HOT TRAMP, I LOVE YOU SO: A PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION AT A HAUNTED HOLLYWOOD LANDMARK

 

The historic-and haunted- Chateau La Fontaine, Hollywood, California

Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!

 We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” in 2016.
 We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

On the evening of January 10, 2016, we had the opportunity to do our first paranormal investigation of the New Year. Our hunt took place at a Hollywood landmark, the beautiful Chateau La Fontaine… and for the first time ever in many years of doing paranormal investigations, one of us came home with a spirit attachment. We blame this on David Bowie… but more about that later!

 Noted architect Leland Bryant designed the historic Chateau La Fontaine in the 1930’s; the building has been home to a number of celebrities- and spirits- in the decades since it was built.  For years, the place has been  acknowledged as being notoriously haunted. A current resident called us to investigate her apartment because there was a lot of paranormal activity going on: whispering, objects moving, and cold spots. She also said that she felt totally “creeped out” when she went to her storage locker in the basement.

 The apartment owner and her adult son accompanied us during the hunt. As we worked, the son took photos on his iPhone 6 as per our instructions: take two or three sequential photos of each spot, to see if any anomalies were present in the images. All our equipment was in use during the investigation: we had a  Rempod, K2, EVP recorder and an EMF meter and an Ovilis. 

We got lots of hits in the apartment itself … listen to this EVP we took in the hallway, and you can hear whispering:

 https://soundcloud.com/kim-burch/evp-at-la-fontaine-in-apt-hall-whisper

When we were in the basement, we investigated in a hallway that was very heavy with weird, dark energy. Crystal was in the midst of doing a session with her dowsing rods when she suddenly said, 

"I feel like there's someone behind me!"

  None of us noticed anything unusual, but the apartment owner’s son snapped these pix on his phone sequentially. Both photos, taken seconds apart, appeared about the same… but look carefully at the second one- there is definitely something behind Crystal, and there was nobody else-or at least no other humans-in that hallway.

 

 The first photo from The Chateau's basement

 

The second photo from the Chateau's basement-look at Crystal's left shoulder

 Here is the second photo blown up. but otherwise un-retouched or altered. As you can see, something is hovering around Crystal’s left shoulder.

 

Seriously...What The *BLEEP* is that?  We'd  love for you to comment on this photo!

  After more investigating, we finally called it an evening and headed home to Pleasant’s house. We figured we’d smudge each other off and do some energy work- the way we always did after an investigation-before hitting the hay.

 But the moment we walked in the door, we heard the news on the radio that David Bowie had died.

 Instantaneously, both our phones started blowing up with texts about it. In disbelief, we Googled it, hoping it was a hoax. Soon, we realized it wasn’t. Both us are lifelong hardcore Bowie freaks …we were absolutely devastated. In between bursts of tears and expressions of total denial, we combed the Internet for more news. Finally, we went to bed. The next day, both of us were still very upset, and pretty much useless. The day after, Crystal left to go back to her home in   California’s Central Valley.

 The reason we’re giving you this personal post-investigation timeline is because about a week later, we both noticed that things were getting a little cray-cray in our respective houses; in both places, objects were going missing and  electronics were malfunctioning. Oddly, neither of us realized that these phenomena had anything to do with our investigation at the Chateau.

 At that point, a friend of Crystal’s teenage daughter casually asked if their house was haunted. The very next day, Crystal, her daughter and daughter’s two friends saw objects literally flying out of cabinets on their own. 

Only then did it dawn on us that because of David Bowie’s death, we’d completely forgotten to do our regular post-investigation cleansing rituals!

Luckily, we’re both experienced in banishing negative energy and chasing away “hitchhiking" spirits, so we took care of things immediately. However, we were both horrified that we’d forgotten to protect ourselves after the investigation.

 We are both “clean” now, but we want to make sure you stay safe after your investigations, too. 

So here are some post-investigation tips:

CLOSE DOWN YOUR INVESTIGATION

 You wouldn’t leave a dinner party without saying goodbye, right? Well, you gotta get closure on your paranormal investigations, too. Politely bid adieu to any spirits you encountered but make sure to let them know that under no circumstances are they welcome in your home. Respectfully ask to stay right where they are. Mention that you had a good time interacting with them and thank them, but that they need to stay put, they can’t join you as you leave.

 Next, make a circle with your team, discussing plans to check in with each other during the next few days to make sure everyone is fine and that no entities followed them home.  If you were hunting at a private residence, include the humans who live there, too. Cleanse each other with sage, which, by the way should stay in your car during a hunt, because spirits hate it- sage actually repels them!  Take turns smudging each other before you leave the investigation site.  Fan the smoke up and down each other’s bodies, covering everyone thoroughly. If anyone in your group does energy work, have them pull any negativity off the other members.

 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET HOME

Keep a watchful eye open in the hours and days after your investigation. Check for any signs of spirit attachments.  If you’ve brought home a hitchhiker, your energy level, general health and also your emotional wellbeing might be affected. In the week or so after your hunt, if you find yourself feeling under the weather don’t jump to conclusions; rule out the mundane first.   For example, if you’ve got a headache, are you sure you drank enough water during the investigation? And when was the last time you ate a full meal?  If you’ve come down with the sniffles and were hunting outdoors, it could just be hay fever! If you’re lacking energy, again, be sure rule out every day circumstances. For instance, have you been putting in over time at work, or been really busy?  Do a “lifestyle check” just in case.  If you’re condition is worsening, definitely check in with your team to see if anyone else is having similar physical or mental/emotional symptoms.

If things start to seem really off, or if you see any signs of paranormal activity in your house, you need to do a full cleansing, pronto.

We always keep our doors and windowsills salted to deter unwanted spirits, but we’re especially careful about this before going on an investigation.  We sweep up the old salt, dispose of it and replace it with fresh salt.  This ensures that in the event of a “hitchhiker” following us home from a hunt, they won’t be able to get inside our houses.  We also scatter it around the parameters of our yard, and in our cars. No paranormal investigator should ever be without salt!

It’s a good idea in general to cleanse your home about every two weeks. A simple way to cleanse is to light candles and burn sage and candles while asking for positive energy to come into your abode. You might want to add in supplemental cleansing methods based on your spiritual preferences, too. For example, we know people who keep holy water in their houses, some like to have Palo Santo - a type of wood that has spiritual and cleansing effects much like sage- on hand to burn for house purification.

MAKE A CONTINGENCY PLAN

Reach out to your team members  and better yet,  a mentor, psychic medium or healer if you sense that your energy field has been compromised, or feel as though you’ve picked up an attachment on your hunt.  If you are having obvious health problems, be sure to consult a medical doctor, too. Watch for signs of depression, mood swings or anything that could be paranormal activity in your residence. Making sure to protect yourself- before, during and after-a paranormal investigations will allow you to stay healthy mentally, physically and emotionally, plus it’ll enable you to remain committed to doing your paranormal research. 

 And finally… RIP  David Bowie, we adore  you...

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Crystal and Pleasant as vintage fortunetellers...photo by Maharet Hughes

We’d LOVE to connect with you!

Visit our website to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings and healings, or to have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com
 
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts
 
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarotAlimah
 
To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
 
For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com

SERIOUSLY SPOOKY: A PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION AT HOBBS GROVE- A TRULY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN ATTRACTION

Glamour Ghouls: Pleasant and Crystal posing on a hearse before investigating Hobbs Grove

Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!

 We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. We’ve been doing paranormal investigations together since 2009, exploring public and private sites that are reputed to be haunted. 
We hope this blog is as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

 Unless you’ve been under a rock- or tombstone, as the case may be - you know that Halloween is big business. In California alone, there are more than twenty-five large scale haunted houses and Halloween attractions…  and that’s not even counting the corporate giants like Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott’s Scary Farm. So when we were contacted about doing a paranormal investigation at Hobbs Grove, one of the top Halloween attractions on the West Coast, we jumped at the chance.

 Located in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley in the rural hamlet of Sanger, for the past fifteen years the former walnut plantation has thrown it’s creaky doors open as a Halloween theme park every October. Social media director and “spokes ghoul” Maverick Cadaverick reached out to us because the hundred or so actors and seasonal workers have experienced true paranormal phenomena for years. Since 2014, when several vintage stretchers and an autopsy table, were acquired from Wolfe Manor in nearby Clovis, the paranormal activity had escalated.  A tuberculosis sanitarium in the 1930’s, for decades, rumors of gross negligence and patient abuse circulated. Extremely haunted, Wolfe Manor was a beacon for psychics and paranormal investigators, featured on television shows Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. Maverick was concerned that the medical items were filled with residual negative energy... not to mention the recently acquired coffin that had been used to transport a body from Mexico to the USA.

A Hobbs "resident"

He also sent us several pages worth of  the employee’s reports of paranormal phenomena, including apparition sightings, odd sounds, cold spots, disembodied speaking and singing voices and general anomalies, like objects disappearing.

Hobbs Grove features three distinct attractions: The Haunted Forest, a Haunted Hayride and a Haunted House built into a large barn. We wanted to explore all of it, especially after reading the worker’s reports, which were chilling.

On the first night of his job in the forest, one actor was so entranced by the hologram he saw- a legless half-man floating in the air wearing a 1930’s suit- that at the end of his shift, he marveled over the holographic technology to his co-workers.  After some uncomfortable glances exchanged by the rest of the crew, someone finally pointed out that Hobbs Grove didn’t have any holograms!  

One of the many sights in the Haunted Forest

Then there  was the time an employee on the Hayride went to one of the park’s trailers to get firewood, and was met with an ominous low growl, even though there were no dogs, coyotes- or even humans- in sight.  Another worker reported seeing set disembodied of legs and feet running across the rafters in barn- and actually heard the apparition’s footsteps.  Still a third noticed a uniformed security guard enter the room where he was working.  The guard, who’d appeared to be  human at first, turned transparent and disappeared through a solid wall.  And there was the legendary evening when Hobbs was at full capacity and ground to a  complete halt because of "legit" supernatural activity.  Several veteran performers in the Haunted Forest witnessed a large cable spool rolling through the woods by itself. The actors-many of who had been working there for years- were so freaked out they immediately evacuated their posts en masse.  The entire park full of hundreds of customers had to be shut down while the actors- who all steadfastly refused to return to the forest-were reassigned and a new crew was sent in.

 We set our ghost hunt for the nights of Friday, August 8^th and Saturday August 9^th, 2015.  The first night, we invited veteran paranormal investigators Jan Acosta and Keri Foss- Jastztremski along to hunt with us. Highly respected in the paranormal community, the mother and daughter team are known for their knowledge, site research, no-nonsense investigative style and meticulous evidence collection.  Jan is affectionately known as “Mom”, because she’s mentored several ghost hunters over the past couple of decades. On the Saturday, we (The Divination Nation) taught Paranormal Investigation 101 at The Cosmic Corral in Hanford, and brought the students to Hobbs that evening for fieldwork.   On each night, we brought an arsenal of paranormal equipment, from low-tech (divining rods) to state of the art high tech devices. We were armed with   EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recorders, EMF detectors, which show changes in the electromagnetic field by lighting up; and a REM pod, a device which emanates it’s own electromagnetic field through a miniature antenna.  When the instrument’s field is entered by objects- or an energy source, such as an entity- the Rem Pod lights up.  Mom also brought an Ovilus, a machine that has a dictionary-like database of words programmed into it with thousands of different verbs, adjectives, nouns, adverbs, for spirits to use to communicate. The way it works is that during an investigation, an intelligent spirit will make itself known in a way that modifies the environment, and can convert these alterations into the words contained in the machine.  We also had a camera person film each night of investigating.

 

 Hobbs Grove residents in the Doll Room

Both nights were nothing short of insane; in all our years of ghost hunting, it’s hard to think of a place that’s more active… we all agreed that Hobbs Grove probably topped even The Queen Mary!

 The first place we were drawn to was the barn, a large structure that includes the green room for the Grove’s performers, and is also the location where  many of the employees heard footsteps coming from the loft.  As soon as we went inside, we heard odd noises and felt the temperature drop. The sounds were so constant that we turned on our equipment right away, while Maverick texted the employees who were onsite, threatening to fire them if they were playing practical jokes.  They weren’t.

Originally a little skeptical that a Halloween attraction could actually be legitimately haunted, once all our devices were going off the charts, Keri quickly changed her mind. She recalls:

“ I thought to myself,  ‘We’re investigating a Halloween Haunt to see if it’s haunted? This ought to be interesting… Who would believe this one?’ Well, I do now! Upon our arrival, I felt many spirits lurking, trying to check us out. A gentleman by the name of Robert was the first to join us for the evening, openly chatting with us, somehow knowing he could be heard as he joked with us and even flirted!”  

Lens flares...or orbs? Judge for yourself!

 Our Rem pod was lit up like a Christmas tree, and Keri’s diving rods swung to and fro, answering    yes/no questions, which were confirmed by what “Robert”, was saying into the Ovilus.   While Maverick and another employee named Chris watched in amazement, we carried on a conversation for about ten minutes. Then Robert stopped talking; the room was cold though, the rem pod was still shining, and we could sense he was still there. We tried for a while to cajole him back into the conversation, but he was silent, so we started packing to move to another location. Keri put her rods away, Pleasant turned the rem pod off and put it back into the bag, but then it lit up again.

Mom  chided,

 “You need to turn that off!”

 Pleasant held up the Rem pod, showing that the switch was indeed off; Mom raised an eyebrow and said it must be defective.   The batteries were then removed, but the lights on the device stayed on… and didn’t finally shut off until hours later, after we  returned home.  Since we could all feel that Robert was still with us- and the cold spots and rem pod seemed to confirm it, Crystal resorted to a  fun and silly  last ditch effort to get him to speak again.

 Tossing back her hair and arching her back, she joked in a seductive voice,

‘”What’s the matter, don’t you wanna talk to a couple of hot chicks?”

The Ovilus immediately sprang into action, it’s robotic voice declaring,

 “MOM’S HOTTER!”

  After a moment of disbelief, we all laughed so hard we were literally crying.  It soon became apparent that Robert’s comedic tour de force was his last communication, so we decided to investigate the Haunted House.

  Constructed with a maze-like interior, the Haunted House features all sorts of gory scenes, and a giant room packed from floor to ceiling with legions of dirty, uber-creepy baby dolls; many missing glassy eyes, hair or limbs. It’s pretty widely acknowledged that dolls make a terrific hiding place for spirits- for some reason, entities are attracted to them. Though the doll room was heavy with energy, we didn’t get as many hits as we expected, but there was so much activity around the stretchers from Wolfe Manor that Mom urged Maverick to “get rid of those things now!”

Moving outside, we encountered with an extremely negative entity that was hanging around a cottage near the barn.  Keri recalls,

“Over the years, I’ve found that if human spirits were hateful, spiteful, rude, abusive drunks or…any other “expletives” while they were alive, they’re the same in death. Meet George, a chauvinist pig spirit, who tried to give Crystal attitude. He showed his true colors, belittling and cussing at her. Crystal told him off and had quite an interesting argument with him for a while. Only after standing her ground to leave her and us alone did he back off!”

 After our encounter with George, well after midnight, we called it a night because we had to be up early to teach our Paranormal Investigation 101 workshop.  At the conclusion of class, we reminded the group that often, during the course of a ghost hunt, there’s a whole lot of “hurry up and wait”, and sometimes, the spirits just don’t want to come out and play…but thankfully, we were wrong.

Our Paranormal Investigation 101 workshop attendees pre-ghost hunt on Saturday night- that's "spokes ghoul" Maverick Cadaverick on the left, holding the lantern

Even with a large group, things got insane almost from the moment we set foot on the property. Hobbs had hired a professional videographer to come along and document our entire hunt.  Initially, he claimed in an offhand way that he didn’t believe in ghosts, and though he was acting very professionally, it was apparent he thought the whole thing was a bit childish and silly.  

As the sunset, we trudged into the forest, with Maverick in the lead, holding an antique glass gas lantern.   Our first stop was the  “Redneck Camp” on the Haunted Hayride route, a collection of five hideously trashed vintage trailers. It was the location where an employee had reported the growling sounds, and we figured it was a great place to start our investigation.  The students all got out their equipment, and all of us started getting hit immediately. Pleasant set up the rem pod, and it lit up right away.  As various investigational devices were activated and crystal got out her divining rods, Pleasant asked,

“How do you guys like being here, in the middle of a Halloween Haunt?”

 Right away, an Ovilus answered,  “It’s perfect!”

Many of the students had Spirit Boxes, and all of them were talking simultaneously. Crystal turned to find the photographer, to make sure he was getting all the activity on film, and he was no where to be found… until he was spotted far away down the path, actually running away!  When she caught up, he was white as a sheet, telling her breathlessly that he’d felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water down his back.

 “I’m outta here,” he cried in a panic, his camera slung over his back, sprinting towards the parking lot,  “I can’t do this!”

 Investigating at the "Redneck Camp" on the Hobbs Grove Haunted Hayride route

 We went on to investigate the Haunted Forest, where we stopped several times, to set up for EVPS and Ovilus sessions, all of which were documented by our photographer, who fortunately hadn’t flipped out from all the paranormal activity. Crystal and a few others spotted a large black Shadow Person darting behind a tree, and where everyone got many more hits at the various sites, which were a maze of spooky cottages and junked automobiles, all covered with vines and wild over-growth.

  One of the many spirits we encountered and communicated with was a little girl, and later, Maverick confirmed that many employees had reported seeing a small female child dressed in 1930’s clothes roaming the property, or had heard children laughing when none were present.

  All in all, both evenings of paranormal investigations at Hobbs Grove were so active, and so full of evidence, that we are still going through our EVP recordings and the film footage, because there are so many hours worth of documentation.

 As Jan “Mom” Acosta says:

“The creep factor was overwhelming at Hobbs… I would love to go back there. I don't think a Hollywood script could have written that scenario!”

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 If you’re in Central California  during the Halloween seaon, check out the faux (and real!) spooks at Hobbs Grove:

www.thegrovehaunt.com/

https://secure.interactiveticketing.com/1.5/921303/#/select

 We’d LOVE to connect with you!
Visit our website to book workshops, Tarot readings, or have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarotAlimah
To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com

A GUIDE TO GHOSTS, SPIRITS, DEMONS,SHADOW PEOPLE... AND OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF THE PARANORMAL

 

Photo taken by Pleasant during a paranormal investigation onboard the RMS Queen Mary, 2011

Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
 We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical community. Aside from Tarot, we practice many other disciplines, including Reiki, pendulum divining, dousing, crystal work, mediumship, house cleansings, and more. We read for clients, write, lecture and teach together as well as working solo. For years, we’ve worked as professional belly dancers, and since 2009, we’ve been doing paranormal investigations as a team, exploring public and private sites that are r haunted.  Currently, we’re working on our book, “ Walking The Tarot Path”.
We’d love for this blog to be relevant for metaphysically-inclined peeps at every stage of development from e beginners to professionals, our posts will range from basic concepts and info that many of you are undoubtedly familiar with, to interviews, how-to’s and reviews on events and products.
We hope this blog is as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

 You never know what you might encounter on a paranormal investigation…or in your own house!

Many people are skeptics, but for every person who dismisses the paranormal as bunk, there’s another whose just had their first supernatural experience-and probably many more who’ve had brushes with the unexplained but don’t discuss it, fearing that their friends and family will think they’re crazy.

 In fact, we get emails and voicemail messages all the time from people who’ve witnessed something paranormal or anomalous. They describe their experiences and ask what possible explanation there could be as to what they witnessed or why the incident occurred.  One woman saw an Indian Chief in full regalia…cutting into the line ahead of her at a convenience store. She said that the moment they locked eyes, he vanished completely. She left the store, went into her car and hyperventilated for a while before emailing us. Another person recently asked Pleasant why there was a transparent mountain lion living in her yard.  We constantly are asked to do house cleansings for reasons ranging from “I feel bad energy” to “I hear weird bells in my apartment” to “My child refuses to sleep in her room because she’s scared- and she’s eighteen years old!”

  So here is a quick reference guide to some commonly experienced manifestations of the paranormal. Be aware that many of these manifestations can occur in tandem with each other.

Spirits: Basically a spirit is a sentient, self-aware being which is lacking a physical body. A spirit could be a deceased human or non-human, such as  an angel or demon.

Ancestral Spirits: An ancient spirit that follows certain familial groups wherever they go, often throughout generations.

Anomalous Lights: Often called “spook lights”, “ghost lights”  “fairy lights “or “will o’ the wisp”, anomalous lights can take many shapes and forms. Widely seen for centuries, there are many explanations for them, ranging from UFO or ghostly encounters to ignited swamp gas to foxfire, which is a bioluminescent light that discharges from rotting wood, usually seen in forests. However, these lights don’t always occur in the outdoors.  In 2010 and 2011 when we were leading paranormal investigations on board the extremely haunted RMS Queen Mary, many guests in the ship’s cabins mentioned they’d seen odd lights in their rooms which didn’t seem to be coming from any specific source, such as a porthole or electrical device or outlet.

Apparitions: A spirit or ghost that manifests itself in either full or partial human form. Sometimes an apparition can appear human, looking like a three-dimensional, living person; other times, it wills emerge-and stay- transparent or smoky. Once in a while, an apparition can be horrific, appearing horribly scarred, or as a disembodied head with glowing eyes or limbless torso.

Demons: A hostile or resentful entity, generally believed to be of non-human origin. Some call them fallen angels…others don’t care what they’re called, they just want them to go away!

Ectoplasm: Does spirits exude a viscous substance, or issuing from a  (human) medium in a trance, while the spirits being channeled gain "physical" form.   It can appear in various ways, from thin, wispy strands to gelatinous and paste-like. In the early 20^th century, when Spiritualism was all the rage and séances were common, many so-called “mediums” were fraudulent, using sleight of hand to produce  “ectoplasm” fashioned from surgical gauze, cheesecloth, animal organs, and even shredded newspaper.  This lead many to be skeptical of ectoplasm, and, like many other paranormal manifestations, there is not yet a scientific explanation for this phenomena.

Ghosts:  Many people use the word “ghost” and “spirit” interchangeably. While it’s not wrong to do this, if you want to get specific, ghosts are usually the disembodied energy of a deceased human. A ghost is a spirit that either hasn’t yet crossed over to the other side, or one that has either come back to visit, or decided to hang around the earthly plane.

Orbs: Appearing almost exclusively on still or video film, orbs are almost never seen by the naked eye, making them different those anomalous lights. The phenomena of orbs are a point of debate in the paranormal community, as well as outside it. While many believe that orbs are proof of spirit manifestation, there are too many logical or scientific explanations for these occurrences, such as dust or condensation on a camera lens, a lens flare, or a reflection from a natural source. 
 
Poltergeists: The German term poltergeist translates to “noisy ghost”. Some people think poltergeists are malevolent, others think they’re harmless tricksters, but one thing is certain- they’re quite powerful. Poltergeist activity is the kind that really makes you sit up and notice. It can include unexplained loud noises, such as footsteps; moving objects- items flying off shelves, doors opening and closing on their own; outbreaks of fire; objects disappearing and reappearing, floods, and electrical disruptions or malfunctions. Poltergeists can also cause physical things to happen to humans, such as skin pricks and scratches. Poltergeists are generally though of as haunting a particular person, rather than a general location. Often the activity is focused around an individual, usually a young person, such as a pre-pubescent child or teenager.

Residual Hauntings:  A residual haunting is the psychic imprint of a scene or situation, which is repeatedly played out; the witness of this type of phenomena is essentially peering into the past. It’s widely considered that these hauntings involve spirits that are generally unaware of any changes of time, date, dimension or surroundings.

Shadow People: A supernatural entity that appears as a solid black shape, often in human form but sometimes much larger.  Most who’ve encountered a shadow person say that they seem to emanate pure evil. There have been many reports of dark, shadowy figures-often wearing large hats- lurking in the corners of rooms and filling the viewer with dread and outright fear.

 Outdoors, shadow people seem to dart behind trees or peak around the side of buildings or structures. Shadow animals are spotted frequently too, moving in the peripheral vision of the people who see them.

 Other Types Of Paranormal Activity

As much as we might like for paranormal activity to fall into the visual sphere, in reality, there are many more instances of other types of paranormal activity. Each is as valid, and with the exception of auditory manifestations, the varieties discussed below are much harder for paranormal investigators to document.

 Auditory Encounters
These encounters cover a wide range of possibilities, including footsteps, doors slamming, whispers, moaning, tapping, clanging - you name it! It is often thanks to these sounds that our clients begin to accept the fact that something inexplicable is going on.  These auditory encounters could be attributed to poltergeists, but can manifest from other types of spirits as well.  Even if you’re not a ghost hunter per se, any recording device     (even a voice-memo on a smart phone) will help you validate your findings when dealing with an auditory encounter.

Scents
Sometimes, the only clue that something paranormal is underway comes from our sense of smell. Of course, getting a whiff of something other worldly may only be a small portion of an overall encounter- but many people- even skeptics- have smelled certain “phantom” fragrances, such as exotic perfumes or their late grandfather’s particular blend of pipe tobacco. These manifestations are often confined to a small area and do not seem to be coming from a specific source. Some people encounter whiffs of flowers while others meet up with horrific stenches like sulfur, decaying flesh and other vile odors.
 Before you think   your dearly departed Aunt Emma has come back to visit, look for natural causes such as sources of ventilation, air fresheners, septic tank problems, rotten food or an open trash bin before jumping to conclusions.

Tastes
While not as commonly reported as the other types of spirit manifestation, there have been instances of inexplicable tastes, ranging from - once again - pleasing to gross. These tastes may or may not be accompanied by actual solid materials that somehow wind up or manifest in the mouth - often after periods of sleep or rest. One sensitive we know says he tastes aluminum in his mouth when spirits are nearby.

Physical Sensations
 There are many physical sensations that can occur when a ghost or a spirit is around. Probably the most commonly reported are the “cold spots” that occur in a room-or even outdoors- when the temperature drops dramatically, as opposed to gradually…with no logical explanation. Many people get goose bumps, shivers down their spine, or feel the sensation that all the hair on their body- head arms and legs-is standing on end. Headaches, nausea, or the feeling that your energy is suddenly draining are common signs too. We’ve been on investigations where we-or someone accompanying us- has actually been touched and even pushed.

No matter what paranormal occurrence you see or experience, have faith in your own intuition.  We often ignore or mistrust our gut instincts, and try to explain away odd or  “weird” situations, refusing to believe that they could actually happen. Another thing to remember is that not all spirits are malevolent; many are actually benevolent, others even have a quirky sense of humor… just like we humans.  Use your judgment, same as you would for a living person.  And don’t be afraid to talk about your experiences- there are tons of other believers around and plenty of paranormal chat forums on the internet where you can share your experiences and people will take you seriously…giving yet another meaning to the phrase “we are not alone”!

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 LEARN TO CONDUCT PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.... AND COME ON A GHOST HUNT WITH US!

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