My ghost hunt in Coloma

Have you ever driven through Coloma on Highway 49?  Then you probably passed by an awesome little place called the Sierra Nevada House, at the corner of Highway 49 and Lotus Road.

What a gem of a place!  And did I mention that it's haunted?

Some team members and myself went up and stayed for a night and did an investigation of this place, and we were not disappointed.  There are 6 rooms total, and at the time we were there, room 2 was closed for renovations.  We had rooms 1, 3, 5, and 6.  Another couple had room 4, but they found us in the restaurant at dinnertime and asked us to investigate their room as well, so we basically had the place to ourselves (which is terrific, to eliminate contamination sounds).

The staff was knowledgeable and wanted to share a few stories:

• In the distant past of the building, there was a woman who lived upstairs and worked downstairs.  She returned to her room to find her boyfriend with a prostitute.  A fight broke out between the women and the prostitute got the upper hand and pushed the woman over the balcony railing, and she died.
• In the 1970s there was a man named Mark who shot his girlfriend in one of the rooms.
• A regular at the bar died and has been seen still sitting at the bar at times.
• An "imbalanced" man in the 1990s shot a bow and arrow into the building while people were there.  He was tackled to the ground, hit his head, started convulsing, and died.

Based on all those stories, I'm sure there were other events that occurred as well, that were not big enough to make news, but nonetheless were full of human emotion and could certainly leave a residual mark on the location.

One of the accommodating staff members allowed us some time in their empty event room, after the restaurant and bar quieted down for the night.  There is an OLD, HUGE, historic mirror in the room, and we decided to start with an EVP session right in front of it.    Sometimes, I like to place my flashlight on the ground several feet away from me before starting a session, and then I try to encourage entities to turn the flashlight on or off in response to questions.  This time, two of our other team members had the same idea, so we had 3 flashlights out.
Note:  This is an experimental method, and we try not to use it very often on client cases because there are so many factors.... how easy is it to turn on the flashlight?  Is it so easy to trigger that a vibration in a floorboard can set it off?  Does humidity in the air increase the sensitivity of the electrical contacts in the flashlight?... you see how it goes.  So we usually use the flashlights in this way on recreational cases such as this.

We hardly started our session and explained how to turn on the flashlights when they started to turn on and off, seemingly in response to direct requests and questions.  At one point, we were asking "them" to turn off my flashlight, and it was flickering heavily, but not turning all the way off.  We caught this EVP:
Event room - child voice- I do what I want

That was the best one I got in the building, but WOW, it's a good one.
I had heard previously that there is a possibility of a child ghost named Christopher in the building.  Some attribute certain activity to him, such as things moving in the kitchen, glasses to move across the bar, items off tables, and to cause other small pranks.  Was this the voice of Christopher?  We don't know, but we were thrilled with the EVP.

We had another possible EVP in the same room, while we were still setting up our experimental equipment:
Event room - singing in background while we set up

The flashlight activity seemed to be consistent throughout the building, which was interesting.  It seemed that whoever was there, was eager to communicate and cooperative with our efforts to connect.  On our infrared DVR video camera, room 3 (the one I was sleeping in that night) had a lot of orb activity.  I am VERY skeptical of orbs because I personally feel that 99.9% of orbs are either dust or bugs, but it was interesting to note that it was full of orbs in room 3 and no where else.

I plan to return to the Sierra Nevada House soon.  It has the small town feel, it is a small business (which I love supporting, rather than big business), and there are spirits who want to communicate.  Gotta love it!

Human agents... what are they?

We, as humans, are energy inside a physical body.  This is a scientific observation, not a religious one.  If you want to get religious, you could call that energy a soul, or you could call it consciousnesses ...  it's just terminology. You can  imagine our human electromagnetic field as a field encompassing our body, like that shown below:

  

I had a case recently up in the Redding area.  This was a perfect example of human-created energy that had manifested into something more.  
(DISCLOSURE:  Please remember that when I write these things, the ideas and theories expressed are ideas and theories.  Science has yet to catch up with much of the paranormal world, so our explanations are based on research and experience, but often cannot be 100% backed-up by scientific evidence.)  
This client in Redding was a kind and loving person who had numerous family members living in her home.  Most members of the family had something going on in their psychological world: depression, post traumatic stress disorder, past or present traumatic experiences or occupations, anxiety and more.  The theory is: anyone who is not healthy in body, mind, or heart, can create negative energy.  When enough of this energy builds up in a living space, it can create a negative “entity”.  It is not truly a ghost, but actually a manifestation of a human’s energy.  It can come from just ignoring, and not actually dealing with past or current traumas, sadness, depression, or other issues.  

The way to get rid of the negativity, no matter how extreme or mild, is to address the human issues in the home, and cope with any of the paranormal activity that occurs until it dissipates.  This is not a conscious thing that people are doing… it is just something that naturally happens when people have things that they don’t deal with.  It’s why psychologists, counselors, and really good friends who know how to listen exist…. Mental health professionals are truly helpful.  Without talking about our problems and working through them, they fester and become bigger.

In these cases, the best we can do is complete a preliminary investigation (an in-person extensive interview + a site evaluation), which we did do.  Some EVP sessions were completed and the client and family was shown how to stand their ground and own their space until we had a chance to look over all the interview notes and photographs, and review the EVP recordings that were taken.  In this particular case, we had enough information to deduce that they likely do not have an active haunting occuring in their home, not intelligent or residual.  It truly appeared to be human energy that was creating the negativity that was bothering the family, primarily bothering the mom in the home who has a sort of a matriarch role with all the extended family that lives with her.

We gave them thorough details on how to cleanse their home, both by eliminating clutter and by using smudging of sage and incense along with prayers and blessings from their own Christian belief system.  We also explained the entire human agent concept to them, which seemed to make sense to the client.  We recommended that each resident sought counseling with a professional to work through addictions and the psychological "gunk" that had built up and been messing with their lives.  We truly believe that once they have really gotten into this process, they will no longer have any unexplained experiences in their home.  

This family understood what we were doing for them, and our limitations.  Sometimes I do wish that we were like Ghostbusters in the movies, and that we could blast these entities and trap them, to remove them from a location.  But we can't, and it's really not our place to do that... who are we to decide what spirits can be where and when?!  But we can evaluate what might be occurring, debunk claims of activity when we can, capture evidence when we can, and give advice and comfort to our clients.  We help people from all walks of life, and they invite us into their lives and homes and seek our help.  Because of this level of trust they give us, I feel a very real sense of responsibility to help all we can.   In the end, I  like to think of myself as a paranormal social worker.  And although I don't get paid to do it, I feel so rewarded when we leave a client feeling happier and more confident than when we arrived.

Washoe Club EVPs & Virginia City Ghost Tours

Here is just a sampling of some of the EVPs I captured at the Old Washoe Club in Virginia City.  
Please note: As with most EVPs, they are often difficult to hear unless you are using headphones.

In this first one, I am standing in place, filming.  A fellow investigator is walking away from me in a hallway (you will hear her footsteps). But I hear a slow male whispered, followed by a fast female sound.
Here

In this second one, we were sitting down for an EVP session and I had just placed a flashlight on the floor. I was inviting the entities to "play" with it by turning it on.  I think there is a quiet answer after the break after I ask the question.
Here

In this one, one of my fellow female investigators was just finishing saying something, and you will hear her voice finish that.  Then there is a male voice that comes in quietly and says something, 1 syllable, sounds like "guy" or "die" or something similar.
Here

In this next one, I am in the room with one other investigator, and no one is humming or singing, but this is what was recorded:  Here

And finally, my favorite from this trip doesn't even require headphones.  This needs no further explanation, other than the main female voice you hear is NOT me or any other investigator in the building.  And she does sound friendly!  Here

I am REALLY looking forward to returning to Virginia City next month!  Myself and 3 team members were invited to help a paranormal investigations team there, and I will be staying overnight for three nights in the haunted St. Mary's Art Center.  We will be helping to lead 1 hour paranormal tours and 3 hour investigations at these locations:

*The Historic Chapin-Cavanaugh Boarding House.  Built in 1862 by Samuel Chapin and once known as the finest Boarding House in Virginia City.

*The St. Mary Louise Hospital.  Built in 1875 by St. Mary's Church as the Catholic Hospital of Virginia City, later to become Storey County Hospital.

*The Fourth Ward School in Virginia City.  This Victorian building was in operation from 1876 to 1936.  A beautiful location to experience.

If you have EVER wanted to go to a haunted location for a tour or short investigation, but don't have the time or desire to be in a paranormal investigation group, this is a terrific event!  As of today, there are still tickets left.  You can stay in Virginia City in a haunted hotel (Silver Queen, or several others), or a non-haunted hotel (like the Silverland Inn).  Or you can always take the drive to stay in Reno or Carson City.  Haunts on the Hill

The Old Washoe Club - Virginia City, NV

So I got locked into an old haunted saloon and millionaire's club in the wild west the other night.  And I actually paid money to have that done to me!  Was I crazy?  No.  Did I have a blast? Yes.  Was I kinda tired when I dragged my tired butt to bed around 6am after investigating all night?  You bet!

The Old Washoe Club was built in 1875, burnt extensively later that year, was rebuilt, and served originally as a men's club for the millionaires who were raking in the big bucks from all the gold and silver mining in and around Virginia City.  The mining bust occurred shortly after the rebuild was completed, so the building has been used as many things throughout the years, and fell into disrepair for a long period of time as well.

There is a terrific saloon downstairs that is still in operation, and it's a great mixture of locals and tourists in there as well.  Of course, much of the conversation turns to the paranormal, since the employees have all seen, heard, or felt something, and many of the visitors are there in hopes of experiencing something as well.

Behind the saloon  is a museum with some artifacts, lots of photos of potential orbs and apparitions, and tons of Ghost Adventures memorabilia (since they did some of their episodes there in the past), as well as a signed photo from Britt Griffith (Go TAPS!), items from local authors, and many other interesting items.  In the very back of the building, lies "the Crypt"...

Originally built as a store room, and smartly built entirely out of stone, including the floor, the interior is like a 2 story oval-shaped cylinder.  COLD inside, even though it was in the 90's when I was there.  The history with this space goes like this: In the winter, the ground is frozen solid, and back in the old days, they needed a place to store the town's dead bodies until the ground thawed in the spring... Hence, it is called the crypt now.  I spent 15 minutes in there myself at 4am, in the dark, alone, for an EVP session.  I had some K2 interaction that seemed relevant to questions I was asking, LOUD knocking on the wooden floor far above me (and no one was in that part of the building at that time), AND my left arm was lightly touched twice by something/someone there.  It blew my mind.

There are 2nd and 3rd floors as well.  The 2nd floor has been open for some years now, but the 3rd floor has only been reopened since June of this year.  They are built in a very maze-like arrangement of rooms and halls, but after being there for awhile, it starts to make sense.  Still, some members of our group never quite got the layout while there.  It can be hard to understand confusing layouts when you are in the dark.  There is no electricity in the upper floors, so all investigative equipment needs to be battery powered, or have some long extension cords.

I am not "a sensitive", but certain areas definitely had certain feelings to them.  I never felt threatened, but it certainly felt like something or someone was there, and I couldn't see them.  We encountered a little mouse that we gave a Reese's Pieces to (I know, not exactly rodent health food, but he was so cute and someone in the group had candy with them!), and a small bat (who was probably there to eat the bugs we encountered through the night).  The "sensitives" who were there all felt that there were a lot of entities around, but I have no evidence of that bit of insight, so I can just take that for what it's worth.

We had some significant REM pod activity in one room on the third floor when no one was there, some motion detectors went off in areas we were staying out of, and I am hoping we got something on camera or audio!
I have not gone through my audio or video evidence yet, but I am hoping for something good.  When and if I do have something great to share from that, you can bet I will add a post with that info!

By the way, I tweeted throughout the evening - @TeresaRoberts11 - Follow me on Twitter for future information and live investigation twitter feeds!

Ghost Hunter's Toolbox

Sorry I haven't posted much in awhile... my kids are out on summer break, I have been BUSY!

I have had some questions about what tools I have and use on our cases, so I thought I might share that info here.

Here is a picture of the items that I personally own, but I have not included some of the practical, yet unexciting items like extra batteries, a first aid kit, a watch, bottled water, caffeine, gloves, ladders, etc, etc.

Digital Audio Recorder: At the top, my Olympus digital recorder... my favorite piece of equipment because it helps me to catch the best evidence that I have personally caught so far.  If you were to get a recorder for paranormal research, make sure it is one that has a sampling rate of 94 or 96 kBps. Anything lower than 63kBps will cause issues when trying to detect EVPs.  You also want it to be able to directly connect to your computer (via USB). Some of the older ones require a patch cord and make for a LONG transfer of data.  It needs to record in wave format, not mp3, because you will lose important detail with mp3.  And you also want a high sampling rate (measured in kHz)... a very high quality piece of audio equipment might have a sampling rate up to 190kHz, but some common rates you can find in a regular recorder are 44.1, 48, or 96. The higher, the better quality sound.  There are many more details I could get into, but this is plenty to get the novice started with a good recorder!

Next to my recorder, you'll see a jumble of black cord.  That is a clip-on lapel microphone.  It is not to be used all the time, because it is only one microphone, you lose the stereo sound ability when listening to your recording, and although I am sure this loses a lot of detail, I mostly just find it annoying.  It is very helpful though if you want to use your digital recorder while handling other equipment (cameras, etc), and I use it for those occasions.

Laser Grid & Tripod:  To the left of the recorder, are my laser grid and tripod.  These are SO helpful when you are in a big dark room or long dark hallway, and the paranormal claims by the client are shadow movement or "shadow people".  It is a little difficult to explain how it helps, but the best way to describe it is that the dots of the laser pointer are either blocked out or seem to "wave" or alter or move.  It just helps you to see the possible shadow apparitions better than complete darkness.  Here is a picture of what it looks like when you are using it in a dark room.

K2: Below the digital recorder is a gray box with a small rainbow on it.  It measures electromagnetic fields, and indicates on its scale of green to red whether the field is weak or strong.  If I could afford one, I would purchase a MEL meter because it gives much accurate readings and also provides a temperature reading, but a K2 was an affordable piece of equipment to start off with, and it still has its uses.  In some cases, during an EVP session, some investigators might use the K2 as a communication device, like "if you are in this room, please come close to this item so that the lights light up and we know you are here"; However, this use is debatable because the K2 can be affected by any electromagnetic field, including ANY electronics, which include cell phones (and they ping even when on silent) and all house electronics, as well as the earth's natural magnetic fields, which can vary depending where you are.  

P-SB7 ITC Research Device (Ghost Box): This is an AM/FM frequency sweep radio that sweeps through stations at a fast pace (a few stations per second).  Did you ever see that movie White Noise with Michael Keaton? The theory there and here is that if we provide some source of energy and white noise, that an entity can manipulate it and communicate with us easier.  This piece of equipment is HIGHLY controversial and I would not have one if it was not given to me (thank you Keith & Katie!) because of the combination of the cost and the reliability of the results captured.  It can be very useful if you are a good healthy skeptic and only pay attention if the answers received are REALLY relevant to the investigation.  If you are getting intelligent responses that are relevant, it can be a really amazing tool to have.

Paper & pens:  TAKE NOTES.... if something happens during your investigation, note the time and make note of what happened... notes are SO helpful when actually sitting down and trying to put together the evidence, research, and experiences for a case.  Although we have investigator logs for each member at each case, I always also have my notepad and several pens, just in case.

SD cards: SD cards, flash drives, batteries.... Whatever memory cards your equipment requires, have extras.  Whatever batteries they need, have extras.  Flash drives are great if your team wants to use a laptop to load all the evidence right after the case and then have members take home parts of the evidence for review.

Flashlights (more than one): This one is obvious, if you will be doing part, most, or all of the investigation in the dark, you need to be safe and see where you are going.  Bring extras because one just might break, get misplaced, or even somehow malfunction due to paranormal circumstances.  Who knows, but just have 2 or more.  As an option, have one like the red mag-light that I have in the picture (that you twist to turn on and off).  For fun, during an investigation, you can turn it on, then just barely twist it until it's off, then set it down and see if you can entice an entity to turn it on and off on demand for you.  I have witnessed this work for a conversation that lasted almost 20 minutes....

Level and screwdriver: In my kit, I have a small level; Sometimes you feel kind of "off" in an area, and it might just be because of a funhouse effect caused by uneven floors, windows, doorways, and other structural elements.  This is a quick and easy way to check on that.  Also, if someone is claiming that something consistently rolls a certain way on a windowsill or mantle or counter, it's pretty easy to debunk if you can show that the surface is slanted.  I also have a screwdriver because my K2 meter requires one to open the battery compartment.  So check all your equipment... you might need two types of screwdrivers or some other special tool.  A measuring tape can come in handy too, although I do not carry one myself.

Good Headphones: A NECESSITY to hear EVPs during analysis.  My very first investigation was 8 hours long in Preston Castle, and I got some great EVPs there, but I had to use earbuds to analyze the evidence.  I swear that the interior of my ears were bruised from holding my ear buds in there so I could get good clear sound without external contamination from the room I was sitting in.  If you plan to do EVP work, invest in a decent set.  I like mine, but have hopes for an even better set in the future.

Thermometer(ambient): An ambient air thermometer is helpful in identifying temperature fluctuations.  Theories suggest that ghosts can take energy from the environment in order to do something (make a sound, make themselves visible, touch someone, etc).  This leaves a cold spot that you can measure and quantify.  There are also theories that some negative entities create hot spots, and you can measure that as well.  It can also be useful to have an infrared (IR) thermometer to measure surface temperatures. It is important to remember that you are not measuring the air between the thermometer and the surface though, you are simply measuring the surface it is pointed at.  An instance you might want an IR thermometer is if there is a claim that a ghost is often seen sitting in a specific spot, and during the investigation you hear a sound in that spot, potentially you could use the IR thermometer to see if the temperature in that location is significantly different from the surrounding area... this could be used as evidence if there are no normal explanations for the difference.

I like toolboxes, so I store all these goodies (and more) in a Stanley toolbox from Home Depot.  Some people like insulated camera bags, backpacks with a lot of compartments, or even fishing and hunting vests with lots of pockets.  Our team equipment (all the cameras, EMF detectors, thermometers, tripods, etc, etc) are in large insulated rigid cases to protect them from damage.  Some day I might invest in one of those for myself.  

On my wishlist for equipment:

1. compass (that's reasonable... I think I should get one this week)

2. MEL Meter (created by a man named Gary Galka, as a device to help communicate with his deceased daughter Melissa... you should Google it. or see some details here)

3. Full spectrum camera for still pictures and filming.
4. REM-Pod: which sets off a visible and audible alarm when something gets close to and breaks its own EM field.

I hope this gives you some insight into what tools can be helpful for a ghost hunter!
Now, to get back to reviewing my many hours of evidence from my case 2 days ago....

Our Emergency Case - Revealed

Before I talk about our case, let me mention that our team uses sensitives, only when the client wants them.  Sensitives are not psychics or mediums necessarily, and those terms are highly overused.  But we have some team members who are, well, more sensitive than the others.
You know when you walk into a room and it just feels weird, but you can't think of a single reason why?  They might be able to walk into that room and be able to identify that reason.  They might get brief mental images or words that give reason to it all.  They just have extra insight, and our team uses sensitives as another tool for our investigations.  We are all sensitive to some degree, by the way, some are just more "tuned in."

SO, we used two sensitives on our emergency case and they were very helpful, especially this time.  They both picked up on some entities that seemed to make sense with the clients complaints.  NOTHING evil or demonic was detected, which agreed with all our objective equipment readings as well.

We attempted to catch shadow movement with my laser grid and a camera trained on the hallway, but we had no such luck... I think the entities didn't feel like putting on a show.

We did see an unexplained light anomaly move through a room between me and another investigator, but again, the camera wasn't facing the right direction.  :(   Go figure.

During an EVP session, I happened to be with our two sensitives, and using their skills along with our equipment, we attempted to get "yes" and "no" answers from the entities to try to piece together the puzzle of who was there and why.  From that session, we think there was a cranky older man who used to live on the land before the current building was there (which was built in the 1960's).  He passed away, but didn't want to move on, and doesn't like people living where he used to live.  He's not nice, but can't do any real harm.
There was also a female they picked up on, who may have worked in a domestic capacity for that cranky man, and still felt obligated to do so.  We made it very clear to her that her obligations are done and she can move on if she is ready.  I'm not sensitive like they are, so I don't know if she truly did, but the room felt lighter and better after that session.

We got some decent EVPs, some which I can't add to this blog because of the confidential content of our own voices during the same clips, but I have put 3 together here.  Again, they sound best with headphones.

Overall, we were able to tell the clients that they are NOT crazy.  There is something paranormal going on.  BUT, that they have control over the situation.  They had been so frightened by the experience so far, that they had given up control of their space.  We were able to show them that they have more power than what was there.  They can treat their entities like annoying toddler tantrums, and they can demand that they stop as well.  As long as the family stands together and show that they own their space, they can create a peaceful home environment that they can be comfortable in.

Since educating the clients, and having finished the investigation, the clients have had less activity, and are getting more sleep.  Even their toddler daughter has been heard in her room saying "This my room! You leave!"... Give kids power, and they will run with it!   Needless to say, I'm really happy with how my first case went!  The clients feel safer and happier, and we got evidence with the EVPs.

Case closed.

An "Emergency" Case

So, last Saturday we received a request from a family with three young children.  They are all very frightened, and are at a point where no one is really sleeping anymore because the disturbances are too great.
We checked it out the same day and did a preliminary investigation (which is a client interview and tour of the site).  It certainly warrants a full investigation.

I was named case manager on this one, and the soonest we could assemble a team was for tonight, a little less than a week from initial contact.  Wish we could have done it sooner, but our team members all have regular jobs during the week.

This case may prove to be really interesting, evidence-wise, if we can catch some of what is going on.  There seem to be everything from shadow people, apparitions, voices, tapping and banging on the walls, and movement of items.  Most importantly, though, I am hoping we can find out some specific information about what is going on, so we can help the family in their home... they are really scared and no one should be frightened in their home.
At the very least, we should be able to help teach the family how to protect themselves, energetically-speaking, so that they are not affected by entities in their home or elsewhere in life.  They need to learn to Ground, Center, and Shield.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about... don't worry, I wouldn't have known before I got into all this.
There are lots of books out there on these processes, and many people who can teach you first-hand.  I had first read about these processes in The Ghost Hunter's Survival Guide: Protection Techniques for Encounters With The Paranormal by Michelle Belanger, but received further training from more senior team members in my group.

Grounding is a way to keep yourself connected to the earth.  One way it is often taught is imagining your body as a tree trunk, and then extending your energy down into the earth like roots of a tree.  The earth, in this process, is believed to be a neutralizing force, so you can ground yourself to give yourself the additional stability you need to go into situations that might get you "off balance".  Another way to think of grounding, is that IF an entity were bothering you and affecting you, you can ground again and concentrate on sending any negativity into the earth, where it would be neutralized.  Many people use mental imagery for grounding, while others find hugging a tree or some other physical act is more useful to them.  It's all very personal -whatever works for you.

Centering is just a way to say "stay focused on the task at hand."  You are not helping anyone during an investigation if you are off daydreaming about an upcoming vacation or trying to mentally debate what color to paint your bedroom at home.  You don't have to be doing paranormal investigation to benefit from centering either... we can all use this in our daily lives to get more done and keep us from getting frazzeled and "losing our cool" in many situations. You aren't in a protective "stance" if you aren't focused... so centering is important.

Shielding is another thing that is a very imagery-based process.  Think of it as your creation of your own invisible force field.  Some people imagine a bubble around them, others think of a ball of fire (which sounds like a very powerful protection), and others yet might just imagine a fog around them... again, it's all very personal about what makes a person feel safe and protected.  It isn't what the image is... it's how strongly you believe in it.  Heck, if it makes you feel safe to have an imaginary Yoda on your back, like Luke Skywalker when he was training, great! Use that image!

One other way to be protected from the paranormal, is to believe in something.  It doesn't have to be God or gods or fairies or angels or anything you might hear in a house of worship, but if you believe in it strongly, it will give you strength.  A friend of mine has explained this by saying " I don't care if what you believe in is sugar, but believe in sugar strongly and it will help you."  That might sound strange, but that is some of what religions and faith does for people.... it gives them something to believe in, and that thing gives them strength.  And if you have a necklace or a crystal or some other item you can carry on you to represent that... that's even better!  Our own group of investigators has a diverse array of belief systems, and I see that as a big strength.  It gives us more opportunity to help our clients and relate to them in a language they are comfortable with ... the key to it is that we might each have our own beliefs, but we truly respect each others' beliefs and our clients' beliefs.  Just like Grounding and Shielding, it's all very personal... it's whatever works for you.

Wish us luck tonight!

Why are ghosts here?

Many people believe in a heaven or some place like it, and wonder why ghosts bother to stay and be ghosts, rather than moving on and "going into the light".  I hear this question from a LOT of family and friends.  


It's a TERRIFIC question, and the only answers we can offer are theories, since that's the best we can do in this field of study.


Here are a few reasons spirits may "hang out":

• They have a message to get across or business to finish.  Maybe a spirit cannot rest because there is a misconception about themselves that they want clarified.  Perhaps it is believed they killed themselves, but they didn't, and they only want the truth to be known.  Maybe they want to make sure that a certain part of their estate is handled the way they want it handled... it might stay around to make sure it goes as planned.
• There is a friend or family member who still needs them.  This is one of the sadder situations.  There might be a survivor who is so grief-stricken and cannot bear to continue, so the spirit feels the responsibility to stay with that person until they are strong enough to move on.  Only then, can the spirit move on.  This is one great reason to go ahead and grieve a loss of someone you love, but be clear that you don't expect or want them to stay and "babysit" you.
• They may not know they are dead. 
• They may want to just witness something... for example: a mother who dies in childbirth may want to stay around to see that child grow to adulthood.
• They may just be frightened or confused about moving on.
• They might have such strong positive memories about the times they spent in a place while they were alive, that they want to spend more time there after death.  It may feel like a safe haven... like home.
• And, although it isn't as common as all the reasons above, a negative entity can sometimes keep spirits in a place against their will.  Then you have a "bad guy" trapping spirits who are trying to leave.   

Just to clarify, just because a spirit is around doesn't mean it is bad and "unworthy" of moving on to a better place.  There are many reasons they may hang around, and only some of them are listed above.  

A terrific resource for more information on how to identify what you are dealing with, and how to proceed is Michelle Belanger's The Ghost Hunter's Survival Guide, a book that I highly recommend.  This book has oodles of info for the aspiring ghost hunter.

Important to note:  Just as we should not force our opinions on others in the living world, the same goes for spiritual entities, except in extreme circumstances.  There may be some reason an entity is still around, and if so, it would not be right of us to try to force them "into the light."  IF it were a negative entity, that's a different story, but that's a whole different subject.    

My first client case...

So I encountered my first client investigation this past weekend!
It was out of town, about 2.5 hours away, in Cobb, CA (the Clear Lake area, Lake County).  Since it was so far from home, we all stayed and made a weekend of it.  
Occasionally, I had 1 bar on my phone, but otherwise, no cell service... I felt like I was "off the grid" all weekend!  

Our client was having claims of apparitions (fully visible entities), shadow movement, sounds of voices, knocking and taps, and things being moved without explanation.


The weather was crazy!  Rain, hail, wind... it was chilly.  To top it off, there were 3 earthquakes in the area while we were there! The residents joked it was because the paranormal investigators were there poking around!  We did a short investigation 5-9am Saturday, and another more detailed one 10pm-1:30am Saturday/Sunday.... Looking for this guy:

I handled the digital video for the first session, and encountered battery drain three times.  Most paranormal researchers theorize that entities can take energy from the surrounding environment - from electronics, natural energy like lightning, and other sources, even people.  Anyhow, the battery went from full to empty instantly.  I shut it down, and when I restarted it the battery had rebounded to full.  Apparently, that is typical of "battery drain" from paranormal sources.  

I used the restroom while there, and while I was in it the doorknob jiggled strongly, like someone was trying to open the locked door.  When I got out, I asked the group and no one claimed to have been anywhere near the bathroom.  And right before we left, phone lines fell from the pole behind the building and were lying across the porch... lovely weather we were having!

One of our team members got two great EVPs, where an entity is saying "I won't leave.... Huckabee...." (two EVPs originally about 20 seconds apart, separated by silence, but I cut out some of the silence for this clip):

I got to use the fancy shmancy full-spectrum still camera for the evening investigation, and we got an interesting orb photo from it.  I normally don't like orb claims ... so many of them are from dust reflecting light, bugs, or even dirt on the lens.  But it is highly unusual to get an orb photo with a full-spectrum camera because it doesn't have a traditional light flash to cause a reflection off of dust.  So, I'll call it very interesting, but it doesn't prove anything.


My digital watch zero'ed out (went back to 01/01/2001 12:00) 3 times... I re-set it the first two times, and tossed it into a bag after the third... it hasn't given me problems before - so maybe my watch had battery drain as well.  A teammate and myself heard a whistle in the cellar, but it wasn't caught on any recorders - dang it!  We got a temperature change on request, from 61 degrees to 63.8.... not hugely significant, but it was stable temperature before, and slowly changed as we asked it to.


And my pièce de résistance: in response to questions during an EVP session, I felt my hand being touched... 3 times! CRAZY-strange.... pressure on my skin, but it also felt tingly, like when your foot falls asleep and starts to wake back up...  Weird, and very cool too!


We have our team meeting soon and I'll find out what the other members got from the investigation, and what we will be bringing back to the client! That's the difference with doing client cases... the work only begins with the investigation.  It's followed by more work to put together what we theorize is going on, and we need to come back to the client with evidence (if we have any, which we do this time), and suggestions if they want any.  Most importantly, clients want to know that they are safe... this client has nothing to worry about.  Things may move, they may see people who aren't alive, but they are in NO danger.  

Experiences & Evidence so far

At this point, I have only done recreational investigations, where we don't have clients who are scared in their homes... so it's been just for fun... until this upcoming weekend (my first client case).

Before it gets too far behind me, I just want to go over my personal experiences and evidence so far.

Preston Castle - Ione, CA

Preston Castle was SUCH an amazing building with an interesting history, in a town without much else going on.  It was a very cool place to be able to experience my first investigation.  I was there from 8pm-4am, and was so tired by the end, but very happy too.
Despite the fact that the building has holes in the walls and windows, holes through some parts of the floor, peeling paint, crumbling plaster, no electricity or lighting (or heat... COLD night), it never felt uncomfortable or threatening.

When in operation (1894-1960), "wards" (not called inmates) were 12-24 year old boys who would now go to a juvenile hall.  Back then, before the castle was built, the kids were being sent to Folsom Prison and San Quentin State Prison.... so it was a good thing that these kids had a less threatening place to go, once it was built.  Throughout the years of operation, a typical number of deaths occured on site, due to regular illnesses and injuries.  One or two due to gunshots obtained while trying to escape.  And in 1950, the head housekeeper Anna Corbin was beaten to death by a ward.  Despite a popular rumor, her killer was found, convicted, and sent to prison elsewhere.
For more history and pictures: http://www.prestoncastle.com/

One of my favorite places in the castle was "company b" room, a large dorm room for the wards.  While in here, we did receive a strong knock on the wall in response to talking about football.  I saw several shadows and movement that did not make sense based on the humans in the room and sources of light, but I have nothing to document this, so it's just a personal experience.

On the third floor in an old staff apartment, I witnessed something blocking out light coming through a hole in the wall.  No humans were in the area, and we were on the third floor, so it wasn't coming from outside, but again, this is just a personal experience.  We did, however, get some good response when asking the entity or entities to change the temperature.  It began to change rather quickly, and as we all watched the digits move on the thermometer we had, we heard a loud, distinct heavy breath.... the type you might hear when you are breathing out to purposely see your breath fog up when it is cold.  We did get a recording of this, and here it is:
(if you want to hear ANY of these EVPs properly, you will need a set of headphones, or at least some great speakers)

While still on the third floor, but in another room, I was asking for somebody to please knock, as a form of communication.  I got a clear, vulgar response, below.  

Let me clarify something first:  An EVP is an electronic voice phenomenon.... it is something you don't hear with your ears at the time it occurs (because it is theorized that spirits/ghosts/entities do not make sound waves, but communicate through electromagnetic fields, which CAN be picked up by digital recorders).  SO, I did not hear this when it happened:

Did you hear that?  I have had several people, including experienced EVP analysts, listen to it, and we all hear "F--- you"

Friendly guys there, don't ya think?

There were several other possible EVPs, but since there were about 15 people in the building, I don't really count on many of them being true and accurate.

I had my hair pulled while in Preston Castle (which I had been inviting them to do as a form of communication), and immediately stayed where I was and had someone else check all around and above me to make sure my hair hadn't just been caught on something that was moving. I was 2-3 feet from any walls, standing still, with nothing hanging anywhere near me.  Again, just a personal experience.   And there were footsteps in a debris-filled hallway that I could clearly see, and there were no humans causing the sounds - another personal experience since I don't have video to capture that.

All in all, Preston Castle was an awesome first exposure to paranormal investigations!

Historic Cary House Hotel- Placerville, CA - http://www.caryhouse.com/

The Cary House was interesting... I only investigated for a few hours at this location because it is still a hotel in operation, so we had to be quiet for the paying guests, and stop investigating altogether at 2am.  There was considerable shadow movement in some of the rooms were we did some EVP sessions, but that, AGAIN, is just a personal experience.  I did, apparently, make friends with one entity who was polite enough to say "hello":

And at another point, we were talking as if we were communicating with someone who might have worked there, since that is one theory on who, if anything, is 'hanging around" there at the Cary House, so we asked them if they worked there, and there is a quiet but distinct "yes":

And that's about it for the Cary House... nothing earth-shattering there.

I have my first out-of-town and overnight client case near Clear Lake this weekend, so that should be interesting.  I may or may not be able to share about that one, since it is for a client.  So stay tuned!  Thanks for reading!

Investigator-in-training

About 4 months after losing my Dad and my mother-in-law (both in April 2011), I woke at 2:33am to my dog growling.  He was standing on the foot of my bed, in a fully attentive stance with bristled back, growling at my bedroom doorway.  In the doorway was a man-shaped solid shadow.  No features, but solid black, darker that the open hallway behind it.  Immediately, all I thought of was my children who have bedrooms off the same hallway, and I hurdled myself out of bed at this "person".  But it dissolved in thin air as I reached it.  Only then, did it occur to me that I didn't have an actual human intruder, and contrary to how you might think I would react, I felt oddly at ease, now that I knew we weren't having a home invasion.  I checked the whole house, then went back to bed.  My husband had no idea what I had seen, and I didn't need to get into it at that time.  I told him the next morning, and he didn't say much, but did tell me he believed me.

There are a lot of written sources of information on the paranormal out there...
I have exhausted my local library system of their books (not many to start with),
and so many other books are just collections of stories of hauntings... which really doesn't give me much information to process or new things to learn.
Websites are, well, unreliable at best.  Entertaining for sure, but in the paranormal field, you could find anything out there and it could be fact or fiction.... just not what I am looking for.

If I really wanted to find more information and understanding, I needed to find a paranormal group in my area, and get involved.  This is a first-hand experience kind of thing, but not something you can do by yourself (and my husband and friends are all pretty creeped-out by the whole idea).

In the fall of 2011, I found a lecture offered by a respected non-profit ghost-hunting group in the Sacramento, CA area, and was SO impressed with their knowledge and level-headed approach to their client-based investigations.  I took notes at that lecture like an over-enthusiastic college student.  I stayed and asked questions. I learned a lot, including some recommended books, and respected figures in the paranormal field, historically and modern-day.  And they weren't accepting any member applications.  Pooh.  I tried to find another group in the area with the same non-profit status and ethical values as a group, but had no luck.

I tried to stay in contact with them, hoping to be available whenever they would take on new recruits, e-mailing, following their website and facebook page, and communicating with them.  Then a TAPS Academy lecture was scheduled nearby, and an investigation at Preston Castle (an old, closed-down reform school, an early version of juvenile hall for boys) afterward, and the group I wanted to break into was helping facilitate the event.  I signed up immediately.
Again, I learned a LOT at the lecture portion, including some intriguing quantum physics (and some recommended books on the subject, which are now on my nightstand).
But the investigation at Preston Castle was my first real investigation, and I was SO excited.  I did 8 hours of investigation that night, using my digital recorder and a K2 meter (to detect electro-magnetic field fluctuations, which can be man-made, natural, or also theoretically ghost-related).  I was exhausted, but also felt great... I was learning first-hand what I have been wanting to learn about.  And I needed to continue.

I started to e-mail the group, and finally "broke them down"... they were finally able to take on a new investigator, on a probationary basis.  I completed my application and crossed my fingers....

As part of the fall 2011 lecture, the group offered a recreational (as opposed to client-based) ghost hunt opportunity at a historic hotel in Placerville, CA, just a few weeks after TAPS Academy, and only a few days after I applied to the local group.  Lucky for me, they interviewed me and accepted me as their newest investigator when I arrived for that investigation.

To date, I have caught some interesting EVPs, and have felt and seen some things that I have no explanation for.  But I have also rationally explained some things that had others jumping or claiming "ooo... I think that was a ghost" too.  I like to debunk... find rational explanations for things.  Heck, it's in my genetics to just dissect things until I understand them, so debunking is second-nature.

I have a long way to go, but I finally feel like I'm on my way.
Thanks for following!

Always curious

As the adoring daughter of a mechanic, I grew up with an appreciation for rational explanations for things, basically always believing that, with enough tough research and willingness to dig, I could find easy explanations for anything that seemed strange at first.  Occam's Razor - the theory that "all things being equal, the simplest explanation is more likely than a complex one" is like poetry to me... absolute truth, and put so simply and beautifully.

At the same time, I have ALWAYS been in love with the fact that there are still undiscovered things on this planet (despite the overwhelming assumption that the human race has explored every exposed surface of the Earth - the collective human ego is ENORMOUS).
Despite the amazing advances in technology and exploration, we still don't know it all.  According to a 2011 New York Times article, scientists discover and catalog more than an estimated 15,000 new species every year.  According to NOAA (the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) we have only explored 5% of the oceans, which account for over 71% of the Earth's surface.  Add to that, it is estimated that there are even still 100 uncontacted human tribes on Earth, mostly in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Peru.  There are vast areas that can only be reached on foot (and have not yet), and some of the mountainous areas of New Guinea and jungles of Africa and the Amazon have yet to be explored by civilization.  There are vast quantities of information about our own visible, tangible planet that we, as a human race, do not know or understand.  (Although you often hear less-educated people claim we, as a race, have explored everything except the deep ocean.)

That being said, how much research do you think has been aimed at trying to understand those things that cannot be easily seen or measured or understood?  Not much, until relatively recently.

My personality has always kept me open to other points of view... I've never felt that I know it all... there are always more things to learn.
I feel that the more educated you are, the more you are aware that you don't know anything.
SO, from an early age, I was open to the idea that there are "things" I can't see, but are truly there.  After all, energy is neither created nor destroyed - so where does human energy go when it does not have a body anymore?  It has to go somewhere...

All this curiosity and openness to learn more came to a screaming pitch, when in a span of 11 months in 2010 to 2011, I lost both my in-laws (who lived with us), and my own father, my stable rock, the rational mechanic/gardener who taught me so much and made me who I am today.  The loss of my own Dad at only 62 years old was sudden and unexpected and heartbreaking.  I had to learn more.  I had to know more.  And so here I am today.   


I know our loved ones are not far... but I would like to know more, and understand as much as I can from the living side of the equation.


(To be honest, my dad would shrug his shoulders and give it one of his mild-mannered characteristic chuckles if he were here alive today as I got into this field, but he would support me regardless.)


The existence of ghosts has yet to be proved or disproved (enough for EVERYONE) beyond the shadow of a doubt... I just know that there is more out there than what we can perceive with our basic senses.

A note to all those strict non-believers out there.... I am a skeptic. A skeptic is not a non-believer... it is simply a person who looks first for rational explanations.  Not every claim of paranormal activity is truly paranormal, and in all truth, most are not.  Most have other rational and natural explanations.
I am doing this because I want to find evidence if I can, and if I can't, I at least want to experience more.

To refer to one of my all-time favorite movies, Contact, based on a book by the same name by Carl Sagan, an AMAZING man:
When the theologian is talking to the scientist about the existence of a God or a greater power, the scientist argues that it's impossible for her to believe in something that cannot be proved.  The theologian asks "Did you love your Dad", and immediately she seems offended that he could even ask (because he died long ago, and she completely loves him), and she responds "yes." He responds "Prove it," which she, of course, cannot.

Some things may be true, but we may not be able to prove them.  We take love on faith....