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68th Street North

11.10.02

Spirited Childhood

By Brandy Buchanan Stark

It can be said that children have a unique relationship to ghosts.  Perhaps it's the innocence of the young that allows them to see into the unknown.  Or it's their susceptibility to the pranks of older children that make them tremble deep in the night.  Regardless, every parent has dealt with an awe-struck child's amazing accounts of paranormal activity, be it real or imagined.

The SPIRITS have a unique perspective with children and ghosts.  The team experienced two separate investigations based upon the reports of children.

The first investigation took place in August at a residence on 5th Ave. South.  A mother and son recently moved into the new house, and were puzzled by sporadic occurrences of unusual phenomena.

The events included a toy motorcycle revving up, a cat dish flipping over, and the house alarm resetting itself.  The boy also reported bathroom doors that locked of their own accord when he was taking a shower, and both found the bathtub plugged and filled with water and ooze one morning.  Pink dots also mysteriously manifested themselves in the carpet during a single night, with several still visible despite a steam cleaning.

Three members of the team arrived to survey the scene.  During the investigation, there was very little EMF (electromagnetic field) energy.  Images picked up no anomalous activity.  Temperatures fluctuated only near windows, an obvious place of heat exchange.  The family pets acted normally.

While the pink dots could not be explained, no one witnessed them being created.  They were not there that night when the family went to bed, but were discovered by the mother the next morning.  However, the cats roam freely through the house, and could be suspects.

Similar circumstances surrounded the mysterious bath water filled with ooze.  Could it have been muck in new pipes that had somehow gotten into the bathroom?

The interview revealed that the young man was the sole witness of activity.  The mother saw the results of the manifestations, but viewed nothing directly herself.

Her son also enjoyed reading volumes of the Goosebumps series.  He could quote passages from his favorite texts, which did include a story about ghosts.  One book also inspired a nightmare about an entity holding him down in bed. 

The team concluded that the son had a wonderfully creative mind that was possibly stimulated by the excitement of a new school year and the recent move into the family's first house. No evidence was found of haunting activity while the team was there.

A second investigation on 68th Street North in November had different results.  The homeowner's 7-year-old niece was witness to several manifestations of her deceased uncle, who died in the house after a long battle with cancer.  The child had shown strong psi tendencies in her former residence, where she and her family witnessed haunting activity. 

The SPIRITS team arrived with 6 members, who split into two teams of three.  During the investigation, sensitives picked up a strong male presence throughout the home, particularly in rooms where, it was later learned, the uncle spent a great deal of time in life. 

EMF spiked several times, including in the exact place where the man died.  Temperature fluctuations were recorded throughout the house, extending to several large pockets of cold air. 

During the interview, the homeowner's two brothers revealed a strong psi ability that ran through the family line.  Both had interactions with ghosts before and both felt the presence of the husband through dreams and the home itself.

The most unusual aspect of this investigation was the sheer number of orb images captured.  Four different people brought cameras, including Polaroid, multiple digitals, Advantix, and 35 mm.  Each had photographs containing orbs: a whopping 20 images were captured throughout the night, validating, in the SPIRITS opinion, the experiences of the young niece. 

As children, how many of us awakened to things going bump in the night?  Can we truly say that there was nothing there, that it was simply the byproduct of an active imagination?  It could be that we did experience something fantastic, now a memory corrupted by time and the rationing of an adult mind.

Mutliple orb images, Amy, Digital.

Several small orbs near the white wires. Amy, digital.

Multiple orbs, above trees.  Amy, digital.

<---Orb in son's room.

Brandy, digital.

Small white orb in study ----->

Brandy, digital.

Denise, 35 mm.  Large orb.  Sandy was talking about sensing a little girl when Denise took the picture.

<---Light orb in bedroom.  Denise, digital.

Denise, digital. Orb in hallway; following investigators?

Below: Two orbs; one above door, one in front of son's room.  Denise, 35 mm.

Denise, digital, outside orbs.

Above:  Multiple outdoor orbs, Denise, digital.

Left:  Distant orb, Denise,digital outside shot.

Light orb, Denise, digital --->

Orb in bedroom, Brandy, digital.

<----Light orb, Denise, digital.

Small orb, study.  Denise, digital. ---->

Report of 68th Street Investigation

  November 10, 2002

  7:15p- 9:00p

  Member Attendees:  Amy, Brandy, Sandy, Susan, Sue and Denise

  By: Amy Rohrsen

  As I embarked on my second investigation with SPIRITS - my first at a private

  home - I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I was anxious to see how I

  would work with two other members, Sue and Susan, who I hadn't worked with on

  my first investigation. 

  There were six of us there to investigate a rather small home - so we decided

  to divide into two groups of three:  Sandy, Denise, and Susan in one group and

  Brandy, Sue and myself in the second.  Our group began in the spare bedroom -

  which was the first of three from the front door.  The room was rather cooler

  than the remaining rooms - registering at 71 degrees on the thermometer -

  this was rather cooler then what the AC thermostat was set at - 78 degrees -

  and the outdoor temps were in the high 70s.  There was no unusual EMF readings

  on any of our meters.  Both Brandy and Sue questioned a few of the paintings in

  the room - stating how nice they were - only to later find out they were

  painted by the homeowner's late husband.

  Moving into the dining room there was still no unusual EMF - or temp

  fluctuations.  The Garage was rather warm - for obvious reasons (not air

  conditioned) - but nothing unusual.

  The living room gave off danger spikes on the EMF meter - along the east wall

  - we first concluded this to be caused by the refrigerators on the adjacent

  wall - but later found out this is where the homeowner's late husband past

  on.  We also encountered a danger blip by the front door.  Digital photos that I

  took did not produce anything unusual.

  The kitchen yielded nothing unusual.

  Moving into the master bedroom - we found no unusual EMF spikes - however we

  did find that the Northwest corner was a bit cool.  We could not determine if

  this was due to the air vent or not.  EVP was attempted here 7:45p - 7:47p.

  Room temp was 76 degrees.

  Neither the master bath or the universal bath produced any unusual spikes in

  EMF. 

  Moving into Paul's room the energy shifted - not just due to the darker

  atmosphere - but something in the "breathing air" became stagnant.  We

  were only able to venture in a few feet as Paul was occupying the room.  The

  only EMF spikes were registered at or near his TV/Stereo equipment.  One digital

  photo that I took produced a small orb.  Unfortunately we were not able to

  explore the room thoroughly enough to get a good reading of it. 

  We then ventured out into the front yard.  As we walked down the driveway and

  along side the van - my ears suddenly popped!  As if a very quick change in

  pressure occurred.  I have always been very very sensitive to pressure changes

  - often still finding myself with earaches on airplanes - or in high

  elevation.  My ears have never popped like this so suddenly - even while in

  those previous situations.  Other than that I felt or sensed nothing unusual.

  There were no unusual EMF spikes.  While venturing further into the front yard

  - I smelled a floral scent - sweet yet musky - I inquired about any

  blooming flowers but there were none.  The smell lasted for about 30 seconds

  before diminishing.  I did feel continually drawn to the two pine trees in the

  center of the yard - for some reason they were alluring.  My digital photos

  did not produce anything out of the ordinary.  We did note a slight chill by the

  side fence gate.

  Lastly we headed to the back yard - almost immediately I sensed the pressure

  change again - although my ears did not pop - my sinuses immediately swelled

  up.  (At first I passed this off as the humidity - but then as I went on - I

  realized this did not happen to me in the front yard)   Brandy immediately felt

  dizzy - and even spoke aloud that she believed there to be a possible vortex

  here.  Sue took numerous temperature readings - all of them initially coming

  back in the 40 degree range.  Three of my photos yielded orbs here - one

  appeared to show RAINING orbs.  I knew this wasn't dust or debris because

  photos taken immediately before or after did not produce the same results. 

  It was here that our investigation was immediately ended - due to an incident

  that Sandy experienced.  No questions asked - we packed up and headed back

  next door to Susan's. 

  I am still not sure how to "digest" this investigation.  I can comfortably

  say that, in my opinion, this house is located on at least one vortex  - if not

  several.  Whether or not this vortex was here before the house was built or just

  recently opened - I really cannot say - nor have the knowledge to express.

  Most of the energy sits outside the home - but has an obvious attraction to

  it. 

  Please feel free to edit where necessary - I tried to stay as cut and dry as

  possible - however I know with a private home you have to be very careful.

  Hope you are doing well!

  Amy

68 St North Investigation                                                                                          November 10,2002

 

  Master Bedroom: Felt the presence of an elderly woman who was tall and thin and wore her salt and pepper hair in a bun.

  Also, a tall man with dark hair and eyes standing in the doorway to the hall.

 

  Master Bathroom: Possible vortex in the doorway.

 

  Guest Room/Home Office: Little girl in a frilly dress having a tea party. Felt a large Victorian dollhouse sitting in one corner

  and picked up laughter and giggling form the little girl. I think this is a place memory.

 

  Hallway: Got the feeling of Grand Central Station. Many spirits, ghosts, energies, or whatever you want to call them move

  up and down this hall. 

 

  Kitchen: Felt as if someone were staring into the house from the window, a peeping Tom kind of thing. An older man

  attempted communication but I couldn't get any thing from him.

 

  Living Room: Nothing felt here.

 

  Garage: Nothing felt here.

Sue's report of the:

68 St N Paranormal Investigation

on Sunday, Novemer 10, 2002

We began our investigation of this private residence at 7:15pm by convening in the living room/dining room.  We checked our equipment and because of the number of investigators, the group broke up into 2 teams.  One team consisted of:  Susan, Sandy, and Denise.  Susan and Sandy are experienced sensitives with the S.P.I.R.I.T.S. group who work very well together.  The other team consisted of 3 non-sensitive investigators:  Brandy, Amy, and myself.

While the other team began in the master bedroom, our team started in the spare bedroom which contained the family computer.  The temperature of the room was 71 degrees and I had no EMF fluctuations on my E.L.F. EMF reader.  Even though I'm not a sensitive, I felt "drawn" to the pictures on the wall opposite the computer particularly the painting on the left.  We were told that the middle painting was painted by the home owner's grandmother.  The paintings to each side where painted by her late husband.  During the interview conducted after the investigation, we were told that a niece of the home owner had once seen the late husband sitting at the computer.  The following day, both Denise and Brandy emailed pictures they'd taken showing an orb near the computer.  Denise also took a digital photo of the wall containing the 3 paintings.  The photo shows an orb above the middle painting up near the ceiling.

Next, our team headed to the garage.  The temperature of the garage was 80-81 degrees.  I received no EMF fluctuations.

We then returned to the living room/dining room.  The temperature was 77 degrees.  I got an EMF reading in the caution range (2.5 - 7 Milli Gauss) in the middle of one of the living room walls.  On the other side of this wall was the kitchen refrigerator.  During the interview, we were told this was the site where the home owner's late husband died in a hospital bed against that wall.

Brandy invited any entity in the area to join us and be photographed.  I then got a spike to danger (8+ Milli Gauss) on my EMF reader.  This was near the TV and the front door.  I tried again and again, but could not get any additional EMF spikes near the dormant TV after that.

Our next room was the kitchen.  The temperature was between 78 and 80 degrees.  I was unable to get any EMF readings even near the 2 refrigerators.

We then proceeded to the master bedroom.  The temperature was 76 degrees and I received no EMF readings.  I felt "drawn" to the left corner of the room near the TV and sliding glass door to the back yard.  Brandy walked over and said it felt cooler in that corner.  The IR thermometer picked up a fluctuation of a few degrees which could have been due to the central air conditioner which was currently running.  The next day, Brandy emailed a photo taken near the corner that shows an orb in front of the dresser that the TV was sitting on.  Brandy also kept getting chills near her legs in that room.  We attempted an EVP at 7:45pm.  Brandy is studying the results and will report to the group anything she may have found.  I checked for EMF readings in the master bathroom and received nothing unusual.  We then returned to the hallway and I checked the main bathroom for any EMF readings.  I received no spikes.

Next, our team proceeded to the teenage son's room.  The temperature was between 75 and 77 degrees.  The son was watching TV and the room was dark.  I received an EMF reading of caution (2.5 - 7 Milli Gauss) just inside the entrance to his room.  Brandy captured an orb on a digital photo she took of the wall opposite the entrance. 

Our next stop was outside in front of the house.  Shortly after stepping outside, Amy said her ear popped.  The temperature outside was 70-72 degrees, but felt more like 90 to me due to the high humidity.  I felt "drawn" to the bushes out front.  Standing near these bushes, I got a temperature reading of 54 degrees when I pointed the IR thermometer toward a car 20 feet away.  During our interview with the home owner and her relatives, her brother said when he went outside earlier, he felt a heaviness in his chest and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

Then, we went through the house, out the back sliding glass doors, and into the back yard.  As soon as we stepped outside, Brandy said she felt as if there was a vortex in the yard.  I felt dizzy and my head started hurting.  To be thorough though, I awoke that morning with a headache.  So it's possible the Advil picked that particular time to wear off.  While I didn't notice any EMF readings, I did find some very bizarre temperature fluctuations.  I received readings from 71 degrees all the way down to 46 degrees!  The temperature fluctuations continued up and down even when I pointed the IR thermometer in one direction with the button depressed without interruption.  It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen.  Amy got orbs in 3 pictures she took in the backyard near the huge bush and banana tree by the back fence.  Denise also received multiple orbs in some of her digital photos of the back yard. 

During the interview with the home owner and her relatives, they told us they sometimes smell cigarette smoke in the house.  The home owner's late husband was a smoker who died of lung cancer.  They repainted every wall, but the carpeting was not replaced.  From time to time, they also smell a rancid odor in the spare bedroom containing the computer.  The smell has appeared for 15 years or so and it appears to emanate from the rug and then dissipates.

For me, the strangest part of the investigation was the wild temperature fluctuations received in the backyard. 

Sue K.

Denise S:

On November 10, 2002 the SPIRIT team arrived at the one story residence on 68 Street

North.  Once entering inside and beginning the investigation, myself, Sandy and Susan entered

the master bedroom.  Sandy felt heavy around the chest and began talking about an elderly tall,

thin woman in her 70s.  The woman was very quiet.  Susan also felt  a difference of energy from

the living room and the master bedroom.  Both Sandy and Susan were drawn to the bathroom

doorway in the bedroom, as if it was significant to the house.  It was mentioned that the doorway

could be a vortex.

We then entered the guest room and Sandy stated the energy was much lighter in this

room.  She sensed a little girl who was giggling.  The girl wore a frilly dress and had blonde hair.

Sandy saw her having a tea party.  The child seemed very, very happy.  Sandy felt this may be a

placement memory.  While in the bedroom several photos were taken and orbs appeared. 

The hallway was like a train station, many energies walking through.  Sandy could sense

the energies walking back and forth.  She talked about a male presence that roams the house.  He

had dark hair and dark eyes.   While standing near the hallway bathroom Susan smelt cigar

smoke coming from the bathroom and master bedroom. 

While in the kitchen Sandy felt the presence of someone looking in the kitchen window. 

She tried talking to a male named Paul.  He was very interested in what was going on.  The EMF

spiked to a 4-5.  The temperature was consistent at 77 degrees.

Outside many spirits were felt, both in the front yard, on the roof and in the back yard.

Sandy felt a peeping-tom sensation in the yard near the kitchen window.  There was a lot of

activity in and surrounding this home, some that did not feel overly happy that we were there.

Denise

Brandy Stark:

68th St. North

11/10/02 7:15 pm

1/4 waxing moon, 80degrees outside

Present:  Sable, dog

Steve, Beverly, Cheryl, Mark, Paul (homeowner's family)

Investigators:  Brandy, Sandy, Susan, Sue, Amy, Denise

Spare Bedroom:  71 degrees, no EMF.  Noted painted images in room and inquired aboiut them.  Turns out the home owner's grandmother and deceased husband painted them.

Garage:  80-81 degrees, but EMF null because of circuit breaker adn A/C handler in area.

Living Room/dining room:  EMF spike in kitchen:  77 degrees.

Sue reports danger spike in living room.  I felt a chill on my legs.

Kitchen:  No EMF, 78-79 degrees, 80 degrees nearer to lights.

Master Bedroom:  76 degrees, energy shift...I felt that the area almost held a different aura than other rooms.  I got slight chills, and found a colder corner.  However, this corner was near a sliding glass door (closed) an an air handler.  EVP:  attempted 7:45 - 7:47, null results.

However, orbs did appear in one of my images.

Paul's room:  Sue:  EMF, felt chill on leg, dizzy sensation.

EMF field appeared to eminate from TV and electronic equipment.  An orb appeared in one of the images I took of Paul's room.

Bathroom:  No EMF, closets, No EMF.

Front Yard:  Mark reports hair standing up as he walked through the front yard.  Thought there was something around the cars.  I took two Polaroid shots, but null images.

Backyard:  Sue had my therm., reports a temp fluctuation of 67 degrees, first reading, 58 second.  Temps drop to 57 to 61 degrees.   At one point, it recorded 49 degreesm ten 52, then 67.  I felt very dizzy in the back yard, something that appears more frequently in areas of high activity.  Called away to attend to other matters.

Interview:  Learned that homeowner's husband died in the house after a long battle with cancer. A heavy smoker, he died of lung cancer. 

He was an unusual man who enjoyed long periods of solitude.  He appeared to have strong ideals that ran somewhat contrary to standard and accepted ideology. 

After the husband died, various visiting members of the family reported seeing smoke. The homeowner reported a strong scent of decay coming from the guest room, where the husband had previously spent long hours doing research on the internet.  Homeowner's brother, Mark, reported the scent of smoke even in the shower. 

It was the homeowner's neice, and Mark's daughter, who "saw" the deceased sitting at his computer one night.  The child is 7 years old, but displays strong psi tendancies.  She lived in a haunted house prior to coming to Florida, and apparently accuratly described the deceased and his dog, who died a short time later.

Homeowner's other brother had continual dreams about the deceased.  In these dreams, the deceased was able to accurately describe changes being made in the home and reported discontent at these changes.

The area where Amy got a danger spike was where the husband's hospice bed was.  He died in that area; the spike was exactly where his head would have layed. 

Various members of the team, and various members of the family, felt dizzy and depressed.  Many of the SPIRITS members were exhausted during and after the investigation.  I felt drained for days afterward, which is unusual for me. 

In addition, the sensitives on the team picked up male and female presences, apparently unrelated to the deceased husband.  These could possibly be realted to the family's antiques which had recently been moved into the home.  These heirlooms came from the homeowner's parents and extended back into the history of the homeowner's family.

Conclusion:  I believe that the husband's spirit still dwells in the area and that he keeps watch over his wife and son.  I understand that he preferred things be kept in a particular manner, and the changes to the house may have caused him distress.  The other entities may be family members or memories attached to items that came to the family recently.

The majority of the family appears to display strong psi abilities.  These abilities reach at least one generation back and appear to be concentrated in the male members of the family (an uncle was mentioned, both brothers professed abilities, and the neice also showed sensitivity).  This sensitivity may make them more receptive to the haunting activities.

68th St. N.

I feel a bit too close to this particular investigation as I have known the family for the past 6 years.  However, I never expected to encounter the large amount of activity we wound up finding at this location. 

The home owner's husband passed away in the house about 4 years ago.  I had, along with some family members, sensed the presence of the late husband several times.  G was a smoker and no one else has smoked in that home since his death.  I have been in the house and smelled cigarette smoke even after several years and total repainting and cleaning of the entire house.  Even furniture was replaced.  While I had known that the son was experiencing some typical teenaged problems, I was unprepared for what the other sensitives and I encountered.  Denise, Sandy and I very early into the investigation picked up on several entities.  One we believe to be the late grandfather (who we found out later was named Paul).  When we were in the kitchen, Sandy heard the name Paul repeatedly.  Given my prior knowledge of the location I had to put much of what I was sensing aside as my preception could be tainted.  When we went outside of the home, Sandy began to experience a heavy, unfriendly force.  At this point she refused to go back into the home.  I sensed that there had been some dabling in what some may call the dark arts for lack of a better term, by someone at the home.  Things had been stirred up that should not be around there.  I believe that the dark, unsettled nature of the son may have attracted unsettled energy(ies).  This is common around adolecents (such as poltergiest phenomenon) and I firmly belive that like attracts like.  We do not as a rule give advice on how to 'clean up' an unfriendly entity but being as I know the family I felt that as a friend I could give some advice. I told B that she had to reclaim her house, make her wishes known to those who had taken up residence that they leave.  So far things are looking, and feeling, much better in her home.

Amy, digital, single orb.  Contrast adjusted to show orb (above palm leaves).

Sue K. caught this unusual image on 35 mm film.  An eye-shaped anomoly that is not present in any other pictures.

(Below):  Front door imagery also caught by Sue. Smudge marks are not on door; uncertain as to why they appeared in this image.