Too Many Bad Eggs

I ran into something recently that makes me angry beyond reason.

My team has worked so hard to establish itself over the past 10 years that it angers me that other teams just seem to be in it for the fame or whatever you want to call it.

Recently we were asked to access a case in rural Northern California that another team had investigated a couple of years ago. The client involved claimed to be experiencing an extreme amount of paranormal activity in and around her home since moving in in 2001.

During our four-hour interview/prelim the client stated that the other group came out to her residence and, in her opinion, had a party as they came in a large number and took off in various directions. They also filmed the investigation and were using the info for an upcoming book. When all was said and done, she was told that due to the fact they did not obtain any Electronic Voice Phenomena or photo evidence, that she more than likely did not have any activity going on in the home or property.

During the interview with her, several things became evident. One is that she has psychic abilities. Two, is that somewhere along the line, being inexperienced, she opened a door that she could not close.

All psychics will tell you that once that happens anything can come through whether it's good or bad. In this case, the client had been inundated with ghostly visitors for years. One visitor really alarmed her as she thought it was a demon.

As we did our walk-through of the home and garage area and took EMF readings and pictures, the sensitive who was with me stopped short in the garage. Her hands began to shake as she described a three foot tall creature resembling a bat that was just staring at us. She said it was very ominous and she was very uncomfortable.

That weekend, we returned for an investigation. I had both skeptics and psychics on hand. One investigator became physically ill and threw up. Another became physically ill as well. I witnessed a motion detector which I set up on a table near my DVR go on and off as if something kept walking past. In addition, we all witnessed a short dark shadow moving through the house. It would move under furniture as if hiding. Another investigator set a clipboard on a counter in the bathroom and as she sat, the clipboard flew off the counter by itself.

California Haunts Shaman Sharon Roe performs a cleansing on the client (Identity Protected)

In the master bedroom, female investigators felt as if they were being touched by unseen hands.

We obtained five EVPs, two of which are Class A.

We remained at the home until well pat 2 a.m. As our team Shaman Sharon conducted a cleansing of the home and also a cleansing on the client. We also cleansed the garage and outdoor area.

The point of this blog is that I am very irritated with the other team. Why did they not do a proper prelim? Had they done that, they would have been better informed going into the investigation. The kicker part is that they are a well established team that does a lot of investigations and honestly this is not the first time that we have had to clean up after their mess.

It burns me that this client has literally been suffering and the attitude of “Because we didn't get any hard evidence, therefore it doesn't exist,” was used, she continued to suffer.

I thought that we as paranormal investigators got into this field to help people, not blow them off and do a half-assed job.

If your going to investigate, for God's sakes do a proper job. Do your research, do your prelim. Don't go in cold and expect to have all the answers.

This person was suffering and had been suffering for years. They needed help and all you did was tell them there was no proof of activity and make them feel stupid.

Paranormal groups whether science based or psychic based or a combination of both like my team, need to wise up and listen to what their clients are saying. That is what the prelim is a all about. Sure you may run into people who want you there just because or people who truly need psychiatric help but everyone deserves to be heard and everyone deserves to be helped in some way.

Don't do what the above team did and conduct a half-assed investigation! The client was literally screaming for help and the team did not listen.

Remember one thing. You are dealing with people's lives and mental states. It's not a game. Each and every client deserves respect and their story deserves to be heard.

we have a responsibility that does not include TV or books. Our responsibility is to the client.

The Media and Ghost Hunting

With all the Halloween hype over it's time for paranormal groups to get back to helping those in need.

While the public relations garnered from media attention can benefit investigation groups, mine included, it must be remembered that ghosts do not just come out during the month of October.

Families all over the world try to find ways to cope with bumps, visitations, disembodied voices, doors slamming and other activity each and every day and night for that matter. For them, Halloween is everyday.

I am not complaining because to tell you the truth, the more PR my team gets, the more our message is able to reach people. We're here to help. And for someone who is at home terrified, just having what they are experiencing verified can be a comfort.

I guess my main beef is that outside of the TV shows, the main stream media really needs to step up and cover groups during the year not just at Halloween or during the month of October.

The one thing that the TV shows have done is create more awareness so news producers and editors should not be afraid to publish or air the occasional ghost investigation that is truly helping someone in need. And believe me, there are a lot of people in need.

Those are the everyday cases that the media overlooks or the public is unaware of that paranormal groups deal with consistently.

Although there are those people who truly want to publicize their “ghosts” that still leaves the majority of the population who just want a quiet investigation where the paranormal team comes out, sets up its equipment and attempts to collect evidence. Those clients simply want help and it is our job as a paranormal team to provide as much help as is possible.

Being a journalist and editor for nearly 15 years has taught me that the media will go with the hot story. That is normal, after all, we want to sell newspapers or get high ratings. Even community newspapers tend to cover “what's hot” whether it's about a local farmer who stops using commercial pesticides or the dance at the high school.

All I'm saying is that mainstream media needs to change its view on paranormal groups and what they do. It's not just a “Halloween” thing. It's an all year issue that affects many people around the world.

Safety First-When is an Investigation too hazardous?.

When is it better to err on the side of caution when you are responsible for the well-being of others?

Over the 8 years that I have run California Haunts, I have never had to face any decision about the safety of my team during an investigation.

Now, I am not talking about old buildings that have no floors in places or stairways with no handrails. I am talking about coming face to face with something that could very well affect those who come in contact with it.

Recently, we were called out to a residence where the client claimed that her two-year-old daughter might be possessed. On the phone with me the client described personality changes and physical feats that most people can not do.

Keeping an open mind, I listened to her and I could hear the fear in her voice so I set up the preliminary investigation.

As ghost hunters, we teach ourselves to have open minds and to look for every possible cause as a way to come up with real-world explanations for activity and that is what I did.

A lot of what the client told me was going on was typical of what has been seen on a lot of the TV shows but it is my belief that every client deserves a full preliminary and investigation. Our job is to help and we go out of our way to do that.

I did not attend this particular prelim as I had to work that day. I did however, pick team members who I knew would look at the facts involved and do the job asked of them.

That afternoon I received a phone call from one of the investigators and she described how her husband, who I know to be very logical and rational was shook up. She described how the little girl would be sweet as can be and then in an instant her voice would change and get very deep and tell the husband to get away from her very articulately. She also described how the EMF meters were off the charts when near the little girl or any of her belongings.

As I listened to her, I could her hear her husband in the background recount his experience in a shaky voice. He said he had felt drained and had to sit on the couch..he then fell asleep. His wife described looking into a dark corner of the home and feeling uneasy...she saw the outline of something with claws and then the little girl appeared from the shadows.

Another investigator described talking with the parents of the girl and of how terrified they were. The mother had described seeing a gargoyle-type shadow in the home. The investigator also reported that the little girl did a spider walk as she went into another room.

There is more but I do not want give away everything that happened.

After hearing the investigators, I made the decision to pull back and seek other help for the client. Some of you may say that I am doing a disservice to the client because of this. I don't feel that way. I pride myself on the fact that my team members come from varying backgrounds. Some are social workers, others are psychiatrists and others have skills as well so we are equipped to handle just about any case.

But at what point do you look at the overall safety of your team? What if this does in fact turn into a legitimate demon possession case? We as a team are not trained to handle that. What if we make things worse? What if by being there it lashes out and hurts someone?

I know of two accounts of a paranormal group that ran into demonic activity. During the first case, the group leader called out the demon and tried to banish it from the home. It seemed to work however, for many months afterward, several members of the team that had participated in the investigation became ill. One was bitten by a venomous spider, another nearly lost her eyesight and others ended up sick. The psychic on the team said she felt something had followed her home. A few years later that same team ran into another case and one team member actually was lifted up of the ground and slammed into a wall.

At what point do you draw the line and admit you are in over your head?

The family in our team's case is scared and I am committed to get them the best help possible. I am in the process of putting together all the connected preliminary paperwork and an EVP that was caught so that I can present the information to local clergy. They are far more equipped to handle this case than we are. Some, like the Catholic Church, have psychiatrists on staff for evaluations.

As a paranormal team, we are willing to help our clients in any way we can but that does not mean that I will allow any of my team members to be hurt during an investigation. I am proud of this team and the service it provides. We have worked very hard to build a good reputation and we will continue to work at keeping that reputation. 

Ghost Wars

What ever happened to the ghost hunters creed of doing it to "HELP PEOPLE"?

In the 10 years that I have been involved in ghost hunting I have seen a lot of changes-technology, techniques, and most importantly the attitude of those who say they are serving their clients needs.

I have owned a printing and advertising business, a freelancing business, dog breeding business and I have also managed up to 15 employees in my careers as a journalist/editor and working as a manager in a couple of big bulk mail centers. During that time, I saw a lot of changes in how businesses run.

What I don't understand is how something like ghost hunting suddenly became an extreme sport in that it seems that everyone is grappling to be the top dog no matter what. And while they are doing it, they have no problem stepping on the toes of those groups that worked hard to build up their reputation.

Perhaps it is that dream of being on national TV that drives some groups and individuals to disregard and otherwise act in ways that are-without going into detail, the things that I have seen and heard that are going on are appalling.

Why is that people don't want to work for what they achieve? My group fell victim some time ago to another group that thought they could take our clients away from us. I found out because the client informed me of this and I knew that one of the particular group members had attended a meeting.

I have heard similar stories from other older groups. And the other stuff-the badmouthing..why?

Another thing that is interesting, is that a few years ago, paranormal groups were popping up everywhere. If you check some link pages from current groups, you will see this, but I bet you that half of those links now go nowhere. Why? Because ghost hunting, real ghost hunting isn't what appears on TV. It is hard work that takes days of your time. And in a lot of instances it can be really boring. Once the reality sets in for some groups, the group disbands.

All I can say is..GROW UP! We all had to work hard to build up our groups. The only people you hurt is the clients. If you go out and do a half-assed job then you hurt the clients.

Again, are we not here to help people? This isn't a race to be on TV or to see how many investigations you can do in a month. It's a service that is intended to educate and help people who may be experiencing a paranormal event.

So let's all try and remember what we do this for. I just hope that those few who are out there causing the issues don't ruin it for everyone else because that would be sad for the clients and those ghost hunters who are doing an honest job.

Lessons Learned

First off ghost hunting does have its risks.

I could trip or stub a toe while wandering around some allegedly haunted location in the dark carrying an EMF meter in one hand and a flashlight in another or I could choke on a strawberry poptart as I sit at the monitoring station. But something that sticks in the back of most ghost hunters minds is the chance that an unwelcome guest may decide to make the trip home with him or her.

My Pop Tart cravings are well known

Let's remember that I am journalist by trade and I am trained to look at things objectively. I also pride myself on knowing when things at my home are as they should be and when they are not...

For me, doing this for as long as I have, it is part of the territory although you never really seem to get used to it. And don't get me wrong, it is not something that I encourage...sometimes it just happens.

When I first started doing this with another group, I was simply filming in a well-documented haunted location. At one point, one of the sensitives on their team turned towards me and with a deep voice, told me that photographs were not allowed. Funny, I thought. I have a video camera.

Filming on location

I went home and began the editing process on the video and the computer had nothing but problems. Data would get lost, the machine would refuse to recognize the video camera, it was one problem after another. I attributed it to the computer having issues. This went on for at least two weeks. What got my attention was when I stood up to go and get a drink of water. I had a few small video tapes stacked on the computer desk. As I made the turn out of my office, the tapes suddenly toppled from the desktop like they were pushed. And I watched as the dog sat staring at the area for some time afterwards. Perhaps I should have listened when the angry voice ordered me to stop taking photographs.

Sometime later, as part of a newspaper article, I went along to a prelim at a restaurant in the Gold Country. When I got home that night I watched a couple hours of TV. When I turned the TV off, I heard male voices faintly having a conversation in my house. I ignored them and went about my business. That night as I dressed for bed, I felt a finger run down my back. That did it. I opened my front door and ordered whoever it was out. Needless to say I did not have another problem.

After those instances I started wearing protection in the form of a bag of protective rocks in my pocket and a Native American medicine bag. And for many years, I did not bring home any unwanted visitors.

My medicine bag

The last year and a half seemed more active than others for me. A friend who happens to be psychic and I went out to lunch on day and she mentioned a ghost who hung around the back of the dining area. She said he was attracted to me. Nice. That night when I got home, I was working in my office and I watched as a hair brush lifted off of the desk right in front of me and then hit the floor. Again I opened my front door and banished whatever it was.

About a year ago, following an investigation in the Gold Country a male ghost that I had encountered at a hotel decided to pay a visit. I knew because things started moving around the house and I saw a basketball lift off the floor and fly into a wall. The clincher came when I was sleeping and I could feel a weight on top of me. I reached up half asleep and felt an arm and I pushed back. Again the front door flew open. See ya!

The point of this blog is not to scare those interested in ghosts and ghost hunting. The point is to make those who want to do this understand that occasionally unwelcome visitors may make an appearance. As ghost hunters whether you are a scientific type or a believer, always make sure you wear some type protection or make sure that before you leave a location to tell those ghosts that may be there that they need to stay there and are not welcome in your house or vehicle.

I just did a residential investigation where the ghost, according to a team psychic, liked harassing the homeowner and wouldn't leave. I openly challenged it and much to the chagrin of the psychic, in my infinite wisdom, told it to follow me. This was an effort to get it away from the client. It worked, but, for the past week and a half, guess what? And although now things are tapering down, it has been interesting.

The moral of all this is learn your lessons well. I have. And every psychic on the staff of California Haunts is enjoying telling me, “I told you so.”

Most of the time if a ghost hunter is followed home, it only lasts a week or so but it can unnerving.

So again make sure you protect yourselves and learn from the experiences of others as to what not to do during an investigation.

Orbs Make My Head Spin

Orbs.

It's not that I don't believe that “orbs” exist, it's just that there is so much misinformation about them that my head tends to spin when I have someone randomly email me pictures of so-called “orbs”.

Since my last blog, I have been concentrating on evidence review and booking investigations in addition to hosting my weekly radio show. I have also spent the week answering emails from people about orb activity in and around their homes.

Don't get me wrong. When I was a young investigator, I too got excited every time I saw an “orb” show up on my then, three megapixel digital camera. After all, it was the same camera ghost investigators on TV were using. Have I dated myself yet? Believe it or not I have been a paranormal investigator for a long time-long before I joined any group and quite a while before I created California Haunts.

I remember snapping the pictures and showing them to anyone who would pay attention. For what it's worth, the majority of investigators were all into the “orb” thing. Now, I don't wanna ruffle the feathers of some of my good friends who have had investigation groups for years. You know who you are and I have the utmost respect for you and you are the ones who nursemaided me into looking at “orbs” more critically.

So returning back to my reason for writing this blog. To this day there are still investigators out there who swear that every spec of dust or pollen is a ghost “orb”. Some of those investigators have very popular TV shows.

Recently I received an email from a potential client asking me to send out one of my team mediums because she and her husband had been taking pictures in their home that contained “orbs.” The client was so concerned about this that she wanted the reassurance of a medium that there was nothing to fear.

First off, I respect each and everyone who sends me requests for help. That is why I do this. My goal is to help inform people about the paranormal and to find explanations for what is happening through meticulous investigation Like a police detective, I take reports, look at photos, listen to audio, look at video, take EMF readings, temperature readings and try to find the most plausible answers for clients. In most cases, the occurrences are caused by something electrical or something within the house or business. In those rare cases, where I can't explain what is causing the disturbances, then I and my team look at other possibilities.

When it comes to “orbs” I find it interesting that there are still groups out there who are misinforming the public in such a way that people see what they think is a legitimate “orb” and they automatically think it is of paranormal nature. 

A picture of pollen from Ghostweb.com

A good case in point is during one of my team's investigations, we were at home where I had set up the infrared DVR cameras in a couple of bedrooms. As the client stood over my shoulder watching, several objects shot across the screen. Upon seeing this, the client became excited and exclaimed, that the “orbs” confirmed the presence of ghosts in her home. Delicately I explained that dust particles can show up on monitoring systems and look pretty solid at times depending on their distance from the camera. The client then proceeded to assure me that her home was dust free. At that, I got up and went into the bedroom and proceeded to walk around dragging my feet from time to time. From my location I could her the client gasp as suddenly there was a snow storm of “orbs” flying through the air.

A picture oif dust "orbs" from Ghostweb.com

I have also been out with other groups in very dusty buildings and have witnessed those people taking digital pictures and then excitedly tell me about the “orbs” that were caught. For those of you out there who know me, you know it takes everything I have to not roll my eyes when I am presented with evidence like that.

Another dust "orb" from Ghostweb.com

For starters, you have to take your surroundings into consideration. Carpets do hold dust and I don't care how many times you vacuume, the dust is always there. If you are in an old building, there will always be dust in one form or another present. When taking pictures outside, you have to factor in things like dirt and pollen. Oh yes! Pollen creates the most colorful “orbs.”

Now the question is..what are legitimate “orbs”? That one is tough! You will get differing answers depending on who you talk to. From my perspective and my experience as a photo journalist, most “orbs” are simply caused by light hitting the camera lens at a certain angle. In cases where a flash is used, “orbs” are simply dust and other particles which reflect the light from the flash and depending on how far the particle is from the lens, its shape and intensity can vary. The same goes for video cameras whether they have IR capabilities or not.

So what in my opinion would constitute a legitimate “orb”? I agree with Troy Taylor in that with all the evidence we gather as ghost hunters, “orbs” should be treated no differently. Always be sure to note any temperature changes or increase in EMF while taking pictures or video. Also look for what lighting or reflective sources are nearby. A camera flash hitting a shiny object with the camera lens at a certain angle can also create an “orb” effect. If an “orb” appears on film or camera and you are able to correspond its appearance with temperature of EMF changes, then you might have something. Just be careful and don't jump to conclusions.

For “orbs” that appear in motion, always think of the possibility of bugs and look fer every possible explanation including direction of flight and what lighting or reflective sources are nearby before declaring them paranormal.

Now, as for the client inquiry, I suggested she email me the pictures so I could look at them and I also asked if she had noticed any temperature changes or anything like that when she took the pictures. As of now, two days later, I have received no response.

I just wish that those groups out there who are misinforming the public would get with the program. It bothers me to hear a potential client feel as if they have something to fear because their camera picked up a spec of dust or a bug. It also bothers me when I meet with a client who will insist that a spec of dust, pollen or bug is paranormal because they have seen something similar on TV or have attended a conference or lecture where a ghost hunt group has claimed they are real as well.

Get with the program and do your job. Be scientists and look at every possibility before going public with your findings. It will save a lot of people from fear and misinformation.

Much Work Lies Ahead

In between all of the celebrations that my family and I have, I still must find time focus on what this blog is about…running a large ghost hunting group.

It’s true that in November, the group as a whole, underwent some personnel and strategy changes. As I sit here listening to Christmas music and writng this blog installment, I can’t help but reflect on all the changes and all the work.

We had a busy year. The last three months found us conducting three restaurant investigations, three residential investigations and a movie theater investigation. Busy indeed. And now, I am in evidence review mode.

Everyday in between taking care of ma, the house and my freelance writing work, I sit down in front of my monitor to watch footage streaming from the DVR in the hope that maybe the team may have actually caught something via camera during an investigation.

What always makes me laugh is the TV shows that depict investigators sitting around looking at video footage and listening to EVP recordings in what seems like a fairly short time. If only reality was like that.

Our team has a nine channel DVR system and on most investigations, we run at least five cameras at a minimum. That means that if we have a six hour investigation, it takes 30 hours to review the footage. Nope. We don’t look at all five cameras at once. We look at the footage for each camera-that’s six hours per camera per location in the building.

Add to that, there is the EVP work which, depending on what recorder was used, can be very time consuming. Why? There is a debate between investigators as to which technique works the best. I prefer using voice activation and a Sony recorder. It cuts down on recorder space and I have gotten excellent results but some investigators prefer letting their recorders run.  When you go through the recordings, it can take hours depending on how it was recorded.

Also you need a quiet area to do the review and a good set of sound canceling headphones. That always makes me laugh as I have friends who buy the really expensive headphones. Me? I have a set of RCA headphones purchased at Walmart for $19.99. I have had the same headphones for more than six years and they are great. I also have the gift of good hearing so I tend to pick up stuff no one else can thus finding those hard to hear EVPS.

Then there are the wireless mics that are recorded directly into the computer during the investigation and the hand held video cameras.

Did I mention the paperwork? In addition to all the evidence review there are also the reports that investigators turn in. Each report must be gone over and compared with other reports from the investigation in the hope of finding similarities in readings or impressions. As the team monitor, I also have my own reports to fill out and those include  weather temperature records taken every half hour, watching the indoor weather monitoring equipment and making notes on any changes, watching all the cameras, and constant note taking when I see what may be something of interest in one of the rooms.

In addition, as I do the evidence review here at home, I have forms to fill out whether I am watching video or listening to EVPs. I am a scientist after all and that means a lot of record keeping, classifying EVPs, looking at still pictures of the site, and looking closely at every anomaly that shows up on the video.

I also break away and do some investigating myself.

For those of you who see investigators on TV review their evidence in under six hours, it is very different in the real world. To do the evidence review for one investigation can take a week or more depending on how much equipment was used in the field.

And once the evidence has been reviewed there is yet another form called the Final Investigation Form and behind that is the Client Report.

Yes. Investigating the paranormal is fun but like any job, there is a lot of work involved and if we, as a group can help some person or family along the way then that makes it all worthwhile.