Am I Haunting Myself?

As a Paranormal investigator, many clients call with desperation in their voice, feeling as if they are plagued by the by their haunting.  They feel their haunting is a vendetta against them and everyone around them, and they have done something to cause the onslaught of evil incarnate itsself. They see things everywhere they go, and each noise and movement is magnified by the thousands and fear overtakes their very soul. This is just fear and many people need to understand that you can “haunt” yourself, and the great quote by President John F. Kennedy,  “The only thing to fear is fear itsself” is more true than one would ever know.

Considering the field of the Paranormal as an actual science will help more people understand that many hauntings are simply neurological anomalies.  Anomalies such as Telekinesis, Psychokinesis, Hypnagogic Paralysis (also called “Old Hag Syndrome” or sleep paralysis), and Magnetic hallucinations can all feel very real. In a sense, they are real, because you are truly experiencing these events. But not every haunting is equated to a ghost or a demon.

The brain is a very powerful thing. Its complete works are yet to be discovered. We only consciously use a very small percentage of our brain. Those whose brains are more active, or efficient, can produce strange events that are unexplainable, therefore defining those events as Paranormal, or above the norm.

Consider when you close your eyes, your brain automatically begins to draw a picture of something, or make sense out of madness. This is called Matrixing. Just in this way that you may make a face out of a pattern of dots, often times your brain will attempt to adjust to high emotion, stress, depression, insomnia, fear, and a multitude of other emotions, causing strange pops, bangs, moving objects, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. High emotions and fear are almost the number one cause of what is basically a Hysterical Haunt. Just as some individuals will go blind for a day after seeing a terrible event, or go deaf after hearing the last breath of a dying relative such high emotions can cause paranormal activity as well.

Believe it or not, other people can experience your Hysterical Haunt as well. On occasion, Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP’s of a clients voice will be captured and at the same time that client said nothing. Those who experience Telekinesis can actually move objects, often unconsciously, with their mind, causing Poltergeist type activity, experienced by all. There have been documented Hysterical haunts that will show a person actually contorting their bodies in pain, speaking in strange voices, seizing, and other violent behavior because they believed they were being tormented by evil and after psychological treatment were actually cured of their “Haunt”. Because of one, groups of people have formed groups of mass Hysterical hauntings.

In the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonolgy, a mid-century abbey of Nuns were studied when such a case took place. The Nuns were manipulated by a priest, who began to practice in the Occult, they believed he had infiltrated their minds with Evil and caused all of them to act hysterical, performing mass orgies with the Priest, physically affected with inflictions of sores, writhing in pain and torment, later to discover that it was all nothing more than fear and manipulation.

This does not mean that if you are “haunting” yourself that you are just crazy. On the contrary, it often shows a higher sense of enlightenment, sensitivity to the environment, and a higher form of adaptation to your surroundings; however, unless you are aware of a higher evolution of your neurology, you will just feel like you are crazy, or that something is following you and is out to drive you to the edge of sanity.

Once the fear is taken away from a haunt, it no longer becomes a plague on you. It is something to accept, recognize, and perhaps study. If you experience these things, consider a sleep study, get checked out by your doctor, and take a vacation. Reduction of stress and uninterrupted sleep is often a good way to overcome the fear of a haunt. Also, remember the next time your sons toys start to go off or your television flickers on and off, acknowledge it and then MOVE ON! Consider the reasonable explanation that it could just be you!

The Energy Pool Theory

What is “The Paranormal”? What is their purpose? Why do they plague some places or people more than others? What can we do to help them? Perhaps it is not out responsibility to help anything. We should observe their activity and try to understand our role in their world and their role in ours.Consider this, the Global Law of Conservation of Energy states the total energy of the universe cannot change.  That means energy around us cannot pass on from this universe. What has always been here will remain in some form or fashion, either on another plane or in another form, that energy must remain constant in our universe.  Either it continues to be used, or it is transferred to something else.  Therefore, you could say that a life force could remain in a different form than what we are use to.

How is it that the paranormal can use energy from living objects? The second law of Thermodynamics states energy and matter tends to be more evenly spread out across the universe (or their surroundings). Living organisms, being inefficient in how they use the energy received, let this energy spread out around them potentially letting something else to use that energy “pool” around that organism.   Think of it as getting out of a swimming pool. You ring your clothes out and are now standing in a pool of water. You once were in the water and gathered part of that water when you got out, now it is transferred to the ground around you. IF a wasp lands in the pool of water around you and drinks the water, the water has been transferred from the pool, to you, to the ground, and then to the wasp. The water gives the wasp energy to fly.This is a perfect example how energy spread out from you can be transferred to something else to use for its own purposes.  Just as a “ghost” could go into your energy pool, take some of that energy and use it for its own purposes. If you consider that your energy force cannot change, perhaps some remain in their energy force, but without ways of renewing their energy levels (like we use food, water, and sun); the only way to renew that energy that may have been used  is to pull from other energy pools, therefore having to interact with those things around it – like living organisms. Perhaps their purpose is not to go around scaring people, or attacking people; but simply to keep their energy levels at a place where they can continue on without transferring so much energy that they are no longer what they started out as – but spread out amongst the universe.  People experience this concept when you brush against someone and sometimes get shocked. That is energy transferring between the two of you until it is even between you.  

Could a person, having a high “absorption” rate of energy, if you will, be hypersensitive to people, places, or entities with high amounts of energy? Yes! Some people are drawn to places where there are high amounts of energy. Perhaps this same place has high paranormal activity for the same reason. Could the activity become more active when that person is around? Yes! That person “absorbs” energy in high amounts, so the energy pool around them may be very
large. Entities are drawn to that energy and to that person.  That person may feel drained at times, or charged up – like a shock going up their body. They may experience stigmata or even a psychic connection to that other energy force. That person must understand, it is not an attack, and it is not their duty to set en energy force free. That person is simply the light in a very dark room. Accepting that it is science and not a personal can allow this person understand their role and the role of “The Paranormal”.

Poltergeists and Telekinesis

 I have begun to notice something that seems to occur in my home, each time an object moves, and by move, I mean FLY ACROSS THE ROOM, it co-incides with my emotional state. Poltergeist comes from a German word “Poltern” and “Geist”, which is “to be a noisy ghost” (www.dictionary.com). More often than not, Poltergeists often make noise, such as knocking, footsteps, and sometimes wild, sporatic movements such as throwing objects or breaking items. Many also believe that Poltergeists occur when adolescent females (or menopausal women) are in a high emotional state, either telekinetically (the ability to move objects with the mind) causing objects to move or by lending great amounts of energy to an already present entity so that their actions can manifest. But what if this does not only apply to adolescents or menopausal women, but to anyone?

Perhaps the ability to move objects or bend objects (psychokinesis) with our minds is in all of us, and those individuals who efficiently use their brain are capable of moving these objects without the conscious awareness of doing so and that is why the movements are so sporadic and uncontrolled. What if we could control these brain functions, would we then be able to loose the word Poltergeist al-together? Perhaps this is something that people should consider the next time a toy truck comes flying down the stairs at them, maybe they should look at the woman next to them and wonder if they pissed her off!

Just like the Energy Pool Theory,  humans do not efficiently use their body. Only using a small percent of their brain functions, tapping into the other parts of your brain, which would require extensive practice, concentration, exercises, etc. would mean that anyone would have the capability of having “psychic” gifts. Unconsciously I could be causing any activity around me, and I may be causing these experiences instead of them happening to me. This is something that I must always be conscious of. I must understand that, although a real “haunt”, the Poltergeists that occur around me may be nothing more than excess brain energy releasing, and not a present entity; this may have been the case of the Black Dog and the ex boyfriend, however great a story it makes.

Port Columbus Naval Museum

     What an interesting location Port Columbus has turned out to be. Unaware until the call that there was even a Naval Museum in Columbus, GA; I walked into the doors, breathed the air of smoldering wood, and found myself enthralled in a history I barely knew existed, especially so close to my home.

     Inside the museum, you will find the remains of several Civil War Naval ships. The history of these ships includes the sudden and traumatic deaths of hundreds of men. One such vessel had a boiler blow up and several men were scalded to death as well as those who survived with terrible pain for weeks before their death. Around this location the voices of a child have been recorded. It should be noted that boys served as “powder monkeys” on these ships and it would not be uncommon for children to be there.

     Footsteps can be heard upon the CSS Jackson as if the deck were still in tact. Bells can be heard ringing from the Albemarl when no bell is there.   Unseen forces in the gift shop have been known to knock down books, ring bells, and knock items from your hand and cell phones turn on by themselves from an off position.  Electronic Voice Phenomena is common throughout the building and object manipulation is common. Recently full bodied apparitions have been seen by the Chattahoochee and in the Captains room in the Hartford.

     The staff at the museum is quite knowledgeable of paranormal activity (as well as the historical preservation) and each one has had its own experiences.  After October 2009, the museum does a ghost tour on the last Thursday of the month and do overnight investigations as well. More can be learned about the museum at their website www.portcolumbus.org and more information can be learned at www.alabamaghosthunters.com. Want to experience some of the activity, without actually going to the museum? No problem! Checkout the new DVD by Alabama Paranormal Research Team, Apparitions: Investigating the Paranormal, get a copy via paypal from the link above! There is more than just dust and knocks on this DVD!

Ft Rucker, Alabama

As often the case on Military installations, Ft Rucker has many phantasms out and about. With all the history of the area, why would there not be? Perhaps it is the fact that the homesteads that once were established there moved everything, including their dead. Perhaps it is the trauma and hardship of military life. No matter what the cause, it seems that something remains here, and I don’t just mean the hogs and the cat-amounts.

I must impress upon all that this is a working military installation, and without proper authorization, you won’t get in; however, if somehow you manage entry onto the base, trespassing is just simply a huge no no. Military police patrol the area heavily and likely will not buy “I’m just a ghost hunter” bit.

Because it is a working installation, I will only call the places we have investigated site #1 and site #2. At site #1, you are likely to hear a woman’s voice and could mistake the man-sized mosquitos as screaming in your ear. Take caution at this site, wildlife is prominent on the base. Wild hogs and catamounts (panthers) have been seen as well as bobcats. All of these are extremely dangerous. Catamounts can sound like a woman screaming and are often accompanied by a very strong musk smell. If you smell a strange odor, it is most likely a large cat and leaving the area is probably for the best. Physical attacks by unseen forces have also been reported at this location. One individual was knocked down and photographs afterwards show scratches and bruising to the face. Dark shadows dance around and a white mist has been seen flying above the tree line. The same white mist in the shape of a human has been seen ducking behind trees from the roadway.

Site #2 has its own share of interesting phantasms. An anomalies was captured on digital photography that looks like a person in a hat. There have been recorded electronic voice phenomena throughout the facility. An answer “yes” to the question, “Fredrick? Is that your name?” was captured, as well as an apparent concerned anomalies when an investigator fell and twisted their ankle that stated, “alright?”. Strange shadowy movement outside the facility (that could not be proven paranormal or not) has been sited on more than one occasion.

Considering the geological make-up of Ft Rucker, filled with quartz and limestone (like most of Alabama) it is not surprising that you would have some activity in the area. Both of these elements are theorized to pull in and magnetize paranormal activity in a location. If you add that to the human element of Civil War history and military history, it is an almost certainty that somewhere in the area you would find this activity to exist. These are just two places that this activity has been documented and it may not have even scratched the surface. Without further investigation, this remains to be seen.

Kathryn Tucker Windham

Just a quick thankyou to Mrs. Windham. I met her at a friends wedding about ten years ago and she is a wonderful story teller, plus she helped me sleep in my bed again without fear of the bumps in the night! Kathryn was the very first Alabama Ghost Hunter, I am glad to follow her in her footsteps!

Old Salem: A Hidden Treasure

Have you ever had a dream and then later a piece of it brings that dream to fruition? That is what happened when I found this quaint cemetery and the community attached to it. I had dreamt of a little brick church and having a fund raiser to save the cemetery on the same property. Never did I imagine that just such a thing would occur a year later. 

 I knew that this little community existed, I had driven by the old antique store several times, but I never stopped and paid attention to it. An afternoon of driving around brought Faith and I to the antique store and we began to photo some of the Mureil on the outside. Old Salem had had a tornado a few months prior and we wanted to take some photos of what was left standing. After the loss of Dr. McLain’s home in the tornado it was a historical duty to make sure the community went on. Out stepped Mr Woodall, the owner of the antique store and he began to talk to us about the community and about who painted the Mureil, Mrs. Martha Woodall who lived across the street. We decided to go talk to Mrs. Woodall and an unexpected thing happened with that meeting. We had found not only a paranormal hot spot, but a link to the beginning of the community. Mrs Woodall’s house, we discovered, was the second oldest home still standing in Lee County and on her property was the very first jail. As we talked and walked around with Mrs. Woodall’s contractor, he showed us around the old jail and we set up a time to talk to Mrs. Woodall some more. Gathering some strange shadows on our photographs, we decided to ask Mrs. Woodall if she would allow us to do an investigation. After an interview she gladly agreed. That investigation is still pending and I will post more on it later.

After we left Mrs. Woodall’s house, she told us to go down towards the post office and talk to Mr. Taylor, one of the oldest members of the community. We headed that way when I saw it. It was the little brick church that looked so familiar to me. I asked Faith to turn towards the church, and there was the cemetery plain as day. Each member of Salem’s past had a connection to the little cemetery. If they weren’t buried there, they had relatives that were. Of course as paranormal investigators, why not do an investigation of the cemetery.  We set a date, called the Sheriff’s office and advised them we would be there (it is private property, trespassing and vandalism is prohibited big time, and the Sheriffs of Lee County take “non too kindly” to desecration of graves).

A surprise indeed was this little treasure. Cemetery lights galore rose up straight out of the ground. Cemetery lights are little balls of light, that can be anywhere from the size of a lightning bug to even soccer ball size and can even be seen with the naked eye. Several were caught on film by our team and blown up and enhanced to make sure they weren’t bugs. Pops and loud bangs came from under the shed at the lumber yard next door. We are still uncertain what those were. Many of our audio is still being scrutinized and I will try to post more on that later as well. Even a flashlight was knocked out of the hand of one of our investigators three times. I’m not sure if we will call that paranormal though, because there is the human element that the investigator was holding the light and some could say he moved his hand; although, I am almost certain he did not. All in all, the investigation was a surprising find.

There is so much more to come from this small community and an opportunity to help a struggling community, damaged by a terrible storm, and wiping out a great deal of history. Please stay updated on this case, the whole community is counting on it.

Bryce Mental Institution

Close your eyes and take a deep breath…Open them to step back in time. Drive down the winding road, covered by the canopy of Alabama trees and pull to the doors of this wicked shell of the past. Take another deep breath as the trapped souls of Bryce Mental Institution call out with demented laughter and grasp at your fear with impregnable strength.

Once inside the walls of Bryce and the neighboring Jemison center, expect voices and laughter; expect feelings of dread and lunacy; expect comfort and sadness; expect the unexpected. EVP’s of intercoms and nurses have been recorded as well as the wicked laughter fore mentioned. Fear the living more than the dead and be on your guard at all times. Many visit Bryce and an investigation is somewhat difficult at times. Squatters have also been known to frequent the place.  Use caution for it is in shambles, asbestos is an issue and rotting floors a certainty. There have been undocumented reports in the Jemison center’s surgical wing of being thrown by an unseen force but in this same location is documented video and photographs of someone having been scratched and dread and discomfort grips you at times here.

There have been spikes on a tri-field meter that reads electro magnetic frequencies inside Bryce’s basement that coincide with questions being asked by investigators. There were spikes when the question was asked if the person we were speaking to was disobedient to their husband and an EVP at this same location with a direct response to the question “why were you here”. A question was also asked at this place “would you like me to move” and an EVP recorded “you may have to.” Undocumented personal experiences of hearing a tune of “trailers for sale or rent” as well as a British voice have been reported as well. Shadows are also a common thing to see at Bryce and a strange whiff you can catch from time to time of death and decay. 

It is almost off-putting and disturbing to see a sign that says fire exit only and to follow the stairs to a four cell wing with iron doors and bars (like a jail) and NO EXIT. Perhaps these were purposely hidden away from visitors. Reports of cruelty and abuse were common when Bryce was opened. When you walk into that wing, you can feel the pressure and fear that even the most hopeless of the mentally ill felt while in these small rooms.

At the nights end, you will want to return now that you’ve made it out alive. Take a trip in the day time, there seems to be just as much activity and less of the living to compete with. Please note that Bryce is private property and trespassing is a big no-no; but good luck getting permission to visit.

The USS North Carolina

As I pulled into the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, I peered through the spots of rain on my windshield and saw The USS North Carolina and it  beckoned me to take a closer look and I nearly wrecked as I stared down the massive guns aboard.  I pulled in the parking lot and stepped outside to breathe the wet air of Wilmington.  Before me stood what I can only describe as a imperial mastodon; cloaked in steel and stamina.

I met the night watchman, looking more frail than his photographs may have eluded; but none the less Mr. Danny Bradshaw knew his way around this American mistress.  As I followed him throughout the ship, he turned the lights off for the night, and the ship began to feel as cold as its bowels. We walked along never ending hallways, narrow stairs, and dark passages; this ship began to speak to me.

At night the sounds aboard the bowels were as if it was still alive.  Literally the sounds of doors shutting would echo down the corridors when no one was aboard to shut them. Cracks and pops were heard and I had terrible feelings of dread near sick bay. One team member saw the captain walk across the room in a port hole and another saw a disembodied arm of a mailman in the mailroom. EVP’s of  “Henry, Henry can you hear me” and “Run from her” were captured. A deep presence of a german soldier was strong in sick bay, I heard “Ein schneisk” in my ear (roughly translated you sh*t) it seemed ominous and angry-perhaps still fighting a lost war as a prisoner on the ship.

It told the stories of those aboard. How they lived their daily lives and you cannot forget that this beast was at war. The photos on the walls told of wounded soldiers stacked threehigh in sick bay and of the cereal they ate, three meals a day to discourage faking ill. It told of the late night card games and ice cream by the mail room… and it told a darker tale.

Deep below in the chasm of the ship was a wound. A deep penetrating wound of a torpedo that hit September 15, 1942, killing six of her men and damaging her strong ego. Understand that the North Carolina, built in New York Harbor in 1939, it seemed impermeable to the enemy.  In one battle along along side a sister ship the Enterprise earlier that same year, the North Carolina’s volume of anti aircraft weapons led the Enterprise to inquire if they were on fire. It appeared that nothing could touch it yet its vain psyche could not prevent its damage. Alas, this ship did not go down. She continued to fight and conquer until decommissioned in June of 1947 and turned into a museum for all to enjoy, mourn the deaths of its men and women, and pay honor and respect to the veterans who called it their home.

 

Courtesy Alabama Paranormal Research Team 

The deck itself was just as impressive as the bowels (and the air fresher).  The beautiful city lights of Wilmington behind, the impressive guns shadowed over my head and lined the port and starboard side every few feet.  The fascination of its power was mesmerizing and affecting.  To see it laid to rest as a memorial almost seemed a shame. 

I looked down at the alligator who swam below and thought this ship’s shadow should be bearing down upon the enemy and not on the historical town of Wilmington. My conclusion was it earned its resting place. Safe from the gripping hands of war and still alive for all to see.

Sloss Furnace Birmingham, AL

It is an understatement when I mention this place is a little creepy.  Driving towards Sloss Furnace is strange. In the middle of a  large city, there is this colossal, rust-colored, behemoth staring down at you with a dormant gaze, and you consider the potential and glory it once accomplished. Sloss Furnace began pig iron production in April of 1882 (and perhaps some still remain to finish the deed), a city in and of itself, its working conditions were deadly and  its climate hellish. Workers were paid in Sloss dollars, purchased their goods in Sloss general stores, and they and their families lived in Sloss housing. Considering it was a self-contained place to work, it is no wonder many would stick around.

As you drive towards the Furnace, two of the small, old houses still remain. Although the doors and windows are boarded up, you can appreciate the fact that at the time, these were probably not bad places to live. Many who worked there had little money and perhaps it awarded them with more than they would have otherwise. Parking under the overpass and standing at the iron gates, a deep breath may be necessary. Prepare to ground yourself and let the fear move through you like Swiss cheese,  the nearby train may not be the only thing that screams in the darkness as it approaches. Step through the iron gates and be devoured by the sleeping devil, feel its heat and watch as the glowing embers of its dead come to full function once again as your breathe new life into its marrow.

Shadows are abundant at Sloss and your eyes and ears will play tricks on you. Enter the boiler room and listen for whistling in the catwalks. Watch your step and brace for the pushing or touching you may experience; the air is filled with a thick heaviness and most will feel uneasy. EVP’s (electronic voice phenomenon) of a strange telephone ringing has been documented, as well as a child’s voice and whispers. Walking out of the boiler and down the long passage-way to the tunnel has its own share of pushing going on. (Watch out for the frog pond and don’t fall in!) The tunnel is interesting and activity is an almost guarantee. The sound of the water echoing off the back of the tunnel sound just like a conversation between two or more men and most will catch themselves being very quiet to decipher the matrix of words. At the other end of the tunnel, visual mists have dark black objects have been video-documented and electronic equipment seems prevalent. Up on the towers there is more to experience, but you will want to go back to the boiler room. Near the loading docks, now used for stages, there are shadows and noises to experience as well.

When it is time to go home, you will not be ready to leave. The enigma of strange events haunt you and your curiosity calls out for more. The strange sensations you may experience and the down-right blatant physical contact gets your heart pumping and overrides the fear you may savor.  Breathe once again and step through the iron gates to the outside world, turn and watch the titan sleep with the rising of the sun, and know, you will want to return and soon.