Carolyn’s Bedroom

When I investigate a haunting I don’t like to label the cause as “evil” or “demonic” because I am not yet convinced that demons or ghosts or even spirits are the cause of hauntings. It could be something else. The problem is that not all hauntings are the same nor do they start out the same as was the case of Carolyn’s bedroom.

I advertise my services in a couple of St. Louis newspapers and I have my business cards scattered in strategic places around St. Louis. Carolyn called me on a hot August night at the beginning of several days of 100 plus degree temperatures which claimed the lives of several St. Louisans. My first though was, “the season begins.” Every year is the same. My phone is silent until the middle or end of August and then its gang busters through December, with October being the busiest time.

Carolyn called complaining of “odd feelings” within her new home. She had moved in quite a while ago but did not seem comfortable yet. She felt as though her bedroom was not hers but someone else’s. She just could not get comfortable nor did she have any energy while she was in the home. There was also a depressing feeling upon entering her house. All of these feelings seemed to radiate from her bedroom in the rear of the home. She wanted me to do a cleansing. She also said because of her lack of energy her home was very cluttered.

Instead of assembling the entire team I decided to go this one alone because she had not seen or felt any spirits. I thought this would probably involve a motivational speech, a referral to a maid service and I'd quickly come back home but was I wrong.

Upon entering the house it was not as cluttered as Carolyn thought, but it was a bit untidy. Carolyn was a well-educated, well-spoken woman with intelligence. When you do paranormal investigating long enough you immediately question the occupants to establish a profile. There is no common denominator when it comes to victims of hauntings. They are from every religion, race, gender and different social and economic backgrounds. Since 1999, I have only found one thing that all of these victims have in common (other than the occasional nut): they are all very “sensitive”. Not in an emotional way but it appears like they can sense things that normal people cannot. Carolyn is definitely a “sensitive” person. She is not very religious but was raised Catholic.

I am not a psychic but I can feel emotions. I cannot communicate with anything nor can I channel (I am not even sure if that stuff is real) but I can sense the emotional state of locations. I can’t explain it any better than that. So when I walk into a room I can sense the emotions of the people in it as well as the emotional state of the location.

Walking into Carolyn’s bedroom was like walking into an emotional thunderstorm. Every hair on my body stood up, I got goosebumps all over and these goosebumps never went away. My heart started pumping very fast and my mouth felt like I had bitten into a lemon; I could feel the saliva pouring from the glands in my mouth. I’ve ever experienced anything quite like this before. It was like walking into an argument and it felt like I arrived during the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

I use the phrase "emotional thunderstorm" to mean a complete feeling of turmoil. Like in weather, when a high meets a low you get bad thunderstorms. Within this house there was a clash of auras (or whatever you call it) between Carolyn and the previous owners, who had lived there for many years. When you live in a place long enough maybe you imprint your aura within the building and when someone new arrives there can be a clash just like in a weather system. This is the only way I can explain what happened and what I felt.

I laugh when people talk about the science of ghost hunting because there is no science. I could not measure what I felt on an EMF gauge, there were no temperature change, nor was there anything else which could be measured on any of the equipment I brought. This just “felt” odd; just like an emotional thunderstorm. When we left the bedroom to investigate the other rooms of the house my symptoms went away, but as soon as we enter the bedroom again they came back again.

When entering certain “bad” locations I have developed stomach cramps where it feels like I have to take a bad shit. It often gets so bad it feels like I am going to pass out and then as I leave the location the stomach cramps also leave. Psychic friends tell me this is an attack by an evil spirit as they absorb my energy. This may be true but I have no scientific way of measuring it so I am not convinced of what is actually happening. In Carolyn’s bedroom something else happened. Before you even think it, I was NOT Running of Fear, she had not told me anything other than she felt her bedroom was not hers, but someone else’s.

Carolyn told me the former owners had lived in the house for many years. They had raised kids in the home and one of them even died there in that bedroom. This story only added to my suspicions that many hauntings are not the result of spirits but something else. Maybe when we live in a location for sometime we build an aura in the house. Then when we leave and somebody else takes over the two aura’s clash like a high front and a low front in weather. The result of this clash is like an emotional thunderstorm. Most people might not ever sense this, but “sensitive” people so feel this ripple in their new home. If this is not dealt with in a timely manner, then a full blown haunting can occur. When I wrote Evil Descends, this was how their haunting started; a bad feeling which manifested and grew into something incontrollable.

I don’t believe in cleansings in the traditional sense. I don’t think you need any holy water or burning grass or virgin olive oil, all you need is to bring positive energy into a location and you can eliminate this emotional turmoil. Paint the walls in your favorite color. Blast your favorite music and dance in the house. Hang your favorite pictures and laugh, enjoy life. We even moved her favorite rock collection into the room. Only an attitude adjustment can dispel a bad aura. Ancient religions don’t have a clue when it comes to changing paradigms. Watching charlatan priests slap blubbering minions on the head will not exorcise demons, but it does scare the shit out of unintelligent people and fill the seats of the chapel. People think if they don’t join the church the demons will get them next. Don’t ever believe this crock of bullshit!!!

Carolyn is Catholic so I joined her in the Lords Prayer. Then I told her to close her eyes and bring her light into this bedroom. I also gave her the suggestions I stated above. I told her to move into this house and claim it at her house. Have fun in it. She could have brought in a psychic or a priest and paid a lot of money for them to burn grass or splash holy water through the house but that will not change anything. In order for things to change she must change them. Bring peace into your heart. Bring peace, tranquility and laughter into your home and you will notice a change. Immediately after saying the prayer this bad aura left the bedroom. The goosebumps were finally gone, as was everything else. The emotional turmoil was finally subdued. We both smiled at each other and it finally “felt” good in the room.

I don’t think the prayer had anything to do with the change. I think it was Carolyn’s attitude that changed. When her attitude changed the bad aura (or whatever you want to call it) finally dissipated. This will take work to maintain and she will have to keep the momentum going. She still needs to finish her cleansing by moving into her house and bringing even more positive energy into it. I think she will do very well.

My instincts told me if this was allowed to fester it might have developed into something much worse. Many of the hauntings I investigate begin just like this, a bad feeling which grows into something else. The laws of attraction apply here. If you harbor negative feelings or allow negative feeling to endure then you will attract negative events. It is best to keep a positive attitude in life so you will attract positive people and results.

Welcome

This is the new location of the Haunted Missouri paranormal investigative team. Since 1999 we have been conducting investigations within the central United States. The team has changed personnel but our motto of helping people who live with a spirit, has remained constant. If the spirit is not welcome, we will help it move on or give the living inhabitants of the house more strength and some advice to cope with the situation. We do not charge for our services preferring to help people who really need our help.

First and foremost I am a skeptic. So I use scientific methods including electronic instruments to detect paranormal energy. This is tricky since there are no scientific methods or devices to measure paranormal activity.

So far 2007 has been a very slow year as we have only performed one investigation to date. We do have a few things on the horizon so this page might get quite busy during the next few months.

While on vacation in Virginia I did snap a very good “ghostly” picture. While inside Endless Caverns we were in a place where many parties were hosted during prohibition. Well I was taking pictures and suddenly the flash kicked back right into my face. At the time I was running behind so I had to catch up to the tour guide.

When I got back to the hotel I found the following picture. Keep in mind I don’t give much credence to pictures without any other corresponding equipment to verify paranormal activity. I did not have any equipment with me, so this could be nothing at all. The cave was a cold 55 degrees with no mist but yet somehow a mist appeared on my photo. You judge and leave a comment.

From The Pit

WARNING: This is the beginning of a graphic horror novel. Read at your own risk! Don't say I didn't warn you.........

It's dark, so very dark.

How long have I been walking? It feels like an eternity: days, months, maybe even years. I realize I don't even know my name. It feels like I just awakened in the darkness, walking toward something unknown. I can't even see my hand in front of my face so I can't tell if I have any identifiable marks on me. Unending screams pierce the darkness behind me, blocking out everything except the sound of my footsteps. Blood curdling screams, as if something is being tortured and murdered. So I keep moving forward not daring to stop.

The walls in this cold void consist of very sharp rocks. Although I can't see them, I have an innate sense to avoid cutting myself. I cannot explain it but I feel as if I am being pulled forward, as if I am being led by an invisible hand. The stench of this place is sickening. Very frequently I'll step on something soft. I could swear it is a corpse but having no light I just keep moving. Who am I kidding; I am unable to stop even if I wanted to. The pulling..

It occurred to me I could be prey and I think I was being hunted. A while ago, through the screams, I heard something slithering quite close. I walked quieter trying to avoid an encounter. It followed me for many miles. I could hear it whispering, calling to me but I was unable to stop. Then, I heard a crunching like many bones being broken and the slithering stopped.

The void torments me but it also gives nourishment. Every once in a while I'll feel something soft and warm on the walls; that's when I feed. I don't know what it is but it is tasty flesh. The sweet blood runs down my neck before I can lick it all up. It's the only satisfaction I ever get here. I discard the bones without stopping.

The void seems to be getting smaller. I have to stoop over to avoid banging my head on the sharp ceiling. Where am I going? There are so many questions but I have no answers. The cold is beginning to fade and I fear I am nearing journey's end. But to where? What horrors await me at the end?

I now hear whispering up ahead. I can't make out words but I hear many voices. The closer I get the more it sounds like chanting. Now the pulling is unbearable as my pace quickens but with little effort from me. I now see a small light in the distance growing larger as I get closer.

The ground is now soft and warm; I hear a crunching and moaning over the screams with every step. I am definitely walking on many creatures because I can feel their touch. They are reaching out, grabbing my legs as I step down braking whatever bones are in my path. My pace quickens as I sense the light up ahead is where I am being pulled to.

Suddenly, I am standing within a pentagram of flames. There are now six hooded and cloaked figures staring at me. I cannot see their faces but I can see their eyes. Their eyes are glowing, piercing me. Their chanting has stopped and one of them approaches wielding a large black sword. I brace for battle but he kneels before me and holds the blade over his head for me to take.

They chant in unison, "All Hail Orcus, Prince of the Undead!"

I smile. A great weight has been lifted as I realize I am not prey. Now I remember who I am!

The creature kneeling now looks up at me but I am still unable to see his face. He says to me, "We have summoned you and you have come as prophesized."

"Where am I?"

"You have crawled through the Abyss and have arrived in the human world of Nevaeh, my lord. Its plagued with wars; eons of wars. So many dead they have begun burying fresh corpses over the ancient dead. Very little hallowed ground here; it's starting to sour. There are many souls to torture and the flesh is warm! What are your orders, master?"

"I am weak from travel, summon my army through the portal."

"As you wish."

I touch my blade as a cold shock rushes through my body, instantly energizing me. I raise the sword toward the skies. "The age of humans will now end! We will eat their flesh!"

From the diary of Orcus

Evil Decends

Well I am progressing on the book to the point where I feel comfortable releasing a brief view. It's still untitled but I did give a name to this passage. With regards to titles. I treat my stories like I treat my pets. I let them tell me their name over time. So here it is:

People think hell is a volcanic world where soul’s burn, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In actuality, hell is a cold dark place filled with silence. Almost like being locked in a freezer full of corpses. Well, there is the occasional scream just to keep you awake. What kind of creature would live in a place like that?

Once you stare into the face of evil, you can never get that image out of your mind. It’s engraved into your soul and every time you close your eyes you can see the face of evil staring back at you. It’s waiting for you; waiting until you are at your weakest. Then it will strike and take away everything you hold close to your heart.

The eyes of evil are like two lifeless pieces of coal. An endless black pit filled with horror and pain. There is no life in the void, only death, decay and darkness. They will suck the life out of you; absorbing the laughter and smiles, while leaving behind isolation and terror.

When darkness descends, the wake of destruction is much like a tsunami. One day your family is happy without a care in the world. Then, one day you feel the cold spots. Then, voices in the dark empty house. The voices are a whisper in your ear like someone is standing right next to you but no one is there. You can feel the icy breath softly rushing into your ear as you name is whispered.

At first you think you are crazy but then you feel an invisible hand on your shoulder. The touches are gentle at first but become more intense often leaving bruises. You put your groceries away in the closet and are shoved inside with the door slamming behind. You bang on the door frantically trying to open it but it will not budge. It’s like a concrete wall and your fists make only a dull thud against the wood.

Then one night you awaken to a stranger sitting on your night stand staring through you. He looks real enough but you must be dreaming because, the eyes are strange. The eyes are nothing but two pools of darkness. You exhale and see you breath – its freezing! You want to scream but you can’t even move. Terror fills the room as he floats to the ceiling and vanishes in a black fog which slowly dissipates.

You notice other strange things happening in the house. The electrical appliances come on by themselves. The television in the basement displays only an eerie green static and if you look closely you can see a dark figure within. You unplug it but it still works!

Your family photos have blurred spots in them. You can see other people’s faces, sometimes appearing directly over your faces. The translucent white orbs are everywhere. In some pictures it looks like it is snowing in your house. Other people start to notice strange things happening in your house. They are scared to come over now so they stay away, further contributing to your isolation. You are the dark secret in the family that no one talks about but everybody suspects.

Now you are starting to see other people in the house. Is he bringing them here? You sense the man is living in your closet. At times you can see his evil glare between the shirts when you are putting the clothes away. You can see him run past you out of the corner of your eye but you never get a good look at him. You only get a better look at his face at night.

The night terrors are the worst. That is when the man in the bedroom attacks you; often while your husband is asleep in the bed with you. You must be crazy, you must be imagining this; but the bruises on your inner thigh are proof enough for you. How can you be raped by an invisible man? If you say something they will put you away.

As evil descends over your home you can think of only one thing. If you can see this and feel this, what about the kids? How will you fight this?

Running on Fear

This is merely an observation I made when I spent an evening at a notoriously haunted location in Alton. Originally printed in 2005.

How many times have we viewed a scary movie only to hear noises within our room or see shadows moving on the walls? Are those noises or shadows actually there? Probably, but they are not paranormal activity. If your mind was not “running on fear” you could easily see the shadowy figure is just the hat on the bedpost and the noises are just the old house settling.

The effects of fear on the body are well documented. Fear can cause body temperature to rise and fall. It excites the brain and stimulates chemicals within the body which can cause hallucinations and lead to the brain misinterpreting events. Normal effects of fear on the body include: a sudden rise or fall of body temperature, sweating, stomach aches, goose bumps, shivering, hallucinations, and feeling touched.

I have read many stories of amputees who claimed to feel their severed limb. In one case a man lost his leg in a war but could still feel his foot itch, and could still move his toes but there was no foot to scratch and no toes to move. This could also explain how people claim to be touched by an invisible presence. The mind is mysterious so it is important to be aware of this before you start your investigations.

I have a theory that telling spooky stories, having séances, using Ouija boards and such before or while entering a suspected haunted location will condition your mind to be susceptible to encounter things or see things that are not really there. So when conducting a paranormal investigation listen to all of the “spooky” stories beforehand so your mind is not clouded with negative or fearful thoughts.

Our brain is a filter. It receives data from the eyes, ears and other nerves within the body and presents it to us so we know what is happening. The problem is when emotions like fear cloud the mind and cause the brain to interpret events in a way that generate false readings. This is why it is important to have scientific devices to document strange changes in the environment. Cold spots can be attributed to the body’s response to a fearful situation; but if you have a thermometer and can measure the falling temperature, you have proof of something happening. Never investigate alone because you want a witness to verify events you see and hear. Take cameras and recorders to document events so you can replay them to verify situations. It is important to investigate with a digital video recorder, a digital camera (5 mega pixel or higher) and a digital voice recorder.

Know the history of the haunting in advance of your arrival so you can enter the location fear free. You should always enter a location with a neutral, peaceful mindset free from emotional baggage so you can avoid your brain giving false interpretations of your surroundings.

Paranormal Investigations - More Detail

Reprinted from 2005

I recently ran an add in the St. Louis Post and the Riverfront Times advertising if people were under a spiritual attack to email me with details. Well I have received several leads but one in particular is quite disturbing. The entity is supposed to have contributed to the death of one of the members of the family. I quickly pushed this haunting to the top of my list and will hopefully get a chance to investigate this before the end of the year.

Needless to say the family is scared to death and I do not blame them. I really want to help this family. I cannot explain this but I feel this is what I am supposed to do with my life - protect people from spirits. I have been protecting people from things my entire life and this is the one area I feel I can be of service the best. I think I will investigate this one alone - if anything happened to one of my friends I could never forgive myself. I can deal with it if my ass gets kicked but not if a loved one is touched.

When I was in college I saved a classmate from an abusive boyfriend that would show up at her dorm and beat the shit out of her. So the school threatened to expel her if it happened again and they did not want the police called because it would make the school look bad. How screwed up is that!!! Expel HER because she is being abused – what a dumb ass school!!!

So she calls me crying, not knowing what to do and embarrassed to show up at school with bruises all over her body, so I took care of it. Anyway I hid in her closet one night trying to catch him in the act and sure enough he starts pounding on the door trying to get in. She opens the front door and as he goes to hit her I jump out of the closet and beat his ass out the door, down the hall and into his car. He drove away and never returned.

So now I want to do these paranormal investigations to see if I can help people with this. My coworkers think I will get possessed or even worse, killed by a demon. I say bring it on!!! I’m not scared to die and I am not scared of any invisible force hurting me. If its my time to die then its my time to die.

The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. I must have an adventure in my life in order to have fun. I cannot just sit around and let life pass me over. My marriage sucks and I’m not sure how long it will last so what have I got to lose. Anyway below are a couple of my favorite places I have investigated and a brief synopsis of each one. I will post more in the coming months – unless the demons kill me. LOL!!!

Cheney Mansion
Investigated in 1999 and 2000

My first paranormal investigations were in the Cheney Mansion. I was just learning and did not know anything. During the first investigation, lights would come on and a chair was moved. We did not see it move but we know the chairs were positioned perfectly around the dining room table and when we went back to the dining room one of the chairs was moved away from the table.

This was also the place I made my first psychic reading. Everybody entered one of the spare bedrooms but I just could not do it. When they asked me why I said I felt like if I did I would get trapped inside and it freaked me out. Later on we met the caretaker and she told us when Mr. Cheney would come home drunk they would lock him in this bedroom until he sobered up because he would destroy things. He would pound on the door all night long trying to get out.

During our second visit we actually used a Ouija board which I recorded the entire event with a video camera. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees from the moment we pulled the Ouija board out until we put it away. That night was the most active I have ever seen a Ouija board.

The Unitarian Church
Investigated twice in 2005

The Unitarian Church is the only place that terrified me. I hate to admit this being a paranormal investigator but I did go back a second time to conquer my fears.

Although I did not know it at the time, during my first visit to the Unitarian Church I was under attack from the moment I set foot inside the place. I felt drained upon entering and as the minutes passed I got to the point of near exhaustion. I felt something was following me the entire time and have some very disturbing orbs in my photos to prove it. The spot were the priest hung himself was a bad spot but nothing compared to the basement.

I am almost six foot five; I used to play football in December in my shorts so I never get cold. When we went into the basement which was built in the late 1700’s, I was so cold and I could not stop shivering. I also felt this enormous pain in my stomach that did not subside until I left the building. When I did leave I was VERY pissed off at myself for being scared; so I went back a second time within a few weeks with a much smaller group.

I had to conquer my fears so I took three of my friends during a very bad thunderstorm, and finally faced the force that terrified me. It was the perfect night for an investigation, the thunder and lightning was shaking the Church like an earthquake and four idiots were tempting fate in one of the notorious hot spots for ghosts in the Midwest. Plus we were just a few days short of the date of the priest's suicide. So while my friends were telling stories in the chapel I was wandering around just daring something to jump out at me.

A psychic friend of mine told me if I ever felt threatened to imagine myself in a beam of light, with the light being my protection. I laughed at the time but it really works. So I am walking around throughout this church by myself in complete darkness picturing myself radiating light like a sun. I was also thinking that if this ghost materialized I was going to run through it like some dumb ass wild berserker. I was still pissed off from being scared the first time and I remember thinking, “Come on you son of a bitch I dare you to show yourself!"

Well nothing happened this time. No attack, no sickness, no cold…nothing. In fact, the caretaker which had many encounters in this church commented; except for the storm, that night was the quietest he had ever seen it. Chicken shit ghost!!! Below are pictures of the mansion and the church.

Paranormal Investigations: The Beginning

Many people have asked how I got started with the paranormal investigations. Well, here is my story:

It all started when I was a little kid about 5 years old. While looking through the records I found this scary album titled The Chilling Sounds of the Haunted House by Disney. The picture on the cover scared the crap out me but I had to have it. So where does a kid go when he really wants something? You guessed it, right to grandma; she hardly ever said no to me. Well I played this record so much I wore the grooves out. Today I own about 5 copies of it. Whenever I am at flea market or an estate sale and I run across one in good condition, I can’t resist paying fifty cents for another copy.

I remembered staring at this cover listening to the scary sounds thinking about how I wished I lived in that house. I always wanted to explore the attic and find out who left that light on. It would be a stormy night and I would cross the graveyard in front of the house while the thunder roared and the lightning danced upon the horizon. The wind would howl with the waist high grass bowing in unison to the unseen horror that waited for me within the house. Incidentally, the house on this album cover resembles the McPike mansion except for the attic room.

The album peaked my interested in all things scary but it was the Chiller Theatre where, as a kid, I honed my paranormal skills. Every Saturday night my little brother and my mom and I would gather under a blanket, pop some popcorn, and watch the Chiller Theatre spooky movie of the week. I was scared to death but I couldn’t look away. When my mom and brother would hide under the covers I would stare at the TV with my heart getting ready to pound out of my chest.

The movie that used to do the most damage was “Die! Monster, Die!” starring Boris Karloff. After watching that one I had to change my routine for getting into bed. I would stop at the edge of the doorway and run towards the bed jumping to avoid any monster hands which attempted to grab me from under the bed.

My mom was awesome and always catered to my fascination with new age stuff. I still enjoy watching a scary movie with her.

Halloween was always a big event when we were kids. Every year my brother and I would attend all of the haunted houses in the neighborhood Churches, schools and where ever. Those used to scare the crap out of me but I would go to them every year. I remember one time I was about nine years old I got so scared I just started running through the house screaming, “I gotta throw up! I gotta throw up!” Needless to say all of the ghouls cleared a path for me to exit quickly.

In second grade I was accused of being possessed by the devil by one of the nuns. It all started during my First Communion when I received the Host for the first time. As soon as it touched my tongue I vomited it back all over the priest along with the Fruit Loops I ate earlier. The nun, which was the principal of the school, called my parents and insisted I was a demon child. It was a good thing the parish priest did not agree with her about me needing an exorcism; that might have gotten ugly.

In high school I read JRR Tolkien, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King books regularly. I listened to bands like Ozzy Osbourne, who was my favorite rock star, also Rush, Triumph, Motley Crew and Black Sabbath.

When I was a freshman in high school, one of the nuns who taught science liked me because I was good with the experiments and got good grades. She asked me what I was going to do when I grew up. My response to her without missing a beat, “I want to solve all the mysteries of the world. I want to find a Bigfoot, live in a haunted house and talk with a ghost. Maybe even take pictures of a UFO too, but I gotta buy a camera first.” She smiled awkwardly at me and only managed to get out an “OOOOHHH!” She didn’t talk to me much after that.

Then in 1999 came my big break. A friend of mine, who was assisting with her sister’s book about the paranormal, invited me to attend an overnight at the Cheney Mansion, one of the local notorious haunted houses. At the time I knew nothing about orbs, EVPs, or any of the actual science. But in the following years I immersed myself in research and investigations. I wanted to find out everything I could from everybody who had ever visited or lived in a haunted house. I showed up with a video camera and filmed as much as I could. Right away I knew this was where I was supposed to be. I had no troubles walking into the dark basement or climbing into the crawl spaces.

This was also when I had my first psychic experience. There was one particular bedroom I refused to enter. When the group asked me why I stayed at the door I confessed to having a feeling like if I entered the door would slam and I would be trapped. The next morning when we met the curator she asked us if we felt anything strange. I told her about that one bedroom. She smiled and said that was the room they would lock PD Cheney into when he came home drunk. He was a mean drunk and would often break things so they choose that bedroom because there was nothing valuable in it. He would pound on the door for hours before passing out.

My second psychic experience came when I took a trip to Bowling Green to do some antiquing. I remember feeling the presence of a very unhappy old lady standing right next to me. She was unhappy because I was in her home. I could actually smell her!! As we were leaving I asked the owner of the store if they had a ghost. They sure did and when I found out it was an old lady, I knew something was going on with me.

We eventually went back to the Cheney Mansion a second time and then other places. I carried my video camera and filmed everything. I was Ghost Hunters before Ghost hunters existed. I wanted us to do a show on the local access cable channel in which we would play back our footage of the investigations. But the team at the time was not as committed to the research as me.

One of the best investigations involved the old funeral parlor at the top of the street where I grew up as a kid. I remembered the place was a big scary mansion and I always seemed to be in the alley when they would bring in the bodies. The old dark garage door screeched opened and the hearse slowly drove through, I knew what was happening and it scared me. It was like having Phantasm at the top of the street. When it was sold by the original family, they allowed us to spend a night investigating it. This house, which terrified me during my entire childhood and now I was going to spend the night there. I’ll post pictures of it later and show you what it looks like today.

In 2004 I started running ads in the local newspapers querying for stories about hauntings. I interviewed people, developed theories and now I ‘m ready to test some of them. I want to take paranormal investigations to the fringe and go places very few investigators want to go. I want to dissect a haunted location and make contact with spirits on a whole new level.

I believe I was “called” to do this work. There are people that need help and protection from bad spirits. I believe I can help them. It could be the “knight in shining armor” complex I have had my entire life or maybe it’s something else. Whatever it is, I know I’m good at this because I feel comfortable in these environments. Just like Steve Irwin was comfortable jumping on a crocodile, I feel quite the same when confronting a spirit. I live for this!!