R. Wolf Baldassarro May, 2012

“Is Peche Island Cursed?”

Last month I brought to light some interesting legends surrounding Detroit’s famous Belle Isle, but just off shore, a little more than a mile east, lies the small untapped wilderness known as Peche Island.

According to descendants of the French family, who once settled the island for nearly 100 years, Peche Island remains untouched even while existing in the middle of urban sprawl for one very good reason: it’s cursed.

The Native inhabitants tell a legend of how Peche Island was formed.

The spirit of the Sand Mountains, along the eastern coastline of Lake Michigan, had a beautiful daughter whom he feared would be abducted. To protect her, he kept her floating in the lake inside a wooden box that was tethered to the shore.

The South, North and West Winds fought over this maiden, eventually creating a huge storm, in which she drifted away to wash up at the shore of the Prophet, the Keeper of the Gates of the Lakes, at the outlet of Lake Huron. Needless to say he was pretty happy to find the beautiful castaway.

The Winds soon found her and conspired to destroy the Prophet’s lodge. The lodge, along with the maiden and the Prophet were pulled into the water eventually drifting through Lake Saint Clair to the Detroit River. The remnants of the lodge formed Belle Isle and the old Prophet became what is now Peche Island.

In 1789, Ontario was comprised of five regulatory districts. The Board of the Land Office for the Windsor region needed title to the island, which happened to be in the hands of the First People. A treaty was reached in 1790 for lands in the western Ontario peninsula, but it excluded Peche- possibly because the Ottawas, Chipewas, and Hurons who signed the treaty wished to retain the island as a fishing ground.

Local businessmen “failed to notice” that the island was not among the lands transferred to the Crown, and began petitioning for grants for ownership. Among them was Alexis Maisonville. He eventually obtained a defacto title to the island and it became known as Maisonville’s Island.

The first permanent residents of the island were a French Canadian family named Laforet dit Teno. Historical documents- primarily the notebook of surveyor John Wilkinson- placed their arrival somewhere between 1800 and 1812.

Direct descendant Irvin Hansen Dit Laforet believes they settled the island even earlier. In his article, “Peche Island: Occupancy and Change of Ownership 1780-1882” he describes how Jean Baptiste Laforest was granted the island in 1780 for his service in the British military as a guide and interpreter. No documents have ever been discovered to confirm the theory, however.

They began raising a family on the eastern shore, while sharing the island with a group of natives inhabiting the western side. According to Laforest family legend, Jean gained ownership of the island along with the exchange of livestock.

By 1834, Charles and Oliver Laforet (the use of an ‘s’ was dropped by later generations) continued the family presence on the island. In 1857, Peche Island was officially transferred to the Crown by the Chippewas, but there no grant applications because most locals believed that the island legally belonged to the Laforet family as evidenced in the official minutes for the Essex County Council in June 1868.

The last Laforets on the island were Leon (Leo) Laforet and his wife Rosalie Drouillard.

Leo, the grandson of Jean Baptiste, was born on the island in 1819. He and Rosalie raised livestock, grew crops, and engaged in commercial fishing. Rosalie also made straw hats that they sold in Detroit. The couple had 12 children, the last being born in 1880.

In 1867, when a deed for the land could not be found, Leon claimed four acres when the island became part of Canada.

In 1870, Benjamin and Damase Laforet, cousins of Leon, contracted with William G. Hall, a Windsor businessman, for commercial fishing. Benjamin filed a quit claim deed giving him squatter’s rights.

Hall applied for a land patent of 106 acres in 1870, basically seizing ownership of the entire island, except for Leo’s four acres, for $2900.

After Hall’s death in 1882, his executor advertised that Hall’s estate would sell the island, with fishing privileges. It was this sale that raised the question of title.

Benjamin Laforet (pictured) became involved in a lawsuit with Hiram Walker over the island.

Walker’s sons purchased the property from the Hall estate on July 30, 1883, as a summer home for their father. Benjamin Laforet filed a claim on August 1st stating that he and his brother Damase had a one-third interest in a certain parcel of land that was described in the patent from the Crown to Hall.

The case was settled and the Hall Estate was authorized by the Supreme Court of Canada to give the Laforets a one-third share of the $7000 that Walker’s sons paid the estate.

Leo Laforet died on September 26 of that same year. According to the Laforet descendants, a group of Walker’s men forced their way into Rosalie’s home and made her and the oldest boys sign the deed over to the Walkers. In Laforet’s article, he states that Walker’s men threw $300 on the table and told Rosalie to be out by spring.

That winter, while Rosalie was in Detroit on business, someone came onto their property and ruined the winter stores. When it was time to leave, Rosalie got down on her knees and cursed the Walkers and the island. “No one will ever do anything with the island!” were her exact words words, according to family lore.

Despite his sons’ hopes that he would retire on the island, Hiram Walker spent years in failed attempts to commercially develop it. He took five years to have canals dug that would allow boats to bring in supplies, and to ensure the inflow of fresh water from Lake Saint Clair. Two yachts were purchased for travelling to the island from Walker’s office and for cruises and parties on the river and lakes.

Walker built what was once a mansion containing some 40-54 rooms by various accounts. He planted hundreds of trees, put in an orchard, and built a greenhouse to cultivate flowers. He also created a golf course, stables, a carriage house, and installed a generator for electric lights.

It was widely thought that this “summer home” in the eyes of his sons was actually Walker’s attempt at opening a resort. His intended market, the high society of Detroit, all spent their time on nearby Belle Isle.

Willis Walker, a lawyer who had handled the purchase of the island, died soon afterwards at the very young age of 28.

In June of 1895, Hiram Walker transferred the land to his daughter, Elizabeth Walker Buhl, due to his declining health. Elizabeth was no philanthropist by any means. Lore tells of an incident where she denied locals from picking the island’s abundant peach crop, a time-honored tradition. She had them dumped into the river, leaving people to collect them by boats.

Hiram suffered a minor stroke before dying in 1899.

Edward Chandler Walker died relatively young in 1915. Prohibition had caused embarrassment for sons and grandsons who were American, but operating a Canadian-based distillery. Not wanting to be seen as bootleggers, they sold their father’s empire in 1926.

Hiram Walker & Sons distillery was purchased by Toronto’s Cliff Hatch in 1926, thus ending the Walker dynasty. The Walker family leaves Walkerville and abandons the town their father founded in 1858. Some remain to this day in the Grosse Pointe area.

The ruins of Hiram Walker’s mansion

Elizabeth Buhl sold the island to the Detroit & Windsor Ferry Company in 1907. The president of the company, Walter E. Campbell, stated that the island would be made into “one of the finest island summer resorts in America,” and that “the big house at the upper end of the island has 40 rooms and will be easily converted into a temporary pavilion at least” according to the Detroit News in the Nov. 11, 1907 edition.

Mr. Campbell apparently died in the home that that same year and the property fell into ruin. In 1929, the house burned to the ground. Some Detroit residents claim that it was directly struck by lightning.

The island legally remained the property to the Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Company but after 1939 it transferred to the company’s successor, the Bob-Lo Excursion Company. The island remained deserted except for a few picnickers, young lovers, and rumrunners during Prohibition.

It is believed that the Bob-Lo Company bought the island to deter development of competition to the Bob-Lo Island amusement park, which closed down in .

Peche Island was so neglected that in 1955 the employee who guarded the island for the Bob-Lo Company spent his spare time fishing for sturgeon, trapping muskrats, and hunting ducks without care or consequence.

Despite efforts by various local groups to have the island purchased by the government for use as a park, the Bob-Lo Company retained ownership until 1956 when it was sold to Peche Island Ltd. with plans of creating a posh residential area. With this goal in mind, the remains of the Walker house were removed in 1957. The scheme was abandoned that same year, reportedly because of a lack of suitable landfill.

Other proposals for the island followed; and, in 1962, Detroit lawyer and investor E. J. Harris purchased it. His plan included dredging the canals and creating a ski hill and protective islands. A few years later, Sirrah Ltd. purchased the island and its water lot, despite strong resistance by many Windsor groups who wished to see the island turned into a public park. Under the direction of E. J. Harris, Sirrah began work on an elaborate park area for the island. Several buildings, sewage, and water facilities were constructed, and phone lines were installed. The project operated for one season with ferry boats. Due to mismanagement, Sirrah declared bankruptcy in 1969, also losing the 50-acre Greyhaven estate in Detroit.

Riverside Construction purchased the island with the similar idea of developing it into a residential area or commercial recreation park that would have included a marina, but due to financial restrictions, they were forced to sell the island.

In 1971, due to lobbying by local conservationist groups, the island was purchased by Government Services with the department of Lands and Forest as the managing agency to be used by natural science students. The agency planned to spend several million dollars on the installation of nature trails, picnic shelters, and related features, but without funds, in 1974, the property was designated a Provincial park for administrative and budget purposes.

Currently the island is owned by the Canadian city of Windsor as a municipal park; the city has no immediate plans to develop it, apart from bathroom facilities. Other than part of the foundation of Hiram Walker’s mansion, a picturesque bridge, some canals, and random piles of bricks, it looks much the way it was before the Laforets were forced off the island and Rosalie proclaimed her curse.

So, fellow explorers, did Rosalie’s curse come true? Or not?

Sources: The Walkerville Times, The Detroit News

© 2012 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

Tags: ghosts, paranormal, Peche Island

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R. Wolf Baldassarro March, 2012

“Hey Can You Look at This?!”

I am contacted periodically by people and asked my opinion on a variety of paranormal “evidence.” While it really sparks my interest and imagination to find a valid photo, recording, or other bit of data that can lend credence to the field, the sad truth is that these incidents are few and far between. I’ve fallen victim to the excitement myself while on an investigation or training exercise and ‘chimped’ about like a fool thinking I caught something when, in fact, it was unwarranted. Nothing is more disheartening than to present “evidence” to the scientific community only to be laughed out of the room.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Quite the contrary, it sharpens your skills as an investigator and you’ll know what to recognize and what to look out for the next time. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?

Sometimes a person is so convinced that what they hold is worth its weight in gold that they’ll try anything to get you to see their point of view with an endless array of “but… but…buts.” L

It breaks my heart to disappoint these folks, but it happens to me more often than I’d like to admit when I am shown print after print of dust that a person is positive is an “orb.” Ah…the dreaded orb factor. My only advice is to clean your living room more often.

I’ve said it before, and as of late it bears repeating- 99.9% of these so-called “orbs” are dust or other debris being reflected back into the camera. If it is transparent in the slightest measure, then it is dust. Period. If it is generating its own light or energy, is moving in patterns that can’t be explained through chaotic motion, and is solid, then you might have something.

Recordings are a beast unto themselves and are really difficult for me to be conclusive on for a variety of reasons. First of all, I was not present when these were captured so I have no way of knowing who was there, what the environmental conditions were, or many more x factors than I can even comprehend at this time. I have to take all informatio9n at the word of the presenter. That’s why it takes me a long time to properly analyze recordings. I have to backup the originals (remember, you should only work with copies), run them through various filters and analytics to clean up the sound, get consensus and thoughts from my other team members, and sometimes even send them out to third-party forensic labs for clarification.

I’m working on just such a case right now and will be getting the results to the client next week. I’m excited because while one recording was a bust, another did produce something substantial. Once I get the client’s take, I’ll be able to present it on our group’s site and Facebook page.

Speaking of which, last month at a Super Bowl party I was shown an image from someone’s phone of a bonfire in October, 2011. The person admitted that they used some type of filter effect on the iPhone to produce it, so if any iOS users out there can help me with what exactly they did, I’d be much appreciative. I posted the image on our Facebook page to get the public’s take on it. It definitely made me raise an eyebrow, plus I thought it was a damn cool picture.

It would appear that there are humanoid figures in the flames. Call them elementals, demons, what have you, the frustrating part is that the truth may never be known. According to claims it was near, or on, old Native American land- let’s face facts- anywhere you go was once Native American land, but I digress…

After asking, I was not able to get this exact photo in an unaltered state, but I was given another image from that same night and it helped shed a little insight into the situation.

So, what does this tell us?

For one thing, depending on the position of the camera, any of the items in and around the campfire could produce the paranormal effects. Notice the structure in the background to the right of the image. Depending on how the flames and smoke were coming off of the fire and relative to its position, it could cause the odd-shaped humanoid figure present in the first image.

This brings up another point. I was told from the start that the first image was enhanced with what I can only speculate is some kind of spectral color filter.

Okay, take a look again at the figure on the left side of photo #1, then compare that to the smoke just barely present in the same area of photo #2. If color or heat filters where used it would force the smoke to show up in various shades of color depending on the temperature of the smoke. Voila! Instant ghost photo!

So, dear readers, what do you think? Fact or Fiction? The floor is yours.

© 2012 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

Tags: ghost hunting, ghosts, paranormal, photography

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Mamie M. January, 2012

Tags: ghosts, hauntings, paranormal

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R. Wolf Baldassarro January, 2012

The Harsh Truth about Ghost Boxes

The various ghost hunting “reality” shows that plague the airwaves have given a great deal of attention lately to an amusing new line of gear that merge EMF, audio recorder, and K-II devices all in to one unit; some even assert to turn this data into spoken words that they spout as proof of spirit contact. While in theory this sounds fantastic, in practice it’s a very different, very sobering, reality.

Not only are these devices laughable at best, but these “professional” ghost hunters are actually trying to pass off the data from these devices as legitimate evidence of paranormal activity. These devices are complete crap. Come on, folks- this is supposed to be science, not a scene from the set of Ghostbusters III.

There are numerous versions of these devices readily available for sale on eBay, and YouTube abounds with video clips of their supposed findings. It’s no shock to learn that the fine “professionals” over at Travel Channel’s Paranormal Adventures swear by these toys. That, if anything, is proof enough to discredit these devices and their data.

I first came across this type of device a few years ago when I heard of the Ovilus. Created by Bill Chappell of Digital Dowsing and appropriately labeled “for entertainment only,” it claimed to translate EMF fluctuations into phonetic speech by converting the EMF readings into numbers, and then those numbers into words by sounding them out using text-to-speech algorithms via a vocabulary of 512 words.  Various modes on the device include speech mode, using the environment to pick the words to say; phonetic mode, using the environment to create words phonetically; commutation mode, using speech mode and phonetic mode together, EMF Mode; yes/no mode, to ask questions and get yes or no answers (a digital Ouija board?); level mode, to watch the energy change in the environment; and dowsing mode, to work like a pair of dowsing rods.  It is powered by a battery and is equipped with a headphone jack, a recording jack with attenuated output, and something called the ‘Paranormal Puck.’  The Puck is designed to aid in paranormal research and meant to be the “center” of investigation as a place to gather, log, track and maintain the data.  It also watermarks data to prevent tampering. Users note that it can be “randomly repetitious” at times by stating selected words for every question asked and every environment investigated.

*ahem* Really? Say it isn’t so.

The first question that comes to mind is how can the inventor of this device possibly test the results?  What evidence or reasons are the formulas based on? Whatever method he used to equate EM energy with words would have to start as an arbitrary guess.  It would then need to be tested repeatedly to verify the results. In any case, this makes me think of the dog collars that supposedly turn barking patterns into words like “outside” and “water;” seems to me that this is just another example of wannabe researchers barking up the wrong tree.

The fine folks at Paranormal Research & Resource Society frequent their local Radio Shack for their “ghost boxes.”

Known as the “Radio Shack hack,” it was discovered in 2007 by a retired electrical engineer. These are modified AM/FM radios that continuously scan the various bands to create white noise in the belief that entities can use the audio falloff from broadcasting stations to communicate.     One model, the 12-469, simply produces a clicking sound when scanning through the bands; other models are modified armband FM radios from the likes of Jensen that are common among joggers.

A man named Frank Sumption invented a version of the device after experimenting with software to record EVPs. His device would produce random voltage to create raw audio from an AM tuner, which was then amplified and filtered into an echo chamber for recording.

What makes these boxes unique in terms of EVP analysis is that in addition to being modified to record the sounds, because that they were originally radios they are equipped with external speakers that proponents say can be used for real-time two-way communication with the other side.

Not surprising, many users report that results of the ghost box are affected by the strength of the radio signals in the area; poor signal quality reduced the ability for spirits to make contact (insert facepalm slap here). Furthermore, what conclusive proof do users have that the voices are indeed paranormal in nature and not simply the broadcast of local stations? Depending on the atmospheric conditions one could even pick up a station from great distances. This is not unlike an experience I had with a CB radio some years back. While driving in the northern suburbs of Detroit one clear summer night I ended up in a chat with a trucker outside of Las Vegas!

Anyone with the latest generation of Smartphone can even download an app (often for free or a few bucks) that claims to do the same. Ghost Radar is one that comes to mind that I’ve come across myself from the Microsoft Marketplace. These are toys, nothing more. If that’s your team’s idea of science, stay at home and play Angry Birds instead.

I’m all for inventiveness, and I think some of the reasoning behind these devices has some merit; but these self-made devices are tainted by their very nature. No conclusive proof could ever possibly come from them unless the findings can be proven using other verifiable equipment as a control measure. As with the field of paranormal research itself, the tools and theories behind them need to go through extensive experimentation and testing to prove or disprove their validity for recording and measuring paranormal activity, let alone the resulting data that is collected by them.

One again we have the misguided practice of amateurs do disservice and disrespect to science.  I applaud those who invent these ghost boxes, as necessity is truly the mother of invention; but I must condemn their inept notion that anyone with an intelligence greater than a garden radish take their findings seriously. The Ovilus and the various ghost boxes need to undergo years of intensive experimentation in various settings and controls to not only prove their worth, but decisively identify what sounds or readings mean exactly which words or phrases.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- it doesn’t matter how new or fancy the technology is, a tool in the hands of the unwitting is just a toy.

As always, happy hunting in your quest for knowledge, and here’s to a very happy new year!

© 2012 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

Tags: ghost boxes, ghost hunting, ghosts, paranormal

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Mamie M. December, 2011

Clinton Road

Have you ever been driving late at night down a dark road and it seems there is no civilization for miles?  You think to yourself how this would be a great scenario for a horror movie, yet all the while hope you’re not part of the horror.  There is a road known as one of the scariest roads in America.  Clinton road in West Milford New Jersey has quite a reputation from as early as 1905.
Clinton road is a simple two lane road, surrounded by woodland with many ghost stories.  One of the most famous stories is near the bridge.  There is the tale of a young boy with some conflicting details; some tell of the boy drowning, others say that he was hit by a car going down the road.  If you drop a coin into the water it is believed the coin will be tossed back up to you.  Another legend states if you leave the coin in the center of the yellow line in the road the same will happen.  A more terrifying twist on the tale is if you lean to look over the bridge, the boy may push you in an attempt to get you off of the road and away from oncoming cars.
There have been numerous accounts of strange activity, murders, and robbery.  People have claimed to see bonfires in the woods surrounding the road, stories of Satanists performing rituals and even KKK gatherings.  Back in 1983 a body was discovered in the woods by a bicyclist.  This was one of many victims of Richard Kuklinski also known as the “Iceman”.  Kuklinski was given the nickname due to freezing the bodies of his victims’ to make it seem as if they died at a later time than they actually did.  When an autopsy was performed on the victim found near Clinton Road they discovered ice crystals near the blood vessels in his heart.
If ghost children, murderers, and cults aren’t enough there have been stories of strange creatures being spotted on this road.  In 1976 a Jungle Habitat attraction closed and it was believed a lot of the animals escaped and cross bred.  Bizarre monkey-like creatures, large rabbits and even “hell hounds” are reported to dart across the road.
What would stories of a scary road be without reports of a ghost car?  One tale tells of a phantom Camaro with a ghostly female driver who died when she crashed the car in 1988.  There is a theory that any mention of these stories at night will trigger a manifestation, possibly it just triggers the imagination, either way many take the dare to drive this road at night.  For several miles there is nothing but darkness and the sight of your own headlights.  Many do this in hopes of triggering another famous legend of Clinton Road.
Imagine coming up to the large curve known as “Dead Man’s Curve”.  There is now a railing put up along the side because many have driven off of this curve and died.  Yet this does not seem to help, why?  Well, did I mention the Ghost Truck?
Here you are taking this long dark drive when suddenly headlights appear in your rear view mirror.  There seems to be a driver behind you, they seem to be in a hurry.  The truck tailgates, backs off then rushes the back of your car again.  They are driving erratically, swerving, and yet they never go around you.  This truck seems to almost want to make you veer off this road.  You continue to speed up but the driver behind you will not back off and is getting really aggressive, you can even hear their engine revving.   Finally you reach the light to the main highway, you feel you have reached civilization again, suddenly you notice the headlights that were relentlessly following you have disappeared, vanished like there was never another car behind you at all.  Actually there more than likely wasn’t another car; you have just encountered the infamous Ghost Truck.  Seen as either a white or red truck, this has been one of the most common experiences of this spooky road.
Maybe it is the way our mind takes in the sight of a long, dark, seemingly endless road.  As humans we need to see light, a goal to move towards.  When that seems it isn’t within reach we tend to get a feeling of dread and discomfort.  Knowing all the legends can fuel the imagination but tell me, would you drive down Clinton Road?

Tags: clinton road, ghosts, haunting, hunters, nj

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R. Wolf Baldassarro November, 2011

Science and Psychics- The Tech of Paranormal Research

Most of the intellectual rhetoric thrown back and forth between skeptics and parapsychologists concerns the types of tools used during investigations; sometimes even those within the field of psychical research will argue among themselves for or against certain techniques and tools.

Since the field is one which attempts to quantify and classify phenomena that are, by definition, cultural, religious, and fundamentally unknown, it is somewhat acceptable to utilize devices and techniques of a more “mystical” nature. Many times the use of arcane devices and psychics can help lead the team to an area of interest or heightened activity, and sometimes even actual contact with the netherworld.

Once these devices or techniques have pointed the way to the presence of activity, the seasoned researcher will switch to more scientific instruments to document any possible activity. Unfortunately, the truth is that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what kind of personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, intuitions, or psychic imagery is collected, or by whom- if it can’t be verified or quantified through impartial scientific measurement and documentation, then it technically never happened and just becomes yet another account in the mythos of a location’s “ghost stories.”

Tools have been modified or adopted from various sciences and applications over the years to measure and analyze data in a paranormal investigation. Some devices are used specifically to debunk phenomena and establish clear natural causes; while others have the purpose of capturing evidence- such as voice and video recorders. EMF detectors have a unique function of being used both for the debunking and the signifying of paranormal activity.

However, regardless of how expensive or scientific the tools, they are only as scientific as the person using it; a team may boast about owning the most sophisticated thermometer available, but if members are using it as a barometer, the measurements are worthless; Just as using a calculator doesn’t make you a mathematician, using a Geiger counter doesn’t make you a scientist. In the wrong hands the most accurate measurement device is nothing more than an expensive toy.

All paranormal research groups have their own unique procedures and instruments of choice. Some are religiously-based and use age-old tools and techniques; some consider themselves ultra-modern and use only the most expensive and scientific of equipment. Most groups, however, fall somewhere in the middle; and the tools, techniques, and even the very members come from a vast array of backgrounds, philosophies, and religions. The make-up of these groups and the tools they use are contingent on finances, personal preference, and practicality.

We’re all familiar with EMF detectors, and I’ve gone over at length the ins and outs of video and audio equipment; but as I mentioned earlier, some of these tools are of a more arcane nature and we’ll focus on that this time around.

The use of dowsing rods for various functions goes back thousands of years. They have been used to find water in new settlements, material objects, fortune telling, and various religious applications. Essentially, a pair of L-shaped metal rods made of brass or lightweight metal are held loosely in each hand and will remain straight or static during normal conditions, but when in the presence of paranormal activity they will begin to move erratically or cross when directly over, near, or in direct contact with paranormal activity. Interestingly, during the Vietnam War, U.S. Marines even used dowsing to locate weapons and tunnels.

Traditionally, the divining rod was a Y-shaped branch from a tree or bush. Different cultures preferred the branches come from particular trees- hazel twigs in Europe and witch-hazel in the United States. Branches from willow or peach trees are also common. Both skeptics and many of dowsing’s supporters believe that dowsing apparatus have no special powers, but merely amplify unnoticeable movements of the hands resulting from the expectations of the dowser. This psychological phenomenon is known as the ideomotor effect and boils down to basic mind over matter. Your mind is signaling the muscles in your body to make subtle movements that are unnoticeable to the naked eye. Some supporters agree with this explanation, but insist that the dowser has sensitivity to the environment; other dowsers say their powers are paranormal.

The American Society of Dowsers admits that “the reasons the procedures work are entirely unknown.”

Research focusing on possible physical or geophysical explanations for dowsing has been conducted in recent years. For example, Russian geologists have made claims for the abilities of dowsers, which are difficult to account for in terms of the reception of normal sensory cues. Some authors suggest that these abilities may be explained by postulating human sensitivity to small magnetic field gradient changes. One study had even concluded that dowsers “respond” to a 60 Hz electromagnetic field, but this response does not occur if the kidney area or head are shielded.

Whatever the evidence for or against, dowsing will undoubtedly continue to be used in the course of investigations. Those that swear by their results will present evidence to support their claims, and skeptics will chuckle at the “superstitions of ages past.”

Another example of this type of tool is the pendulum. A pendulum is a small dowsing tool composed of a dangling crystal or metal plumb which is used to answer questions or find things through psychic energies. Answers are determined by the direction of movement to preset variables; the most common formation is back and forth for yes, circular for no. Pendulums are used in much the same way as dowsing rods and similar to function and result. Due to its design of both answering specific questions and ability to detect or be affected by paranormal activity, the pendulum can be considered a hybrid between the centuries-old dowsing rod and the Ouija Board of Spiritualist fame. Skeptics also point out the high probability of the ideomotor effect.

One device I have to mention, as it’s come up in conversation a lot lately, is called the Ovilus.

This odd gadget blends the psychic and the scientific into an all-in-one tool- an EMF, audio recorder, dowsing rod, and K-II that turns EMF into phonetic speech by translating the readings into numbers, and those numbers into words, sounding them out using text-to-speech algorithms via a vocabulary of 512 words.  Various modes include speech mode, using the environment to pick the words to say; phonetic mode, using the environment to create words phonetically; commutation mode, using speech mode and phonetic mode together, EMF Mode; yes/no mode, to ask questions and get yes or no answers (a digital Ouija?); level mode, to watch the energy change in the environment; and dowsing mode, to work like a pair of dowsing rods.  It is equipped with something called the Paranormal Puck.  The Puck is designed to aid in paranormal research and meant to be the “center” of investigation.  A place to gather, log, track, and maintain the data it watermarks to prevent tampering.

Every time I try to justify this thing, all I can picture is Dug and the other dogs from Disney’s Up!

Users note that it can be “randomly repetitious” at times by stating selected words for every question asked and every environment investigated.

The first question that comes to mind is how can the inventor of this device possibly test the results?  Whatever formula they use to equate EM energy with words would have to start as an arbitrary guess.  It would then need to be tested repeatedly to verify the results.

In the end, the most important thing to take away from this is that whatever tools or techniques you or your group are using, as long as it is used correctly and truthfully then happy hunting.

So, dear readers, what kind of experiences have you had using these types of tools? As always, the floor is now yours. Please share.

© 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

Tags: ghosts, hunting, paranormal, psychics, research, science

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R. Wolf Baldassarro October, 2011

Harvests and Hauntings- Autumn in Michigan

It’s autumn again. Breathe it in. The cool air rushes in; and a patchwork of colors dot the landscape, making the world look like an open box of crayons ready to be played with. The pungent smell of dried leaves and wood fires fill the air; and our memories are pulled back to childhood images of candy corn and apples.

With the changing season also comes that carefree holiday that brings excitement and chills to child and adult alike.

Call it what you will- All Hallows Eve, Samhain, Halloween- it is nevertheless a magickal time of year when the veil between worlds is thinnest. That isn’t just a philosophical point, but one of natural science; the Autumnal Equinox that ushers in the arrival of fall is marked by an equal 12 hours of day and night as the fruits of the summer harvest give way to the slumber of winter. This is the halfway point wherein we can look out across the great divide between the world of nature and the world of the paranormal.

Let’s grab our hiking boots and gather our senses as we walk together through the bustling piles of leaves on a journey among Michigan’s most haunted places.

Starting off in Detroit, the General Motors plant is said to be haunted by the spirit of a man who was crushed to death in 1944; one incident recalls a worker who was saved from a similar fate by unseen forces.

Meanwhile, over at the Detroit Coca-Cola plant, a hard lined supervisor, shot by a disgruntled worker in the 1950’s, is sometimes seen or heard yelling to keep the line running when no one from management is around. So much for the mice playing when the cat’s away.

Downriver from there, in Wyandotte, sits the Fifteenth Street House, where reports center on the apparition of a young girl who appears in the front window. As the story goes, there was a man who would leave for work at the same time every day, and so every day his daughter would eagerly wave to him from that window. But one day she was not there, and thinking she just overslept, he went to leave. Upon backing his car out of the driveway he heard a scream. In an unfortunate tragedy, she was running his lunch out to him and was struck by the car.

The Randall’s of Grand Rapids met their end through a series of incidents in 1910 that culminated in a famous murder-suicide. The home immediately played host to unexplained events before being abandoned a few years later. It was eventually torn down and the Michigan Bell phone company built their office on the land in 1924. Workers would soon share tales of apparitions, noises, and doors opening and closing. The residents of Grand Rapids have endured decades of odd late-night phone calls that, when traced, were found to originate from inside the Michigan Bell building.

In Flint, the Cornwall family’s home is now an office but they continue to walk the halls of the building that still carries the family’s name. Witnesses have seen them in the old office window facing 3^rd Street.

What’s a story about haunted places without at least one psychiatric facility on the list?

So the next stop is the Southwest Michigan Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Kalamazoo, which has benefited from a long history of stories associated with it. The abandoned hospital had tales of red lights seen filling the hallways; unexplained noises; and even writing on the walls appearing in empty rooms. Locals claim that different things happen every night including various apparitions in the windows and report hearing muffled screams and cries coming from the buildings at night. All that remains now of the sprawling $2.5-million complex is one building, with its 1895 Queen Anne water tower serving as a 175-foot tombstone for the souls who roam the grounds.

The Battenfield House in Fife Lake was the residence of one of Michigan’s most well-known mass murderers. She loved to attend social events; and to that end she poisoned several family members, using the funerals as a means of providing the social contact she so craved. The reported paranormal goings-on include burning flames seen on a stairwell post, but no burn marks or heat result from the activity.

In a little-known place located at the northeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula, a few miles north of Paradise, Michigan is the town of Sheldrake. It is a ghost town today, figuratively and literally. It’s so small you won’t even find it on a map, and the few people who still reside there do not discuss the hauntings.

The town has suffered an inordinate amount of unexplained fires and boating accidents since being founded in the 1800’s. The last one, in 1926, destroyed the town and today only a few buildings remain.

A visit to here wields results before one even arrives. An old sea captain, wearing a cape and holding a pipe, allegedly appears on the dock when boats pass by. He is first seen from the lake and as boats approach the shore, he slowly fades from the view of passengers.

The Palmer House reportedly has lights that turn on independently and shades open in empty rooms. The Hopkins House involves a glowing apparition walking through at night. A logger with heavy beard and overalls is sometimes seen on the furniture or in the doorways of the Smith House.

The most active building is the Biehl House, the people who owned the main manufacturing plant and most of Sheldrake. Voices are heard and many different apparitions have been sighted on the property, most notably a woman in a blue veil who has been known to walk beside visitors. Pictures will fall off walls, and faucets will turn on by themselves but these can be easily explained in houses so old.

Every State, and nearly every town across America, has similar stories; the locations and events are as numerous as the fallen leaves that speckle the landscape. So as you return from our journey to your quiet, comfortable home town, ask around. It, too, has its own stories to share of forgotten, unseen residents.

As you or your children head out to enjoy hayrides at cider mills and take in the serene settings of the season, look behind you and in between the shedding trees. That chill going down your spine might not be a cool autumn wind, but the hint that you just might not be alone.

© 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions

Tags: autumn, fall, ghosts, paranormal

• Articles

Mike Gleason September, 2011

The Weiser Field Guide to Ghosts  by Raymond Buckland

© 2009

Weiser   ISBN:  978-1578634512

Paperback        192 pages

$14.95 (U.S.)

There are field guide and there are field guides.  Weiser is, apparently, planning to produce a series of field guides on a variety of topics.  This is the second one I have reviewed (see The Weiser Field Guide to Vampires previously).  My only comment on the series, so far, is that it is somewhat inconsistent.  Vampires didn’t really seem to fit the category (although it was technically well-written and interesting), whereas this volume is truer to the format.  Oh, it ranges a bit afield – monsters and vampires being technically beyond the scope of the book – but it concentrates on the various forms of ghosts and what may inspire their appearance.

The book is broken down loosely into types of ghosts, although there is a degree of overlap, as is to be expected.  There are personal anecdotes as well as “official” accounts (newspaper articles, etc.).  The types of ghosts run the gamut from Ancestral to Warning with numerous other divisions along the way.  Mr. Buckland does his best, and that is saying quite a bit, to show the differences between the various types and to explain the origins (both known and conjectured) of the spirits.

Given the current interest in “ghost hunting” (just check your local cable channels for numerous examples) it was inevitable that the author would include a section on practical ghost hunting.  In this chapter he helps you to understand the equipment which will help you in your searches as well as giving you a rough idea of the cost of such equipment.

Considering Mr. Buckland’s lengthy exposure to paranormal phenomena, and his ability to communicate information clearly and without condescension, it would be extremely difficult to do anything other than recommend this book to those interested in apparitions, ghosts, spirits, or whatever other term you would like to use to describe the apparent reappearance of those who have crossed over to the other side of the river Styx.

No doubt in my mind – if the topic of ghosts interests you and you want  more than just a collection of ghost stories, this is the book for you.

Tags: ghosts, hunting, paranormal, Raymond Buckland

• Interviews & Reviews

James Choron September, 2011

The Old Soviet Man

First of all, let me say that I am an American, living in Moscow. I am an executive with a major U.S./Multinational company, dealing with imaging technology. I hold a PhD in European History, and am a decorated veteran (officer), and active in my religion. I have lived in the Russian Federation for over ten years, and have lived in my current appartment for that entire time. I am married, and have four children, one of whom is currently “at home”. My wife is Russian, as are our two youngest kids. I say this to establish the fact that I am not prone to exageration, or flights of fancy.

The building that we live in has a “guardian”. Everyone in the building has seen him. He manifests himself as an old man, wearing “workers” clothes, the kind that were worn in the very early days of the century (collarles, belted tunic that pulls over his head and has only three buttons and baggy pants tucked into the tops of his boots, which are the large, heavy looking felt boots that are still common to older, working class people. He has a little visored cap… we’d call it a car cap that he usually carries stuffed in his hip pocket along with a large rag, and he sometimes is seen with a toolbox, broom, mop or some other “implament of destruction”. He looks to be about seventy years old, and his features are quite distinct, even though he is transparent, or almost so. He’s bald on top of his head, and has a van dyke beard and moustashe. His movements are slow and deliberate, just like those of an old person, and he always has a somewhat concerned look on his face. He usually has a home-rolled cigarette dangling from his mouth, and is followed by the smell of the old-fashioned, cheap, black Mikorka tobacco… the kind that hasn’t been sold, in most places, in fifty years or more.  He looks, as my wife says, like the typical “Old Soviet Man”… a phrase that is usually used to describe someone who is “slightly” behind the times… a “lovable eccentric”.

Our building was built in the early 1900′s, around 1905, and it is interesting to note that when it was built, it only had five stories… two upper stories were added in the 1940′s. Our “guardian” is never seen above the fifth floor. It is as though he does not know that the other two stories are there. Ours was one of the first private buildings in the city to have an electric lift, wihch is ome of the most common places to run into our “guardian”. The “Old” lift, which is still working, is one of the open cage variety… a steel cage with an accordion like door, and it is, to say the least, a bit tempermental. Now, getting out of it, when it stops, is easy. You just open the door from the inside and climb or drop to the next floor. It is not wired for a phone or alarm. Still, when it stops, the alarms go off on whichever floor it’s on, in the new lift, which is across the hall. At one time or another, everyone in the building has seen the old man walking away from the lift (the working one) just as the alarm goes off.

Usually, when he is seen, he is “fixing something”, or making an “inspection tour” of the building. It happens both at night and in the daytime. He does not seem to notice people around him, as if he does not see them. Most of us now believe that he was once “Nachalnik”, which is a Russian word for a cross between a building superintendet and maintaince man, and that he is still trying to carry out his job.

Even though he ignores us most of the time, he DOES know that there are people in the building, The old man is truly our “guardian”. On several occassions, the building has been in danger, twice by fire and once with a gas leak, and the alarms went off, well before the danger was noticible to the automatic system, with no one around to trigger them, manually. On one of these occassions, it happened three times before anyone noticed a smoldering fire in our garbage chute, on another, a fire in a nearby dumpster was climbing up a tree which overhung several of our balconies. Gas had filled the sub-basement, and was working it’s way toward the, basement level, furnace, but was still unnoticible to those of us in the ground level, and above floors, when the alarms sounded, and an inspection found the problem.

Children seem to see him more often than adults, although every adult in the building HAS seen him, at least once. Once, a group of us followed him, to see where he was going. He led us to a little room in the basement, near the furnace. The room is now used for storeage, but when the building was originally constructed, it was an appartment for the Nachalnik.

Over the years (I’ve lived in this building since I came to Russia in the mid-eighties) we have all taken to greeting him when we see him and calling him “Tavarich Nachalnik”, which means, “Comarade Building Superintendent”. He seems to appreciate it., and when something happens that no one can explain, or there is a noise that seems to have no detectable source… like banging on pipes in the middle of the night, or an unexpected power surge that doesn’t effect the other buildings in our block, the common comment is “it must be the Tovarich Nachalnik at work”. While I bacame aware of him about ten years ago, many of the residents of our building have lived here their entire lives, and cannot remember a time when he was not present.

On one occassion, about six months ago, I was wakened at three in the morning by someone shaking me (I was alone in the flat) and got up to find a broken water pipe flooding my kitchen. On another occassion, my neighbor, Savanov, was wakened the same way to find his stove still burning… he had forgotten to turn it off, and the wallpaper behind it was hot to the touch. Like I said, everyone in the building has had some sort of experience with him, and he has, in one way or another, helped us all out. Every kid in the building will tell you about seeing him at the door, watching them come in from school. They say he counts them to see that they are all there, and if one is not on time, he stays “on patrol” until the missing kid shows up, or until it’s obvious that they won’t. Anyone who is badly ill can count on several silent, unobtrusive visits a night until the illness passes. Everyone in the building has some story relating to the “Toverich Nachalnik”. The Fabrishnikov children’s missing cat was found locked in the coal bunker when someone pounded on the door… from the inside the densly packed sub-cellar… wifh a hammer or some other kind of heavy object.

We have all tried to find out exactly who the old man is. So far, we have two possibillties. One was a man named Petrov who was Nachalnik of our building in the early 1920′s. He died fighting a fire in the basement. The other is another former Nachalnik named Fabrishnikov (no relationship to the current occupants. It’s a common name, here… He died in 1919, during the great Spanish Influenza epidemic while tending to sick tennants.

Whichever one of them it is, we’re proud of him. We wouldn’t trade our “haunted” building for any other building in Moscow. Our “Nachalnik” is the best. Whether it is a sense of duty of some kind that keeps him on the job, or just the fact that he doesn’t realize he’s dead (which some of us suspect), we’re glad to have him with us. There is much to be said about the “Old Soviet Man”… not all of it is bad.

© 2000/2011 by Dr. J. Lee Choron. All rights reserved unless  granted specifically by the author in writing.

Tags: ghosts, paranormal

• Articles

Mamie M. September, 2011

The Stanley Hotel

Redrum, redrum!  Horror movie fans will remember those words vividly from Stephen King’s The Shining, a story about a man who slowly loses his sanity as the caretaker of a large hotel, The Overlook. Did such a place really exist?  A hotel filled with spirits and ghostly activity? Actually King was partially inspired for the story while staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado. King even reports an encounter with the ghost of a distressed young boy calling for his nanny.

The Stanley Hotel was constructed after F.O Stanley was diagnosed with tuberculosis.  His Dr advised him to take in the clean mountain air though he had a grim diagnosis of 6 months to live.  F.O Stanley and his wife stayed in a friend’s cabin in Estes Park and fell in love with the area. Soon his health even started to improve.  The Stanley’s built a home for themselves in the mountains and 3 years later bought the land the Stanley Hotel sits upon.  Construction was completed in 1909.  Word traveled fast of this extravagant and isolated hotel and soon celebrities and even royalty were making reservations. The hotel holds 138 guest rooms.

Mr. Stanley passed away in 1940 but he is just one of the many spirits reported at the hotel.  He has been seen in the lobby and billiard room, he has even been seen casually strolling through the bar area.  There have been reports of the employees attempting to stop the apparition before he heads to the kitchen area but he simply disappears.

F.O’s wife Flora is also seen.  She often enjoyed playing the piano and guests report seeing the keys to her beloved piano moving with no one playing them.  The faint sound of music can be heard at times with no apparent source.  The couple can also be seen together, walking through the corridors or engaging in guest activities.

Room 418 seems to get the most reports of paranormal activity.  Cleaning crews have reported strange noises coming from the room.  There have been imprints seen on the bed as if someone is sitting though no one is there and the most frequent reports are of the sounds of children in the halls.  Guests have reported hearing children laughing, running, playing and even rolling a ball all throughout the night.  Once a couple checked out early and complained the children kept them awake all night.  Upon inspection the guests were assured that no children were staying on that floor at the time.

Lord Dunraven, who owned the property prior to the Stanley’s purchase, is believed to haunt room 407.  He has been seen standing in the corner and often turns the lights off and on.  There have also been reports of him opening and closing the windows when he isn’t busy peering through them when the room isn’t occupied.

My favorite known ghost of this hotel is Elizabeth Wilson.  She was a maid at the Stanley many years ago.  In the year 1917 she was attending to her usual rounds on the second floor. She was lighting the gas lamps as was her usual duty.  She was unaware of a gas leak and when she arrived to light the lamp at room 217 there was a large explosion and the room was quickly engulfed in flames.  The heat caused the floor to cave and she fell through.  She survived and Mrs. Stanley did everything to make her comfortable after the incident.  She gave the maid a promotion, a raise, and free rent at the Stanley.  Elizabeth continued to do what she loved at the hotel, even after her death.  Earlier I stated that Stephen King stayed at this hotel, well during his visit, shortly after checking in he left his suitcases on the bed and went to dinner.  When king returned he noticed his bags had been unpacked and his clothes were folded and placed in drawers or hung in the closet.  King was assured that no one had been in the room at any point while he was gone.  Stephen King’s room number was 217.

Sources

http://www.haunted-places-to-go.com/stanley-hotel.html http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/hauntedhotels/Stanley/

Tags: ghosts, paranormal, stanley hotel

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