Investigation #4

This was to be the weekend I've been waiting for - to travel to an old city scarred with a deep history of war and restoration in a location generally accepted (and promoted) as active. I fully expected this to be a textbook lesson in Debunking 101.

The night went by for the most part without incident. I was, however, surprised by a few things our team sensitive came up with. Keep in mind I am quite skeptical about psychics and the like. Although I have had a few experiences in my younger years (which I may discuss later) I find much of it very hard to believe. However, the sensitive with us mentioned a few things about the history of the location that later turned out to be right on point. That made me wonder. Did this person research the location before hand to the point where they knew these things? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it definitely opened my mind to this person's abilities. I want to know more.

Nearing the end of the investigation the team leader and I moved to the 2nd floor for a last sweep. While staring down a long hallway with video and audio rolling we heard what sounded like a loud thud followed directly by a sound of something being dragged across the wooden floor. The source was clearly about 15 feet ahead of us. I would describe it as someone stomping on the floor with a boot then dragging it a few feet. We were quite surprised by this and moved ahead to the area to investigate further. Nothing and no one was in the room aside from a few boxes and pallets.

The team leader asked for a sign of a presence on the count of three. He counted, "3... 2...Thud." I heard a light thud similar to what we heard previously but much lighter to my left along with a slight vibration in the floor. It felt as if someone had stomped on the floor next to me. The team leader was to my right and there was nothing in the area of the sound but wooden floors and a wall.

I supposed the second experience I had could have been some kind of electrical or plumbing system kicking on/off - but the timing was too ironic to dismiss. As for the first sound, we both thought it may have been caused by a box falling but later review of video shot previous to our experience shows the boxes in the same position.

One more experience to chew on and wonder...

What Will They Think?

My family has been interested in paranormal ever since I can remember. Although they never truly studied the field or delved too deeply into it, they were open to it. So, this direction seemed rather natural to me.

This is different, however, for my wife and her side of the family. With a solid christian background, she is understandably a bit skiddish about certain aspects - specifically physically going into a supposed active location. Being a history and mystery buff, however, she enjoys the research and helps me tremendously. Overall, she is very supportive. I feel that in time she will want to get more involved - but that is her choice.

The shaky part comes when the subject surfaces with her side of the family. As strong christians themselves, I am unsure how some of them will react. So, we simply don't discuss it for now - but I'm prepared for the day it does.

More New Equipment

I realized on the last few investigations that trying to hold a video camera, an audio recorder and a flashlight at the same time can be awkward. So, I looked for an armband I could wear to hold my audio recorder. I found this to work very well! Put on the armband, turn on the recorder and forget about it.

Tunebelt Mp3 Armband Carrier
This is a cool little armband (that I actually wear on my forearm) that will hold any small audio recorder.

My Television Debut

Tampa Bay 10 News did a story on Florida Ghost Team as we investigated the Italian Club in Ybor, FL. Check it out... I'm in there quite a bit actually.

View The Story Here (VIDEO)

What I'm reading...

Ghost Hunting: How to Investigate the Paranormal
Hmmm... I honestly thought there would be more educational tidbits in this book. Granted I'm not finished with it yet, but this one was written more from the perspective of a strong believer in psychic phenomena - not exactly the direction I'm coming from.