In This Issue
- MATRIXING
- My Experiences At Mason House Inn
NorCal Ghost Talk
Join us on our weekly blogtalkradio show "NorCal Ghost Talk" every Sunday from 6:00 7:00 p.m. p.s.t. Just log onto http://www.blogtalkradio.com/norcalghosthunters.comto listen! We regularly feature knowledgable, well-known guests open for discussion and questions.
Miss a show? No worries! We keep an archive just for you... just log on and click on the link to hear a previously aired show!
July 6th - Join Doug and Shane "The Wingman" for a very special show this week. Our special return guest Dakota Lawrence will be on the show this evening. Dakota is a psychic medium who calls Northern Louisiana home. He has experienced paranormal activity all his life and has co-led his own paranormal investigation group to explore haunted locations.
July 13th - Join Doug and Shane "The Wingman" for a very special show this week. Patrick Burns, Paranormal Investigator and star of TRU TV's "Haunting Evidence", Founder and Director of Ghost Hounds, and all around nice guy... Don't miss the chance to talk with Patrick!
July 20th - Don't miss our special guest Lisa Lindley. Lisa is here to tell her story of how her life has forever changed since August 2007, when she and her family discovered they share a home with a demonic force.
July 27th - Tonight on the show is very special guest Robb Demarest, Leader and Top Dog of Sci-Fi's GHI "Ghost Hunters International". Don't miss a special 90 minute show and your chance to talk to Robb and pick the brain of one of the world renowned paranormal investigators!
Hello everyone,
I want to thank everyone for all the Birthday wishes and messages. As you know, my Birthday was June 23rd. I was overwhelmed with all the cards, comments, messages, etc. It was so wonderful and heartfelt. Thank you so much for all your love and support. You're the best! NPI is working hard on some cool upcoming investigations. We are hopeful to be doing the Moss Beach Distillery in the month, but we are coming up against some brick walls right now. We were all set to investigate it when all Hell broke loose right after the airing of the TAPS show about Moss Beach. The thing is, we have known all about the fake stuff in there for years and years, and to be honest it's not an issue for us. Just turn the fake crap off when we are in there. But, now they are gun shy and running around like chickens, so we will see if we can make this happen or not now. We'll keep you updated on that one. Have a great and safe July everyone, and we'll be looking for ya out there! You're the best!
xo Doug
-Doug Carnahan, NPI Founder & President
Hi folks! It's your old friend Shane "The Wingman" here once again to brighten up your daily lives a little, so let's cut to the chase. I was watching the news today and I got kinda depressed. I mean, who can't as we are all enduring the effects of countless wildfires, floods, rising gas prices, home foreclosures, and of course American Idol? With all these catastrophies going on with many others throughout the world, you hear people mentioning that these are the start of the end of days, the apocolypse! Then you hear others talking that the prophesies of the Mayan calendar are coming true. You know, that idea that the calendar stops at the date 12/12/12, so that's the end of the world.
So, when I listen to all of this, one side of me starts thinking "Oh crap! I gotta hide in my stockade somewhere with tons of canned food and an arsenal of firearms". Then the other side, the "realistic side", thinks from the dawn of man and all the generations from then on has had a doomsday. Shoot, remember about eight years ago, Y2K? We all are still here. But at the time, the general population was going nuts! I think when times get tough, or when times are uncertain, which they are right now, it's almost comforting that the approach of our impending doom is used as a scapegoat. Maybe the real reason we are going through all this is because it's life. Like Forrest said, "s**t happens." It doesn't mean that we have to run and hide somewhere 'till it's all over. Like my mother has always said, "what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger." And that is so true. So, even if these are the end times, live your life like today is your last. And always remember that whatever you go through, your friends and family will always be there for you as you should be there for them. It truely doesn't matter what's coming as long as you have faith and you lead a true and honest life, you will be taken care of.
At least, that's what I think. So again, thank you all for listening to me as I stand here on my soap box and for all the love and support you folks have shown towards me and NPI. We are truely blessed. So for now, this has been your Wingman, and that is all.
-Shane Thornton, Co-Founder of NPI
NPI would like to give a special thanks to Flax Glor of Smoothio Films for being a part of the filming and documentation process of NPI's investigations. Flax has worked on many projects, including The Last Samurai, Transformers, Spider-Man 3, The Contender, and many music videos. He has also put in extensive work for the Santa Cruz Film Festival. We are very proud to be working with him and to have him on board our investigations! Please check out his You Tube page at www.youtube.com/smoothio
Teresa Dell is NPI's very own psychic investigator. If you would like to learn more about her background, intuitive, or investigative services, please visit her website:
Last month:
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80% have never owned a haunted item, and 20% of you have!
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Welcome to the NorCal Paranormal Investigators, Inc. Newsletter!
First and foremost, we would like to thank all of you for your support of NPI. For those of you who may not know us well, we are a professional investigation team whose main goal is to help as many of you as we can who are experiencing something that you believe to be paranormal. We aim to bring you a better understanding of what is out there and hopefully give you and your families some peace of mind in dealing with the spirit world. As a professional team, we want to be completely truthful to you in our findings, and do everything possible to try to debunk the claims that are brought to us. That way, if we cannot find a reasonable, natural explanation for what is occurring, we can be truthful in considering it paranormal. Everything you read in our newsletters and on our website is carefully looked over, tested, and researched to the best of our ability. We want to provide you with reliable and honest evidence. Thank you all again for joining us in finding answers and truth in the world of paranormal research!
NPI welcomes new member Lindsay Tolentino! Lindsay is joining our team as an Investigator-in-training. Her bio will be posted on our website http://www.norcalghosthunters.com/ shortly.
The Univ-Con Paranormal Conference is coming up September 11-14 2008 at State College, PA! Doug and Shane need your help! Please email Conference Manager Topher Young at manager@univcon.org and let them know you want to see Doug & Shane of NPI and "NorCal Ghost Talk" at the upcoming conference! Thank you, NPI fans, for all of your support!
NPI has taken the last month off to train our new investigator and welcome her to NPI! Quotes will return shortly!
Built in 1846, the Mason House Inn is located in historic Bentonsport, Iowa (southeast of the city of Des Moines). Bentonsport, which has the distinction of being one of the first settlements in Iowa, is located right on the Des Moines River. The Mormon craftsmen coming from Nauvoo, Illinois (they were on their way to Salt Lake City, Utah and stopped in Bentonsport to work and gather supplies) were the builders of this lovely place to serve as a hotel for weary steamboat travelers.
It was originally known as the Ashland Hotel before being purchased by Lewis Mason and his wife Nancy. The name was changed to Phoenix House after their purchase, but the townspeople referred to it as the Mason House and the name has stuck to this day. It was Nancy Mason who started the tradition of a cookie jar in every room, which is carried on even to this day by the current innkeepers!
The Mason House was used as a "holding hospital" during the Civil War for injured soldiers who were waiting for the train or boats to take them to the hospital in Keokuk. It was also the site of an Underground Railroad.
The Mason family owned the house for 99 years, then it was sold to Herbert and Burretta Redhead who ran the inn as a bed and breakfast as well as a museum for 33 years. Bill and Sheral McDermet purchased the hotel in 1989 and did a lot of work on it until they sold it in 2001 to Chuck and Joy Hanson, who are the current owners of the Mason House Inn. Mason House Inn still retains much of its original furnishings from the Mason family.
With its 162 years of existence, it should come as no surprise that there have been many deaths in the Mason House Inn. Most of the Mason family members are reported to be still around as well as victims of several murders or the Civil War.
A partial list of the paranormal phenomenon throughout the whole place (every room is reported to have paranormal incidents) includes:
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Knocks on doors early in the morning
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Rattling doorknob in one of the bathrooms
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Opening and closing doors
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Footsteps
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Cold spots and breezes
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Sleeping people getting poked or ticked in their beds
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Several full-bodied apparitions, including a cat named Josephine
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Sound of children running around when there are none in the Mason House Inn
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Visible orbs
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Unexplained mists or fog
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Rearranged items such as silverware or people's belongings
According to the Hansons, the ghosts are friendly and won't bother you if you ask them to leave you alone! However, Room 7 (there are 8 rooms used for travelers in addition to the kitchen, dining room, parlor and the Hansons' private residence) is reported by some people to have a negative, heavy feeling as though something bad happened there.
Outside the Mason Inn House is a yard where there was an underground tunnel that collapsed, burying three slaves in it. Apparitions of the three slaves have been reported coming out of the ground where the tunnel used to be. Chuck Hanson is considering digging it up one of these days to see if there are still bodies buried there!
Across from the Mason Inn House is the Bentonsport Bridge. The figure of a man walking across the bridge is also reportedly seen by some people during the evening. Also across the road is the Greef General Store, where paranormal activity is also experienced.
I had the good fortune to stay there and meet the Hansons, who were excellent hosts and very knowledgeable about not only the Mason House Inn, but the town of Bentonsport and its sister town, Bonaparte, located about ten minutes away. See http://www.masonhouseinn.com/ for more information. If you ask, the Hansons will also gladly give you an entire rundown of the ghostly happenings at Mason Inn House. Joy Hanson has kept a journal since 2001, and the results are published in two volumes called "Ghostly Happenings at the Mason House Inn", which you can purchase through them for a nominal fee.
-Lisa Carmody
NPI Researcher/Investigator
MATRIXING
by Bridget LaFont
NPI Case Manager/Investigator
Your investigation is completed. You have packed up all of your equipment, thanked your client, and are off on your way. For the client, their job is done. For us? Just beginning! Time to look over evidence! A few hours passes, and you are reviewing photos taken at the possibly haunted location. What is this you see? Somewhere in the grains of the wood on the hotel room door, you make out a face peering back at you. Is this an actual apparition? Or just a phenomena we like to call matrixing? Does this happen because after looking over evidence for some time, you become tired and you begin to imagine things? Or does it happen because our brains are hardwired to visualize exactly what we are looking for in objects? I think a little of both.
Let me start by giving a general definition for matrixing. I don't believe the dictionary recognizes this particular definition, but we use this term all the time in the paranormal world. Matrixing occurs when your eyes see things that don't really exist. This is different than hallucinating. According to http://www.mostparanormal.co.uk/, matrixing means that "something has been falsely identified as paranormal evidence when it is literally our minds playing tricks on us, by making an object out of something that is not really there". This is the most accurate definition I can come up with.
I remember as a child, after being sent to my room for "fill in the blank reason children end up on time out", I would lie on my bed and stare at the textured walls and ceiling and try to make pictures out of the splotches. Or I would stare at my sister's posters and swear I saw them smile. I know, I was a strange child, but after sitting in my room for what felt like hours for a kid (probably like 10 minutes really), you start to get bored, and your mind starts to wander. I think I was supposed to be thinking about what I did wrong, but hey, who really did that anyways?
Some of the most common places for our minds to "see" things in reviewing photo evidence are wood grain, mirrors, shadows, trees, and many other camera malfunctions or smears on the lens.
Another type of matrixing occurs when reviewing your digital audio evidence. After listening to hours and hours of nothing, sometimes our minds like to take normal, man made sounds or static patterns, and turn them into phantom voices and ghostly howls.
If this has happened to you, don't feel bad. I think every now and then it happens to all of us... professional or hobbyists. It's a marvel of the mind.
Sometimes people can get a little too excited about having to find their ghost. This is different. These people don't consider the phenomena of matrixing to debunk their claims. They will look extremely hard at an object or audio file, and as soon as something even remotely looks like a face or phantom body part, they immediately jump to the conclusion that it is actual evidence. In truth, most of these pictures are actually matrixed phantoms. It is extremely rare to actually capture an apparition by photo. But I can say this until I turn blue in the face, and only a few of you will believe me. Here is some proof to my claims...
According to www.revolutionhealth.com, "Your brain is wired to process information in a certain way. When the perspective is slightly changed you can trick your brain into seeing things differently."
According to http://www.serendip.com/, "most people assume that what you see is pretty much what your eye sees and reports to your brain. In fact, your brain adds very substantially to the report it gets from your eye, so that a lot of what you see is actually "made up" by the brain. Perhaps even more interestingly, the eye actually throws away much of the information it gets, leaving it to the rest of the brain to fill in additional information in its own ways. A characteristic pattern of connections among neurons (nerve cells) in the eyes of most animals (including humans), termed a "lateral inhibition network", is a significant way information is thrown away. Lateral inhibition helps to explain a number of "optical illusions" and, more importantly, provides an excellent example of how the brain is organized to actively "make sense" of the information it gets, rather than to simply absorb and respond to it. In so doing, it provides some valuable insights into the sources of our sense of "reality".
This is some valuable information to remember next time you are reviewing evidence. As exciting as it is to have "caught a spirit", I personally would much rather be absolutely sure in my claims that what I have "caught" is not a figment of my imagination, but a piece of hard evidence that can not be debunked!
My Experiences At Mason House Inn
by Lisa Carmody
NPI Researcher/Investigator
I was a participant in the first Women's International Studies of the Paranormal ("WISP") in Bentonsport, Iowa from May 23rd to May 25th. As a participant in WISP, I stayed at the Mason House Inn, a charming bed and breakfast place, which has been well documented for its paranormal activities (see the featured haunt article above).
I came down from the Des Moines area on the night before the conference with Jacqui Carpenter and Beth Cory, a mother-daughter team who are co-founders of the International Paranormal Research Association ("IPRA") and Eric Kline, a member of IPRA, who films all the IPRA events. Jacqui and Beth were the co-hosts of WISP as well, in addition to Kristy Hinkle of Ohio. When we arrived in Bentonsport, the minute I stepped out of the mini-van, I became very disoriented. I knew I was tired from my overnight plane flight, but I was fine during the entire 3-hour drive down there. It wasn't until I got out of the minivan in the road that I experienced the feelings of disorientation. I made a comment to Jacqui about it and she told me that the whole town of Bentonsport was very active and that anyone who was sensitive experienced that same feeling. It took some time for that feeling to settle.
When we arrived at the Mason House Inn and stood outside for a few minutes admiring the building and waiting for the innkeepers, my attention was drawn to a window on the third floor. I wasn't sure why I was looking at the window, just that I thought there was something there. Before I arrived, I knew nothing about the Mason House Inn when I first got there as I actually did not have the time to do any research. I mentioned it again to Jacqui and she smiled. She told me that some people have seen the figure of a woman in period clothing standing in the window.
Chuck and Joy Hanson let us in. While the three were talking to them, I kept seeing a lot of energy movement in the upstairs area (the stairs going to the upper rooms are visible from the entry way). I was actually looking over Joy's shoulder trying to figure out what I was seeing and Joy said to me, "You see something, don't you?"
I told her that I was not sure of what I was seeing, just a lot of what appeared to be energy movement and she nodded her head with a smile, telling me that was a common occurrence. Later that evening, I was sitting alone in the dining room with another guest and having a conversation with her. Her husband was playing the piano in the parlour which was in the next room. All of a sudden I got a cold chill up my right leg which went up my arm and across my shoulders and the guest said that she had just heard footsteps walking around us and she got a chill as well. She made the comment that it felt that a group of people were walking or standing around the dining room table listening to her husband play in the next room!
Later on that night, we met with Patrick Burns who is one of the stars of Haunting Evidence on TruTv. When he heard that I was profoundly deaf and not able to hear audio EVPs, he got very excited and introduced me to a new piece of equipment that was just recently invented for receiving EVPs in text mode! It is called the "Paranormal Puck" (see http://www.digitaldowsing.com/) and Patrick and I worked with it for awhile. We did come up with a few interesting things in text, but it is so new that we still are not certain how it really works.
When we retired for the first night, I shared Room 5 with Jacqui, Beth and Eric. According to Beth, I missed seeing a full-bodied apparition who was going around the room checking on each one of us. That rather made sense to me because Mason House Inn used to be a Civil War holding hospital for injured soldiers and I actually became ill during the night with a severe sinus allergy! So much for a dead doctor still taking care of his patients!
The following night, I was part of a group doing a full investigation of Mason House Inn. One of the girls, Andrea, pulled me into a hallway on the upper floor and she said they were hearing unseen children playing up there (there were no children staying there that weekend). I sat down in the hallway with her, and she told me to put my hands out. A few seconds later I had the sensation of a small, warm hand coming down over my left hand! Andrea put her hand over the top of my hand and she said she could feel it as well. I was also turning my head several times in the hallway because I was seeing very fast energy movement in the hallway, much like you would watch children running up and down the hallway.
The entire time I was at Mason House Inn I was either getting chills or sensing a lot of movement or presences, but I never felt anything negative, although I didn't like being alone in the bedroom I was in because I felt like I was being watched by unseen presences.
In the Greef General Store's basement where the WISP conference was held, I saw a cloud of white mist traveling close to ground level which moved from the right wall to left wall. The interesting thing about it was it was going in the direction of a bricked up and covered Underground Railroad tunnel. I did check the area to get an explanation for the mist and could not find one because there were no windows as it was a basement. There was a dehumidifier that was behind me, but people told me that it sucks in air and doesn't cause mist formation (the mist was moving about six or seven feet away in front of me). I mentioned it to Beth after the conference, and she told me there were a few people who also saw mists at different times. Eric also told me, that about the same time I saw the mist (he was on the opposite side of the room from where I was sitting, as he was filming the conference), he heard a strange sound that for him, indicated a change in the atmosphere. I don't know if he captured the mist during his filming of the conference.
After the conference, Eric showed me a night video that he did three months ago in the Greef General Store that captured a mist moving across the screen and it was very similar to what I saw.
I did not get any anomalies in my photos from my camera, so my experiences in Bentonsport were all personal experiences. Are Mason House Inn and the Greef General Store haunted based on my experiences? I have to say that while I know what I saw and felt, I'm still not quite comfortable in giving a definite answer to that question because there was no hard evidence from digital recorders, videos or photographs that I'm aware of. But I do encourage you, if you are ever in Bentonsport, Iowa, to contact Joy and Chuck Hanson for reservations at the Mason House Inn as I had a great time, paranormal or not!
FORMING A SUCCESSFUL INVESTIGATION TEAM/THE BIRTH OF NPI
Thinking of forming a Paranormal Investigation group? To form a professional team of investigators, you will need to be selective of your members. There are some difficult roles to fill when interviewing potential team members for your group.
You will need a Founder. This is the person forming the group. You will also need a President. Many times the Founder and President are the same person. This is Doug's role in NPI. Doug brought us all together, with the help of his Co-Founder, Shane "The Wingman". The Founder/President and Co-Founder are essentially the backbone of your group. They keep everyone organized, map out investigation techniques, review evidence, and pretty much keep everyone's head on straight. They are also the ones to do preliminary interviews and meetings before we investigate a location. Here at NPI, our Founder/President and Co-Founder also run a weekly radio show, as well as maintain loads of emails, myspace messages, columns, etc., etc., etc. Their job is HUGE and rarely eases up. Unless you have an immense amount of patience, are level headed, and extremely organized and dedicated, this is not a job for you.
Next, you will need to find a Case Manager. This is my job! A Case Manager's duties consist of taking leads, fielding phone calls and emails, and setting dates and interviews for investigations. Sometimes we seek out leads to contact for investigations, and sometimes we correspond with potential clients that contact us in need of an investigation. This is also a difficult job. You are sure to run into some communication road blocks, when you are trying to correspond with people that may or may not respond. It is your job as Case Manager to set up all investigations for your group, as well as research the possibility of the haunting. You will not just want to take someone's word that a building is haunted. Always look into this first.
Now you will need a Tech Manager. The Tech Manager will need to be savvy with electronics. It is the Tech Manager's job to set up all equipment and choose the best camera angles, location for home base, and make sure all of the equipment is working properly and fully charged. The Tech Manager also should attend the preliminary walk through with the Founder/President and Co-Founder to check for man made EMF and map out any interferance in the equipment set up. This is Albert's job.
Now you will need a Researcher. This is an equally important job. You will want someone who is skilled in finding information about your location. This is extremely tough considering many times it is the land that is haunted, not the building. Researching old land records, death records, as well as finding old tenants and references as to who has knowledge of the possible haunting. This is one of Lisa's jobs here at NPI.
If you turn your group into an actual legitimate business, as we at NPI have, it is wise to have a Corporate Manager. This is also Lisa's job. Your Corporate Manager will prepare tax information, as well as keep up on the legal guidelines for keeping your business in tact.
Remember, when choosing members for your group, not everyone is compatible. To form a successful team, your members must be able to communicate on a regular basis, endure long waking hours together, be able to stay focused, and have a sense of humor. NPI has had members that did not work out due to the reasons above. Make sure your members all fit into their job descriptions. Good luck with your groups!
Thank you Doug and Shane for starting NPI and giving us an opportunity to perform some awesome investigations!
-Bridget LaFont, NPI Case Manager/Investigator
Hi NPI. I would like to ask why ghost and spirits haunt a place? - Karen, OH
Hey Karen,
I'm asked this question a lot and I have to stick with the same answer I've been giving for years. No one really knows why, to be honest with you. I mean, there could be as many reasons as there are spirits haunting. Ghost, of course, we know are residual energy and is not considered an intelligent haunting. Spirits, on the other hand, are intelligent and their reasons could be as simply as they don't know or understand that they have passed away. Some are afraid to move on because they don't know what's going to happen to them next if they do move on, or maybe scared they may not go to heaven and may go to hell because of something they did when they were alive. Some just love their homes and want to stay, or have unfinished business. So, you see there is not just one simple answer to your question. But, I hope I've helped you better understand why ghost and spirits haunt.
-D.C., NPI President/Founder
My mother passed away a few years ago and the night that she died she came to me in a dream telling me she loved me and will look out for me. For a year after she passed, I could sense and feel her near me. Even smell the perfume she wore at times. Then, after a year passed, it felt like she left. Is that possible? - Steve, WA
Steve,
Yes, that is very possible and happens more than people know. Maybe you are more sensitive than some, but it is not uncommon for a close relative to visit with loved ones right after their time of death to let them know they love them and will be ok, and some will stick around to make sure they will be ok after they are gone. So you must have been very close to your mother and she loved you very much. I hope I've helped you in a small way.
-D.C., NPI President/Founder
Can ghost and spirits hurt you? -Mary, CA
Ghost can not hurt you. They are just a recording in time and can not interact with you. Spirits? It is rare, but yes, spirits can hurt you if they have a will to do so and the energy to pull it off. I personally have been attacked and was pushed, hit, slapped, bit, and kicked. So, this is one reason we suggest you don't provoke a spirit and if you feel you have an agressive one, you need to call NPI or another paranormal team who is experienced in this type of matter.
-D.C., NPI President/Founder
by Albert De La Cruz, NPI Tech Manager/Investigator
Motion Detectors
Hey folks out there in spook world! This month on the tech side I will explain how to get the best out of your motion detectors. The first thing you want to do is some homework. Research the place of investigation through public records, neighbors, etc. to validate the person or porson's claims of paranormal activity in the area of investigation.
After gathering your information, make a map of the area of investigation and mark all hot spots that are said to have paranormal activity.
Now, place your motion detectors in their designated areas, and make sure it is in a place where your fellow investigators will not be walking by and setting off the alarm. It is also a good idea to set an EMF detector, and digital audio device, along with a Hi-8 camera to be able to document activity.
This also can prevent people from tampering with evidence, especially if you are investigating a large home, museum or building. If someone on the scene has alterior motives, and they try to produce false evidence, by entering the room they will set off an alarm, alerting you to be aware and send a group member to investigate the scene.
In doing this, you will have an edge on your investigation, which can lead to some good evidence. Happy Hunting!
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