Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown

by Jason Hawes

  You go out into the woods to the same spot where the campfire was the night before. It isn’t too far from the cabin, only a bit off the trail.

  5. By the time you find the spot, the sun is setting. The first thing you do is…

  a) Call out to the spirit

  b) Look for markers of a burial ground

  c) Sit down where your tent was and wait for the spirit to show itself

  d) Take a few pictures of the area

  Darkness is falling pretty quickly, so you turn on your flashlight. You decide to use your compass as a simple EMF detector. You know that if the compass spins around instead of pointing true north, something odd is happening in the electromagnetic field of the area. That could mean a spirit is present.

  Looking at the compass, you see that the needle is spinning all over the place. Quickly you look around. But there’s nothing. The woods are totally quiet. You don’t have much time, since you have to be back to your cabin by the time it gets dark.

  6. The next thing you decide to do is…

  a) See if you are wearing or carrying something, like a watch or belt, that could be affecting the compass

  b) Stay out all night until something shows up

  c) Take as many pictures as you can because something must be out there

  d) Pack it in and go back to your cabin

  Then you call out to the spirit.

  “Hello?” you say. “If there is a spirit here, I would like to help you. Show me a sign you are here.”

  7. You take a few steps forward and wait a few moments. When you look back down at the compass, it’s stopped spinning. Is that the sign you asked for?

  a) Yes, the spirit responded to your asking for a sign by stopping the compass needle

  b) No, the compass should spin faster if a spirit is present

  c) Maybe, it’s not 100 percent proof one way or the other

  d) No, if it was the spirit, the orange light would be back

  You snap a few pictures and go back to your cabin. You think it’s best not to tell anyone what you’ve been up to until you have a chance to go over the evidence. So you hang out with your bunk mates until lights-out.

  The next morning, you check out the pictures you took during the investigation. Scanning through the images, one image in particular catches your eye. Between two trees, there seems to be a shadowy figure. You zoom in. You can even sort of make out what looks like an old-fashioned gun, a musket, strapped to the figure’s back.

  8. This looks like a great piece of evidence! But before you can be sure, you must…

  a) Check it against other pictures to see if the figure appears in them

  b) Look at the image from different angles to make sure you aren’t matrixing

  c) Look for other things in the picture that may indicate the paranormal

  d) All of the above

  After giving the picture a hard look, you think the figure is real. This is way exciting.

  9. You decide to…

  a) Tell your counselor not to camp out at that spot anymore because it’s dangerous

  b) See if anyone else in your cabin is interested in ghost hunting and set up a ghost hunting team

  c) Go back to the spot alone for more investigation

  d) Write home to your parents, and tell them to send you a better camera

  The next night you go back out to the site with a few of your friends. Everyone is excited about the investigation. You start by studying that picture of the figure that you thought looked like the soldier. You find the exact spot where you took it and look straight ahead. Your friend points out that a knot in the tree next to a weird branch is actually what’s in the picture—definitely not a spirit. Bummer, you were matrixing after all. Your mind was making you see a soldier because of what you had heard about the site. But there’s still more to be done.

  You take out the compass and start checking the area again. You walk around a bit until you look down and see the needle spin. You call two friends over to check it out quickly. They are amazed by what they see—until one of your bunk mates looks up and sees an electrical wire leading toward camp directly overhead.

  “Do you think that could be doing it?” he asks. “Maybe something with the electricity…”

  “Yeah,” you say. “It’s too much of a coincidence.” You remember that the last time the compass stopped spinning, you had walked a few steps forward. So you try it again, and sure enough, when you get away from the wire, the needle points directly north.

  “So far, we’ve debunked most of the evidence,” you say. “But what about the light? I know what I saw. It looked like someone holding a lantern.”

  “That could’ve been anything,” your friend says. “Maybe something from the cabins. Who knows? But I think we can call this case closed.”

  “It’s getting dark,” another friend says. “We should go back.”

  You start down the trail leading back to camp, but suddenly all three of you stop cold. A flicker of light twinkles around some trees in the distance. A barely audible voice is carried on the wind. You can hear it say, “Run! They’re coming! They’re coming!”

  “It’s the lost soldier!” you shout.

  Quickly, you and your team run toward the direction where the voice is coming from. As you get closer, you see the orange light appear. Now you all run as fast as you can.

  But when you reach the light, you are disappointed. Your counselor is waiting for you there, smiling and holding an electric lantern.

  “Sorry, guys. It’s a Camp Elk River tradition. Each year, we tell the story about the lost soldier and walk around with the lantern to scare the new campers.”

  “So you were walking around with the light the whole time?”

  “Well, the other counselors helped while I was telling the ghost story.”

  “And you pretended to be the ghost calling out, ‘Run, they’re coming’?”

  “Huh?”

  “That voice we just heard. That was you, too, right?”

  “No, I didn’t say anything…”

  Just then, your counselor’s face turns white. The hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You can hear the voice now, louder, yelling, “Run! They’re coming!”

  Question 1: You decide the story could be true because it fits the description of a…

  Answer: c) Residual haunting

  All the indications point to a residual haunting—a spirit doing the same thing over and over again, never changing what it does or interacting with people.

  Question 2: You think whatever is going on out there is probably…

  Answer: a) Nothing paranormal; it’s probably just another group camping out

  Swamp gas might be a common explanation for strange-looking lights… but you’re camping in the woods, not at a swamp. You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings. And even though the ghost story might be a little creepy, you can’t just jump to the conclusion that something paranormal is going on. All those weird things could just as easily be another group of campers. Think about it. The orange light and the smell could be from a torch for bugs; the voice could be another counselor. And a sudden wind is not that unusual.

  Question 3: The dim flicker you saw is now brighter. It looks as if it’s moving toward the campsite, straight to your tent. You decide to…

  Answer: b) Look outside the tent to see what’s there

  At this point you should probably check out what’s going on. Answers a and d both assume that the light is definitely a ghost, but you’d never actually know without looking. Remember, a ghost hunter always needs to walk toward the area where they think something paranormal is going on. If you chose answer c, you may not be cut out to be a ghost hunter—sometimes we’re up all night!

  Question 4: You have enough room in your backpack to bring only four pieces of ghost hunting equipment, so you decide to take all the following pieces:

  Answer: b) Compass, camera, flashlight, set of extra batteries

  A
thermometer won’t really help you out in the woods. It’s mostly used for finding cold spots inside a room. In the open, there are too many variables to accurately use it. You also won’t need the walkie-talkies, because you’re going out alone.

  Question 5: By the time you find the spot, the sun is setting. The first thing you do is…

  Answer: d) Take a few pictures of the area

  Sometimes simple is good. There’s a lot going on in the woods—birds and other animals, branches moved by wind—and shadows can often play tricks on a person. Taking a few pictures while it’s still fairly light out is a smart idea.

  Question 6: The next thing you decide to do is…

  Answer: a) See if you are wearing or carrying something, like a watch or belt, that could be affecting the compass

  Remember—your first job is to debunk a claim. Staying out all night will only get you in trouble, and who knows if there’s even anything out there? Taking pictures is not a bad idea, but before jumping to a conclusion about what’s going on in the woods, you need to see what’s up with the compass.

  Question 7: You take a few steps forward and wait a few moments. When you look back down at the compass, it’s stopped spinning. Is that the sign you asked for?

  Answer: c) Maybe, it’s not 100 percent proof one way or the other

  It is a strange coincidence that the electromagnetic field changed when you asked the spirit a question. If a spirit really was present and close to you, it’s true that the compass would spin faster. But just because that didn’t happen when you asked for a sign doesn’t mean a spirit wasn’t there. You will need more evidence. It might also seem logical that the light would be back as well, but spirits can take many different forms. So just because the light isn’t there doesn’t mean that a spirit isn’t present.

  Question 8: This looks like a great piece of evidence! But before you can be sure, you must…

  Answer: d) All of the above

  Always remember—look for the simplest explanation first. A shadowy figure in the woods? That could be a hundred different things. But if you rule out all those possibilities, you might have some strong evidence.

  Question 9: You decide to…

  Answer: b) See if anyone else in your cabin is interested in ghost hunting and set up a ghost hunting team

  If you think you have a strong piece of evidence, then you definitely need to go out and collect more. And the best way to do that is with a team. Remember, two (or three) heads are better than one—and also safer.

  If you got the questions mostly right, that’s great. You’re on the right track to being a ghost hunter. If you got a few questions wrong, that’s okay, too. Just turn the page and you’ll find everything you need to know.

  Every case is different. Over the years, we’ve investigated cases with all types of hauntings. All our investigations are different from each other. But paranormal investigators, like us, say there are four basic forms of haunting. We’re going to break them down for you here. Use this information in your own investigations. With enough evidence, you can usually piece together what kind of haunting is going on.

  INTELLIGENT HAUNTING

  When most people think of ghosts or hauntings, they usually imagine an intelligent haunting. Most of the ghosts from scary stories and movies fall into this category. In these cases, the spirit is aware of its surroundings and can move around freely. The spirit may also interact with people. In movies, ghosts are often shown to have super-speed or to be strong enough to move heavy objects. But in our experience, spirits are usually limited in what they can do. For instance, a spirit might move an object to get attention. But most of the time, it will be able to move only very light objects.

  Spirits in this situation can be friendly—like Paul O’Leary in the story “Play Dead”—or disruptive—like Eloise Cavanaugh in “It’s Just a Dream.” It depends on the reason why they are haunting a location. They may be haunting a place because it was once their home. They may be searching for an object they don’t want to leave behind. Or they may be trying to communicate something important to the living. It’s also possible they are looking for a particular person. And then there are some who just can’t accept the idea that they have died. Whatever the reason, they are here, and usually they do not want to leave.

  POLTERGEIST

  A poltergeist haunting will start off with knocks and bangs. The furniture may start to move around by itself. The activity will become more and more intense. Eventually a poltergeist may show itself—sometimes just by making voice sounds—other times by appearing as a full-bodied apparition.

  We have personally seen chairs slide across the floor and beds shake. Objects can even fly across a room. Poltergeist hauntings are loud and rowdy. In fact, that is how this type of haunting got its name. Poltergeist is actually a German word that means “noisy spirit.”

  Most of the time, a poltergeist haunting is connected to a single person. It may seem that most of the activity doesn’t happen unless that certain person is present, and usually the activity appears to stop when that person leaves the home. Often, but not always, the person is a child. It is thought that a person’s energy can affect spirits, resulting in a poltergeist haunting. So a very stressed person could be causing the haunting without knowing it.

  In most poltergeist cases, the spirits will disappear without any warning. The haunting may stop within a few days. Other times it may take years. And you may never know the reason why it happened. Most people are just happy to see the spirit go.

  RESIDUAL HAUNTING

  This is the most common form of haunting. We see it often, especially at historical sites like Alcatraz or Tombstone. In this type of haunting, the spirits are completely unaware of their surroundings. They don’t see the people around them. They are in their own world and their own time. In fact, the spirits are caught in their own time. That explains why people often make claims that they’ve seen a ghost wearing old-fashioned clothing, like the ghost in “Restless Spirit.” These spirits repeat an action over and over again, in the same place every time. The haunting may occur every night or every week or even every year, like in “Cries in the Night,” where the spirits relived their shipwreck every year.

  The event being repeated is always something that was important to the spirit when it was alive. It can be an everyday activity or it can be an event that was very sad or painful. We’ve had cases where we hear screaming or crying. We often find out the site was the scene of violence or death. That was what we had thought when we heard the woman in the St. Augustine Lighthouse. In many cases, the spirits have no idea that there are now live people in the house.

  There is very little you can do to get rid of this form of haunting. We have found that the best thing is simply to make the family who is living with it understand what is going on. They aren’t in any danger. The spirit means no harm and will just continue to do whatever it’s doing no matter what.

  DEMONIC HAUNTING

  Demonic hauntings are very, very rare. They are caused by an inhuman entity. These spirits are nasty. They are like the evil spirits you see in movies. We have heard of cases where people have been thrown through the air and even attacked. But so far these claims have not been proven.

  We have debunked several hauntings that looked like demonic hauntings. We had a case where a boy woke up with cuts and bruises and his parents thought he was being attacked by spirits. But we found out that he was doing it to himself—while he was asleep. He was like a sleepwalker and had no memory of what happened when he was asleep. But he was actually scratching himself.

  Some people have reported that during a demonic haunting, there is an awful odor, like decaying flesh or sulfur, and the air in the room feels hot and thick, like fog. We have also heard reports of a growling sound coming with the odor. We once investigated a case like this. We smelled the nasty odor and we heard the growls. But we didn’t find a demonic spirit—the growls and the odors came from the homeowner’s dog! Turned out th
e dog had a “digestive problem” that was causing the rotten odor. Get what we mean? Of course you do!

  You know ghost hunting is exciting. We live for the moment when we “go dark.” But you also know that our method is based on trying to debunk the claims. We try to rule out every explanation until the only thing left is the paranormal. As Jason once said: “If you set out to prove a haunting, anything will seem like evidence. If you set out to disprove it, you’ll end up with only those things you can’t explain away.”

  So in a way, our job is not to find ghosts, but to not find ghosts. Whenever people hear a rattling sound in their home and call us saying they have a ghost (we call these reports claims), we check the air-conditioning system in the house first to make sure it isn’t what’s making the sound. If someone sees strange lights, we check to make sure they aren’t just headlights from passing cars. If we can prove the claims are not paranormal, then we say we have debunked the claims.