Ghost Hunting Season

          Like other types of hunters, paranormal investigators seem to have a "season" in which it's best to hunt. I know what you're thinking: October, right? We've all been told that the veil between the living and the dead thins a little bit every day until Halloween night when it comes down for 24 hours. Sounds amazing, right? I always thought so. I remember growing up thinking that ghosts were just sitting on the other side of the veil, waiting to be released into the mortal world. Clawing and scraping against the invisible barrier until the clock struck midnight on Halloween. 

       That doesn't make much sense, though. Do they respect time zones? Are East coast ghosts released first? How does that work? As I've gotten older and more experienced in paranormal research, I've found that ghosts don't really hide behind a veil. Paranormal activity isn't highest on Halloween night, either. To be honest, I've not gotten a single EVP or paranormal photograph ever on Halloween night. I wonder why that is?

       As you know, if you've been following my blog, I've been investigating the paranormal since I was 8 years old. I hate to admit this, but that means I have 28 years of experience. In all of that time, I've not noticed that paranormal events seem to escalate around October. Strangely enough, ghostly activity hits a lull around August and doesn't ramp back up until January. I know everyone will have different experiences, but this has been consistent throughout the years. October is my slow season. 

       I've often wondered why these patterns occur and what they mean. I'm still researching, I'll always be "still researching", but I have a theory. Have you ever noticed how chaotic things are around October? Everyone is busy getting ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and December holidays. Temporary paranormal blindness keeps us from seeing what's right in front of us. What's always right in front of us. We can't see past our holiday plans and Amazon shopping lists. I'm guilty of this, as well. Paranormal activity seems to reemerge after the holiday chaos around January. So what does that mean?

       When our lives are chaotic and busy, we're oftentimes blind to our surroundings. When things slow down, and our brains relax, we focus on those events that were ignored during our busy season. A relaxed mind naturally opens to accept new information. This information can come in the form of an entity that's been trying to get our attention or a poltergeist that is simply bored and passing through. This is why paranormal activity picks up in January and again in the summer. 

       To close, I don't fully support the idea of a veil between the living and the dead. It's a fun theory, but it doesn't hold much water. It's been taped together by ghost hunting teams for so many years that it's practically non-existent anywhere but within their minds. "Ghost hunting season" is different for everyone. It occurs when you slow down, open your mind, remove distractions, and focus on what's always been right in front of you.

The Age of Paranormal Blindness

As time passes by, and technology absorbs every spare moment, I've noticed something slightly alarming. Kids don't believe in ghosts anymore. They simply don't see them. They don't allow their minds to rest enough to see those things peeking at them from the dark. Phones and tablets consume every ounce of visual energy, and aside from a poltergeist knocking a device out of their hands, they refuse to see beyond them. 

       I've always believed that you can't fully experience the paranormal until you accept that there's more to this world than what you can see and touch. Some non-believers have moments of poltergeist activity, but never a lasting relationship with the beyond. Of course, not everyone wants a relationship with paranormal beings, and I can't blame them for that. It's not for everyone. I worry, though, that this age of digital domination has led to an age of paranormal blindness. 

        Paranormal blindness is the inability or unwillingness to see beyond the tactile. If someone can't see or touch it, it doesn't exist. As kids grow in a digital atmosphere where their world is entirely based within a 6-inch screen, the chance for experiencing the paranormal becomes slim. This does not solely affect children, however, as more adults live within their devices. The paranormal world now rarely gets the attention it craves, and people wonder why haunting reports have declined in recent years.

       The one true tragedy that will inevitably arise from this new age is the lack of paranormal research. Without an interest in the paranormal world, the next generation will be less likely to attempt to rip down the veil between the dead and the living. Paranormal science is in danger of extinction. With paranormal programs only focusing on the jump-scares and never the science, kids (and adults) only see the entertainment value hauntings. True paranormal researchers are left in the shadows with very little funding and a general lack of respect. 

       In this age of paranormal blindness, I think we should highlight our scientists and the research that has moved them forward. Paranormal websites and reality tv shows only focus on groups of uneducated "hunters" who spend an hour scaring themselves. I'm not saying there's no place for that- entertainment is entertainment. I would just like to see more shows documenting real scientists as they research the paranormal. If we bring awareness to the science behind the scares, there is hope that a new generation of paranormal scientists will begin to emerge. I, for one, would love to see what they discover. 

The Haunting Hour

             I’ve always been baffled by the idea of a specific time of the night when ghosts emerge. It has been widely believed that in order to garner the most evidence, you must conduct your investigation in the dead of night. Why is this? Do hauntings only occur from midnight to 3am? Certainly not. I’ve witnessed paranormal activity in broad daylight or in the early hours of the morning. So why do investigators choose night to wander around abandoned hospitals in search of a ghost willing to play the game? I have a theory.

                For starters, most ghost hunters (whether they want to admit it or not) are in it for the adrenaline rush. And what scenario elicits more fear than a reported haunted location at midnight? I can’t think of many other places to get that surge of excitement mixed with absolute fear. Add in the fact that you can’t see the room around you and you’ve got enough adrenaline to restart a heart. Sounds fun, right? It is. However, it doesn’t actually do anything for your research. Unless, of course, you’re researching the effects of fear on the body.

                Some ghost hunters believe that in order to get that million-dollar evidence, the sky (and the room, for some reason) must be inky black. Do ghosts hide from the light? No. Why would they? Take a moment to really think about it. For what reason would a ghost need to hide in the daytime? Aren’t they equally as active during the day as during the night? Yes. So why do we wait until the haunting hour to investigate? Simple. It’s for the investigative team. It has nothing to do with the ghosts themselves. The team chooses to hunt at night because that’s what they’ve been taught. They’ll say their tools work better at night…and that can be true. It’s true, though, because they’re made to work in the dark. They were manufactured that way to pander to people who believe they need expensive equipment to conduct legitimate investigations. Pro-tip: you don’t need any of that.

                So when, you ask, is the best time to ghost hunt? There’s no blanket answer. It depends entirely on when a particular location is the most active. Some locations only experience mid-afternoon activity. So, why then would a team hunt in the middle of the night? Doesn’t make much sense, does it? If you want the best chance of getting crystal clear evidence, you need to do your research. Don’t just ask the owner of the building about the paranormal activity and then come back from midnight to 3am. Ask about the time it occurs. More often than not, you’ll find a pattern. Patterns are key. Once you’ve established the active time for that location, you can begin to plan your investigation. Don’t forget- keep your crew small, no whispering, and conduct your EVP sessions while everyone is sitting.

                Remember- ghost hunting is about debunking whatever evidence you can. You’ll find you can debunk 95-99% of suspected paranormal activity. Whatever you have left- that small percentage of the unexplained- that’s what it’s all about. That’s what you’ve been working toward. That’s what’s real.

Evidence Contamination

 

          Evidence contamination is one of the most frustrating things you can discover post-investigation. It renders any evidence you may have gotten completely useless. Once you realize that some of your findings are contaminated, you have to question all of it. The only course of action is to throw it all out (as painful as that is) and start anew. Depending on how difficult it was for you to obtain that evidence, it might be a while before you can replace it. I know how hard that is, but you have to do the right thing. Paranormal sciences are some of the most looked down upon sciences that exist and you have to keep everything as clean as possible. If there's even a small possibility that your evidence could be contaminated, it has to go.
          I know just how frustrating that can be as I drove more than 10 hours to conduct an investigation only to have noise interference completely destroy every second of audio. It almost creates physical pain to scrap something that you may never be able to replace. Learn from my mistake and I'll take you through the best ways to avoid contaminating your hard-earned evidence.

          Tip #1: Limit your group size. I know it's tempting to bring a large crew to a location but avoid, avoid, avoid. Everyone wants to tag along on a hunt but you can't sacrifice your investigation for their adrenaline rush. The more people you have in attendance, the less control you have over the noise. One of the most problematic issues investigators have is the tendency for crew members to whisper. Whispering by the crew can sometimes be mistaken for E.V.P. Once you realize that the voices you heard are human, you've wasted precious time chasing a dead end. Any talking must be done loudly and clearly to avoid confusing it with possible paranormal evidence. Remember: keep your group as small as possible- no more than 3-4 is preferable.

        Tip #2: Keep still when conducting an E.V.P. session. Modern recording devices are extremely sensitive. They will pick up your every footstep or movement- which is not the audio evidence you want to bring home. I've had several E.V.P. sessions ruined by the constant movement of someone nearby or simply by walking and talking. Find the place where you want to conduct your E.V.P. and make yourself comfortable. Ensure everyone is sitting and relaxed to ensure that you are able to clearly hear any paranormal activity during playback. When beginning your session, state where you are, the date/time, and who is present. That will ensure that any voices can be traced back to specific people.

          Tip #3: Make note of any outside noises. Are you near a highway? Are you in a neighborhood? Near an airport? These are details that you may overlook when reviewing evidence at a later time. Knowing your surroundings, even the most mundane details, can and will save you from making a false claim that you've found evidence of a haunting. The most important quality an investigator can have is a healthy dose of skepticism. While it's thrilling to find potential evidence of a haunting, it's even more exciting to know that you've tried to debunk it in every way possible. That there is no other explanation for what you've seen or heard. When there are no lingering questions, that's when you've made a real discovery.

          Tip #4: NEVER use any type of filter or editing software on your photographs. If the location is overly dark, use your flash. Don't edit your photos until you find what you're looking for. If the photo has evidence of the paranormal, you won't need to go through all of that trouble. Even if you do filter it until you *think* you see a face in the window, it has lost all credibility. Skeptics will tear your photo apart for being edited and claim that you are a fraud. It's just not worth it. Avoid this serious type of evidence contamination by saying no to filters and editing programs.

          Tip #5. Be skeptical of your location. You've been hyping yourself up for this investigation all week. It's one of the most haunted locations in the state and you've finally been given the chance to see for yourself. You walk into your location feeling shaky, excited, and on edge. You're ready to find evidence. This type of excitement is fun, but it's not going to help you make the most of your investigation. If you're jumping at every door squeak or knock, you're going to contaminate your evidence and influence your ability to use your body as an investigative tool. When encountering the paranormal, your body gives you slight signals that there is something off. Your hair may stand on end, your heart may beat a bit faster, you may feel a chill run up your body. If you go into a location already feeling this way, you're clouding your own ability to find the very thing you're looking to find. Go into your location ready to debunk the rumors. Find the natural within the reputation. Once you've peeled away at the normal, then you can find the paranormal.


          I'm not here to discourage you or to put endless rules on paranormal investigation. My hope is that more investigators will put aside their need for excitement and put real effort into proving that there is life beyond our own. Once we block out all of the noise created by ghost hunting shows, we can finally prove that paranormal investigation is real science worthy of serious study.
 

I'm Skeptical of Your Lack of Skepticism

 It's a dark and stormy night and you got invited to tag along with a local ghost hunting team. Every crack of thunder makes you jump out of your skin and every strobe of lightening casts horrifying shadows along the walls. Each shadow seems to be reaching for you. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?
         You walk down one of the many maze-like hallways of the abandoned asylum while clutching the flashlight you were given earlier. You pass a doorway and notice a bit of movement out of the corner of your eye. You freeze and gasp in icy air. Was the air this cold a minute ago? You breathe out and your eyes widen as you see the steam. You definitely don't remember seeing that a minute ago. You're sure that this is the moment you've been waiting for. Your first ghostly encounter.
        You take one more deep breath before using every bit of your courage to turn toward the doorway and shine your flashlight at what is sure to be a restless spirit of a tortured patient. Just as your beam of light hits the room, something flies out of the room and attacks you. You scream and your flashlight tumbles down the hallway. The light bouncing off the walls as you fight off your ghostly attacker.
         It's a bit furry for a ghost but this is your first encounter so you have nothing to base it on. The furry fiend bounces off of you and darts down the hallway just as you hear yelling. The ghost hunting team sprints down the hallway to your rescue with looks of concern and horror on their faces. They pick you up from the dusty floor and ask you what happened. You recount your harrowing tale as quickly as you can and point toward the room where it all started.
        One of the team members points their flashlight into the room and everyone follows them inside. Once inside, you can see a broken window directly across from the door which is letting in a constant stream of frigid air and rain. That would explain the icy breath from before. The team searches the room only to come up empty handed on evidence of the furry ghost who assaulted you. Everyone turns around to exit the room just as your furry assailant zooms past the room and down the hallway. A squirrel. Your terrifying ghostly experience has been broken down to an open window and a squirrel. 
        You were the victim of assuming a place is haunted without proof...so every noise became paranormal. That actually happens extremely often in the ghost hunting world. If a team goes into a location to prove that it's haunted, that's a huge red flag. The job of a ghost hunter is to rule out the normal. To rule out every single possible explanation so that you're only left with one answer: It's haunted.
       This bring me to the point I was trying to make: skepticism is your most important asset. It's easily the most important tool you carry from location to location. If someone calls you to investigate a haunting, you don't go in there wielding a proton pack with your finger on the trigger. You first and foremost rule out every possible natural cause for what's causing your clients to be afraid. Once you've eliminated the normal, you can switch focus to the paranormal. That is how you get real results. It's not about the newest REM pod or how effective your EMF detector is. Ghost hunting is field that requires you to be a detective. You've been brought into a location to solve a case. You must use your logical brain to look for clues, ask the right questions, and conduct experiments. This is very much a science. It's nothing like what you see on TV. The tools are the same but not so much how they're used.
     If you're hoping to one day start ghost hunting or you have a paranormal problem and need help, don't forget to look for the red flags. If the team is WAY too enthusiastic about your home being haunted or if they do what is known as "taunting", immediately find a new team. Your team should be investigating, not instigating. That's always a great motto for any team to have.
     See you in the next blog!

The Menger Hotel-San Antonio

           It took us 7 hours to drive from Rockwall to San Antonio but the windshield time was well worth it. As we drove up to the historic hotel, you could feel the incredible weight of the paranormal wrap itself around you like a hungry snake; willing you inside to take a tour of the 138 year old hotel. The energy seeped from the building and seemed to encase the surrounding streets like a fog. With with the Alamo across the street, the energy was overwhelming.

          We drove into the valet which appeared like any other and hauled our baggage to the front desk while looking around in awed fascination. Haunting aside, this place was gorgeous. There's no other way to put that. Antiques and elegant furniture were scattered around like a perfectly choreographed dance. It absolutely transports you to another time. It took us a moment to reenter 2017 and realize that we had to check in to get any further within the hotel. The staff was incredibly courteous, much like any other hotel of this caliber, apart from one glaring difference. They clearly wore the energy of the hotel like a scarf. You could almost see them shifting it around as they moved, transferring the weight around their bodies. Did it get heavier the longer they stayed within these walls? I wondered, absently, if they were able to unwind it from their necks after a long day of hauling it around. I imagine it's something learned- something that becomes easier over time.

        When we got our key cards and directions to the room, the real adventure began. Up the ancient elevator and down the hallways that appeared to be cut and paste straight from The Shining. Or was it the other way around? Even if you weren't aware of the long history of this hotel, you could feel it. You could feel it in the way the sweet smell of a soap long forgotten hit your face, and in the way the floors creaked beneath your feet as if telling you over a 100 years of secrets.
       
        We made it to our room around 5:30pm and were pretty excited to see we had a pool view and a balcony. This trip wasn't all business, after all. We  set our bags down and took a quick tour of the room before heading down to the River Walk to spend time with friends until our midnight walk-through. If you haven't been to the River Walk or The Alamo at night, you are seriously missing out. San Antonio has such a fun atmosphere and the Alamo surrounded by darkness is the perfect combination of haunting and amazing. Seeing it in the daylight is nothing compared to the sheer beauty of it sitting in the moonlight with spotlights dancing up the walls. If you happen to be in San Antonio, make a nighttime visit to see it. You won't be disappointed.

       After we said our goodbyes to our friends, we toured the River Walk once more to enjoy the twinkling lights surrounding the river and kill a little more time before our midnight tour of The Menger Hotel. The strong feeling of the paranormal leaves you a little as you're walking through the crowds by the river but engulfs you once more as soon as you ascend the stairs back to the street. Our walk back to the hotel had a hint of foreboding but it's something we fully anticipated. The Menger isn't listed as one of the country's most haunted hotels for nothing. We knew what we were getting ourselves into and as we would come to find out, it wouldn't disappoint.



                                                                   Midnight

          Just before midnight, we loaded up our equipment (which consisted simply of cameras and recorders) and stepped into the hallway of the third floor. We left our throng of ghost hunting equipment behind in favor of a simpler form of investigation. If any place called for it, it was The Menger. The hallway was completely empty of guests which suited our needs nicely. We had no doubt we would run into a midnight straggler or two but for the moment, we were alone.

          The hallways were like mazes and very disorienting if you've never traveled them before. We gave ourselves a little bit of exploring time to get our bearings before getting down to the business of the night. One of the first things I noticed was how the spooky feeling of the place didn't change from day to night. There have been dozens of locations we've scouted during the day where we felt absolutely nothing only to return at night and have intense fear hit us like a wave. This place didn't change with the setting of the sun. You felt it's paranormal power with the sun just as much as with the moon. That's very unusual. I knew we were in for an interesting night.

       After scouting a bit, I turned on Facebook live (which was poorer quality than I had hoped) and we officially started our journey through The Menger. Mind you, we hadn't hit any floors but our own at this point. We only pinpointed the stairs and elevators to make things run a bit smoother. Anything beyond that, we discovered live with those watching the feed. We began on the third floor and simply recorded our surroundings and soaked in the energy. Right away we both felt the heaviness of the 138 year old history. As if each year lay on top of us like a blanket.

          We pushed through the atmosphere and crept down the hallway so as not to disturb the other guests or a cranky ghost. Each door we passed was closed to the hallway apart from the intensely loud area that housed the ice and soda machines. They sounded much louder on the live feed than in person-sorry about that, ya'll. I didn't realize how deafening the noise was or I would have passed by much quicker. As we made our way down the seemingly unending hallways, we came upon the Victorian Lobby. This is probably one of the most photographed places of the entire hotel. It's oval and surrounded by gorgeously detailed columns and if you gaze straight up through it, you see one of the most amazing skylights I've ever seen. I think we kept circling back to this area, visiting it both on the second and third floors that night, just to keep looking at it.

          Walking around the third floor of the hotel gave us no solid evidence of a haunting other than the energy that started to wrap it's tentacles around us. We ignored the tightening grip and ascended to the fourth floor in search of paranormal proof. As we wandered around the halls we took notice of the the suites named for The Menger's most famous guests. At one point we heard what sounded like a child but being that there were other guests in the hotel, there's no way to tell if it was made by someone corporeal or something more ethereal.

          Moving a bit further down the hallway and through the twists and dead ends, we started to let our guard down a little and just soaked in the beauty of it all. As we rounded a corner just past a soda machine, a door opening and slamming to my right had us jumping out of our skin. I turned to look at the door but noticed something unnerving. The door directly to my right (and every other door in the hallway for that matter) was closed. Absolutely no door in the entire hallway had opened, let alone the one just a foot from me. That was easily one of the most startling things to happen on the fourth floor but certainly not the most startling thing to happen that night.

        When we had circled the fourth floor at least twice, we decided to make our way up the very top floor, the fifth. As we made our way up the stairs, the air started to get increasingly hotter with each step. As we approached the top, it felt like we had just been thrust into an oven. Both of us actually broke out into a sweat before we made it to the end of even one hallway. The heat aside, it felt very unwelcoming- as if we had just stepped into someone's home unannounced. The longer we stayed, the worse it felt. We kept walking anyway, both noticeably sweaty and just turning down hallways at random.

          Nearing the end of our journey around the fifth floor, we rounded a corner and stumbled into a dead end. Having decided to make this hallway our last, it definitely seemed like a sign that our tour had come to an end. As we turned around to make our way back down to our own floor, I felt an intense rush of fear. It was as if someone was walking up quickly and aggressively behind us. There were no footsteps, only that hair-raising feeling that someone was about to tackle you from behind. I gasped and turned only to see no one. I fully expected there to be someone, alive or not, behind us. The hallway behind us was as silent as a...and just as empty. We quickened our pace just a bit and found the stairs. Down we went until we made it to our own room on the third floor. And that would end our brush with the paranormal at The Menger. Or so we thought.

       We got ready for bed, turned out the lights, and slipped into our beds after an exhaustively long day. I'm pretty sure we both fell asleep instantly but I certainly didn't stay that way. Sometime around 3am, I was awoken by someone whispering directly into my ear. "Hey," the voice said. My brain barely registered that I was being spoken. "Hey!, "they said again. Much louder and more urgent. My eyes shot open and I sat straight up. This was not a voice I recognized. I looked around as much as I could in the pitch black without my glasses and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The room was still and very much asleep. I sat watching for a moment before sleep pulled me back to the bed and back into oblivion.


                                                                       The Next Day

          The next day, we reluctantly packed up our things and took the ancient elevator down to the lobby to check out. We took one last look around at the closest thing we will ever come to a time portal and walked out to the valet. We still felt the weight of the time that passed within the hotel and the energy that engulfed the entire surrounding area. I looked around at all the tourists who were lazily enjoying their day around this historic part of town and wondered if they felt it too. That hilt in your stomach that told you more happened here than we can ever imagine. That tiny tap on the back of your shoulder from a soldier gone too soon. Were they wandering around the streets, seeing a different version of San Antonio than we were? Was the battle raging around us while we stopped to buy a snow cone? I guess that's one thing we'll never know.

       We got in the car and started our 7 hour trip back home that included a quick pit stop at The Czech Stop (of course).  I can honestly say that I can't wait for another visit to The Menger. The weight of time weighed heavily on us while we were there but for every mile we drove, the weight lifted, pound by pound. Every ounce was worth the time spent there. We're already planning a repeat trip in the next few months and this time we're bringing more equipment and spending a bit more time. If you decide to visit this ghostly hotel, tell them we'll be back soon.

Rockwall, Tx

I'm currently doing some research to find haunted locations in the once sleepy but now thriving town of Rockwall, Tx. My family will be relocating there this September and I'm now interested in learning as much about the history, natural and supernatural, as I can. I think I remember mentioning this in a previous blog post, but water is a great conductor for paranormal activity. The fact that Rockwall is known for its gorgeous lake, Lake Ray Hubbard, is a good sign that paranormal activity could be afoot. Typically, running water, such as a river, is a better conductor but a large body of water that is alive with activity (causing waves) does help fuel hauntings. From what I've researched so far, Rockwall has a rich history and I can't wait to peel back the layers and find what's underneath. The things that are mostly spoken of in a hushed whisper or around a crackling fire in the dead of night. The hauntings.
I'll keep updating on my findings.
Good night for now. :-)
-Courtney