Ok, I hope you're all ready, because you're about to learn something about me that you didn't know and may never have guessed. (ok, a couple of you know, but not most of you) Some of you will think its utterly cool, others may stop following me because of it...but its part of what makes me "me", so here goes nothing.
I am a Paranormal Investigator. Or, at least, that's what my friends at Midwest Paranormal Society tell me. I have always been interested in the paranormal activity in the world around me, and have had a number of personal experiences, but about a year ago, I was fortunate enough to meet some people who took me under their wing, so to speak, and I became a part of their organization. You might call us ghost hunters, and you might just be right about that. I'm bringing this up now because I've just signed on to go on an investigation in November to a place that we went to last June, but I was unable to finish the night because of something that happened at home. I am very excited to be going back to finish the job, and I thought I would take this opportunity to share this tidbit about myself with you and the blog post that I wrote after that investigation.
I don't expect you to believe if you don't, and that's okay with me, I just hope you accept this as part of who I am.
(The Midwest Paranormal Society members present that night)Monday, June 09, 2008 (previously posted on MySpace)
A "spiritual" experience....
This weekend, I got the opportunity to go ghost hunting for the first time. Not running around a graveyard at night with a bunch of friends like we did in high school, but out on an actual expedition with legitimate paranormal investigators. This group uses a wide variety of equipment to detect anomalies in the area, including, but not limited to, digital voice recorders, still digital cameras and camcorders, K2 meters, thermometers, and dowsing rods (since this was an area connected to a source of water). But, as one of the investigators said Saturday night, and I think it rings true, the best tool you have is your own senses.
It was amazing. Well, at least until I had to leave early to go home and handle a situation. I wish I could have stayed for the whole night. If I ever get invited back, you can believe I won't let anyone ruin it for me again.
Since I wasn't there very long, I don't have much of a story to tell, except that the location was unreal. Until the owner releases us to give the name, the location shall be undisclosed, but I can tell you that the site is that of a one-time hotel and health spa, set on top of a natural spring. The upper levels of the building are still in use as stores, apartments, etc, but the lower levels have been condemned by the city and those are the main areas we explored. They include two abandoned pools, a meat packing plant, and untold numbers of nooks, crannies, and empty spaces.
In these areas, we encountered a series of sounds that we (at least at the point when I left) had not been able to determine the source of, but I will term them as "curious". Maybe they were nothing….we thought at first that they sounded like clothes tumbling in a clothes dryer. Later that night we did find a dryer on the premises, but quickly found that it was not only not running, but unplugged. Some members of the team also thought the sound was like you would expect to hear a woman in high heels walking on marble, like that which used to be around the pool in the next room, where a man was once rumored to be killed by his wife wielding her high heeled shoe. Although the noise eventually ceased, it seemed to keep drawing us toward it when we wandered into other rooms, as if it was warning us to stay out of those areas. The meat packing area was very uncomfortable. I can't explain why, but just walking into the room made my skin crawl. When I said I didn't know what it was about it, Marie simply said, "Its death". And I think she was right. In another small room in the lower levels, where we sat trying to get some EVPs, I had my camcorder in use, hoping to catch some EVPs or images in that pitch black room. With the night vision feature on my camera, I was able to pan back and forth across the faces of the team there, and had very strange blurring problems. I would pan from Marie, to Brian, to Matt and back again repeatedly. At certain times, I would move to one of the people and the camera would blur the images so much that the person's silhouette was so distorted you couldn't tell it was a person, when only a moment before it had been clear. At first I thought it was a problem with focusing in the dark, but the clarity did not return immediately, as it would have if the camera was trying to focus. Marie described this as something affecting the "depth of field", in other words, something between the camera and the subject, changing the area focused on by the camera. After playing the video back at home, I believe there was something in that room with us, sitting in the empty space between me and Matt. Of course, I can't prove this, but you can believe what you want.
Maybe the most exciting for me, was something that happened when we returned to the main level to take a break. Marie and I were headed through a doorway toward the women's restroom when I suddenly felt like I was walking through a wall of static electricity. Marie was a few feet ahead of me, and we both stopped at the same time. I stepped back into the field, and every hair on my left arm stood up. The skin on my arm tingled for the next 5-10 minutes. Marie also encountered the same sensation and we were able to call some of the other investigators over and although the body of the disturbance had dissipated, they did feel some residual static. This happened at the foot of a staircase where there is reputed to be some paranormal activity. We checked the area for anything that might have caused an electrical charge, and found nothing. Again, believe what you want, but I think Marie and I had a close encounter…..
All in all, the night was very exciting for me, and I have no idea if or when I'll get to go again, but I sure hope so.
A "spiritual" experience....
This weekend, I got the opportunity to go ghost hunting for the first time. Not running around a graveyard at night with a bunch of friends like we did in high school, but out on an actual expedition with legitimate paranormal investigators. This group uses a wide variety of equipment to detect anomalies in the area, including, but not limited to, digital voice recorders, still digital cameras and camcorders, K2 meters, thermometers, and dowsing rods (since this was an area connected to a source of water). But, as one of the investigators said Saturday night, and I think it rings true, the best tool you have is your own senses.
It was amazing. Well, at least until I had to leave early to go home and handle a situation. I wish I could have stayed for the whole night. If I ever get invited back, you can believe I won't let anyone ruin it for me again.
Since I wasn't there very long, I don't have much of a story to tell, except that the location was unreal. Until the owner releases us to give the name, the location shall be undisclosed, but I can tell you that the site is that of a one-time hotel and health spa, set on top of a natural spring. The upper levels of the building are still in use as stores, apartments, etc, but the lower levels have been condemned by the city and those are the main areas we explored. They include two abandoned pools, a meat packing plant, and untold numbers of nooks, crannies, and empty spaces.
In these areas, we encountered a series of sounds that we (at least at the point when I left) had not been able to determine the source of, but I will term them as "curious". Maybe they were nothing….we thought at first that they sounded like clothes tumbling in a clothes dryer. Later that night we did find a dryer on the premises, but quickly found that it was not only not running, but unplugged. Some members of the team also thought the sound was like you would expect to hear a woman in high heels walking on marble, like that which used to be around the pool in the next room, where a man was once rumored to be killed by his wife wielding her high heeled shoe. Although the noise eventually ceased, it seemed to keep drawing us toward it when we wandered into other rooms, as if it was warning us to stay out of those areas. The meat packing area was very uncomfortable. I can't explain why, but just walking into the room made my skin crawl. When I said I didn't know what it was about it, Marie simply said, "Its death". And I think she was right. In another small room in the lower levels, where we sat trying to get some EVPs, I had my camcorder in use, hoping to catch some EVPs or images in that pitch black room. With the night vision feature on my camera, I was able to pan back and forth across the faces of the team there, and had very strange blurring problems. I would pan from Marie, to Brian, to Matt and back again repeatedly. At certain times, I would move to one of the people and the camera would blur the images so much that the person's silhouette was so distorted you couldn't tell it was a person, when only a moment before it had been clear. At first I thought it was a problem with focusing in the dark, but the clarity did not return immediately, as it would have if the camera was trying to focus. Marie described this as something affecting the "depth of field", in other words, something between the camera and the subject, changing the area focused on by the camera. After playing the video back at home, I believe there was something in that room with us, sitting in the empty space between me and Matt. Of course, I can't prove this, but you can believe what you want.
Maybe the most exciting for me, was something that happened when we returned to the main level to take a break. Marie and I were headed through a doorway toward the women's restroom when I suddenly felt like I was walking through a wall of static electricity. Marie was a few feet ahead of me, and we both stopped at the same time. I stepped back into the field, and every hair on my left arm stood up. The skin on my arm tingled for the next 5-10 minutes. Marie also encountered the same sensation and we were able to call some of the other investigators over and although the body of the disturbance had dissipated, they did feel some residual static. This happened at the foot of a staircase where there is reputed to be some paranormal activity. We checked the area for anything that might have caused an electrical charge, and found nothing. Again, believe what you want, but I think Marie and I had a close encounter…..
All in all, the night was very exciting for me, and I have no idea if or when I'll get to go again, but I sure hope so.
5 comments:
That's too cool. I definitely believe. I've had enough experiences in my life, that I'd have to be stupid not to. :-)
Wow...too cool! I didn't know this about you, but I'm psyched to know it. Psyched...LOL, I crack myself up! Not to "stereotype", but I have to laugh because ghost hunters always remind me of X-Files and Supernatural...but this is a good thing, because they are 2of my all-time favorite shows. I definitely believe in ghosts, spirits, supernatural, etc...and think it would be really thrilling to do what you do :D
I love this kind of stuff! I hope you post more about it!
This is so very cool. I am looking forward to future posts from you on this topic and on your own experiences. Sometimes I 'know' things in advance about people and events and often wish that there was a way to develop it into somewhat dependable information...so, naturally what you are doing is perfectly reasonable to me.
Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your support! I can't wait to report back on this after the investigation in November!
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