One Year Ghost Hunting with Autumnforest

investigations

Us in front of the Smurthwaite House.

In January of 2009, Mike and I erased our The Arizona Ghost Organization (TAGO) blog and created the Above the Norm blog. He and I wanted to talk about all kinds of paranormal subjects instead of just ghosts. Besides, all the others that were excited about us starting our own paranormal group changed their mines and all that was left was the two of us. It seemed silly to keep the TAGO name and that is another reason for the blog change. As the blog enters into another year of existence, it has undergone so many changes.

Sometime in the middle of 2009, Mike’s work issues were taking up much of his time so I continued with the blog on my own hoping that he would be able to do a couple of posts here and there. That didn’t happen. I kept his name on the blog until I solely took it over in 2010. I made many changes and added “Bizarre Arizona” to give it my own special touch. OK, I am getting a little ahead of myself and need to get to the “ghost hunting with Autumnforest”.

One of the many things I like about blogging is being able to write about things you love, interesting subjects, and share your thoughts with others. The other thing is the followers. You guys are gems. Since the beginning of our blogs existence, a follower named Autumnforest was seen on many of our posts making comments. She always seemed to have great insight into paranormal subjects and had a blog of her own called “Ghost Hunting Theories”. I got hooked on reading her posts; they were and still are extremely interesting. Sometime during 2009 we started emailing each other and found out that we both lived in Arizona. I knew that she had been on some ghost hunts with other people and groups. I expressed interests in going with them.

In January 2010, Sharon (who is really Autumnforest….. shhh, don’t tell anyone) invited me to a workshop at the Pioneer Cemetery in downtown Phoenix. I was very excited and really wanted to go. I was hesitant because it was located in a bad part of the city and we would be leaving at midnight. I decided to go and met Sharon there. Before this time, she introduced Dale the Doll on her blog and brought the little beast with her. I got there before her and waited in the parking lot until she arrived. Shortly afterwards, she pulled up next to my car and inside was Dale seat belted next to her. We finally met in person (that included Dale too) and from the get go, it was like we had been friends for a long time.

We met up with Debe, the leader of the workshop, along with about 30 other paranormal enthusiasts. She took us on a quick tour of the cemetery while a bum walked down the street next to us talking to himself in a loud voice. Before the workshop began, we each had garbage bags to clean up the cemetery as part of the deal for letting us ghost hunt there until midnight. During that time, we talked about everything and got to know more stuff about each other. Later, she showed me how to use divining rods and EMF device. After the EVP sessions with just ourselves and then later with the group, it was time to leave. Unfortunately, Sharon’s battery was dead and she had to get a jump (no dirty minds here, lol). That workshop was the beginning of the many trips and projects that we would end up doing in 2010.

Sharon, or Autumnforest, had become one of my dearest friends and has given me so much confidence in myself to do anything. I never thought that I would have been coauthoring a few books with her, attempting to write one of my own, or getting interested in photography again. Here I am, and it is 2011 and that is exactly what I am doing. Thank you my little sis for taking this unsure dreamer on the best adventures and bringing out the most intimate parts in me. Love Ya!

the Smurthwaite House

the workshop group

me meeting Dale

the Lost Dutchman

the cemetery crypt

Dale ghost hunting with us

picking up trash around the Pioneer Cemetery

Ghost Hunting With Autumnforest

investigations

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to do some ghost hunting with Sharon (Autumnforest) at the Pioneer Cemetery in downtown Phoenix, AZ. Her friend and fellow hunter Debe Branning was conducting a spirit workshop at the cemetery for all that was interested. I expressed interests in going on a few investigations with her and finally that opportunity arrived. I have cyber chatted with Sharon for over a year, with each of us commenting on the other’s blogs. I was excited to finally meet Sharon in person and perform a ghost hunt with someone who had the right equipment and knowledge about how to conduct a hunt.

Everyone was supposed to arrive between 3:30 and 4:00 pm at the cemetery’s parking lot. I got there early and waited in my car for Sharon to arrive. When she did, she parked right next to me with Dale the doll buckled in the seat next to her. We got out, gave each other big hugs and then I met Dale. Yikes, he has this creepy smirk on his face that I really didn’t like, or trusted. Sharon was exactly like I thought she would be, a warm, funny, whacky and sweet friend. We hit it off like old buddies. We grabbed our stuff to meet Debe and all the others in the Smurthwaite House.

After everyone got there, we all grabbed our trash bags to do a cemetery clean up. This was part of the deal for letting us be there and no one seemed to mind. Sharon and I walked around together talking about our blogs, Mikey and all the other bloggers we follow. (Were you ears ringing?) The cemetery’s trash wasn’t too bad but some areas were very muddy so we had to be careful. After spending about an hour and a half picking up trash, we all met back at the Smurthwaite House to grab a bite to eat. This gave us the opportunity to talk to others about their experiences and check out their equipment. I was excited to see Sharon pick up on some spirits that were in and near the room we were sitting in.

After eating, we all got together for a group photo and then Debe took us on a tour of the cemetery. She would stop at certain graves and tell us the story of the person buried there. The sun was going down as we walked around from grave to grave, lending a bit of eeriness to the tour. After our next break and before heading out on our own, Debe wanted to play a game with the participants there. She split us up in groups of four or more and put us with people we didn’t know. I was with two other females and a male. (Sorry, I am bad with names.) In my little group we were all new to the workshop as was many others that were there. She handed each group a clue that will lead you to one of the graves. After finding the grave, you had to take a picture and show Debe to see if you had the right one. Our clue had the name “Emma” and her husband’s first two initials “J.I.” with a clue to his last name which referred to water. We were excited because we remember a gravesite and story that was similar to our clue. As soon as she said “go”, we all took off to the grave we thought was the one. The area that we went to had paths with rows of graves down each path. One of the ladies found the grave we thought was it and as you might have guessed, it wasn’t. The woman’s name was Elizabeth and her husband’s name was James or something like that. She took off down another row to find “Emma’s” grave and I walked down the path further to find another row of graves to check out. The guy in our group was on the path next to mine trying to find her grave. I yelled out to him that we were wrong and that wasn’t Emma’s grave. He and I ended up meeting in the middle of a row, in front of a grave where we planned our course of action to find her grave. I shined my light on the headstone of the grave we were standing next to and wouldn’t you know it, it was Emma’s grave. Wow, that was weird. Of all the sections of the cemetery and rows we could have ended up standing on, we ended up right in front of the grave we were looking for. As for Emma’s husband, his last name was Brook which fit our water clue. After three of us took pictures of the headstone, we walked back to Debe. She confirmed that it was the right one. We ended up coming in third place. She and others were intrigued on how we found the grave, as were we. We felt like Emma helped us out by sending us to the right place. Thanks Emma, we appreciate not spending hours wandering around the cemetery trying to find your grave.

After we were done with the game, everyone went on their own to do EVP sessions and to see if their KII meters would get any action. We did have the elements against us for the EVP sessions such as airplanes, cars, and loud drunks talking to themselves while walking down the street. Yes, that did happen. Autumnforest (Sharon) and I invited a very sweet hearing impaired woman to go along with us. We started at the crypt where Sharon showed us how to use dowsing rods. I used them first and got hits on some areas that were unmarked. She (sorry, again bad with names) used them second and got hits in the front area of the crypt but not the back. We sat Dale the doll down with the KII meters next to him and conducted an EVP session. After not getting any movement on the meters, we decided to try another grave. I suggested Emma’s grave since I felt a kinship with her, drawing me to her grave earlier. Another group must have felt the same because they were there doing their own investigation. We went elsewhere and found a child’s grave with the name “Amy” on the headstone. Sharon laid Dale on top of the grave hoping that the little girl would want to play with him. We spent some time there but didn’t get a hit on the KII meters and called it a night.

Everyone got together in the Smurthwaite House after spending some time in the cemetery doing investigations. Many took pictures of the inside with some strange orbs and lights showing up on some of the pictures. I got orbs in my pictures but with the moisture outside, I disregarded it as possible dew from that. I posted those for you to look at. After all the picture taking, everyone sat in one of two rooms where an EVP session was conducted. All the lights were off and a few asked questions. Some reported being touched and other’s picked up a “sigh” on their recorders.

After that was over, Sharon and I packed up our stuff and left. Sharon’s car battery was dead so she had to run back in a get a jump. Thank goodness she did. This was a fun and educational experience. I got to see a KII meter up close, use dowsing rods, participate in an EVP session and most of all, meet Autumnforest (Sharon) in person and investigate with her. I cannot wait to see what adventure we go on next together. For her account of the events at the Pioneer Cemetery click on this link: Ghost Hunting Theories.

Photos from the Pioneer Cemetery

investigations

I thought that I would start out by showing some pictures from our (mine and Sharon's) adventure at the Pioneer Cemetery.  My next post will be my experience and pictures from inside the Smurthwaite House.  For Sharon's (better known as Autumnforest) and Dale the doll's expericence click here:

Ghost Hunting Theories

Me, Sharon (Autumnforest) and Dale the doll

Meeting Dale the doll

the gang

Debe Branning our ring leader

I had a blast and learned some interesting tips on ghost hunting.  BTW, Sharon (Autumnforest) is so much fun and exactly the wonderful person she appears on her blog.

Pioneer Cemetery

investigations

Tomorrow night, Saturday, January 23rd, I have been invited to go on a ghost hunt with Autumnforest (Sharon) and Dale the doll at Phoenix's own Pioneer Cemetery.  I am so excited to finally meet Autumnforest (Ghost Hunting Theories) in person but not so sure about Dale, lol.  Not only will I be posting about it and sharing pictures but she will be doing a post or two about it too.  I am so excited to see how she conducts her investigations and learning some helpful tips from her. 

Here is a bit of history about the Pioneer Cemetery:
"Pioneer and Military Memorial Park serves as a monument to the pioneer families of Arizona. The park's historic cemeteries are the final resting place to notable figures in Arizona history and folklore, including John T. Alsap, who was the first Maricopa County Probate Judge in 1871 and first Mayor of Phoenix in 1881.


Jacob Walz, the Dutchman of Superstition Mountain fame, also rests here. A monument to Walz includes a simulation of Weaver's Needle and some of the imposing bluffs that serve as landmarks of the famous Superstition Wilderness. Walz and his legendary "Lost Dutchman" gold mine have become part of the internationally-known folklore of the southwestern United States.

The historic Smurthwaite House was relocated to the park in 1994. Restoration, which began in May of 1998, was completed in 2004."

Who Are These Paranormal Investigators?

investigations

What do they really know about the "ghost hunters" and the equipment they are using to do their investigations with? Are their shows strictly for entertainment or is there some validity behind the investigations and evidence they find? Or, are they just clever in using television to help people who are curious about the question, “is there life after death”, and making a buck doing so? I would like to believe that they are trying to find that answer too and are helping us in doing so. I do know that these shows have increased the interest in unexplained activities by seen or unseen sources, spawning many paranormal investigating societies, blogs and websites all over the world. I put together a short history of some of these investigators to get an idea of what may have started their interests in investigating the paranormal and to see what type of paranormal experiences they may or may not have.

Ghost Hunters: Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson
Jason Conrad Hawes was born in Canandaigua, New York. His family moved to Avon, New York when he was still small. In 1979, when Jason was about 7 year old, his father was offered a position at a company in Rhode Island, and the family relocated to Warwick. His very personal paranormal experience is shrouded in mystery but it caused Jason to do more than just wonder about the afterlife and ghosts. He founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) and started it from a spare room in his apartment. He has varied interests outside of TAPS, which include the fine arts, deep-sea fishing, martial arts, camping, hiking, cooking, writing books, and four sci-fi/thriller screenplays. He also spends a great deal of time participating in charity events, raising money for everything from Cure Kids Cancer to Papers in Education. He and his wife, Kris, have five children, three girls and twin boys. His wife, respect TAPS' mission, but has asked her husband not to bring his paranormal work home.
Grant Steven Wilson grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island. After having a personal experince he and fellow friend/co-worker for Roto Rooter Jason Hawes started TAPS. He doesn’t go into detail about his personal experience as well. He and his wife, Reanna, have three sons and his hobbies include writing and illustrating fantasy characters and role-playing game characters, in addition to web design which includes the TAPS website. He also plays piano and guitar and he is also a composer who previously launched a Music Myspace account with some of his piano compositions. In the future, he aspires to work on an album. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year mission in Italy. Ultimately, he became part of the reality series Ghost Hunters as one of the producers and the lead investigator as well. Recently he and Jason bought and share ownership of the Spalding Inn, which just happens to be haunted. http://www.thespaldinginn.com/

Ghost Hunters International: Robb Demarest
Robb Demarest is a native of Albany, N.Y., and joined the Ghost Hunters International team after three years with Florida Ghost Team (an associate of The Atlantic Paranormal Society). Robb's is currently the assistant director for the team, and participates in speaking engagements on behalf of the group. At an early age, Robb has always been curious about the unknown and life beyond death which started his interest in becoming involved in the field of paranormal investigation. He found it captivating, and say, it "was like reading a mystery that had the last page cut out." He hopes to push the limits of current knowledge in the field and approach these mysteries with the open-minded skepticism for which his TAPS counterparts are known. He has a background in psychology and business administration, and has worked as an ESL teacher and a professional tutor. A practicing martial-artist, he also has a passion for traveling, which Ghost Hunters International is a perfect outlet.

Most Haunted: Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding made her first appearance on British television screens at 13 years old in the acclaimed BBC children's sitcom "Seaview." She was soon snapped up by another flagship BBC show, the long running "Blue Peter," becoming the program's youngest presenter at 18. Her efforts were rewarded when she received an "SOS Award" for the "Most Popular Woman on Television." She left "Blue Peter" in 1992, and went on to present or appear in an amazing range of shows, and also tried her hand at home improvement in "Simply DIY" and "A Weekend's Work." She was a host for the game show "Under Offer" and "Dear Denise,” and made appearances on other shows. Yvette is best-known as the face, heart, soul and scream of the world's leading television ghost hunt. Along with her husband, Karl, she started Antix Productions, the company behind the global success that is "Most Haunted” and they have two children. She leads a group of “experts” from the paranormal field, and attempts to find different methods and experiments to communicate with the dead. The team is determined to prove the existence of life after death.

Ghost Adventures: Zak Bagans
Zak Bagans host and is lead investigator along with his paranormal investigation team, Nick and Aaron, travel to both domestic and international locations rumored to be haunted in search of evidence proving the existence of the supernatural. After graduating from film school in Michigan, Zak moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking. There he met Nick and Aaron, his co-host and fellow investigators for Ghost Adventures. Their first paranormal investigations as a team took place all over Nevada, and the footage they captured led to an award-winning, nationally-televised "Ghost Adventures" documentary. In the introduction of each episode, Zak states: “My name is Zak Bagans. I’ve never believed in ghosts until I came face to face with one. So I set out on a quest to capture what I once saw onto video. With no big camera crews following us around, I am joined only by my fellow investigator Nick Groff and our equipment tech Aaron Goodwin. The three of us will travel to the some of most highly active paranormal locations, where we will spend an entire night, being locked down from dusk until dawn . . . Raw . . . Extreme . . . These are our Ghost Adventures.”

Paranormal State: Ryan Buell
Ryan Buell founded the Paranormal Research Society the first month he arrived on campus in September 2001. Ryan always knew he was interested in the paranormal ever since he could read. He would read books ranging from poltergeists to the Bermuda Triangle. A native of Sumter, South Carolina, he began investigating at the age of 15. His first investigation was on the Salem-Black River Church just outside of his hometown. After three years as Director of the PRS, he was invited to speak at colleges and high schools, offered two book proposals, as well as several television opportunities. In 2005, he was approached by producer Betsy Schechter during spring break and was instantly interested in working with him and his group for a TV series. Later that year, A&E pick up the show, and a year later filming began for "Paranormal State,” for which Ryan was made a producer of. This half-hour docu-drama accounts the happenings of PRS and their investigations into the paranormal. Ryan got his first degree in May 2006, and is now finishing another degree while working on the first season of "Paranormal State." Besides possibly writing a book, Ryan love to travel the world, is an avid movie junkie and is a freelance journalist.

Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal: Chip Coffey
Chip Coffey is a clairvoyant, clairaudient and clairsentient psychic, as well as a fully-conscious medium. He is the great-grandson of famed Native American medicine woman, Minnie Sue Morrow Foster, whose own amazing gifts were widely hailed in the early part of the 20th century. Chip is blessed to have the God-given ability to provide others with insight, guidance and direction. As a medium, he is also able to reconnect his clients with loved ones who have crossed over. Chip has a Master's Degree in Counseling and works extensively with hospice organizations, providing spiritual support to patients and their families. He is also a certified paranormal investigator and frequently consults with victims' families and law enforcement agencies on unsolved murder and missing person’s cases.

Destination Truth: Josh Gates
I added Josh because some of his investigations have been of the paranormal kind along with searching for myterious creatures. Josh Gates is an explorer, adventurer, photographer, and hails from the small town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. A graduate of Boston's renowned Tufts University, Josh holds degrees in archaeology and drama. His work and travels have taken him to more than 70 countries around the world. Josh is an avid SCUBA diver, has participated in sub-sea archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and his work as a photographer has taken him from sweltering African villages to the icy heights of the Himalayas. Josh was recently inducted into The Explorers Club, a prestigious organization dedicated to the advancement of exploration and field research. Recently, Josh scaled "the roof of Africa" on Mt. Kilimanjaro and climbed on Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas. From the Far East to the Wild West, Josh is passionate about exploring and photographing the unique places he visits and the diverse people he meets along the way.

It seems to me that there are many more paranormal investigating teams that we don’t even know of that probably have more experience and knowledge in this field. These people either were smart enough to sell their ideas to the production companies and programming studios, or they simply knew someone. I also noticed that Chip Coffey is the only one that is a certified paranormal investigator.

Paranormal Shows: Believe It or Not?

investigations

Many of the paranormal shows on TV have huge followings. Each week we tune in to watch paranormal investigations in haunted places, or on the hunt for elusive creatures in places we may never travel to. We are spooked by their personal experiences and amazed by the evidence of paranormal phenomenon that they capture on their scientific equipment. Some of the shows are met by criticism of being untrue and fooling the public into believing the paranormal crap they are serving up. Most hardcore paranormal enthusiast won’t listen to the skeptics and ignore their ranting. I have listed seven well known paranormal shows and ask you to give your opinion if you believe the show is real or not.

Ghost Hunters: This Sci-fi show follows the investigations of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) headed up by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, who are plumbers by trade. Each week they lead their team of paranormal researchers to investigate various haunted places throughout the country. They are equipped with sophisticated electrical devices to aide them in the investigations. They set out to prove that there is a logical known reason for the unusual paranormal activities. They thoroughly investigate the areas where the apparitions, noises, and objects moving by unseen forces have been reported. There are times they are able to “debunk” the activities and give another possible answer for the cause. There are those few times when they catch something so incredible and chilling that it even seems to surprise them. They will not say a place is haunted unless they have enough evidence to back it up.

Ghost Hunters International: This spin-off of the original Sci-fi show takes the investigations to paranormal hotspots around the world. The GHI team is lead by veteran investigator, Robb Demarest. He along with Barry Fitzgerald is enjoying their second season of investigating with a whole new team. Here’s hoping that this group stays together. They basically follow the same guidelines as the original Ghost Hunters team, TAPS. Using the same electrical equipment, with the additions of a full-spectrum camera and 360 mic, they do the same type of debunking methods that the TAPS team uses. After checking all the evidence and don’t find anything paranormal, they will not say the place is haunted. However, they do seem to capture lots of paranormal anomaly in the devices they use in some of those spooky international places they have investigated.

Destination Truth: This Sci-fi show follows Josh Gates and his crew investigating and searching for the truth of mythical creatures and other paranormal activities throughout the world. Also using the same guidelines as TAPS, they are armed with scientific equipment and the knowledge to either debunk or find evidence of the phenomenon. They will talk to the locals who may be witnesses of the creatures or paranormal activities and experts as well. Then at nightfall, they set up their equipment and conduct the investigation, sometimes putting them in danger. Afterwards, they take all the evidence they captured to experts in Los Angeles for evaluation.

Ghost Adventures: This Travel Channel show came about from an incredible documentary of ghostly evidence captured. You follow three paranormal investigators, Zak, Nick and Aaron to any haunted location throughout this country and internationally. They start out by getting to know more about the areas surround the place they plan to investigate. Then they will talk to the locals for personal experiences or stories they may have heard. Their method of investigating is very different from TAPS, GHI and DT. Only the three of them are present during the investigations, no camera and sound crews, and they are locked in the facility from dusk to dawn, with no way out. They will set up equipment in various spots where paranormal activity was reported and use their handhelds for most of the investigation. If anything is caught on camera or a recorder, we see that evidence right afterwards. Ghost Hunters and GHI usually presents their evidence at the end of the investigation. Also, both Zak and Nick use a taunting method to stir up the ghosts, hoping to anger them into making an appearance. Sometimes this seems to work even though the screaming gets to be too much. Zak was warned by a Priest not to taunt the demon spirits because it could be dangerous but we know he won’t stop.

Most Haunted: This UK team mostly investigates international hotspots but has made an appearance in the United States. The UK team is lead by Yvette Fielding and is made up of psychics, mediums, a skeptic and other experts in the paranormal field. We are first told of all the paranormal activity by Yvette, and then another team member, Leslie, takes us room by room giving the haunts and history of the place. She watches while Yvette and Brian Shepherd, a medium/psychic artist, go through the same rooms to see if he can pick up the information that was given earlier. He is usually right on the money with his answers. Then its lights out, they separate into several groups and start the investigation. Like Ghost Adventures, we see any evidence captured right after it happens. Sometimes they will conduct a séance to communicate with the dead. This group is out to prove that there is life after death. After the investigation is over, the evidence is gone over piece by piece an analyzed by Ciar O’Keeffe, a Parapsychologist and skeptic, to see if they caught anything paranormal.

Paranormal State: Another show, found on A&E, that I haven’t watched and would like input. This is how the show is described on the website: This show delves deep into the strange and the mysterious with Paranormal Research Society founder Ryan Buell and his team of investigators as they attempt to unravel inexplicable paranormal phenomena including sixth-sense experiences, ghost sightings, demonic disturbances, and brushes with the darkest areas of the unknown. They work cases all across the country.

Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal: This is another A&E show that each week follows children that are brought together to learn how to deal with their special psychic skills and to let them know that they are not alone. Dr. Lisa Miller and Chip Coffey are helping them find that understanding along with their parents. You follow each child’s story and find that they are usually scared and isolated, keeping quiet about what is happening to them. You hear their parent’s stories of fear for their child not really understanding if their kid is making up stories or if something is mentally wrong with their child. They are taught how to manage their abilities and shown all the burdens that come with having paranormals skills. The journey between each child, their parents, the medium and psychologist takes a unique and personal path on how they deal with their special gifts.

--Julie--

Spook Searchers!

investigations

So we posted this video on our TAGO blog many months ago, but now that we have more readers, I thought it might be fun to post it again! This is a little movie called "Spook Searchers" it's a spoof of Ghost Hunters. I actually star in it (I'm the chubby white guy ha!) along with my two sisters. My brother plays the ghost, and our friend Robert plays the landlord. We had fun filming it, and I think it turned out pretty good! So check it out and let us know what you think!

If you enjoy this video, please visit my brothers film making page on Myspace by clicking this link: SRM or they also have a youtube page which you can find by clicking this link: SRM Youtube! They have been making these mini-movies for a while now, and have about 25 or so under their belts. They are pretty much all for comedic purposes, but I have to warn you: a lot of them are pretty vulgar! There is some heavy language throughout most of them, except this ghost video which there is only or two "bad" words. But yeah...enjoy!