Articles

(Do you have a lesser-known haunt you want featured? Email jennifer@everythingparanormal.net with details.)

THE LONE HUNTER: Jason Musgrove, Outer Edge Paranormal
(Featuring The Camarillo State (mental) Hospital Dairy Farm, Camarillo, CA)

Jason was faced with unexplained paranormal phenomenon as a child. He experienced night terrors and was bullied by what he called “night visitors” who were trying to get him to come back to their dimension. Finally frightened to death and tired of their antics, one night he screamed out, “What do you want? Leave me alone!” From that moment on, they never bothered him again. Yet, formally, this 38 year old originally from Texas, got his investigative start at the Black Swan Inn in Texas in 2005. That night produced what he calls phenomenal evidence. A couple people in the group had their clothing pulled and the spirit box session was nothing short of amazing. The following words and phrases came through. “Black Sabbath”, “John worried…hot gun”, and “Sister…black child”. What is the significance? Jason’s brother, John, passed away from a gunshot wound years before. John’s favorite band was Black Sabbath, and his sister had a bi-racial child. Coincidence? Was he speaking to his brother? From that moment on, Jason has made it his life’s mission to find hard-core evidence and answers.
What makes Jason unique is that he investigates alone in some of the most haunted locations in the country and soon to be international. Paranormal investigators are told early on never to investigate alone. There are various reasons for this, the main one being safety. Many haunted locations are abandoned buildings without power. When asked about this he simply says, “I stay cautious. The reward for investigating alone far outweighs the safety issue. There is less chance of evidence contamination and entities were just people. They are more receptive to just one person than a big group. Interaction also usually happens quickly.” In the beginning, he belonged to another group but was often unable to join in investigations. So, in 2008, he founded his own group, of which he’s the only member, Outer Edge Paranormal. Before each lockdown, Jason takes a tour with the property owner, makes note of any problem areas, makes sure his equipment is in tip-top shape, and ensures he has ample batteries for the night.

When asked what location made him the most uneasy, without hesitation, he said The Camarillo State (mental) Hospital Dairy Farm in Camarillo, CA. The hospital was built in 1937 and was in use until 1997. Rumor had it The Eagles used this hospital as inspiration to write their widely popular song, Hotel California. Further research concluded this isn’t the case but one can see how this property might stimulate the mind. The state hospital property now houses a university but the adjacent dairy farm structure remains. The dairy closed in the mid-1950’s. In its hay day, mental patients from the hospital attended a work-release program here to bring in more money for the hospital. Here they could work and be part of society. Referred to by many as the “Scary Dairy”, it’s been the site of at least one low-budget movie, “Bellflower” that was released in 2011 and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Jason recalls a few encounters from the dairy farm lockdown and why it was one of his more harrowing investigations. He remembered walking a half mile down an abandoned and dark, dirt road. He immediately noticed the building was heavily vandalized with lots of graffiti and trash with most of the windows knocked out. The site is open to the public in the daytime and joggers use the paths around the property but night hours bring gangs and vandals so police patrol the area frequently. Jason says there was definitely an odd vibe to the place and before he walked in, he turned spirit box on. He said “Hello, I’m Jason and I’m here to investigate.” Through the spirit box, he heard, “Welcome, come in”. Regardless of the greeting, he didn’t feel welcome at all. He felt a chill go down his spine. As he walked in he noticed what looked like satanic symbols drawn all over, possibly for rituals. “There were pentagrams all over with candles as if someone was there recently.” At one point, he went to the second story and settled upstairs in a lone, corner room to do another ghost box session. Right off he heard, “Jason, we want you to talk to us.” During the same session a female yelled out, “He raped and killed me!” It was then his equipment batteries drained and the ghost box made a high-pitched sound he’d never heard before. While walking to the other side of the building after the investigation, he remembers an evil feeling washing over him. He then heard a loud scream coming from the building he just left but he was pretty sure he was alone. When it came time to leave, he headed out down the dark dirt road. Something made him look back. In the distance, by the building, was a darkened figure. It was just standing there and appeared to be watching him. He couldn’t tell if it was an entity or a vandal. Either way, he picked up the pace and left quickly. He realized he was vulnerable by himself and he didn’t want to be used as a ritual sacrifice!

What comes next for this lone hunter? Jason says he is very excited to be working on permits to be able to investigate a hotspot in Italy. Poveglia Island is an island located in Northern Italy. It’s divided into two parts by a small canal. Early chronicles of this location indicate this was a place people fled to in order to avoid barbaric invasions. It is also said that Napoleon later used this island to store weapons. Folklore suggests a doctor took up residence on the island who went mad and butchered many patients then killed himself. Maybe Jason can lay this rumor to rest. Or not! He also said he wants to investigate Alcatraz. He may also be working on a new kind of paranormal TV show. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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LESSER-KNOWN HAUNTS:
Benjamin Passmore Hotel (The Harrodsburg Herald), Harrodsburg, KY

A 45 minute drive southwest from Lexington, KY takes you to Harrodsburg, KY. At North Main and Broadway in Harrodsburg, KY sits a historic landmark originally built as a hotel. The Benjamin Passmore Hotel was built in the 1800’s by Benjamin Passmore. In 1920, the building was converted into a grocery store. And finally in 1951, The Harrodsburg Herald bought the property and, since then, it’s been home a fully functioning newspaper.

On February 15, 2008, local residents, Jeff Sanford of Kentucky Paranormal (http://kentuckyparanormalkyp.webstarts.com) and Chris Dedman (www.chrisdedman.com) of the Paranormal Resource and Research Society (http://www.prrsociety.org/home.html) first investigated the property. The caretaker of the property at the time felt he was being physically attacked so he reached out to them for help. At the time, investigators were asked to keep any findings on the “down-low” as the property owners didn’t want the hauntings made public. And find evidence, they did. The investigators experienced shadow figures, disembodied female voices, slamming doors, and multiple EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon). Chris Dedman was even physically scratched.

They returned to investigate on March 10, 2011. This time, they received direct responses to ghost box questions (a piece of equipment that filters through radio stations and it’s said that entities can use the noise to speak) and it was a small girl’s voice. Employees have reported seeing a young girl in a green and white dress, white stockings, and red patent leather shoes, yet no written history of the building explains who this child might be. A medium/sensitive brought on to the property was drawn to call her Abigail.
On January 23, 2012, Jeff and Chris returned for an overnight lockdown. They were determined to answer some questions about the property. This time they also brought Jeff’s friend and group co-founder, Jim Steberl. With minimal equipment (only hand held cameras and digital recorders), they saw shadow figures and again heard female voices both audibly and on their recorders. One recording sounded like it said, “He’s a Dedman!” Interestingly, in the 1920’s, there was a brothel/tavern in the building next door. The townsfolk sought to shut it down. What makes this fascinating is that Chris Dedman is a direct descendant of some of those very townsfolk. Was Chris viciously scratched during the very first investigation because an entity recognized him? Was it the same entity that spoke his name? Their last investigation on January 27, 2012 produced disembodied voices, K2 and flashlight interactions, blue and white orbs that the team actually witnessed, and video footage of a supposed entity in the main warehouse area (Google “Harrodsburg Herald Ghost”).

Employees report pictures being thrown from walls and objects falling from desks and counters for no reason. Most of the claims are made from female employees. EVPs have also produced a rather disturbing male voice who refers to himself as “Richard”. He has been known to call women very demeaning terms. April Ellis, the General Manager of the paper for many years had a hair-raising story to tell. “One night when I was working alone and late, I heard footsteps coming down the hall toward my office. The footsteps stopped and I could hear someone tapping their fingers on the half-wall in the hall. I called out that I was getting ready to leave and would be there in just a second. I assumed it was a co-worker coming to see me. No one ever answered so I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911 with my finger ready to hit send. I stepped around the corner to see into the hall and no one was there. Feeling foolish, I headed out and after four or five steps into the hall I heard heavy footsteps coming from my office running up behind me. There is a step up into the hall and I heard what sounded like someone leaping onto the step. It was loud enough that I screamed and turned honestly expecting to be eye to eye with a heavy set man and there was no one there. The hall was the only way in or out of my office, needless to say, I got out of the building as quickly as I could.” Might this have been the entity known as “Richard” toying with her? A medium brought in about 10 years ago did convey there is a man who likes and prefers to stay around what is now April’s office. April told us another story. “My son is with me a lot when I work nights and weekends. When he was about 5, we were leaving for the night and we were in the back of the building working our way forward shutting off lights and closing doors. As we passed by the different pieces of equipment, stack of paper my son was rattling off, “Good night cutter, good night puncher, good night paper,” and then he said “Good night little girl.” Needless to say, April froze and said, “What did you say?” The son just smiled and continued walking. Another employee, Barb, had only been working at the paper a few months. She stayed late one night as did another employee, Paul. The next morning the Paul said to Barb, “I spoke to your daughter last night but she didn’t respond to me.” Perplexed, Barb said her daughter was not with her the night before. Paul said he saw a small girl with blonde hair walk by the press and had assumed it was Barb’s daughter who was about the same age with blonde hair. Did both April’s son and Paul see the little girl in the green and white dress? April said these are just a few examples of what happens in the building. She says the ghosts like to have the run of the place at night and don’t want to be disturbed. And there have been many instances of employees there at night giving up trying to work because they feel an overwhelming feeling of being watched.

For more information or to see about a tour or investigation of this location, contact Jeff Sanford at sanford128@yahoo.com.
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LESSER-KNOWN HAUNTS:
Korners Folly, Kernersville, NC

Located in the heart of Kernersville, NC, between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, there lies a strange and magnificent, unassuming haunted house. “The Folly” as it’s lovingly called by local residents and director, Dale Pennington, sits directly on Main Street for all to see.

Jule Korner (pronounced “Kerner”), the grandson of the founder of the town, started construction on what would be his bachelor pad and artist’s showpiece in 1878. Jule was an exceptional talent in the fields of design and architecture. He masterfully created and saw to every detail of the home. No two fireplaces of the 15 in the home are alike. They are each adorned with their own style of tiles and décor. Similarly, all doors, door frames, windows, and columns are also one-of-a-kind pieces. And each of the ceilings is embellished with its own hand-painted mural. The original design of the home had fewer rooms than the current and final count of 22. When Mr. Korner married and started a family, he realized they needed more space. He never intended for the house to be their final home but his wife, Polly Alice, fell in love with the structure. In order to make room, he closed in what was originally the carriageway (now the foyer and dining rooms), moved the stables (now the kitchens) to another patch of land, and created an underground tunnel to join the two properties. He then, literally, cut rooms in half leaving certain rooms with only 5 ½ foot ceilings in places and creating 7 levels from 3 floors. However, the most interesting part of the home is located in the top floor, the country’s first private theater, Cupid’s Park. The Korners were big advocates for the arts. And still today, the foundation uses the theater for local puppet shows, lectures, and gatherings. Construction of the home never really ended. Updates and tweaks were constantly made up until Mr. Korner’s death in 1924.

My first visit to The Folly was in August of 2009. I’d been a resident of the area for many years but had never heard of it. After hearing of its haunted history, it was time for a visit. I stepped through the front door and was immediately transported to another time. Martha, the tour guide, gave a brief history of the house and the family and set me on my self-guided tour, voice recorder and camera in hand. Placards along the way give each room’s history and intent. I kept my voice recorder going the entire time and took random photos. When I got home and went through evidence, I was stunned and a bit frightened! I’d been standing on the stage of the theater alone when I asked the question, “If there is someone here can you say hello?” A response is evident. A deep, whispery, somewhat evil voice answers back, “helllooo….”.

While no volunteer has ever experienced supernatural phenomena while working there, most every investigative team who has visited the place has caught one or more exceptional EVPs. Groups to have had investigative success include Haunted North Carolina (http://www.hauntednc.com), SPARS (http://www.spars-paranormal.com), and The North Carolina Paranormal Society (http://www.ncparanormalsociety.com). One group caught a light anomaly on video that couldn’t be explained. One investigator caught a man’s voice on recorder saying “haunted”. Yet another group caught a little girl’s voice saying “peek-a-boo”. Do the ghosts know the investigators’ intentions and therefore toy with them? Neighbors have reported seeing a young girl’s apparition in the windows and curtains moving on their own with no explanation. Most agree that the spirits are playful not malevolent. However, one visit from a lady who claims to communicate with spirits and angels painted a different picture. She said the spirits of the house are trapped by evil and can’t escape and are many times scared to interact with investigators.

My most recent excursion at the home was with a local newspaper reporter who wanted to see what ghost hunting was all about. As we sat in what is deemed the Sewing Room, we constantly saw shadows moving along the walls and experienced extreme cold spots. Having ruled out lights of passing cars, he was left scratching his head and a bit shaken.

A foundation has been set up and is taking donations for the restoration of this amazing relic. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and take a tour. If you would like to set up an investigation, the foundation is welcoming. You can learn more about the home, review the tour schedule, and contact the director to set up an investigation at www.kornersfolly.org.
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LESSER-KNOWN HAUNTS:
Poasttown Elementary School, Middletown, OH

On the very first night they were there, Nick McWethy and Brian Hensley of Crossover Paranormal (www.crossoverparanormal.com) experienced children’s laughter, screams, and loud banging. Only when they began to delve into the history of the place, did it all make sense.

Poasttown Elementary School in Middletown, OH opened in 1935. Crossover Paranormal had the pleasure of getting first-hand history and information about the school from a teacher who worked there from 1935-1972. Ms. Slade taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade and spoke of several tragedies that occurred throughout the school’s history. She talked about a boy who was hit and killed by a car. The next day, his schoolmates brought in their spare change so they could buy flowers for him. As the tears fell down her cheek you couldn't help but feel her pain. Some say when you die suddenly you don't realize you are dead. Is it possible that this little boy still roams the halls, going about his day as he would have when the school was open? They also learned about a janitor whose negligence started a fire in the school gymnasium. Oddly, the janitor subsequently died in a trailer fire. The current caretaker of the property, Darrell Whisman, who currently resides there, used the school as a haunted house before it was finally closed in 2000. One Halloween, one of his “actors” for the haunted house was in the boiler room and claimed to see what appeared to be a burned face staring back at him. Was this the janitor? And finally, a little girl was known to have fallen to her death down a flight of stairs. There are conflicting reports that she died on impact or died from her injuries weeks later. There is also speculation that the school was built on a small graveyard. The fact remains, investigating groups are hearing screams of agony and any combination of these tragedies may be the reason why.

The creators of “Children Of The Grave”, as seen on SyFy, Phillip and Christopher Booth of The Booth Brothers’ fame though enough of the place to film part of their most recent, “Children of the Grave 2” documentary there. This new, paranormal documentary researches true hauntings of children and their emotional stories of the supernatural. (You can read more about this current project at http://childrenofthegrave2.blogspot.com.)

Mediums and psychics have visited the place from time to time. Not knowing each other or having prior knowledge of what another has said, most have indicated something is scaring the children. They’ve said there is a vortex at the top of the stairs when you first enter the building. Is it possible that something evil has come through this portal and continues to frighten the children and keeps them from crossing over? Has whatever it is made them afraid to roam the halls? Brian has been scratched. Others have felt the presence of “evil”. One of the biggest skeptics you’ll find in the paranormal community is Aron Houdini, the great, great nephew of the famous escape artist, Harry Houdini, and the only relative currently practicing escapes. When Darrell asked him what he thought of the place, Aron responded with, “There’s definitely something there!” Darrell and his wife have lived on the property for 8 years. And when asked what his scariest experience was he said, “When something sits on the edge of our bed, we look, and there’s nothing there.” He says that happens quite regularly. He’s also heard the voice of a little girl on more than one occasion saying “Mommy and Daddy said….”, her voice always trailing off at the end. They also see shadows on a regular basis. In Darrell’s opinion and contrary to some reports, whatever is there appears “welcoming”. Needless to say, his friends think he’s crazy for living there.

The boys of Crossover Paranormal do events and investigations there on a regular basis and their findings never fail them. Are the ghosts friendly? Is there a dark spirit also roaming the halls? They’ll give you their opinions but you should come for a visit to draw your own conclusions. This majestic, unassuming building is fascinating even without a haunted aspect. There are lots of nooks and crannies, hidden rooms, creepy long hallways, and plenty of places for things to hide. I’ve been there and I agree with Aron Houdini. There “something” there.
To find out about upcoming events or for more information on this lesser-known haunted location, follow Crossover Paranormal on Facebook.
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BIGFOOT FILES: North Carolina sightings

The man pointed to a nearby path and said the beast approached from there. He described it as ten feet tall with six fingers on each hand and having beautiful hair. This Casar, North Carolina resident can be found all over the web recounting his multiple brushes with a creature in 2010. He was able to scare the animal away by poking it with a large stick but that didn’t keep the beast away for long. It kept returning and he was afraid it would attack his dogs so he called 911 and asked for permission to kill the beast. When his story and subsequent six minute 911 call hit the news, he was called upon by various researchers wanting to investigate the property and surrounding areas. One such request came from a researcher who was involved in a Bigfoot scandal back in 2008 who was called upon to verify the remains of a Bigfoot that turned out to be a gorilla suit stuffed with animal entrails. Team members from the American Bigfoot Society (ABS) also contacted him to made arrangements to investigate his property. The ABS investigation never occurred for various reasons, one of which was the sudden request from the property owner to charge investigators who stayed on the property. However, Eric Altman of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society and avid Bigfoot researcher spoke with teams from other investigations around this area who stumbled upon astonishing footprints that included toes, which he said is a rare find. Another Cleveland County resident and local police officer experienced a similar creature when he was a child, calling it an eight to ten foot tall creature that looked like a hairy man that was attacking chicken coops and killing farm animals.

Top researchers in the United States have multiple theories as to what they think these creatures wandering the woods of North Carolina may be. One is that these beasts aren’t beasts at all, but are a race of ancient Neanderthal who choose to remain hidden from the modern world. This race of people may bury their dead and this might explain why no remains have been found. A second less accepted theory is that they are Native American Indian Shaman practicing age-old traditions of living off the land. A third, more widely accepted view is that they are an undiscovered North American species of ape.

The more prominent primate theory is shared by a Cowpens, North Carolina resident who has had multiple run-ins with what he considers to be Bigfoot. At the North and South Carolina border, this wilderness survivalist, avid hunter, and former Marine recounts one of several experiences with these beasts. He and a cousin were doing some late night fishing at a nearby river. They heard footsteps and the sound of cracking branches on the other side. When he shined the flashlight to try to catch a glimpse of what it was, the walking became more frantic pacing back and forth. He believes these creatures are very territorial and it may have been protecting its turf and added that whatever it was, it was clearly agitated. When a huge rock flew through the air and landed in the water directly in front of them, they knew it was time to leave. They realized they were being followed when splashing water indicated the beast made its way across the river to where they had been sitting. It followed them about 200 yards out of the woods until a relative’s vehicle picked them up at a nearby road. Another experience left him and two cousins dumbfounded in the woods when they all saw a grey-haired Bigfoot in the distance. It just stared at them and then walked away, taking the time to look back at them over its shoulder once more. What does Eric Altman say about these accounts? Mr. Altman hasn’t researched many claims in this area but says this is a friend of his who is a very credible and not easily frightened individual. “If he says he saw something,” says Altman, “he definitely saw something.”

Over in nearby Troy, a twenty year Bigfoot researcher captured what he says is a three minute, thermal video of a Bigfoot. The video shows a large creature bobbing and weaving behind trees who ultimately grabs a candy bar from a stump that was left as bait. The researcher, having a masters in Behavioral Psychology, appeared to be credible. However, Mr. Altman conveyed to me that the figure in the video appears human-sized and may have been someone camping nearby. Either way, the news generated so much interest that even Animal Planet came to town to investigate and used the local footage to include in their six-part series on Bigfoot sightings across the United States.

A man over in Shelby acted in time to pull out his video camera to get a five second video of a creature crossing the road in front of his car. The video was shot from about fifteen to twenty feet away and shows an approximately six to eight foot tall stereotypical brown and hairy creature. The cameraman said the beast appeared to be limping and was clearly not happy with their interference and growled at them. Additionally, he and his passenger couldn’t get over the stench of the animal describing what smelled like a cross between skunk and road kill and noted they even saw the creature’s male genitalia. Mr. Altman discounts this story entirely saying firstly, the video is very fuzzy, and secondly, the legs and feet appear to be baggy like a costume.

In North Carolina, creatures have been reported in Montgomery, Cleveland, and Randolph counties, just to name a few. According to The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) the majority of sightings have come from the Montgomery County and surrounding Uwharrie National Forest region that stretches over 53,000 acres. Plenty of room for a creature to hide, or thousands as some researchers believe to be the case. The BFRO website shows approximately seventy reported sightings in North Carolina dating back to 1968 to as recently as June, 2011 but not everyone reports what they see for fear of being ridiculed.

Eric Altman says he isn’t sure what they are. He says there have been as many accounts of the creatures looking human as there have been of them looking like primates. One fact remains. In North Carolina, stories keep coming in and investigations in the area are on-going.

http://www.bfro.net/GDB/state_listing.asp?state=nc -- Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization website (BFRO)
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WOMEN IN THE PARANORMAL

As far back as the 1800’s, there have been strong women in the paranormal field. Today, there are many serious and smart female investigators and researchers in the paranormal community who are also authors and business professionals. I have the utmost respect for women who remain dedicated to their paranormal passion because serious and dedicated research and investigation takes time and patience. Over the past weeks I’ve talked to many, unique women investigators at length about how they view the field, how and when they started, their biggest accomplishments, fears and struggles, and what the future and this field holds for them. Here are a few of their stories.

Fiona Broome has been in the paranormal field for over 30 years. She is an author, a researcher, and a paranormal consultant. Her first article appeared in Fate Magazine in 1981. She says curiosity drew her to the paranormal. She said she’s fascinated by the reasons why some places and objects seem haunted and some don’t. A committed researcher, Fiona says she usually finds answers in history and geography. She has shared many of her theories with other professionals in the field who then use her data in their own investigations and sometimes include them on the paranormal television shows. When asked about those shows, she replied, “The audience craves a continual adrenaline ‘fix’. Ghost-related TV shows are near the limit of the thrills-and-chills they can achieve without losing credibility. The core audience – people who are seriously interested in paranormal research, regardless of the subject’s apparent popularity – doesn’t provide ratings high enough to remain on commercial TV. Actual ghost research isn’t that exciting or predictable.” Fiona isn’t currently in a group. But in the late 1990’s, she was part of a group that spent many months investigating and researching cemeteries that, years later, became the foundation for her book, Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries: A How-To Guide. Curious about how the men in the group treated her, she replied, “Regardless of gender, we treat each other as equals. Every member of the team has a significant body of work that demands respect. We’re comfortable with each other, know each other’s strengths, and focus on our distinct and respective fields of expertise during the investigations, and when we review the results.” Fiona’s greatest achievement is her creation of one of the first ghost-related websites in the 1990’s, www.hollowhill.com. Her website contains more than 700 articles, most of which are hers, and is a reliable source for people wanting to know more about the “ghost phenomena”. Fiona’s greatest fear for the field is her concern over self-proclaimed “researchers” – people who will ridicule past studies then plan “BYOB ghost-investigations”, for instance. “They will make it harder for the rest of us to be taken seriously, continue our work, and gain access to important investigative sites.” she said. Fiona has no plans to leave the field any time soon. She will always explore new avenues of research and her advice to anyone who wants to join the field is, “Find ways to contribute new ideas, preferably with scientific support so we can better understand the things we’ve labeled ‘paranormal’. We need more ‘what if?’ questions and new ways to answer them”. To find out more about Fiona Broome and her multitudes of books and articles, go visit her at www.fionabroome.com.

Sarah Harmon, dubbed Paranormal Sarah by friends and colleagues, has been in the field for over a decade. She was born with an early interest in the paranormal and began working with a group when she was only 13. It wasn’t until 2003 that she started working in her beloved field of Parapsychology. Her calling came while working in a mental hospital. “I was continually faced with the mistreatment of patients with ‘paranormal symptoms’. I decided to make it my life’s mission and passion to pursue psychology to better understand myself and others. Human rights advocacy and mental health treatment is needed in this field and vice versa.” she says. Sarah doesn’t belong to solely one group – she helps with several. As for working with men, she says for the most part they respect her but their biggest mistake is thinking because she is an attractive, young woman, that she will not be objective or skeptical. She finds most groups consist of ‘techy men’ and intuitive women – a good balance. When asked how to better the field, she said, “People can do that by bridging the gap between science and spirituality and continuing down the path that (Hans) Holzer set for this field in validating the paranormal so that people having experiences can get the validation and advice they seek.” Additionally, her biggest concern is that people think that scientific growth happened long ago and that nothing new can exist. Sarah regularly investigates both residences and businesses once a month and she plans to stay in the field. To people just getting into the paranormal community, she says, “Don’t do anything in this life for money or reward. Do it because you love it. If you love this field, take the challenge but know it’s a rough road. Being negative and depressed about the hard work before you and always having shallow pockets will tear at your soul and make you susceptible to negative attachments.” To find out more about Paranormal Sarah and her ongoing research, visit her website at www.paranormalsarah.webs.com.

When I asked our next interviewee how long she’d been in the field, she quoted Lady Gaga and said she was “Born this Way”. Marie D. Jones has been interested in all things paranormal since early childhood and believed that Bigfoot lived in the woods behind her house and she loved telling ghost stories. Her father was a geophysicist who exposed her to what she termed, “hard science”. This and her own love of science would be the link to her later research into the paranormal in terms of quantum, theoretical, and speculative physics and how they hold the key to what we call “paranormal”. As a child, Marie was looking at UFOs through binoculars prior to having any knowledge about them. So, it’s no surprise that she began her paranormal career as a Ufologist. She spent 15 years in the Mutual UFO Network, working with the Center for UFO Studies, and the Fund for UFO research back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. She says, “(Then) I left the field to pursue writing full-time and naturally began including my paranormal interests in my books. My focus was to write books that presented new theories and stretch the boundaries of what we call paranormal.” Marie is not in a group but does serve as Director of Special Projects for (her) co-author Larry Flaxman and his organization, ARPAST (Arkansas Paranormal and Anomalous Studies Team - a science-based research group. Find them at www.arpast.org.) When asked if she investigates, she says, “I don’t go out on investigations, as they are usually in other states but, Larry and I develop theories together than can then be ‘field tested’ by his group on investigations.” Through hers and Larry’s partnership, they’ve written four books. Marie is one of the very few women, if not the only woman in the field, connecting science with the paranormal by combining it with consciousness, brain studies, and Noetics research (a branch of metaphysical philosophy focusing on the study of mind and intellect). In order to better the field, Marie believes that including science in paranormal research is the key. “I have found the most amazing clues from studying a variety of sciences, including psychology, neurology, endocrinology, biology, and physics. I’ve even found clues in seismology!” Marie’s greatest achievements are her cutting edge books that stretch the boundaries of how people think about the paranormal, including her book PSIence: How New Discoveries in Quantum Physics and New Science May Explain the Existence of Paranormal Phenomena and the follow-up to that book written with Larry Flaxman, The Resonance Key. When asked about her latest project, she said, “I am extremely proud of my new book, Destiny Vs. Choice: The Scientific and Spiritual Evidence Behind Fate and Free Will because it’s a culmination of a personal and professional journey I’ve been on to explore whether reality is pre-planned or made up as we go along.” Marie’s greatest fear in her words are, “That I am on my deathbed and at the moment of death, a glowing figure will appear to me and say ‘Oh, man, girl, you were SO off base!’ and I will go on to find that (death) is nothing like I theorized it might be.” Ms. Jones expects to be in the paranormal forever by continuing to write both fiction and non-fiction books and exploring paranormal theories. Her next big idea is to define reality. “I think that is probably the BIG QUESTION we all want to answer. It’s the one thing I hope to tackle soon and it won’t be easy!” We look forward to reading it, Marie! To find out more about Marie D. Jones, visit her at http://www.mariedjones.com.

As a part of Everyday Paranormal out of Texas and the only female on the team, Katie Burr has been in the field for almost three years. In that time she’s had the amazing opportunity of being on Discovery Channel’s paranormal television show, Ghost Lab. Katie has had paranormal experiences all her life. She tells how after her grandfather’s passing, the entire family would experience the television volume inexplicably turning up on its own, which was something she said he would do when he was alive to signal that he was annoyed at the level the family was talking. Finding out why and how these things were occurring became Katie’s goal. As for her team she says, “I’ve always felt like I am an equal part of the team and couldn’t ask for better teammates. They are all like my big brothers and though they do stick me in somewhat precarious situations during investigations, I know it’s for the purpose of drawing out activity, and it’s all in good fun.” Ending up on Discovery Channel was not an easy feat to accomplish. This was done, she says, “By having extremely high standards for how paranormal investigations should be run, not only because we try to look at all of our data as objectively and scientifically as possible, but because we have found ways to correlate the data with other elements of the environment.” The show ran for two seasons and was canceled late into 2010. Katie, in addition to being in school, is pouring her heart and soul into her new business, Katie Muffins, an art and gift boutique that will also sell baked goods. But, she says, “The one thing I know for sure is that the paranormal has been a part of my life since childhood and it will be a part of my life in the years to come no matter what direction I take.” Visit Katie’s shop page at www.etsy.com/shop/KatieMuffins or find her fan page on Facebook.

The ladies were asked what words of wisdom they would like to leave with the rest of the paranormal community. Their answers were almost unanimous - the importance of information-sharing and learning as much as you can about the field prior to working in it. Hoarding helpful information such as investigation techniques or pertinent information about a haunted location can be a detriment to the field and cause rifts between teams and even teammates. As for new people coming into the community, Fiona, Sarah, and Marie all agree. And Marie says, “One word. READ. Read everything you can and not just about paranormal. Get into world religion, metaphysics, science, psychology, and how the body works. Once you start digging into the paranormal, you will be shocked at the correlations you will find.” Katie’s advice to someone to coming into the field is, “To get in it for the right reasons and choose your team wisely. The company you keep in this field makes all the difference in the outcome of your investigations and research. You want to make sure your teammates all have the same common goal in mind and that you can trust them to give their accurate account of a situation, as well as have the ability to be objective about their findings.”

One thing is certain. Women in the paranormal are not going anywhere. If anything, they are persisting and becoming even more prevalent. This is good news. Strong-willed and serious researchers and investigators are what the field needs to continue to grow and prosper and give inevitably give us all the answers we’ve been searching for.
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GHOST HUNTER TRIES TO FIND THRILL AGAIN.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
By Mike Kernels
News & Record Staff Writer

Jenn **** of Colfax, is a self-described skeptical believer

Remember: deep breaths.

That’s what you keep telling yourself as you make your way through unlit Körner’s Folly in the dead of night.

A mannequin stops you cold.

A narrow stairway gives you pause.

A dark room has you uneasy.

And this warning makes you wish you wore Depends.

“I keep seeing something over by the stairs. It’s not like a shadow. It’s almost like a gray mist.”

Electromagnetic activity.

Electronic voice phenomenon.

Bumps in the night.

These are some of Jenn Hitt’s favorite things.

She’s a part-time paranormal investigator — that’s right, a ghost hunter — who, at the moment, is having an identity crisis.

You see, Hitt is a ghost hunter who doesn’t know if she believes in ghosts anymore.

In two years of investigations, she’s seen zip. Nada. Nothing in the dark.

What Hitt wouldn’t do right about now for some paranormal activity. Any activity.

“I’d like a ghost to punch me in the face,” she says.

That might make her feel better.

But it wouldn’t solve the larger problem: proof.

Concrete. Tangible. Irrefutable.

Hitt used to think she had it.

On an August afternoon in 2009, she brought her family for a look around Körner’s Folly, which has 22 rooms in various sizes, three floors, bats — seriously — and a reputation for being haunted by its former occupants.

“I happened to have my recorder in the car and took it just in case,” Hitt recalls. “I was on the third floor by myself. I said, 'If there’s anyone here, can you say, “Hello?’ ”

“When I listened back to it, I heard 'hello.’ Like a whisper. It scared the hell out of me. It sounded evil.”

She was as happy as she was horrified. She had proof. At last.

With pride, she started playing it for peers. And that’s when her problems began.

No one heard what she did.

The Playroom.

“We’d love for you to come talk to us,” says Hitt into the blackness.

Silence.

“How old are you?”

Silence.

“Is there a message you would like to pass on?”

Silence.

“Is it cold,” Hitt says, “or is it just me?

How does a pragmatic, 41-year-old mother of two from Colfax come to believe in the supernatural?

Blame it on a phenomena almost as unexplainable: reality TV.

Specifically, “Ghost Hunters” on the Syfy channel.

The show follows plumbers/paranormal investigators Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes as they travel the country visiting haunted places great and small.

Wilson and Hawes come armed with a healthy amount of skepticism as well as enough ghost-detecting equipment to open a Best Buy. Or a Spencer’s.

Supreme Court candidates endure less scrutiny than evidence presented on the show.

“Prior to the show, I thought ghosts were imaginary,” Hitt explains. “I believed the evidence they were giving. I wanted to see a ghost. It intrigues and frightens the hell out of me at the same time.”

So in January 2009, when “Ghost Hunters” came to Wilmington to investigate the decommissioned USS North Carolina, Hitt joined them.

“I was scared to death,” she recalls. “It was dark, and you’re walking down these narrow pathways. Everything you hear or see, you think is something.”

Later that night ...

“I went back to the hotel super excited. I thought I saw faces on the wall, all kinds of stuff.”

Her recorder, though, got nothing.

The “spirit orbs” she photographed? Just dust and moisture.

But that didn’t matter.

“I had a great time."

The Reception Room.

Hitt says she accidentally photographed a ghost here that day in August 2009.

“We’d love for you to talk to us.”

Suddenly, an unearthly sound.

“Is that your stomach?”

Sorry.

This is the part about ghost hunting they don’t show on TV.

“Investigation is boring,” Hitt admits. “You’re sitting in the dark ... trying to get one piece of evidence. You just wait — and hope someone talks back.”

On “Ghost Hunters,” cases are tidily wrapped in an hour, complete with the prerequisite drama and commercial breaks.
But that’s not how it really works.

Hours are spent investigating.

Days are taken analyzing audio and video.

Weeks add up in the quest to find the truth.

All on a ghost hunter’s own dime.

All mostly for nothing.

“The show makes it look glamorous,” explains Hitt, an administrative assistant. “If you’re getting into it to be rich and famous, it’s not going to happen.”

The Theater.

We’ve come back to the spot where Hitt says something said “hello.”

As we slowly sit down on the floor, the darkness, and silence, is foreboding.

Her tone gentle, Hitt asks: “Can you make us believers that you’re here?”

That’s. When. The air conditioner. Starts. Making. A noise we haven’t heard before.

It is ... ugh ... overpowering and ... oh, man ... penetrating. Like fingernails on a chalkboard.

YOU WANT IT TO STOP.

And just as suddenly, it does.

This time, Hitt is more forceful: “Can you make your presence known again?”

A floorboard cracks in the stairwell. Right next to the air conditioner.

“It’s cold over here,” Hitt blurts. “I feel like something is back behind me.”

After two years of fruitless searching, the thrill of the hunt is gone.

“I miss,” Hitt says, “getting scared.”

An inn in Whitefield, New Hampshire.

A restaurant outside of Dallas.

A plantation near Baton Rouge, La.

A mansion in Vicksburg, Miss.

All supposedly haunted. But if there were ghosts, they couldn’t be found.

Körner’s Folly has been the only place where she’s had an encounter. But now she’s starting to doubt that.

“I want someone to hear it, too,” she says.

At least 20 of her peers have drawn the same conclusion. No voice.

“No one can corroborate it,” says Hitt with resignation in her voice. “Some have said, 'I hear something, but I don’t know what that is.’

“Looking back, I just think it was static. Or a radio wave. I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to hear 'hello.’”

The Sewing Room.

The silhouette of Hitt’s body is leaning forward as she speaks softly.

“I keep seeing something over by the stairs.”

What is it?

“It’s not like a shadow. It’s almost like a gray mist.”

No way.

“I just saw a shadow ... right ... there.”

There?

“That spot right there.”

Oh. My.

“If you’re walking by the door can you give us a sign? Bang on something.”

You just had to say that.

“Can you talk to us?”

Ashadowisbythedoor.

“Who’s here with us?”

Take a wild guess.

“I’m freezing right now. I’m freezing and I’m having a hard time breathing.”

Makes two of us.

“It’s darker.”

Hear that?! What was that?!

“Mice?”

NO!!

“Thanks for having us. We’re going now.”

A harvest moon hangs low in the sky as we leave the building and decompress.

The cold spots. The air conditioner. The mist. The rest of it.

What happened in there?

A check of the tape turns up — as you might expect — nothing but our own voices.

“I don’t really care to investigate, anymore,” Hitt admits. “The work outweighs the reward. I still think there’s something there.”

There was something in the dark tonight. There had to be. We saw it. We felt it. In our heart, we know it.

We just didn’t prove it.

(Questions about this or other News & Record articles? Contact Mike Kernels at 373-7120 or mike.kernels@news-record.com.)
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