I was going to post something about fear, and how I decided to get involved in this whole paranormal investigation thing, but I felt like I ought to document our first, semi-official investigation. This is part one; I may come back to add stuff Lindz recalls.
Lindz's friend Arno heard about the class and immediately invited us to his house. People have had a few experiences there; we heard of two specific cases: he was interviewing a potential roommate when the roommate saw a figure in the doorway and gasped, and a woman felt a hand on her shoulder when she sat down in a chair.
"I have a new roommate moving in soon," he said. "Why don't you check it out?"
We decided to do it, because there's no time like the present to start, and let's face it, we're on this giant supernatural kick. Technically, we are not yet at the point in the course where we should be conducting investigations.
"I'm sure it's friendly," Lindz said.
"We've seen Ghost Hunters, right? If they can do this, we can."
(I kid.)
I read ahead in the book. The required tools typically run the same: voice recorder, camera, EMF detector (aka my phone) and extra batteries. We trotted over to Arno's house at 9, where we engaged in a smorgasbord of BBQ, cornbread and watermelon. Oh, and let's not forget the beer (one bottle apiece).
I left the Samsung (aka Sam, as it seems to want to be called) running its radar in my purse while we chowed down, discussing a variety of topics. Arno's house is very warm and inviting; it's decorated primarily in antiques. I say "warm" not just because it was 90 degrees in there; it felt homey and safe. I can understand something wanting to stay here.
(Aside from the point where I walked in and spotted Arno's two mannequins - an old man and old woman, clearly decked out for July 4th - who were poised over the table, ready to serve us...or maybe chop us up and broil us in a well-seasoned stew. They're kinda cute once you get used to them, but initially...
"Wow, you weren't kidding about figures," I mumbled.
"Off to a good start!" Arno enthused.)
We wandered around the house with Sam. It was most active in the room to be rented out.
"Some orbs," Lindz noted. "It says 'German.'"
Sam indicated something was in the doorway roughly behind us. "That's where that guy saw the figure," Arno said.
In short order, Sam spat out family, oldest, study.
"That's what my last roommate did! He just studied all the time."
"He was big on family, too...wasn't he German?"
They got in touch with the old roommate, who was indeed German, and in fact was the oldest in his family. He also studied a lot.
This left us wondering: does Sam get in touch with spirit energy, or was it just picking up on the residual...whatever...the old roommate left behind?
"Corner," the phone said, just as an orb appeared in the corner.
We tried to get a few EVP recordings. All we got was inane (but amusing) chatter and Frank Sinatra crooning in the background. At one point I left the recorder going in the room while we went elsewhere; nothing. Obviously not a talkative fellow (or, more likely, we're doing it all wrong).
Took some silly pictures, including an inadvertently creepy one of Lindz with a disembodied Pinocchio head floating in the background.
"Nothin'," I said. I wonder how we would have reacted, had something paranormal really happened. Then again, you could say Sam's chatter in the guest room definitely qualified as something - just not sure what. I guess I was expecting flying pots and pans, or maybe something poking my arm, or possibly a full-bodied apparition demanding to know why we kept asking it how much it liked the shelving unit in the bedroom.
"Hey..." Arno caught us in the main room. "You guys want to check out an abandoned house?"
Of course we did. After all, investigating the actual haunted house had turned out somewhat anticlimactic.
As we got into the car, it occurred to me that this is exactly how most horror movies start.
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