Larry Wilsons Sallie House Investigation -September 14, 2013

Prior to investigating, I set up my equipment and headed over to my friends Tony and Deb Pickman's house for a visit. The Pickman's lived in the house and experienced one of the most extreme hauntings ever reported. They continue to experience activity and strange events to this day at the home they now live in. So you can see that walls and property lines don’t seem to prevent evil from following you or trying to play havoc with your life!

The Pickman's and I have a lot in common. We have both had experiences at the same places, the Villisca Axe Murder house and the Sallie house. I won’t go into what happened to them at the Villisca house because it is personal and private, but their experiences are very similar to mine so like my previous visit with them, we chatted for several hours. Then, something really strange happened.

I have seen photos and heard stories of how Tony would be scratched by some unseen force over the years when he both lived in the house and since the family moved out. It seems when others investigate the house or Tony discusses the house with people, things like scratches appear on his body!

Tony is a sensitive and has a true gif as a psychic. As we were chatting, Tony was giving me advice about something I needed to do before I went back to the house to investigate. As he was talking he seemed to be uncomfortable and flinched as if in pain. He then mentioned how he was feeling a burning sensation on his stomach and Chest! He lifted up his shirt and sure enough, there were scratches. He didn’t seem too concerned, but I noticed while his shirt was lifted more scratches formed right before my eyes! It was amazing! I told Tony that I didn’t want to cause him any grief by investigating the house so if he preferred that I didn’t go that particular night, I would not. He simply said “Oh no problem…this isn’t bad!” Seeing those scratches forming was just more proof to me of the reality of the supernatural and of what goes on at the Sallie House.

I left the Pickman's and returned to the Sallie House to start the actual investigation. I took precautions and prepared before entering the house, but when I entered, you could feel the vibe, it was an even stronger and heavier feeling than it had been earlier in the evening! Maybe it was simply my senses being on edge or being more alert, entering a now darkened house.

It was warm in the house because I had shut all the windows to keep any outside noise from interfering with my audio equipment. All night long, I heard movement in the upstairs and the basement, but when I would go to investigate, nothing was there. It was almost like something was playing games with me. That’s sort of the feeling you get in a strange house, like it is playing with you, trying to unnerve you!

I had a very strong feeling, and this is merely based on the perceptions I had while in the house, especially in the basement, that not only was something down there, but that several something’s were down there and were always right next to me. I have been to over 300 places in the last eleven years, and no place other than the Villisca House gives off this type of feeling. I will have to say, the feeling I get at the Villisca House is not as strong. But I plan to return to Villisca next year and will get to compare once again!

I believe it was Peter James the world famous psychic who identified a “portal or doorway” to the other side, in the back corner of the dining room. The owner of the house had pointed it out to me the last time that I was there in 2012.  So I decided to use copper rods to test for unusual or strong fields of energy. I wasn’t disappointed, as I was able to video tape the rods spinning or helicoptering in opposite directions and then suddenly reversing directions! I checked for high EMF in the area of the portal and there was little to none! But the rods spinning indicated something goes on in that spot.

Two other rooms in the house gave me a feeling that I needed to be “on guard”…and they were, Tony and Deb’s old bedroom and the kitchen. I’m not sure what is was about those rooms…but something didn’t feel right.

Most of the night was pretty uneventful…but the house keeps you on your toes, it keeps you on edge and it’s not simply the reputation of the place, there is more to it. You get a feeling that the place is alive and waiting for you to suddenly have a moment of fear that will cause you to doubt not only yourself, but your faith, and when or if you do, that’s when you have a problem! I have a strong faith in God and I always wear a Michael the Arch Angel pendent. I never go anywhere without it. I do this because I believe that “Michael” is God’s “Bouncer” and can handle anything. I had a sense several times during the night that something was trying to get into my head and make me doubt this, but as soon as this would happen, I would take hold of the medallion for reassurance and to show it that it couldn’t break my faith! Because, after all, “Faith” is the only protection we have from what dwells in the darkness!

Some think that I am a bit reckless, going to a place like this by myself. ”That there is strength in numbers,” but you are only as strong as the “weakest link,” so when it comes to “faith” and believe me the Sallie House is a very good test of faith. I have no doubt that I am protected. So there is no weak link when I go alone, but if others are along and they have fear, then there is a weak link that could lead to problems for both me and the other person!

With that being said, I have worked with a lot of very good investigators that I would investigate the Sallie House with, it’s just that something kept telling me that I need to go alone on this one.

I decided to save the area of the house that gives off the strangest vibe, the basement! So from 3a.m.to 4:30a.m., I investigated this part of the house. When you turn the lights off down there, it is darker than dark, very unnerving. You can sense a presence which gives you a feeling that what is there would love to harm you.

I remembered what Sam Draper and Felicia Thurmond messaged me about the basement. I had posted photos of a hole in the wall in the basement and had mentioned how the hole gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. They both sent private messages, telling me that it’s not the wall with the hole that I should be concerned with. That the wall directly opposite of the wall with the hole, is the one to be concerned with.

I set up two cameras and an audio recorder in the basement. I had a surveillance camera pointed towards the basement staircase and decided to set up my “HD IR video camera” along the wall that Sam and Felicia mentioned and pointed it towards me. There were two metal folding chairs in the basement located against the wall directly across from the basement stairs. I placed an audio recorder on one chair and I sat in the other. I turned off my flashlight and sat it on floor near me, but when I turned my light out, the basement was darker than dark. With the only source of any light being the reflection of the LCD screen from my HD camera on the wall. The reflection of light gave me a little reference point in the darkness and a little comfort as well. But with all the investigations I have done and have under my belt, this was the most extreme place I had investigated alone. The basement is not a good place!

I started thinking about how I was sitting alone in the dark, in a place that has been identified by some legit people as probably being “Demonic.” A lot of things run through your mind in a dark and terrifying place like this! I felt that at any moment something would reach out and grab me and then who knows what might happen! I started thinking how my only way out of the basement was across the room, and if something happened, I would have to get to the stairs to make my exit!! To say the least it was very creepy down there. But this is the field of endeavor that I chose or maybe more correctly should say “chose me!” So this is what I do and this is what I live for.

I decide to start asking questions out loud! With my first question, I found out that whatever was there would show me that, “Yes, I’m here!”

The first question that I asked was, “Are there any spirits or beings here, if so say something, make a noise or do something to let me know!”
No sooner than the words “let me know” came out of my mouth, my (HD IR) camera shut down and the only bit of light that I had went to total blackness! My heart jumped into my throat and was pounding because I knew that I still had almost half of a four hour battery left, and with a full battery, this had never happened with this camera!

I tried to act like this didn’t concern me, and reached for my flashlight. I couldn’t find it at first and as I reached for the light I had the feeling that something was about to grab me. I finally located my flashlight, but then the next thing that went through my mind was, ”When I turn this light on, what will be standing in front of me?” So not knowing what to expect, I hit the button on the flashlight, and nothing was there. I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck, even though I didn’t see anything. But it felt like something was present. Could it have been “Belial,” Sallie, something else or just my imagination? I don’t scare easy, which is why I don’t believe the feeling was simply my imagination.

I walked over to the camera and I closed the LCD screen as it also acts as the power switch for the camera I then reopened the LCD screen and the camera powered back up and indicated that I still had “117” minutes of “240” minutes of battery remaining. I pressed the “Record” button and the camera started recording.  It continued to record until the battery drained well over an hour later.
Was this merely camera malfunction or something else? I’m not really sure. My gut feeling is that something was giving me a sign, or maybe it was trying to try put fear into me!

I packed up about 5am as nothing else happened while at the house. But as many of you know, the last time I was at the Sallie House, the fun didn’t begin until days and weeks after the investigation!

Larry Wilson is a paranormal investigator and author of “Chasing Shadows and Echoes from the Grave.”

 

From the Introduction of Chasing Shadows

“Chasing Shadows”

Investigating the Paranormal in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa

By

Larry Wilson

 

Introduction

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

In the world in which we live, there are things that can be explained with science and logic. Then there are things beyond the realm of science and logic: things that go bump in the night, strange sounds, and ghostly images that occur without warning. For generations, these types of occurrences have been reported throughout the world. Every city and town has a place that everyone knows not to visit after the sun goes down, for fear of coming face to face with the beings that have made these stories so frightening.

The Midwest has its share of such places, and in this book you will explore some of them firsthand through investigations that I have conducted. We will explore haunted and mysterious places in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Locations such as Illinois’ haunted Ridge Cemetery at Williamsburg Hill, Springfield’s Legacy Theatre, and the mysterious “Graveyard X.” We will explore Hannibal, Missouri’s Rockcliffe Mansion, the historic Morse Mill Hotel in Morse Mill, Missouri, and Booneville, Missouri’s Kemper Military Academy, which was the setting for the movie Child’s Play III. We will travel to Villisca, Iowa to investigate a place that has personally changed my life, the way that I view the supernatural, and the way that I approach ghost hunting in general. These are all places where extraordinary things occur that cannot be explained by mere science and logic, things that I have personally seen and heard.

Are these unusual occurrences signs or evidence of ghosts and hauntings? If so, why are these particular locations haunted and not other, similar places? Do portals and windows exist? Or is the veil between the living and the dead somehow thinner at these locations,   letting spirits travel between different dimensions and allowing us to experience extraordinary events? This book is my humble attempt at answering some of these questions.

What you are about to read is true. The stories in the following chapters describe a few of the most memorable paranormal investigations that I have conducted. The events as described are actual experiences and encounters, not simply legends or folklore. One particular location, as you will read, has completely changed the casual manner in which I once investigated the paranormal. Through these experiences, my perceptions of life, of ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural, as well as what I have been taught to believe, have been changed forever.

It is my hope that those who read this book, especially those who plan to pursue paranormal research and investigation, will realize that ghost hunting is not a field of endeavor to be taken lightly. It is not fun and games or simply a matter of thrill-seeking. This stuff is real!

Missouri Ax Murder House

LaBinnah Bistro Investigation

By

Larry Wilson 

            My first investigation, with Gary Hawkins, was at the location of the former LaBinnah Bistro restaurant, at the corner of Center and North Fifth Street in historic Hannibal Missouri. This was a very intriguing location to investigate due to the history of the building itself.

This is a very infamous location in that it is connected to Hannibal’s famous unsolved Stillwell Murder case which occurred in December, 1888.As the story goes the building was owned by the former mayor of Hannibal W.A. Munger. Amos J. Stillwell, Munger and the town’s doctor Dr. Joseph C. Hearne were playing Euchre at the mayor’s house on the evening of December 30 1888.

The rumor has it that the doctor and Stillwell’s wife Fanny were having an affair. After the card game that evening Stillwell and his wife returned home and went to bed. Sometime during the night Fanny awoke to see a dark figure standing over the bed with an ax. The dark figure called out, “Is that you Fanny?” before swinging the ax and severing the head of Amos Stillwell.

            Mrs. Stillwell was later seen in her nightgown running around the neighborhood knocking on doors seeking help. When the police arrived the bloody scene had been cleaned up by Mrs. Stillwell and several of the neighbors.

            The next year Fanny and the Doctor were married. The Stillwell murder was still unsolved by authorities, but the gossip around town was that the doctor and Fanny were in cahoots, and had murdered Amos Stillwell so that they could be together.

Most towns’ folk were convinced that both Fanny and the Doctor were guilty of the murder and would harass Fanny and the Doctor with taunting statements like “Axe me no more questions.” Eventually the doctor was tried but was acquitted by a jury which consisted of several of his friends. In later years it was reported that during a family argument Dr. Hearne threatened Fanny with, you guessed it, an axe.

            In more recent years the Munger home became the location for the LaBinnah Bistro Restaurant and Social Club located downstairs and Hazel& Kirks Coffee Bar which was located upstairs.

At the time of the investigation, the Bistros owner had relocated the restaurant to the Rockcliffe Mansion in Hannibal which he also owned. He was in the process of selling the building where the Bistro had formerly been located. The owner was aware, that Gary and paranormal investigator and independent film maker Paul Robinson were interested in doing an investigation and film for a documentary that Paul was in the process of making on Haunted Hannibal locations.

Since the owner wasn’t sure if the buildings new owner would be as receptive to allowing a paranormal investigation he contacted Gary which gave us the opportunity to investigate the location before the sale was complete.

Also located above the second story of the restaurant, is a living area that had been used as an apartment and recently rented to a lady from New Orleans. She rented the living area, until being frightened by what she saw one evening. What the tenant witnessed was a translucent figure moving hurriedly across the dining area. She watched the figure turn into a glowing blue dot before disappearing. This frightened her so much that she moved out. Weeks later a guest took a picture of the front of the building and in the picture looking out the front door glass was a figure similar to what the former tenant had seen.

Read about this, and other adventures of paranormal investigator Larry Wilson, in Chasing Shadows -Second Addition.

Only for a Moment- For my Angel Baby- Keri Rene...

“Only for a Moment”

by

Larry Wilson

I’m not really sure why I am writing this; maybe it’s because I miss you, or because I never got to know you. Maybe it’s because of that song I play for you each morning that so reminds me of you. Maybe it’s just the wine.

I often wonder what its like where you’re at. I wonder if the sun always shines, or if you have cloudy days?  Are you growing up? Can you see angels? Are your eyes blue like mine, or are they a beautiful brown like your mothers?

I wonder if you can see me, or hear me when I talk to you? Do you even know who I am?

They say that moments pass us by so quickly, that we soon forget, but I haven’t! That one moment is etched forever in my heart, my memory, and my soul! Because that moment is all I have.

I only got to hold you one time and I didn’t want to let you go, because I knew, that I would never get to hold you again. It was seventeen years ago, but that moment has never passed. The tears that ran down my cheeks and onto your face filed my heart with that moment forever. I’m sorry I shook, but I just couldn’t help it, I so wanted you to open your eyes and smile, but you didn't!

I’ll never forget the look on the nurse’s face when she told me that it was time, and that I had to let you go, her eyes were filled with tears, tears for me, as she gently pried you from my arms.  Do you remember that I kissed your cheek? I hope you heard me say I love you and good-bye angel!

It took me thirteen years to get enough courage to visit you at your special place but I was finally able to and I am glad that I did.
Every time that I now visit your special place and without fail a peaceful breeze blows that quiets the world around me.
It only last for a short time, but no matter the temperature the breeze goes through me and warms my heart. It always makes a bad day good and a good day better!
I’m not sure if it’s her spirit or maybe the Angles that watch over me, but there is a presence in that breeze!
In the last several years I have had two very vivid dreams where you have appeared! In both dreams I speak to you and say, “I wish you were with me!” Both times you responded with a smile and say, “I am silly…I’m in your heart!”
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I have often wondered if the vivid dreams were dreams at all, that maybe you came to visit and to comfort me and to let me know that you are all right!
But either way, it taught me that I was wrong seventeen years ago…that I would hold you again and I do!
Well you were right “silly” you are with me and I do hold you every day, because, ”You’re in my heart!”
You may not realize it...but holding you that one time did make a difference...a difference like no other. It was only for a moment, but that one moment mattered more than any moment of my life and it still does. 

2011 Halloween Show Investigation at CBS KHQA TV Station's Tegan Orphets house.

Check out the link to the 2011 investigation conducted by Larry Wilson at KHQA TV Station's Tegan Orphets house.You may be surprised at what he found! This and other accounts of Larry's investigations can be found in Echoes from the Grave, the second edition coming soon from Huntzman Enterprises.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_GPe5jB_Vw 

Investigation at KHQA TV 7 weather lady Tegan Orphets home.

The Tragedy at Tegan’s House

From Echoes from the Grave by Larry Wilson

The house in which Tegan lives is quite interesting. It was built in the early 1900s, by the John Henry family, who used it as their summer home. You may recognize the name John Henry, as he is best known as the current owner of the Boston Red Sox and is also the co-owner of the Roush-Fenway racing team. Tegan’s parents purchased the home from the John Henry family and it is the home in which she grew up.
She currently lives in the house with her husband Ryan and their children. Tegan explained to me that several weeks earlier, Ryan was out in the yard raking leaves when a car stopped by and a man started a conversation with him.
The man asked Ryan if he was aware that years ago someone had committed suicide in the basement of the home. Ryan, who was unaware of the suicide, asked Tegan if she was aware of the death in the house. She was not.
Tegan contacted her father, to see if he was aware of the suicide, and to her surprise, he was. It seems that her father had been aware of the death of a former farmhand, who had hung himself in the basement of the house, but being a good parent, did not want to alarm Tegan and her sister, while they were living in the house for fear that they would be scared.
After Chad and Tegan finished with their morning show, we loaded up the Channel 7 van with my equipment and a video camera from the station and headed out to rural Adams County for our adventure.
The house is a two story frame dwelling with a full basement and is very well maintained. Over the years I have been in many homes conducting paranormal investigations and I have developed a sort of empathic ability that allows me to feel a different or weird vibe if a spirit is present.
In some houses and buildings I get a feeling that I should not be there, that something is not quite right, or what I describe as heaviness and oppression. This is especially true at a place where something bad or tragic has happened and left an imprint in the environment.
Tegan’s house gave me just the opposite feeling. As soon as I walked in, I had a feeling that I was welcome. It gave off a feeling of warmth and one that a lot of happiness and love has been experienced and shared over the years. The house and property is a beautiful place to raise a family…

(To read the rest of the story and find out what the strange voice that Larry was able to capture on his digital voice recorder, you will want to check out "Echoes from the Grave from Huntzman Enterprises. Second addition to be released soon.

Strange Lights Over Cumberland Sugar Creek Cemetery

From Chasing Shadows by Larry Wilson

The moon that night was a waning crescent, which is only about one sixth of a moon. The sky was clear for the most part but the cemetery was very dark. We arrived a few minutes before 10:00 p.m. Once we got out of the car and walked a short distance, our eyes seemed to adjust to the darkness and we could make out objects or obstacles such as tombstones that were in our paths without difficulty.

Just a few minutes later, I glanced up towards the sky and noticed an object about the size of a very bright star heading west to east. I pointed out the light to Chris and asked if he thought it may be a satellite. Neither of us was sure as to what it was, but it did not have flashing lights like a normal aircraft would. I turned away for a moment to check out the cemetery because I thought I saw something moving. No sooner had I looked away when, Chris yelled, “Hey, the light vanished!” I looked up and, sure enough, it was gone.

A few moments later, we saw another, similar light coming from the southeast and heading in a northeasterly direction. A few seconds after that, we saw another light coming from the south and heading north. This time, I kept my eyes focused on the light. What I noticed was that both of the lights seemed to be headed on an upwards trajectory. As I watched, the lights became fainter and fainter. Then it hit me: the lights were not extinguishing; they were heading so high into the atmosphere that they were disappearing from sight. I do not know of any military or commercial aircraft that travels that high, so I was completely baffled as to what we were watching.

After the lights disappeared, we scanned the sky for a few more minutes but did not see anything else unusual. We had just walked back to the south end of the cemetery and were approximately 40 feet from the fence line on the east and another 30 to 40 feet from the fence line to the south. Chris was standing approximately seven to eight feet in front of me, facing south. I was also facing south and was behind Chris and at an angle that was a step or two to his left. We were again discussing where someone could have possibly been standing while remaining hidden from the Springfield group, when all of a sudden, Chris and I were lit up like Christmas trees and I could see Chris as plainly as if it were the middle of the day.

My first reaction was to turn my head and look behind me. As soon as I did this, my attention was drawn upwards. When I turned and looked up, I saw a very, very bright yellowish-white light. It was so bright that I extended my arm and hand towards the light to shield it from my eyes. Chris reacted in the same manner as I did. I am still uncertain how high above us the light was, but it was at least eight feet or so. The light surrounded both Chris and I for an estimated 20 foot radius. The blast of light lasted for about four to five seconds.

The light disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It was there one moment and gone the next. When I looked up, all I could see was the brightness of the light, like in those old spy thrillers where a blinding spot light is shinned into someone’s face to get them to talk. There are no security or street lights in or near the cemetery…

Alton Cemetery - Video- Strange light

 Excerpt from Chasing Shadows - Second Addition

"Watch at the fourteen second point of the clip, for a red and green ball of light, which we as a group, did not see at the time." Focus on the top right-center portion of the video screen."You may want to use the full screen to see easier."

The cold spot seemed to take in an area of about ten feet by ten feet. When Lilia walked a short distance away and out of the cold spot, within minutes the batteries in her camera suddenly, and inexplicably, recharged.

 I pointed to a small monument in the city cemetery. I asked Gary if this was the same monument that his photographer had recorded the image of the apparition that was on his website. Gary answered in the affirmative and began to explain where the tour group was standing in correlation to where the photo was taken.

Lilia began to film a short video of the spot where the photo of the apparition was taken. A few moments later, she reviewed the footage and exclaimed excitedly, “I think I’ve got something here!” She had recorded what appeared to be a ghostly image, visible from the neck down to just below the knees, walking through the cemetery. The image was hard to make out since the LCD screen on the camera was very small.

The following Monday, Lilia brought the memory stick from her camera to my home in Taylorville, Illinois. She had recently moved and did not have her home computer set up yet, so she had not viewed the video other than on her camera’s LCD screen.

I downloaded the file to my computer. The length of the video was approximately twenty seconds and, to my disappointment, the only image visible was at about the ten second mark. At that point in the clip, a red and green sphere, or ball of light, floated erratically to about the center of the screen, where it stopped. The ball of floating light was impressive, as we had not seen it with our naked eyes, but I was still disappointed because the full apparition could not be seen on the video.

Excerpt from Chasing Shadows - Second Addition

Experiencing the supernatural as child 

by Larry Wilson

My first encounter with the paranormal was on September 8, 1966. The date is easy to remember, because the night of my experience was the debut of a cool new TV series, Star Trek. It was around 8:30 p.m. At that time we were living in the Petersburg area of Illinois. I remember that my mom was in the kitchen and my brother was doing homework. My dad was visiting at a friend’s house.

Our living room, was set up with our sofa under a window. It faced the north and rested up against the wall. Being bored, I decided to look out the window. I climbed up on the sofa and knelt on the seat, my chin resting on my interwoven fingers. As a child of seven, I enjoyed looking out this window at night, to watch trains that would stop at a small depot that was located on a hillside, about a mile north of our home.

It was dark. I unclasped my hands, cupping them to my face in order to block the glare from the living room light that was reflecting on the window. I pressed my nose against the glass in order to see outside. I remember this night as though it was yesterday. As soon as I looked out of the window I could see the stars, as it was a clear night. Immediately, I noticed how large the moon looked. It appeared to be the biggest and brightest moon that I had ever seen. The color was a strange rich and vibrant orange, and its shape was perfectly round. I looked at the bright orange moon for a couple of minutes. I was completely fascinated by it. Then something caught my attention. I glanced to my left, looking higher up in the night sky, and saw the bright yellow, crescent shaped moon! I quickly looked back at the orange object, which I had originally thought was the moon, and then looked back at the actual moon. The moon appeared to be much smaller than the other object. One thing that I will never forget is how perfectly round the object appeared to be.

I continued staring at it, as I could not take my eyes off of it. Then, all of a sudden, it appeared to accelerate at a high rate of speed before coming to an abrupt halt. It now appeared to be half the size that it had been before. A moment later it shot off again at a high rate of speed and again came to a sudden stop. It repeated this behavior one more time, before it finally accelerated and disappeared into the northern sky.

Over the course of the next few weeks something strange began to happen. I would think of something and the next thing I knew, it would occur. It was not something that happened all of the time, but generally when I would get what I would describe as an eerie feeling. A thought would come to me and the next thing I knew it would manifest itself into reality.

One example of this, was a day I had a premonition that someone was hit by a train. Later that evening I was laying on my parent’s bed, staring out the window, when I observed a car driving through the railroad crossing that was across the street from our house. As I watched, a train struck the rear end of the car. The woman driver sustained injuries that resulted in her being taken to the hospital.

On another occasion, I was in school and we heard the village fire alarm. I looked over at one of my classmates and had a premonition that it was his house that was on fire. I recall hearing him jokingly say, “I sure hope it’s not my house.” Later on, family members came to the school to pick-up him up because it had, in fact, been his house that had caught fire.

After about two months, these visions stopped. But even as a child, I recognized what was happening to me. I truly believe that these premonitions were enhanced for a short time by what I saw that night. It is my hope, that someone who reads this book, and who lived in the Petersburg area at the time, may have also witnessed the same event. If so, I wonder if they experienced premonitions like I did.

Read about this and other adventures of paranormal investigator Larry Wilson in Chasing Shadows -Second Addition

2013 Shelbyville, Illinois Investigation

This video, is from a solo investigation, that I conducted, at a highrise apartment complex in the central Illinois community of Shelbyville.

A young couple named Courtney and Cody, contacted me in the early summer of 2013, as they were having unusual activity at their apartment. 

 Some of what they were experiencing was frightening to them. The activity, included Courtney, witnessing what appeared to be a man kneeling at the foot of  their bed. They sometimes heard voices coming from within the apartment, when no one else was home. Strange feelings that they were being watched was sometimes overwhelming. 

On several separate occasions both Courtney and Cody witnessed what appeared to be a hand pressing in on the shower curtain as they were taking a shower. Each thinking that it was the other, they would pull opened the shower curtain and to their surprise, they would  find that there was no one there. An over night guest who wasn't aware of the unusual activity, was taking a shower in the young couples apartment when he experienced the same type of activity. 

During my pre-investigation, I recorded five EVP's or Electronic Voice Phenomena. EVP's are believed by many to be disembodied voices that are recorded by the use of either digital or tape recorders. The voices that are recorded are not actually physically heard while being recorded, but some how are picked up by the recording devices. During my pre-investigation, one of the voices I recorded was a mans voice, calling out to Courtney's dog, Mollie. 

About a week after the pre-investigation, I conducted a full all night investigation at the apartment by myself. Courtney and Cody left shortly after 9:30p.m..  Part of my plan for the evening was to take a shower to see if I would experience similar activity or possibly see the phantom hand pressing on the shower curtain.

I set up a video camera in the hallway. I pointed it toward the shower in the bathroom. I bought swim trunks with me, to change into to, so that I could take a shower, and see if I could  record the event on on video.

I took about a fifteen minute shower and nothing unusual occurred. So I could change out of my wet trunks, I closed the bathroom door, but left the camera running. The bathroom is small, so in order to dry my leg, I turned my back to the bathroom door, and placed my foot on the lid of the bathroom commode. After a few moments, I heard a clicking sound, that I thought came from the hall outside of the bathroom. With my leg still on the stool, I turned my head around and was about to say, "hey Cortney is that you?' When the bathroom door opened about an inch or so. Then as you will see in the video, the door abruptly slams shut.

I have no explanation as to what happened. The door for the bathroom, cannot be slammed, as I tried to recreate this the same night as it took place and again when I reviewed the evidence with Courtney and Cody. The only source of air flow, in the apartment, is from two small window air conditioning units that do not cause enough air flow to cause the door to shut or slam. The door itself is a hollow door, and had a new latch mechanism. With the door being hollow,and you try to slam the door the air in the bathroom causes a vacuum which slows the door down. So it is virtually impossible to slam the door.

For the rest of this story, keep watching for the release of my third book, due to be released tis fall sometime.

But for now, take a look at the  video.

Excerpt from Chasing Shadows

Black Moon Manor

Because of this childhood experience, and my interest in intrigue and adventure, I pursued a career as a private investigator. The ten years that I worked as a P.I. have been highly valuable to me as a paranormal investigator. As an investigator, you are trying to solve some type of a mystery. To do this, you have to think outside of the box. You come up with new ways and innovative ideas to solve a case. You are also required to conduct surveillances. Researching the paranormal is really no different. Except, sometimes simply thinking outside the box is not enough. As you may have to rebuild the box, altogether.

Anderson Cemetery

Excerpt from Chasing Shadows

 

 

About 45 minutes into the darkness of the evening, I was walking around the perimeter of the cemetery, in what I describe as being the triangulated area, located in the oldest part of the graveyard. I had earlier decided that from what I had read, if anything was going to happen, it would take place in this part of the cemetery. Stopping for a moment I scanned the area with my eyes. Suddenly, to my left, I heard footsteps. I felt someone or something walk past me. Whatever it was, was something that I could not see. I can best describe it as being similar to when you are walking down a side walk and someone passes by you. I could hear the movement, and could feel the breeze, caused by whatever it was that had just passed by. By the sound of the footsteps, I knew that it was now behind me, but I couldn’t see it. I sensed that it was there and had the feeling that someone was watching me. Acting as if I hadn’t heard anything I slowly turned around and took a photo with my digital camera. Reviewing the photo on the LCD screen I saw nothing unusual. Then, once again I heard the movement. It sounded like it was to my left and a little in front of me. Who or whatever it was, passed by me again, just like it had done before. I heard the footsteps just like the first time it had passed by me. It was behind me once again. Turning around, around I attempted to take another photo, but my battery power flashed low battery and the flash didn’t work. This puzzled me as I had just put in new batteries before I had arrived at the cemetery. I turned back around and froze, not moving at all, listening to see if I could hear the movement again, but was no movement at all. There was complete silence for a few moments. When I say complete silence it was an eerie silence, not even a branch was moving, no breeze, and no sounds at all. It was as they say dead silent.

I was standing very still, listening and facing the East. All of a sudden, someone or something, punched me directly in the middle of my back. The blow was so solid, that it caused me to lose my balance and fall forward.

To read about the rest of this adventure, as well as many other unusual occurrences that I have experienced while investigating the paranormal. You will want to read my book “Chasing Shadows” being re-edited and to be re-released soon by Huntzman Enterprises.