tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80824806015697144862024-03-05T13:56:05.953-08:00LIfe of a female Ghost HunterThis blog gives insight to what it takes to run a paranormal investigation team. Charlotte Kosa, who is the founder of the California Haunts Paranormal Investigation Team, will blog daily about what she does.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-53867901196988347102015-11-14T03:29:00.003-08:002015-11-14T03:33:02.782-08:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Holiday Visitors </span></h2>
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">A</span></i>s the owner of my own paranormal team,
I get countless calls from perspective clients about paranormal
activity that seems to increase after the birth of a baby or people
who experience activity during the holidays.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If you watch the TV shows then you
might think that all paranormal activity is bad and in some cases it
is. But in all my years of investigating, I've found that deceased
family members still like to attend major family events.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Just because someone has passed away
doesn't necessarily mean that they can not come back and visit from
time to time. It's like anything else. In life, family members go
crazy over a new baby or seeing sons, daughters and grandkids marry.
Most families enjoy spending the holidays together as well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfKBHsLbUj3pywSO9yktRUbB4n7B8BLigrTuvXMwGI_RAsR8fFxcSu9n7W8S-97XYpOM9N9XayjZG-LIMCi2NRjmM0Ofvb5bnYMZ5Aspj77RhYbHXzwMZsPr5RNx_wN9kpzOvIS5F9Ag/s1600/victorianxmas8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfKBHsLbUj3pywSO9yktRUbB4n7B8BLigrTuvXMwGI_RAsR8fFxcSu9n7W8S-97XYpOM9N9XayjZG-LIMCi2NRjmM0Ofvb5bnYMZ5Aspj77RhYbHXzwMZsPr5RNx_wN9kpzOvIS5F9Ag/s320/victorianxmas8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
According to psychics and mediums,
dieing is just a moving on of sorts. Although we do not continue on
in physical form as our bodies no longer act as a conduit for our
souls, we do have the ability to move about in spirit form. That
ability includes visiting those we miss.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
During the holidays when families get
together, it is not a far fetched thought to think that family
members who are deceased also join in on the celebrations.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have had many psychics on my team
tell me that I literally have a full house during Thanksgiving and
Christmas and that includes both the living and dead.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While setting a plate out at the dinner
table for a deceased relative may seem over the top, there are
cultures where people do leave food offerings for their long dead
relatives. It's not only on Dia de La Muertos either.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In past times in China, family members
of the deceased took care of their dead loved ones via altars in
their homes or in a certain location within a town. Recently deceased
relatives received offerings of food and other items. During holiday
times, the relatives were also included in the holiday meal times.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In ancient Rome during the Festival of
Parentalia, family members visited the cemetery and drank wine and
ate cake. This was shared with the deceased.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So as you can see, the thought that
deceased relatives come around during holiday times has been a
fixture in some cultures for many years. So it really isn't a stretch
to think that in this modern day and age, our deceased relatives do
return for special occasions. And we shouldn't be afraid of the times
that they do return.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After all, if the psychics are right,
then, our relatives are simply enjoying their time with us just as
they always have and we can take comfort in knowing that they are
there for us.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-68139312415732615622014-06-11T04:17:00.001-07:002014-06-11T04:17:43.546-07:00Science vs. Metaphysical<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>W</b></i></span>hile I understand that science plays a
huge role in what we do as paranormal investigators, we must always
remember that we must also focus on the human factor, or better put,
the Average Joe factor.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When we go out on a case, we are not
only dealing with phenomena which could very well be explained but we
are also dealing with someone's emotions or their mental state.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, I am not against those
science-based investigative groups. My own team has its share of
science investigators but we also have our share of believers and
utilize psychics as well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
See? I can actually hear the collective
groans of the science types as I write this but my team and I have
been conducting investigations for more than 10 years and I can write
from experience.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Granted there are those groups who go
out with the intention that every case is haunted but we do not.
Those types of groups may do more harm than good. You have to have
that balance between science and the metaphysical.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My group does that balancing act very
well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We look at every case objectively from
start to finish. Everything, including the paperwork that we use is
done meticulously.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The all important preliminary
investigation takes from two to three hours. Why? Because we try to
get as much information about the case as possible and that includes
going from room to room in the location and taking meticulous notes
on room condition, temperature, furniture location, window location,
outlet and EMF location to name a few. Then we go outside and look at
conditions around the property. How close is the neighbor? Are there
any electrical poles nearby? Are there any trees near windows or near
the roof? Where are the outside lights? The list seems endless but it
all helps when investigation night comes along.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The main step in all of this is to have
that one on one interview with the client-we ask about 100 questions.
Yup. You read that right. One hundred questions. We ask about the
family, we ask about the events which are going on in the home, we
ask about what they witnessed and delve into religious beliefs. We
also look at demeanor during the questioning.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSnKbl9dijiUwlem6OZ3zZEDAmmgPRxje3zmZknyg2P_87g_sLvQ3pCU00fVO4KICeB2EhbqjZUkKYU1NerLLKiu8NuRaAja-ulnazQFDfQxfNaegESlxJjSAFrDwlAHMpsJHH41wvk/s1600/interview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSnKbl9dijiUwlem6OZ3zZEDAmmgPRxje3zmZknyg2P_87g_sLvQ3pCU00fVO4KICeB2EhbqjZUkKYU1NerLLKiu8NuRaAja-ulnazQFDfQxfNaegESlxJjSAFrDwlAHMpsJHH41wvk/s1600/interview.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
With the advent of all the ghost
hunting shows on TV, we have found that a lot of people want you to
come out because it's cool. Our preliminary investigation weeds out
those types of people. We also have three staff members who have
training in social work and psychiatry so we can offer additional
help.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
During the investigation, investigators
are armed with pertinent information taken from the preliminary. The
information includes all high EMF readings in the home, room details,
case details for debunking purposes and any information needed that
will assist the team with the scientific portion of the
investigation.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In addition, I will email out a picture
of the location to a psychic for a remote reading. Team members never
hear the results of that reading.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The field psychic who is assigned to
the investigation goes in cold with no prior knowledge of the
location or its history. Their role is to obtain a reading of the
location and, if they do encounter anything, they will aid the
investigators. That aid consists of suggesting where to place
monitoring cameras, asking investigators to take photos in certain
areas at certain times, and asking those investigators with EMF
meters to measure certain areas at certain times. They also aid in
our EVP sessions. We know if we are dealing with a male or female and
what era they are from.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-k2SsdqF4cVG4-RQ42MRl9UkZbOtbwLOusfm1k866aWG3hX4tAbsG7dEL4s-4c-G9RKpgO2Q_Tf4ApgHWeG_O9WLA1GsvrdmmSCPraTattv_ZzaoXnJaxKhOLVtcVh12ViDmtg0ZdU2c/s1600/mickyinvest+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-k2SsdqF4cVG4-RQ42MRl9UkZbOtbwLOusfm1k866aWG3hX4tAbsG7dEL4s-4c-G9RKpgO2Q_Tf4ApgHWeG_O9WLA1GsvrdmmSCPraTattv_ZzaoXnJaxKhOLVtcVh12ViDmtg0ZdU2c/s1600/mickyinvest+-+Copy.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now don't start thinking that the
psychics run the show-they do not. They are simply used as a guide
for the investigation team. There are many times that the psychic
team will find nothing in the location.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For those scientific hard cores who are
cringing right now, relax...breathe in...breathe out....</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When used properly, a psychic can be a
great aid on an investigation. Most of the psychics on our team also
look at things scientifically and will do debunking on their own.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Again I have nothing against the teams
that are completely science based but I also strongly believe that
some in the field go out without an open mind and this can hurt
clients. Sometimes all a client needs is reassuring that what he or
she experienced is “Uncle Bob”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are many clients out there that
will not believe what science says about their cases. Do you just
chock that up to them being nuts? No. As investigators, no matter
what we believe or how we do our job, it is our responsibility to
serve the clients as best as we can.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That service can include suggesting
counseling, electrical or other repairs and even a cleansing of the
location could help. In addition, we may suggest that a bedroom or
room for that matter be rearranged because of EMF levels and
locations. In one case, we suggested that a client move out of an
apartment because EMF levels were so high that she was living in a
“Fear Cage”. As things turned out, she did move and never had
another issue.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No matter what we do as investigators,
it is our responsibility to help those in need.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So to close this off, what do I think
is better a science-based group or a metaphysical-based group? Both
have their place in the field but we need to be careful of what
damage can be done. We walk a fine line and we are responsible for
somebody's well being. This is not a game.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No matter what you do in the field,
always make the client the foremost priority. You need to take a lot
of factors into consideration and then investigate accordingly.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-58718808396377953562014-03-27T16:09:00.001-07:002014-03-27T16:11:21.443-07:00Too Many Bad Eggs<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I ran into something recently that
makes me angry beyond reason.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr5KHK4Y-PxPsSix_kosQrA1-YOHDC42U9vbJa-3k3OyNyG2Q9qkg5KUdwU0sYYi84Uq-EPyL3rrtVrMyNDqDlv5VYrzQfs7xBSMwFm7JvvL1nJDds1E8D_-hJ1H8WlxSCFNKmZ_j6-U/s1600/cleansing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr5KHK4Y-PxPsSix_kosQrA1-YOHDC42U9vbJa-3k3OyNyG2Q9qkg5KUdwU0sYYi84Uq-EPyL3rrtVrMyNDqDlv5VYrzQfs7xBSMwFm7JvvL1nJDds1E8D_-hJ1H8WlxSCFNKmZ_j6-U/s1600/cleansing.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">California Haunts Shaman Sharon Roe performs a cleansing on the client (Identity Protected)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the master bedroom, female
investigators felt as if they were being touched by unseen hands.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We obtained five EVPs, two of which are
Class A.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I thought that we as paranormal
investigators got into this field to help people, not blow them off
and do a half-assed job.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
we have a responsibility that does not include TV or books. Our responsibility is to the client.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-72324714218842750592013-11-03T08:28:00.001-08:002013-11-03T08:29:05.200-08:00The Media and Ghost Hunting<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
With all the Halloween hype over it's
time for paranormal groups to get back to helping those in need.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_dtae7eqGAsChXW2_CgjvyG2MQ4WwzqxUj0bX4ajtdm6RchcYUUjImZ7PtCpnR2eacJxYmEXkjIX1fsW-4sjczkkvB5VektJGtV9KsEjYs-ga1Gxfu2tYlYhMB9lb-mHE3pJI6b-oPE/s1600/newstv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_dtae7eqGAsChXW2_CgjvyG2MQ4WwzqxUj0bX4ajtdm6RchcYUUjImZ7PtCpnR2eacJxYmEXkjIX1fsW-4sjczkkvB5VektJGtV9KsEjYs-ga1Gxfu2tYlYhMB9lb-mHE3pJI6b-oPE/s320/newstv.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Those are the everyday cases that the
media overlooks or the public is unaware of that paranormal groups
deal with consistently.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-32709123175341673422013-06-13T03:32:00.001-07:002013-06-13T03:32:14.047-07:00Safety First-When is an Investigation too hazardous?.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">W</span></b></i>hen is it better to err on the side of
caution when you are responsible for the well-being of others?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76WG8dSryDbwGciNHpPvLF6TUnuRigUQp8JetUMvbsagLZRRYvRgwdO15NSqh8yCNypYzJw0SF6hHLrw04YmBeZHFbio8jsOJmEsO1j04pd9Bzs4YuHo-LImzTHw21MkRdsQgeGe9X3E/s1600/safety.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76WG8dSryDbwGciNHpPvLF6TUnuRigUQp8JetUMvbsagLZRRYvRgwdO15NSqh8yCNypYzJw0SF6hHLrw04YmBeZHFbio8jsOJmEsO1j04pd9Bzs4YuHo-LImzTHw21MkRdsQgeGe9X3E/s320/safety.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Keeping an open mind, I listened to her
and I could hear the fear in her voice so I set up the preliminary
investigation.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is more but I do not want give
away everything that happened.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At what point do you draw the line and
admit you are in over your head?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-60523944200030426352012-03-17T17:29:00.000-07:002012-03-17T17:29:53.580-07:00Ghost WarsWhat ever happened to the ghost hunters creed of doing it to "HELP PEOPLE"?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiA_qeFxgw_EiLQsLdRYmZR-uCQ9rMmZRcap8BTdTYIjifjknt0rb7Sg4veiw3Pz1YwxQ-Na_Bfnajdr2_Qd1f0IvbKMOpN3OMCaiD4pvpfgF9jTvja_vVHZckFP2WAAyV-hBPcoD13o/s1600/ghostwars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiA_qeFxgw_EiLQsLdRYmZR-uCQ9rMmZRcap8BTdTYIjifjknt0rb7Sg4veiw3Pz1YwxQ-Na_Bfnajdr2_Qd1f0IvbKMOpN3OMCaiD4pvpfgF9jTvja_vVHZckFP2WAAyV-hBPcoD13o/s320/ghostwars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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.<br />
<br />
I have heard similar stories from other older groups. And the other stuff-the badmouthing..why?<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-65287167385793411302012-01-27T00:22:00.000-08:002012-01-27T00:22:23.951-08:00Lessons Learned<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">First off ghost hunting does have its risks.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifV2TbK-hDqj5ZTDytz4oIWhCWBFe5yy9fAyEtyCVBPhG6hYdIYMYZeddC8G2PZrT7M3uA4nZT1VB18rzviNI-fEEsgC4SkuqQpw72ZjUZGbHKPOtvCXqpPRrqgkjtBiTLzWXvk_VVmpo/s1600/poptart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifV2TbK-hDqj5ZTDytz4oIWhCWBFe5yy9fAyEtyCVBPhG6hYdIYMYZeddC8G2PZrT7M3uA4nZT1VB18rzviNI-fEEsgC4SkuqQpw72ZjUZGbHKPOtvCXqpPRrqgkjtBiTLzWXvk_VVmpo/s320/poptart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">My Pop Tart cravings are well known</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHplydDF5Lwlz-HxYTltNjWO1O5K-1PJErtdQG10GZKZU1c9m0bG06UVHip_mU8GXx8vS0fkOJKOQgWfGKQtwKAhY_5-eLCmNVvCuZLPe0DOPS-OZWRlDp7PAwU80sT-kDtOTzmgxTfo/s1600/chucky-241x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHplydDF5Lwlz-HxYTltNjWO1O5K-1PJErtdQG10GZKZU1c9m0bG06UVHip_mU8GXx8vS0fkOJKOQgWfGKQtwKAhY_5-eLCmNVvCuZLPe0DOPS-OZWRlDp7PAwU80sT-kDtOTzmgxTfo/s320/chucky-241x366.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Filming on location</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENFvips21sZQs-dRr6wgWw5Mtu7TVRsr8wL6EKByg2QxAYcYUs1Z70JZWnzu6hjccnwCVZIQ-JZ7uERyqFMSqNbP9GozFoazaHR843CwhGso0sNosJ3xuSLXhO-yw1ajdeA_bqRZV8oI/s1600/medicine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENFvips21sZQs-dRr6wgWw5Mtu7TVRsr8wL6EKByg2QxAYcYUs1Z70JZWnzu6hjccnwCVZIQ-JZ7uERyqFMSqNbP9GozFoazaHR843CwhGso0sNosJ3xuSLXhO-yw1ajdeA_bqRZV8oI/s320/medicine.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">My medicine bag</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Most of the time if a ghost hunter is followed home, it only lasts a week or so but it can unnerving. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So again make sure you protect yourselves and learn from the experiences of others as to what not to do during an investigation.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div>California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-52895640448707566152012-01-10T03:46:00.000-08:002012-01-10T03:46:45.078-08:00Orbs Make My Head Spin<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Orbs.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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”.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9PNmNPY7Ae610tB4A1XLaPuccy0pwK3Ed8rDTqkudZ_3BMWbxfTeIciP_28cjhULhVDGXiLeD-dzlrRjvex4_y3afhhFLLoDCZC5zk7jK7MWwAM6y3MkoRIhlkgsnQh7tdvQGvWiWW4/s1600/orb_theory1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9PNmNPY7Ae610tB4A1XLaPuccy0pwK3Ed8rDTqkudZ_3BMWbxfTeIciP_28cjhULhVDGXiLeD-dzlrRjvex4_y3afhhFLLoDCZC5zk7jK7MWwAM6y3MkoRIhlkgsnQh7tdvQGvWiWW4/s1600/orb_theory1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>A picture of pollen from Ghostweb.com</b></span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLd7Pg9owVkzYKWYCLXB1sVbyWBUIvRpLmAK37wPSQI2yipIZa7cyHR-W5-ku2oewSVeFWSanFcdFndPeSzs6b1kJKJotzSa1m6_qWG-IhxwzMRiqR_ZJWRWB3fMKpju1q4mUQbmvAUwU/s1600/orb_theory5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLd7Pg9owVkzYKWYCLXB1sVbyWBUIvRpLmAK37wPSQI2yipIZa7cyHR-W5-ku2oewSVeFWSanFcdFndPeSzs6b1kJKJotzSa1m6_qWG-IhxwzMRiqR_ZJWRWB3fMKpju1q4mUQbmvAUwU/s1600/orb_theory5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture oif dust "orbs" from Ghostweb.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vTCLuDbbDpzCeMBDuzR8ZyT5nyL58Noc0ig_JoOj-VtwVwXAEUC_LtJIyBROgP7VzSkNsaoLzHPSDX5zsJ47Htnc_WWJxv6S2nHdPMdTf4ockSCS1TLDuytENiZIbY8z8aI7AkYyqAU/s1600/orb_theory7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vTCLuDbbDpzCeMBDuzR8ZyT5nyL58Noc0ig_JoOj-VtwVwXAEUC_LtJIyBROgP7VzSkNsaoLzHPSDX5zsJ47Htnc_WWJxv6S2nHdPMdTf4ockSCS1TLDuytENiZIbY8z8aI7AkYyqAU/s1600/orb_theory7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Another dust "orb" from Ghostweb.com</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div>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.” <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">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.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div>California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-45997670274784000112011-12-28T23:02:00.000-08:002011-12-28T23:02:50.049-08:00Much Work Lies AheadIn 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurOfTvK6aCaKBL88GkKG61NMN0CCYMwUuoDPiBV5Vwd0WcQkcIuvQEH5ZxWi5dUD7FyEJF6ZXVrp2v-ptVF-RNdNtylxDQF5YViRwZo_4zpaaDX1PHjFcQUE19Mc3nNyWTUZ6M0NQnho/s1600/monitor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurOfTvK6aCaKBL88GkKG61NMN0CCYMwUuoDPiBV5Vwd0WcQkcIuvQEH5ZxWi5dUD7FyEJF6ZXVrp2v-ptVF-RNdNtylxDQF5YViRwZo_4zpaaDX1PHjFcQUE19Mc3nNyWTUZ6M0NQnho/s400/monitor.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbDyQrNYYbJ-FnA1q6KuyihKKdTnm2sSEp9WfFubTECCYoA_kkrmKDH02igrooNoP5CYr_GDbttl6BId6MTfKkH9e3BPjF1DcQi1SvSMPyZpo5RTPonliyZ2fJrc-9ZJdG1p1kJ4dQgo/s1600/evpwaveform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbDyQrNYYbJ-FnA1q6KuyihKKdTnm2sSEp9WfFubTECCYoA_kkrmKDH02igrooNoP5CYr_GDbttl6BId6MTfKkH9e3BPjF1DcQi1SvSMPyZpo5RTPonliyZ2fJrc-9ZJdG1p1kJ4dQgo/s400/evpwaveform.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Then there are the wireless mics that are recorded directly into the computer during the investigation and the hand held video cameras.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
I also break away and do some investigating myself.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
And once the evidence has been reviewed there is yet another form called the Final Investigation Form and behind that is the Client Report.<br />
<br />
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.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-20661592848624283352011-12-26T05:29:00.000-08:002011-12-26T05:29:16.637-08:00Holidays and HappeningsMerry Christmas!<br />
<br />
It always fascinates me how the radio stations will stop playing Christmas music at midnight on the 26th. The reason being is that among most of the United States and the world, that is when the holiday ends.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq22ZXdJY717S8GSZFBj6Ztnnkf2SOpwdPRbfAQuzj8GcFPR9gEFuPWjvEumeon33vk-KpxWp_B66UT-43EyA81x-F1roeTp84aUoKwq1bjCOROX2tHTYJVzVPtN5StSpaze8QJ4ZXVi8/s1600/surfinsanta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq22ZXdJY717S8GSZFBj6Ztnnkf2SOpwdPRbfAQuzj8GcFPR9gEFuPWjvEumeon33vk-KpxWp_B66UT-43EyA81x-F1roeTp84aUoKwq1bjCOROX2tHTYJVzVPtN5StSpaze8QJ4ZXVi8/s1600/surfinsanta.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
When looking back over history it is interesting to note that the exact date of the birth of the Baby Jesus is unknown however, for years it has been celebrated on December 25.<br />
<br />
As I was growing up, we had Turkish neighbors who celebrated on different days than we did and that is when I started doing research into Christmas and the days it is held throughout the world.<br />
<br />
According to some sects of the Catholic religion, mainly in Eastern Europe, the holiday begins on the 25th and lasts until January 6. If you crunch the numbers, that totals up to 12 days. Sound familiar? That’s right. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…’ and so on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ6irtRyoN4Cguo88OHmttc0HQCFYyZbtP5tZccaqAGsERheplsKFEqrLuYNbI0XRLi3bYPQjiofkhh8JZlsyMrGF7iQIJCyX-JI_TZfyztLwlO1PvLXAHX_Ux0BKAZ0yqgq-BqgPz9E/s1600/nativity_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ6irtRyoN4Cguo88OHmttc0HQCFYyZbtP5tZccaqAGsERheplsKFEqrLuYNbI0XRLi3bYPQjiofkhh8JZlsyMrGF7iQIJCyX-JI_TZfyztLwlO1PvLXAHX_Ux0BKAZ0yqgq-BqgPz9E/s320/nativity_5.png" width="234" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The days also mark certain feasting and religious occurrences that are celebrated as well.<br />
<br />
The theory behind it is that although the recognized birth date is the 25th, the Magii and Shepherds did not arrive bearing their gifts until 12 days following the birth, which falls on January 6.<br />
<br />
It is true that not everybody celebrates Christmas the same way and it is also true that not everybody celebrates Christmas so it obviously is not a one size fits all holiday but it is interesting to see how different cultures celebrate.<br />
<br />
In our house, we always have an extended holiday. I think it stems back to the last few years when my father was sick. He always seemed to get pneumonia in December and was always getting out of the hospital after Christmas. One year, after buying a real tree, he got out in mid January. We had already taken our tree down but decided to buy an artificial tree on sale just so he would have a Christmas at home. We used the tree for years after as he always seemed to be sick during the holidays.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nc8hXcrVZmO5yqbiPbkSADwxIJjEBmXxsdwvIsypnhI7lYUlS_AOTFyOS_TiePgR4a33o1tBdwB02mhWtZGT2g3azGtvm5TWqlfsHpb_MBC0Qjb2__kV_WnijgUTv58_u1znPaj0lHo/s1600/Photo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nc8hXcrVZmO5yqbiPbkSADwxIJjEBmXxsdwvIsypnhI7lYUlS_AOTFyOS_TiePgR4a33o1tBdwB02mhWtZGT2g3azGtvm5TWqlfsHpb_MBC0Qjb2__kV_WnijgUTv58_u1znPaj0lHo/s320/Photo1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
A couple of years ago both he and I got sick with pneumonia. He got well faster than I did as I had triple pneumonia. I slept through Christmas and New Year’s. We didn’t celebrate Christmas until February.<br />
<br />
Last year marked the first year in a long time that my father was home and we made sure that he had a good one.<br />
<br />
Anyway, as I return back to where I started with this blog, I have friends who think I amm strange because I tend to believe in the 12 days of Christmas thing. My friends and some family members feel it is all over on the 26th. I don’t but that is what I believe in and in a lot of ways it saddens me that people don’t embrace the old ways and thoughts.<br />
<br />
This year, I received nice gifts from friends and family. My mother and I didn’t have a lot to spend for gifts but we are having a great holiday so far. We have good food, are enjoying the lights and other stuff. And, yes, church plays a big role in that as well. But for us, it’s all about being together for another year.<br />
<br />
So as your Christmas celebrations wind down, mine are still continuing and my mother and I plan to have our official celebration with gifts next weekend. Nothing big but at least we will present each other with a gift from our hearts.<br />
<br />
So if you happen to run into us shopping and playing our Christmas songs, don’t ridicule us or look upon us disapprovingly, we are simply following the old ways. Why not? What’s wrong with enjoying things a bit longer?California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-90235046997906766402011-12-23T03:57:00.001-08:002011-12-23T04:03:01.338-08:00It Has Been A Long JourneyAmazing!<br />
<br />
It is hard to believe that I last posted here in March of 2010. Saying that time flies is a cliché but to be honest it does go so fast. Sine the last blog, my father got sicker and required a lot of care. My mother and my focus was mainly on his well-being. Without going into a lot of detail, let’s just say it was very time consuming and at times could be frustrating.<br />
<br />
The year 2011 brought changes that I did not expect. Some were for the better and others are still working themselves out. For example, I did do some traveling outside of ghost hunting to Hawaii, Arizona, New York, Los Angeles and other places. I also was able to increase my freelance writing clientele to three steady clients per month.<br />
<br />
As all this was going on, my father grew sicker and my focus was more on him. If you have never taken care of anyone who is elderly and sick then you have no idea what a 24-hour job it is. I spent many months balancing his needs with my own and found out something I had never realized before. I am only human.<br />
<br />
When I was younger and up until the time my father got really sick, I had built my life around multi-tasking and living as if there wearen’t enough hours in the day for me to complete my tasks. A typical day consisted of interviewing for my newspaper stories, making it to various doctors appointment, booking investigations for California Haunts, making sure my father was changed, fed and taken care of and, writing late at night. It was also late at night that I would update the California Haunts Website and do whatever I could not fit in during the day. Most of the time I found myself sleeping four hours….five if I was lucky. And then I was filling the gaps with ghost hunting and the occasional trips.<br />
<br />
At some point during all of this I did something that I had not done since starting California Haunts more than six years ago. I began to delegate leadership tasks. Looking back, I should have just shut things down until my father’s health either improved or….didn’t. Anyhow, without going into detail, things changed within my group very rapidly as I could not attend to a lot of the functions needed for running the team.<br />
<br />
As the months flashed by, I neglected to keep a close eye on things and as my father’s life drew to a close, I was blinded to all things except him.<br />
<br />
In June, he died at age 85 and while I received a lot of support from team members and friends, the frist month or to after his death brought eye opening events that changed m outlook on the way things in my life and within my group were going.<br />
<br />
Suffice to say, the group underwent some changes in personnel that I felt were necessary. Although it hurt as some of the people involved were people I considered friends and some had been with me since the beginning of the team, we had reached an impasse and they departed.<br />
<br />
When I look back on it all, I am saddened that the events had to happen but I know my team is better off and I know my team members are better off as well. I have new members who are ready to hit the floor running and am excited.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ww5jRNuvnrTGIw_1bkESzBD2qa6z92TXZz-cTRqcEIcyZzUbA5Vwi8VPD6jr9_3pRNqVW3LXDuE0ogzvzJFpfGPtReE85pC0E-oQl2lbj4dbCy-Ti867UhFLj26ND9ctrQ2Cj8ZWWa0/s1600/newgroup.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ww5jRNuvnrTGIw_1bkESzBD2qa6z92TXZz-cTRqcEIcyZzUbA5Vwi8VPD6jr9_3pRNqVW3LXDuE0ogzvzJFpfGPtReE85pC0E-oQl2lbj4dbCy-Ti867UhFLj26ND9ctrQ2Cj8ZWWa0/s320/newgroup.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">New beginnings and continuing adventures.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Pictured are from rear left to front, Ma, Ruth, Karen, Sandy, Chuck, Tom, Charlotte, Linda, Kat. Not pictured: Veldena, Becca, Randy, Fred, Julie, Jerry, Lorna, Jose, Laura, Patrick, Kelley, Stefani, Trish, Dana, Susan, Susan, Richard, Wytnei, Janelle, Tammy, La Shia, Nancy, Irene, Rachel, Mia and James.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As I write this, it is December 23, 2011. Hard to believe that I am nearing 2012. California Haunts is continuing with a team of 35 and a future that is bright. We are booking investigations and are booked solid until April. I have brought aboard new members who will bring a lot to the group and I have restructured things a bit. Funny thing is….the restructuring consists of putting things back the way they were when this group started and the way the group has run for the five years leading up to 2011. (If it aint broke…)</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Although my life is still busy, it has slowed down somewhat. I now take care of my mother, 80, but is nowhere as difficult as it was with my dad and she is our oldest ghost hunter. Yes. She does go out and investigates with us.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So. Looking forward, I am thankful for the friends and group members that have stuck with me. I am thankful for those who have offered to help my group better itself and look forward to working with them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To all those who have supported me through this change, I thank you and appreciate your friendship. Now, I move forward and as things transpire, I will take you, the reader on the journey so you can see what it is like to run and maintain a paranormal group. I will be sharing results and investigative techniques. Hopefully you will see something that interests you.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-88502914021265225892010-03-01T02:25:00.000-08:002010-03-01T02:28:11.144-08:00Wow time does fly when you're having fun...not!Sitting down to blog this past week has been hard. As you can tell, I didn't but that doesn't mean that I didn't think about it.<br />
<br />
All week I was so busy, I hardly had time to eat let alone blog. Between writing stories and taking my ma and pa to the hospital for doctor and dental appointments, things were crazy.<br />
<br />
Monday: Spent most of the day running errands and then headed to Placerville on assignment for the evening. Got home at about 11 p.m. and wrote the story. Went to bed at about 2 a.m. I sleep about four hours thinking I can nap in the afternoon-WRONG!<br />
<br />
Tuesday: Got up extra early to put finishing touches on the story and then headed off to Kaiser with ma and pop for one of his two weekly appointments. while he was in the office, I stayed in teh van with my mini HP and proofed and emailed the story off. Then my brother called and needed a ride to his own doctor. I was a little upset because I had scheduled another writing assignment for the afternoon and had to put that off until Thursday.So I take my brother to the doctor and then had a bout an hour to eat something. I was then off for an evening assignment in Placerville-my mother came along.<br />
<br />
Here's where it gets interesting. So i finish my assignment and get into the pickup to head home and...nice...we have a flat tire. Problem No.1, the spare is already on the truck. Problem No.2, am out of AAA tows. Problem No.3, now what? So I put air in the tire thinking that i may be lucky enough to make the 40 mile drive home...not. As soon as the air went in, it came out. OK so I call AAA and of course they said no tow so I had a service call come out for $65-the driver confirms that the truck is not driveable. Now, in order to get it home, it will cost me $235. YIKES! So I call my dad who has a card.the phone is busy-he tends to leave it off the hook...wonderful. By now it is 9:30 p.m. and starting to rain. I decided to have the truck towed and put in some more calls in the hope that someone will be able to assist us. Out of nowhere, someone did. about halfway home, the tow truck driver receives a call that says my AAA card has no restrictions. The tow is covered. WOW!<br />
<br />
So we get home, it's now after 10 p.m. and I thank the driver profusely. I collapse from exhaustion.<br />
<br />
Wednesday: I get up at 9 a.m. and write the story. I check my email and find out that the town we are doing our ghostwalk in would like me to do a presentation on powerpoint about what we do. Ummmm. I have no presentation. I have the projector but nothing prepared....so of course I tell the client , no problem. So that adds another factor to my already overfilld schedule. I begin gathering info for the presntation and then my sister wants to SKYPE-that's fine except I am horribly busy with writing, the presentation, towing the truck over )with pops card) to have it worked on. The SKYPE lats about an hour and I know my mother has a dental appt. She said it wa ta 1 p.m. so I call to verify. WRONG! The appointment was a half hour ago so we rush off and spend a couple of hours there. We then head to the Tshirt place to pick up some shirts for the ghost team. When we return home I call a tow truck and have the truck towed to the tire store.We no sooner drop the tuck off then we find out a car we had in for reapirs is ready so off we go to pick that up. Finally I get home for about an hour break. While I wait, I call AAA about the tow the night before. They have no record of it. Bless whoever towed us. may good things come your way.<br />
<br />
We pick the truck up at 5 p.m. and I get home and put the finishing touches on the story and prepare the photos and captions for emailing. At 7:30 p.m., I do my Blogtalk show. By 8:30 p.m., I email the story and spend the rest of the night working on the presentation. I finally get to bed at 2 a.m.<br />
<br />
Thursday: I have an 11 a.m. in Placerville for the story I didn't run earlier in the week. I take my mini HP because now I will be writing on deadline and need to turn it in ASAP. My mom and dad decide to come along and I drive to the stop, interview and then the client suggests I see his pother store to add to the story. OKM fine, no pressure. we stop for lunch at a pizza place where I can write the bul of the story. At about 1:00 p.m., we head to the other store. I do the interviews and then rush back to the to finish writing the story. It is now 2:30 p.m.and finally I am done. we head back to Sacramento and I spend the rest of teh evening working on the presentation and preparing for a meetup meeting on Sunday.<br />
<br />
Friday: Easy, simple morning. Looked like the day was going to be nice....wrong. we make a trip to Safeway for some shopping and then take the ruck to the tire store to put on a matching tire as I can feel vibrations. We head back to the house and then I decide to call Kaiser to see when pop's appointment is...here we go again...we had 20 minutes to get to Kaiser. woo hoo. Off we go.<br />
<br />
By now, it's 3 p.m. and I need to get to the library to pick up a key for the meeting room so i drop ma and pa off at Kaiser and go to the library. I grab some lunch on the way back and then get a small 30 minute break until they are done. It is now pouring rain when they get into the van so we head out and buy them some dinner. we go home and they eat and then ma and I are off again to pick up the truck. I decide to go to Office Max to test the tires on the road and Ma comes along. I drop her off and head to Davis to finally relax. I get home around 11 p.m. and boy do I sleep.<br />
<br />
Saturday: Another slow, easy morning. I sleep until 10 a.m. and then head to Davis for lunch/dinner. when I return, I do an equipment check and take ma out to get take-out at Applebees. I return home and do teh final preparation for the meetup meeting and answer emails and work on the presentation.I finally sleep at about 3 a.m.<br />
<br />
Sunday: Up at 8 a.m. to do have my hair cut and other personal things. Out the door at 9:30 to load the equipment in tHe van..I head to the library and grab breakfast along the way. at 10:30 I arrive and with help from team members unload. The meeting begins at 11 a.m. we finish at 2 p.m. and I go home, iunload an pick up ma and pa for a trip to Walmart. we eat our dinner at woody's and go shopping. we get home about 5:30 p.m. and my neice stops by. O leave at about 6:30 to visit a friend in Davis. I get home at about 11:30 p.m. and waytch the closing cermonies of teh Olympice.<br />
<br />
Whew. I am really tired now.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-47279807017385775522010-02-22T13:01:00.000-08:002010-02-22T13:01:00.198-08:00A couple days of restWow! Time flies when you are having so much fun. It's hard to believe that it is Monday.<br />
<br />
Saturday was spent with final preparations for the night's ghost hunt in Pleasanton. I also ,made the drive to the shirt designer to pick up some CHaunts blankets, sweatpants and a polo shirt. we had some luncha nd then it was back home to load the van and sleep.I have an ulcer so that was acting up. I purchased some TUMS at a gas station to alleviate the tummy pain.<br />
<br />
I left at about 6:15 p.m. to pick up John and the at 7 p.m.,I picked up Caren, our lead sensitive. Then we made the 1.5 hour trip to Pleasanton for the investigation.<br />
<br />
Once we arrived, we tried to order pizza but the kitchen was shut down, si for the first hour, we lived on the chocolate doughnuts that Caren had brought for us. Yum doughnuts and Mountain Dew. As we feasted and did a walk through to see where we should place our surveillance cameras, Fred and Julie arrived as did Kat-they are all part our five person Central California team.<br />
<br />
Our contact for the evening, Julie arrived and I interviewed here while the cameras were set up. Once that was done, I sat down art the control center and started attaching camera lines to the DVR and found that one camera wasn't functioning properly. That is disappointing as the camera is new and is one of our super cameras that allows us to see 135 feet in the dark. Hopefully it was just a malfunction and I intend to check it at a later date.<br />
<br />
Julie, our contact graciously made us Ceasar salad and garlic bread. It was delicious.<br />
<br />
After eating and replacing the camera, it was lights out at about 11:15 p.m.<br />
<br />
The next few hours were spent conducting EMF measurements and EVP sessions. Towards the end of the investigation, I took a team down into the basement area to conduct an EVP session while at the same time utilizing dowsing rods. We seemed to be talking with a female spirit who had a sense of humor. LOL.<br />
<br />
At about 1:45 a.m. we wrapped and I sat down with Julie the contact and gave her a preliminary overview of what we found. <br />
<br />
No. I am not going to leave it at that and tease you.<br />
<br />
We found high Elelectro Magnetic Frequencies (EMF) throughout the building and also found a plausible explanation for mirror that is thought to have some writing on it many think is paranormal in nature. Our answer? Aging mirrors tend to get certain marks on them that can appear as dark shapes when looked at from certain angles. Washing a mirror can also build up spots that could appear as shapes.<br />
<br />
As far as the EMF goes, high EMF can cause paranoia ie: feelings of being watched, headaches and other stuff. The building is close to a street and the report of objects moving on tables could be the result of heavy trucks going by. The city also sits on an earthquake fault.<br />
<br />
From the perspective of the sensitive, she detected one spirit, the spirit of a female who had lived about 130 years ago.<br />
<br />
So now the research and evidence review begins.<br />
<br />
I got home at about 4 a.m. on Sunday and slept most of the day. Today, has been slow. I rescheduled a doctor's appointment to tommorrow beause I have a writing assignment this afternoon. I went to Walmart this morning and now I am answering emails and writing this. I will unload the van later this afternoon and then visit a friend this evening.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-87368021322763070702010-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:002010-02-19T01:23:33.632-08:00So much to do....Without sounding overly campy and cliche, I honestly believe that there should be at least three of me to keep up with everything.<br />
<br />
It is about 1 a.m. and I have spent the day writing, taking ma to the dentist, running a family errand, taking pa to the doctor and then catching Avatar in 3D.<br />
<br />
It doesn't seem much, I know but let me lay it out to you time-wise. I was up at 6 a.m. writing and at about 7:30 a.m. had a quick breakfast, then there was more writing. At 9:45 a.m. I took ma to the dentist and stayed there for about an hour before taking the pickup to have some tire work done. we got home at about 11:30, picked up pa because he wanted to do a little shopping and had some lunch. We finally got home at about 1:45 p.m.<br />
<br />
After answering some emails and going over bills, it was time to take pa to the doctor, that lasted until 5 p.m. I got home, jumped in the pickup and headed to Davis for a quick dinner and a three-hour movie.<br />
<br />
On Feb. 17, I spent most of the day designing a press release, placing the upcoming ghost walk on several online newspaper calendars, watching six hours of video from Saturday's investigation,did my Blogtalk Radio show, placing the press release on Facebook and Myspace and answering emails. I also sent out 67 emails to advertise my Blogtalk show.<br />
<br />
At about 9 p.m., I finally got a break and sat in front of the TV watching the olympics and munching on popcorn.<br />
<br />
Whew...makes me tired just thinking about it.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-2560891898494769302010-02-16T01:11:00.000-08:002010-02-16T01:11:32.336-08:00Keep on Truckin'After having slept all of about fours on Sunday morning, I found myself unloading equipment out of the van and then loading up the family for a trip to Harbor Freight, a tool store. While I wasn't very happy about rushing off...you see I had what I thought was a 2 p.m. performance at the Mondavi to attend and the time of heading to Harbor was 11 a.m. so we would be cutting it close.<br />
<br />
So off I drove to Harbor and it all oorled out anyway as I ended up buying a set of screwdrivers, some Velcro cable ties and a plastic organiozer box for the hundreds of batteries that we carry to investigations.<br />
<br />
We stopped off for a quick lunch and then the second I got home, I hopped into my pickup for the 40 minute drive to Davis, which meant, if all was well with the world, I would arrive to pick my friend up at 1:30 p.m.<br />
<br />
So as I head to Davis, I can see the Mondavi from the highway and the parking lot seems empty. I am thinking that maybe the show got canceled. I pick up ny friend, who has the tickets and we drivr to the Mondavi and notice that no one is going in. To her horror, my friend realizes that the tickets are for 7 p.m.<br />
<br />
Now what do I do? I am exhausted and I don't want to make the drive back to Sacramento because I would have to drive back at 5:30 p.m. so I decide to go shopping. We drive to Dixon and go to Walmart where I buy some food items for my family and a tool box for the group. Then it wa back to my friend's apartment to stowe the gear.<br />
<br />
By now, it's around 5 p.m., so we go to dinner which is followed by the show. I was so tired and fought my way through the performace but i made it and then headed back to her apartment where I reloaded the truck.<br />
<br />
Luckily there is a gas staion enar her apartment and I was able to get a Rock Star energy drink for the ride home. I got home around 11 p.m. and didn't wake up until 9 a.m. but still felt exhausted.<br />
<br />
My mother had a dental appointment at 10 a.m. so I went to that and then headed off to Office Max to make copies of some rebate stuff for my cell phone. We stopped off at subway and went home and had lunch. I fell asleep for about an hour then it was into my office to design a Webpage for our upcoming event in Downieville, call some merchants to finalize details, write a press release and then take another nap for an hour.<br />
<br />
My evening ended in Davis, watching the Olympics with friends and then I headed home to write this blog.<br />
<br />
Now...I MUST SLEEP.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-8047760438468575752010-02-14T03:21:00.000-08:002010-02-14T03:21:24.483-08:00A Long NightIt's 3:15 a.m. and I am just getting home from a ghost hunt at a residence.<br />
<br />
My day started at 8 a.m. with a check of the DVR followed by a trip to Office Max for supplies and lunch. Once home, I put together investigation paperwork and then loaded all the equipment into the van.<br />
<br />
At about 2 p.m., one investigator called in sick but that is OK. Because we have so many people, it is easy to find a replacement. <br />
<br />
I spent two hours at a movie and then it was back home to wait on two investigators before leaving for the investigation.<br />
<br />
Once we arrived, John and Jerry worked with the two trainees and taught them about the use and setup of the equipment. We then spent the next five hours at the site before heading to Denny's for a nightcap.<br />
<br />
One thing of note: The client gave the team a very generous donation. I gave Jerry half of it as a payment on the Thermal Imaging camera he bought for the group.<br />
<br />
Now, as I write this, I am listening to some EVP work and hopefully will be going to bed soon.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-43861019888717943352010-02-13T00:43:00.000-08:002010-02-13T00:43:07.513-08:00Busy Busy BusyOK so two days have passed since I last blogged.<br />
<br />
On Thursday I took the family to the Jelly Belly Factory. On Thursday night, I was a guest on a radio show on Blogtalk Radio-Cathies Distant Echos where i was interviewed not only by Cathie but by a fellow ghost hunter. It was a fun hour but was over before I knew it. Thursday night was spent answering numerous emails and updating the Website.<br />
<br />
On Friday, I finally got around to doing the equipment check. There are six boxes of various meters, cameras, mics, cords, walkie talkiesa nd other investigation-related tools that we use in teh field. In addition, there are eight 100 foot audio/video lines, a monitor and a nin-channel DVR. I also use an HP mini laptop on investigations.<br />
<br />
All in all it took about an hour to do the check and I found, to my dismay, that a thermometer was missing so I emailed my team to see if someone had taken it home by accident. If that's not the case, then I will have to buy another one. I also found that the walkie talkies were in need of batteries. The bad part is that each walkie talkies three to four AAA batteries and generally we use five on investigations so itc an get expensive.<br />
<br />
After emailing my team, I went out in search of a library meeting room for the next team meeting. Lunch followed with atrip to the pharmacy and then to Walmart to buy extra batteries. I then returned home to prepare for my evening meeting at Denny's with potential team members.<br />
<br />
Let it be know that I detest sitting idle so the downtime -about three hours between getting home and going to the meeting, made me stir crazy so I wrote up my proposal for a special event in March and emailed it off.<br />
<br />
When I arrived at Denny's, John and Marcy were already there and had a table waiting so we waited for the recruits to arrive. After an extended meeting in which I had dinner, we all went home.<br />
<br />
But I wasn't done yet. I answered emails and tested out a recording system that may be used in future investigations. Apparently I have the wrong cable because it was a bust. Tomorrow I will make a trip to Radio Shack for the right cable.<br />
<br />
And so here I sit writing and drinking ice water and thinking about the things I need to do tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Already I have a full plate.<br />
<br />
1. Test the DVR<br />
2. Prepare the investigation forms. <br />
3. A trip to radio shack<br />
4. A movie with a friend<br />
5. Loading the car and conducting the investigation.<br />
<br />
As the song says, "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead." <br />
<br />
See ya.<br />
<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVzY9EbsXeY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVzY9EbsXeY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-66671296961895260722010-02-11T00:20:00.000-08:002010-02-11T00:20:34.042-08:00This That and The other ThingOK so now I have the time to really pursue stuff for my group. After finishing up my final article this evening, I now can make things happen.<br />
<br />
After doing my blogtalk radio show, which was fun by the way, I drove m to the .98 store and did some shopping. MMM-three words, Philadelphia Water Ice in varying flavors. Try it. Trust me. <br />
<br />
Once I got home, I confirmed an investigation at a pizza place in the Bay Area this evening. I was able to talk with my team members for a while too. <br />
<br />
As a team, we are all excited about this weekend's investigation. Residentials' are always nice to do. You have more control over the environment than you do in commercial job\s where sometimes you are at the mercy of their schedules. Hotels can be interesting because, especially on weekends, the bars stay open late and people are laughing and the music is blaring. Sometimes you work around it and hope for the best or you wait until early morning to start the investigation.<br />
<br />
A lot of people have asked me why I became a ghost hunter. My answer is curiosity. Since I was a kid I remember seeing "things" in my house. Not bad things but to me, theyw ere scary. My family would laugh and chock it up to bad dreams and fantasies but I knew because I would see them during the day.<br />
<br />
As I grew older, I watched all those shows like Unsolved Mysteries and In Search Of as I tried to find answers. as an adult, I joined a paranormal group and had several interesting adventures. I also did investigating on my own and sometimes came away scared.<br />
<br />
Now, as the head of my own group, I am still seeking answers but at the same time, I understand what it is like to feel unsure of oneself. many people who see spirits in their homes are either afraid , think they might be going nuts or are curious like I was and still am.<br />
<br />
So my objective is now twofold. I want to help those people, who like me, seek answers. I want to be able to assure them that they are not crazy and I want to get evidence to prove that. If paranormal activity is found in a location and the client feels uncomfortable about it, tI call in one of the team psychics to work with them.<br />
<br />
As a team, we seek the truth and go to extreme measures to make sure that what the client is experiencing isn't caused by a natural or man made occurrence. When we've finally ruled out all possibilities, then we look at what else could be the cause of the sightings, noises or objects being moved around.<br />
<br />
In the end, we bring some peace of mind to the client.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-195803482399775832010-02-09T23:24:00.000-08:002010-02-09T23:24:54.461-08:00Time to Step It UpNow that some of my writing is slowing down I can step up working with the investigation group.<br />
<br />
Today, for example, I wrote down ideas for an upcoming event in the mountains. I also called and confirmed an investigation at a popular hotel near Yosemite.<br />
<br />
I spent the better part of an hour answering calls from team members and getting emails out about the confirmation as well as about an upcoming investigation.<br />
<br />
Tonight I find myself answering more emails and writing my blog.<br />
<br />
I am glad things are slowing down a bit, It has been frustrating balancing real life with my ghost hunting life. There is always so much to do and prioritizing it can be a bear.<br />
<br />
Well tomorrow will be a better day...I hope.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8082480601569714486.post-44953616923314162592010-02-08T00:16:00.000-08:002010-02-09T23:31:17.583-08:00A little about MeFirst off I want to welcome you to this blog.<br />
<br />
As the days progress, I will try to blog daily as my schedule permits but there will be days that I am very busy with life things and won't be able to write.<br />
<br />
In short, I run a paranormal investigation group of about 45 members. Members are spread throughout California.<br />
<br />
This blog will show you what it takes to run a successful group-I will hold nothing back including my frustrations.<br />
<br />
<br />
So here goes:<br />
<br />
<br />
I am a journalist by trade but am currently unemployed due to a layoff at a newspaper. The timing of the layoff was interesting because my elderly father got sick and I now take care of both my elderly parents in addition to working towards creating an online newspaper. I also write for publications on occasion, for free, just so I can keep my name out there. As jobs for journalists are scarse these days, keeping my name out there may help in future job interviews.<br />
<br />
This weekend was very busy.<br />
<br />
Friday, my day began with a family trip to Walmart for some items that included a pair of sweat pants. We then headed to the shirt printer so that I could order shirts for my new team members and i also dropped off the sweatpants so that I could have the group logo embroidered on them. After ordering a few items, itw as back in the car and out to lunch with ma and pa. we then headed to Costco. When I got home, I answered some emails and then I was off again to visit a friend.<br />
<br />
I spent yesterday, Saturday, in a Northern California town, touring and talking with business owners and residents about their alleged hauntings. I got names and numbers and in the next few days will be calling them to arrange a ghost tour of the town and two investigations. Later on in the week I will make the 2 hour drive back to the town to take pictures of the buildings and set up a tour route.<br />
<br />
Today, Sunday, I started my day with a birthday lunch and the went to Office Max to buy some supplies and then it was to see Rent which was followed by a dinner. <br />
<br />
<br />
This evening, Sunday, I spent time emailing new and old team members about the event in the town. I also spent a couple of hours trying to get a guest for the radio show that I host every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PST on www.blogtalkradio.com/californiahaunts. Once I got the guest, I then spent another hour notifying everyone on my frends lists at blogtalk, facebook, and Myspace and the Paranormal Classifieds about the show. I also placed an announcement on three message boards at meetup.com.<br />
<br />
<br />
It is now midnite and I am still trying to get the word out about the show. I also went to Walmart today to buy printer paper and another tool box for investigation equipment. In a few minutes I will load that box up and hopefully get some much needed sleep.California Hauntshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673245336798122795noreply@blogger.com0