Note: This is a re-posting of #8 since there was a permalink error.
As always, if you’re new to this blog or it’s been a while, please read the previous Unseen Resident blogs since they (mostly) follow what has happened in our house in chronological order.
October and November of 2013 were quiet months in our house with so many trapped souls having been released from the grasp of the gargoyle-like thing (see Part #6 for the details). We had met a lot of people who were very interested in the things happening in our house, and with the relative quiet – and against my better judgment – we agreed to have some friends over to experience the paranormal. While nothing negative happened at this investigation, it was quite interesting.
Laura Johnson joined us again along with another friend from Bay Area Ghost Hunters, David. Long-time friends Roy and Macy were here to experience their first ghost hunt, as was one of my favorite authors and past co-president of International Thriller Writers, Kathleen Antrim. We started out giving a tour of the house, showing everyone the EMF “hot spots” and describing where some of the more chilling events have happened.
We spent some time outside at the area where we typically have flies at all times of the year flying in circles. Several mediums have stopped here on previous occasions and felt that this was a vortex – a rather nasty place. This group was no different in that most sensed that something was wrong with that spot without my telling them about the opinions of the other mediums.
We got some great benign EVPs in the shed in the backyard. For David, this was the most compelling evidence he had seen or heard. It’s one thing to do an investigation and then hear the recordings at a later date where it could have been doctored or altered by a computer; it’s quite another thing to play back the recording immediately and hear the chilling, disembodied voices answering questions. While it was shocking for David, Macy, Roy, and Kathleen, for Janice, Laura, and I, it was “ho-hum” in comparison to our other experiences.
The evening culminated with a very interesting experiment. We all gathered in the workout/laundry room, and Laura set one of my flashlights down on the washing machine. There was no one within arms distance of the flashlight. We used a Spirit Box and other communication technology to try to engage the spirits in conversation. The only thing that bothered me during this session was when the word “Tom” came across the box. My son’s name is Tom, and I had a flash of worry that he was trying to communicate with me…which would mean that he was dead. I sent him a text, and his reply confirmed that he was just fine. Whew! Kathleen asked if anyone (of the spirit type, that is) could turn on the flashlight. At first I thought it was my imagination when there was the slightest flicker of light. She encouraged it again, and the flickering was stronger. Within a few minutes, the flashlight came on completely. Over the next half hour, the flashlight came on and went off at our request. It was quite eerie when every person in the room could clearly see that no one was near the light, and there was no way to turn it on/off remotely.
It was a nice evening with good paranormal evidence without anything truly scary. The house stayed calm over the next few weeks. We enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner with our beloved family friend, Nylda, and the following morning, Janice left for vacation. I was happy to have a quiet household for a while to focus on finishing up my last class for my degree in Criminal Justice. During those 10 days, I neither felt nor heard anything paranormal – at least until the night that Janice was to return.
I had been kicking back watching TV when I realized that I was running late to go get Janice from the San Francisco airport. I turned everything off and made a quick pit stop in the bathroom. As usual, if there was no potential for treats, Bailey made her way to her sentinel post in my room at the window while Mulder followed me into the bathroom. Suddenly the TV in the family room came on, blaringly loud – louder than I had been watching. I ran out to the family room in time to see the sound systems lights go out and the power light on the TV fade as everything went silent. Since I knew exactly where the dogs were, and the remote control was in its proper place, I had no good non-paranormal reason for the event. Were spirits back? And were they awaiting Janice’s return? I was suddenly chilled and more than a bit worried about what would happen when Janice got home.
Janice made it home safely, and the night passed quietly and uneventfully, but the peace was shattered the following morning. Janice had unpacked, had clothes in the laundry, and was relaxing watching TV in the family room. I was in the office doing homework when there was a loud crash from the laundry area. We both went out to the workout/laundry room and saw the trash can that sits by the dryer rolling across the floor. The shoe rack that sits alongside the dryer was across the room about eight feet away. I immediately tried to find a logical reason, but I kept coming back to one thing: we’ve lived in this house for six years, and the layout of the washer/dryer and the rack and trash can have been the same throughout that time. They have never been moved before. That eliminated the possibility of the dryer’s vibration moving these items with enough force to send them across the room.
No sooner had we each returned to what we had been doing before the crash interrupted us than we heard another strange sound. This time it came from Janice’s bedroom. Janice’s cell phone had been attached to its charger on the nightstand, but now was on the other side of her bed. The charger was still plugged into the wall.
Later that evening, we were watching TV in the family room together and heard a faint crash, once again coming from the workout/laundry room. We both went out to investigate. The trash can and shoe rack were in their proper places, and it wasn’t until we turned to leave the room that I noticed that the flashlight that I keep on the window sill by the side door was missing. (For safety reasons, you all keep working flashlights at strategic places around your house, right?!) As I approached the window, I could clearly see the outline in the dust (have I ever mentioned that I hate housekeeping?) on the sill where the flashlight normally sits. I got down on my hands and knees and looked under the workout equipment and finally found the flashlight. It was the same flashlight we’d used at the last investigation. I set it back on the sill and went outside to see if there was a breeze that could have caused the light to fall. Nothing. It was a very calm evening. Similar to the garbage can and shoe rack, the flashlight had sat in this location for the last six years and had never been knocked down by wind. So what made it fall now?
We returned to the family room to continue watching our show. Within an hour, we heard the flashlight fall again. And just as we were heading to bed, it fell for the third time. Was something saying hello to Janice?
Over the next few months, things were relatively quiet. I’ve already written about what happened in May when Janice was away again, and boy do I have a story to tell you about what happened in June. I’m waiting on some pictures, and then I’ll post some of the most intriguing evidence we’ve collected.
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