"If one cat is allowed to become the parent of five kittens and each of those becomes a parent to five kittens, it could eventually lead to 10 million cats," Rule noted. "Getting an animal fixed could potentially save thousands of lives."

Along with her passion for pets, Rule also has a passion for the paranormal, as shown in her books.

"I grew up in a haunted house on a Native American burial ground in Des Moines," she said.

Rule remembers she and her family would often hear sobbing.

"It was the most heart wrenching sound," Rule added. "It sounded as if it was coming from the next room, then I would move on to the next room; as I ran on, it just kept moving."

Regarding Saturday's fundraiser, Rule predicts, "I think some people [who come to the event] are going to be surprised if they're skeptical."

The author saw the Leingangs at another event where, she said, they contacted her great-grandfather, William John Rule. Rule said they were telling her things only she could possibly know - such as how she used to whisper to the ghost of her great-grandfather as a child - and that convinced Rule that the Leingangs were, indeed, "in touch with the other side."

Also convinced is Rule's good friend and Germaine's owner, Jacki Cote.

While Cote is excited to hear the psychic mediums again, she has received a small bit of criticism for hosting such an event.

"I got someone who made fun of me and a couple people think it's taboo," she said. In spite of this, Cote hopes that everyone just "has a good time."

Tickets for the 7 to 9:15 p.m. event cost $35 and can be bought at Germaine's, 14901 Ambaum Blvd Southwest.

(Judy Vue is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)