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Another House on 26th Avenue North, St. Petersburg

Misty image that appears to be INSIDE the doorway.  This was part of the master bedroom that had strong activity and a very active presence.  Brandy, digital.

Small mist near window.

Left side of image. Brandy

digital.

Light mist near door. Brandy digital

Though a bit more dubious due to the closeness of the camera to the white shirt, there does appear to be a mist on the keyboard.  Both Sandy and Susan picked up retro. memories on the keyboard.  Brandy digital.---->

S.P.I.R.I.T.S. of St. Petersburg

    PARANORMAL RESEARCH TEAM

    Field Investigation Form

    Brandy Stark

    Location:

    Date: Aug. 8, 2002

    Time: 6:30 PM

    Lunar Cycle: Near the new moon (2 days after)

Equipment used: Brandy's equipment:  Olympus digital recorder, ELF meter, Samsung digital, 2 35 mm with 4-00 speed film, b&w and color, 100 speed professional negative film,  walkie talkies (NO), Radio shack IR Thermometer, Polaroid 600,  Sandy's EMF meter, Susan's EMF meter and digital camera.

Investigators Present: Brandy Stark, Susan Granby, and Sandy Bard.

Others Present: Annie and Adele.  Adele is the home owner, Annie her adult daughter.

Other notes: Temperature outside registered as 87 degrees, with Sandy at 93, Brandy at 94.5, and Susan at 95 degrees. 

EMF:  YES:  Caution (Brandy), Susan's and Sandy's meters also registered EMF 

    Location: In the outer area is a room of antiques.  Susan discovered a cold spot in the room on the carpet.  While the rest of the room, which was to privy to a/c, registered at 96 degrees, the carpet near the door was 87 degrees.  Susan and Sandy sensed a heavy feeling and a sense of curiosity. Susan complained of dizziness.   Susan described the man as middle aged, with a darkish complexion (tanned).  Susan had an EMF spike, and there was an unrecorded temperature flux. 

Brandy's EMF meter died at this point, only to come on again later in the investigation.

EMF:  YES  Range of Reading/Spike EMF flickers

Location: Hallway.

Other occurrences: Sandy sensed a child playing, a blonde little boy about 5 to 6 years old.  He was running around in a circle.  There were EMF fluctuations, and giggles heard by Sandy and Susan.  She got the name "J" with the child. 

Susan sensed a blonde or ash blonde woman, thin, named Diana.  She played jacks.  She was the little boys' sister.  Susan also sensed an old stereo playing the Lone Ranger (or an era show).  She caught a snapshot of a woman in a flower dress, yellow with a bold pattern, and white straw hit, and short bobbed hair walkinga carefree summer day.

EMF:  NO

Back bedroom: (Adele's room):  Sandy sensed an older woman, with grey hair, watery eyes, with an attachment to Adele, in Adele's bedroom closet.  She was very angry with us for intruding in her space, and wanted us to live the room.  Brandy had goose bumps.   Sandy was very distracted and sensed the woman coming after her.  They had to go outside and Sandy describes Susan as pulling the old woman off of her.  The male entity escorted the old woman back into her room.

EMF:  YES  Range of Reading/Spike Flickers

    Time & duration: Unknown

    Location: Living Room

Other occurrences:

In the living room, there was a flicker on the meter.  Sandy sensed a woman cooking, and a man watching her from an easy chair. 

In the front room, or Florida room, Adele has an old keyboard organ.  Both women sensed a young woman, pretty, who was learning to play it because it was what a cultured woman learned to do.  She did not want to learn it but did so out of deference to her mother.  A digital of the keyboard had a slight mist image to it, though it could also be related to the angel of the camera.

Sandy really sensed a strong feeling of a woman cooking with old-fashioned appliances.  This and the organ memory seemed to be place memories.  She also got the idea that on this block there were only a few homes, approx. 6 houses, and everyone in the neighborhood looked out for one another. 

A woman, Diane, and a man, "J", were sensed in this area of the house.  Diane was the one in the kitchen.  "J" was I a chair listening to the radioit was wartime.  Pacific theater, Pearl Harbor. He had been at an air base in the Philippines.  Sandy also "saw" the room with an area rug, wooden chairs, and dark wood.

Susan saw a man in black rimmed glasses, a tweed coat standing near the bookshelves. 

The old woman was sensed from the bedroom glaring at Sandy.

Walking through the kitchen, Sandy sensed the old fashioned appliances, ice box, cast iron skilletprobably a place memory, or possibly suggested by the old kitchen tools.

The Team went outside.  Susan and Sandy sensed a man's spirit in the alley, and also sensed the spirit of a cat.  Susan picked up the name "wish bone" and thought that was the cat.  "Saw" a big-bottomed woman gardening outside. 

Sensed in the area of the garage that a man was out there tinkering.

Two Polaroid's were shot.  One had no flash and didn't turn out.  The other: null.

EVP:   YES Recorder used: Olympus Digital Voice Recorder, DW-90

Other occurrences: This has not been fully analyzed as of yet.

Other Notes:

Interview with Adele and Annie:

Adele reports hearing noises, like the rustles of an animal, or movement.  She sometimes hears voices, even when the TV is off.  She often hears multiple male and female voices in a discussion.

These things often happen in her bedroom.  During the interview, it was revealed that Adele took care of her ailing mother for quite some time.  Her mother was senile, and was diagnosed with senile dementia She was very angry, and at least on one occasion chased her grandson with a pair of scissors.  Susan and Sandy identified her as the woman in the room.

Her grandson, Christopher, has also reported hearing children playing and running through the house in the front room.

Adele hears footsteps in the back room.  They do not go into Adele's room.  They walk around the house.   Susan picked up the name "John" and felt he was a mechanic. She sensed that he was not liked and did not mess with the entity in Adele's room.  Adele confirmed that her mother hated him, and that it was probably he who tinkered all the time (as confirmed by Annie). 

Adele bought the house in 1973 with her mother.  In 1988 her mother passed away. Adele's husband died at the age of 57 in 1969.  Susan confirmed that was the man she identified out in the "outer antique filled room".

Adele also told Susan that her mother had been called "Wishbone" due to her love of cooking. It was a nickname.

At one point, a man and woman owned the house.  The man was living with two women at one time.  The woman found out and threw him out.

A woman named Mildred sold the house to Adele and her Mom. 

On the Internet, the house was recorded as being built in 1936, but Adele thinks it may be older than that and built in the 1920s.  She reported that both her mother and Mildred loved too cook. 

Adele reported hearing footsteps as early as 1972, shortly after they had first moved in.

Adele did have two instances of parapsy. Behavior: s he saw the manifestation of her grandfather the day he died, before she had been told of his death, and shortly after her husband died, she sensed a man standing at the base of her bed.  He tweaked her toe, and then walked through two closed doors and left.  She got up to follow him, thought it might be her son, but her son was asleep.  Her husband used to tweak her toe as a sign of affection.

    Observations & Conclusions:

Susan and Sandy did a remarkable job on this investigation.  They picked up a lot of information that Adele was able to confirm, including the walking man as possibly the shade of her husband.  Susan picked up his name and occupation, and that he was a tinkerer, wandered the house, but didn't go into Adele's room.  The old woman also appears to be in the house, still angry and still suffering from dementia.  The remainder of the ideas and images appear to be possible place memories; I'm not sure how many can be traced for accuracy.

26 Ave North                                                                     September 8, 2002

Present: Brandy Stark, Susan Granby, Sandy Bard, the homeowner and her daughter

Start time: 7:51 pm

End time: 9:05 pm

History:

  The home is listed on the Internet as being built in 1936 but the homeowner believes it was built in the 1920's due some of the structural designs they have found in remodeling. The present homeowner and her mother bought the home together in December of 1973. The home is located in the Crescent Heights neighborhood, which is one of the older neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, and is one of the six original homes built on the street. It is also filled with many antiques that have been collected from all over and over many years.

The homeowner has had several paranormal experiences such as visitations from her deceased Grandfather and husband. In her Grandfather's case he appeared with a small child and she had not been told he had died. Her husband had often said he would come back after death and one night she awoke to feel her toe being tweaked.

Her husband often did this as a sign of affection while he was alive. She saw who she thought was he then walk through two closed doors and into the backyard. When she got up to investigate there was no one round. She also states that she feels she has a guardian angel perched on her shoulder that watches out and protects her at all times.  

  Activity:

The homeowner has reported hearing rustling sounds in the corner of the Master Bedroom at night that she

relates to an animal of some type. She also hears a man and woman in discussion though she can't make out what they're saying. She has continually heard footsteps that roam around the house at night. They start in the back bedroom and make a complete circuit of the house, though they never come into the Mater Bedroom. Her grandson has heard what sounds like children playing in the Living Room though no children are around.

Investigation:

7:54 Utility Room- No EMF or unusual feelings

7:56 Susan reports cool spot on floor in front of French doors in the Antique Room

7:59 Brandy reports EMF spike and cold spot in the same area. It seems to be moving around the room as we could track it with our hands and the temperature gauge.

8:01 I have a heavy feeling in my chest, which means a spirit is present

8:14 Brandy reports that her camera is not working in the back bedroom

8:15 I get the impression of a middle aged man with dark hair, eyes, and complexion standing in front of the French doors. I feel he is wearing a blue work shirt and khaki pants. He finds what we're doing amusing. Susan gets the word "mechanic" and the name "John".

8:20 EMF spikes in front of the French doors in the back bedroom

  I should point out that from this time on I was unable to take notes because I was getting so many impressions so fast I could not keep up. So the following events I have no time line for and will try and put them down as they happened to the best of my recollection.

Hallway- I get the impression of a younger boy running up and down the hall playing. He has blonde hair and is wearing shorts, tee shirt and sneakers. I also get the sense of a little girl with long blonde hair with the bangs cut straight to the level of her eyebrows. They are playing jacks and I feel it is sometime in the 1940's. I hear an old time radio show coming from the Living Room. Summer time with bright sunshine in the afternoon. Older cars parked on the street out front with a young woman in a yellow print dress and white close fitting hat walking down the sidewalk. The dress is made of a lighter material and cool for the summer.  Picture postcard of the perfect summer day in St. Petersburg.

Master Bedroom- Susan called me to the closet to check out something she was picking up. I get the impression of an older woman with a long face, watery gray eyes, shoulder length scraggily white hair, and hard face in the back right hand corner of the closet. I also got the strong impression that we were not wanted in the room and we were making her angry. Brandy pointed out a painting on the wall of a woman and asked if that could be whom we were getting. I stated I didn't really know though it looked kind of familiar. The feeling that the woman did not like or want me in her room just kept growing and I finally had to leave.

Living Room- At the glass enclosed bookcase I get the impression of an older man with salt and pepper close cut hair wearing a tweed jacket and smoking a pipe. Black hard rimmed glasses. I think he is a professor or well-educated man. He likes the classics. He is tall and lean. He likes studying the books in the bookcase.

Turning toward the kitchen I get the impression of a woman in an apron bustling about in the kitchen, moving back and forth in front of the door. She is happiest in the kitchen and taking care of her home and family. There is a man sitting in an over stuffed chair in the living room as she works in the kitchen.

At this point I glanced at the Master Bedroom and get the sense of the old woman standing in the doorway

glaring at me. Susan and I both agree that the woman does not like me at all. I suddenly feel like the woman is all over me and I yell at her to get off me. I think I startled her and she redoubled her attack. I practically ran from the house in order to get away from her. Susan followed me onto the front walk where I was trying to shield myself. With Susan's help I was able to get her to release me and the man we picked up from the back bedroom took her inside. In comparing notes Susan and I felt that the woman had lost a child at some time and was overly protective. I felt that she and her daughter had a similar confrontation at some point. After putting a shield around me, Susan and I returned to the house.

Sun Room- I get the impression of a young woman sitting at the organ reluctantly practicing. She does it to keep peace with her mother who feels all proper young ladies should know music as well as needlepoint and china painting. She feels it will help her daughter land a good husband. I also get the impression that the man from the back bedroom likes looking out of the windows here to watch the world go by.

  Back in the Living Room I get the impression of a large over stuffed chair in the corner where the piano is sitting now with an old time radio on a table beside it. An oval area rug that is a green color is on the floor with a green couch on the opposite wall. Two chairs with a table in the middle sit to the left of the chair in the corner.

  Kitchen- I get the impression of breakfast cooking (eggs and bacon in a cast iron skillet) on an older stove as well as other older appliances.

Backyard- I have the impression of clothes hanging out on a clothes line in the summertime afternoon and Susan and I both pick up on a man standing in front of the garage door. Susan thinks it's the man from the back bedroom. I feel like there are two people leaning on the fence of the house next door in conversation. I get the impression of an African American man clinging to the gate as he looks in from the alley. He longs for the lives of the people inside the houses. He's not had an easy life and he envies those who have. Going back into the house Susan picks up a man leaning against the house next door and I get a woman on her hands and knees working in the flower  bed. It feels as if someone has raised a door and the energy we're picking up is incredible. The street just rocks with it. Susan picks up the impression of a cat on the back porch and gets the name "Wishbone".

  Interview:

  In talking with the homeowner we found out that her husband was an electrical engineer who died in November of 1969. His name was John and her mother was not fond of him at all. She always thought her daughter could do better than the man she married. The homeowner's mother died in 1988 and had all the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, though she was never diagnosed. The Master Bedroom was once her room. The owner's Grandmother lost a child and rumor among the family (though never confirmed) was that the owner's mother had an abortion at some time in her life. She also worked as a cook at a lumber camp and her nickname was Wishbone from an old western TV show. The old lady also loved to cook. The man at the bookcase fit the description of Charles Carey, a former judge who lived down the street. The organ in the Sun Room is form the 1800's and comes from a church up North.

  Conclusions:

I believe the house sits on a street that is a possible lei line. The footsteps are those of the owner's late husband John who is just keeping an eye on things and the older woman in the Master Bedroom is her mother. The confrontation the mother and I had was nothing personal against me but had more to do with the Alzheimer's than any thing. The African American man at the back gate is someone Brandy has had an encounter with before and he roams the alley way behind the houses. The children in the hall are a place memory and the sounds in the Master Bedroom are possibly those of the owner's mother poking around. All the spirits in and around the home are benevolent and the owner has nothing to worry about. I would like to investigate other homes on the street to see what findings we could get.

Susan

This was an interesting investigation as it was in a house that we feel very well may be on a lei line. I have known other people who lived on this street and also experienced many unexplainable phenomenon.

We started as usual at the back of the house. The utility area gave no unusual readings or feelings. From there we moved into a back room where Sandy and I sensed the presence of a man. We saw him a weathered but generally happy. He had missed the owner, Miss A. while she had been in the hospital. In this room we did have quite a bit of temperature fluctuations. Interestingly, this room was not air-conditioned. We did receive quite a few spikes on our EMF meters and later found an electrical box outside of the room may be why. However, there were a number of spikes coming from the French doors between the back room and a bedroom. We felt that this presence wanders the house. I picked up the name John and that he was a mechanic of some kind. I also sensed that he loved to tinker with things in a garage. In our post investigation interview it was revealed that indeed Miss A's late husband's name was John and that he was an electrical engineer. She said he was a "tinkerer." Also, his age which I had heard and the year he died were confirmed. We moved into a hallway where Sandy and I picked up on the energy of a young blonde boy, about 6 years old. We both heard giggling. It turns out that others who have been in the house also hear him running and giggling.

We moved into Miss A's bedroom where we were immediately greeted by a very angry force. Sandy and I picked up that there was an older woman who refused to let John in the room. She did not like him. Nor did she like Sandy. We left that room and Sandy had to leave the house. As we appear to have a psychic link of some kind I knew I had to follow her outside. The old woman had 'attached' herself to Sandy and was making it physically difficult for her to breathe. I used white light to remove her. John seemed to be standing on the porch and "took" her from me back into the house. It was unsettling for both of us. As it turns out, the old woman was Miss A's mother who had never liked John and was very vocal about it. I believe that her anger toward Sandy was not only due to the senile dementia from which she suffered (the mother) but from the fact that Sandy took an immediate liking toward John.

We went back in and continued. We felt some attachments to some of the many antiques which grace the home. Most of them were not at all related to the family or the home. We moved into the kitchen and vividly saw a woman who loved to cook. We went to the back porch and there I heard the name 'wishbone.' The interview later revealed that Miss A.'s mother loved to cook and that she was nicknamed Wishbone by a group she used to cook for. I had also sensed that this woman had once lost a child. Miss A.'s daughter said no, her grandmother had never lost a child, but Miss A corrected her and said that there had been a closely guarded family secret about an abortion that had taken place. This must have been the 1920's or 30's by my account which would have made the a very taboo, even more so than it is now.

When we were outside many more beings demanded their presence be known. It was like they were lining up to be noticed! I strongly believe that this area has a number of entities and that if further investigation on both the land and the homes around it more events of inexplicable nature would be found.

Another House on 26th Avenue North

10/20/02

Brandy Buchanan

Part of St. Petersburg's charm is its ability to feel like a small town community despite its dense population and small city size.  In between major thoroughfares are residential pockets and tight knit communities, where children play and neighbors still take time to check on one another.

Crescent Heights is one such area.  Recently awarded status as a historic site, this beautiful slice of suburbia offers houses built from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.   Its prim lawns and sturdy houses have witnessed the lives of many.

The SPIRITS had done investigations in the area.  One home on 26th Avenue complained of strange sensations.  The first investigation proved little, but the second investigation, performed a year later, manifested orb images as well as a small visual appearance of a smoke-like entity.

A few houses away, a second home also hosted unusual phenomena.  The long time homeowner experienced the sound of footsteps walking through the building since she and her mother bought the house in the 1970s.  Recently, the homeowner, her mother long dead and she herself now a frail woman in her 70s, heard rustling sounds in her bedroom and sensed that she was not alone.  The SPIRITS were again called in to investigate.

An intimate team of three worked well within the confines of the house.  As per normal investigative rules, the homeowner and her adult daughter were present, though they revealed no information to the spirit detectives.

Almost immediately, EMF was detected in the Florida room at the back of the house.  A small area of moving cold also pressed against the heated air and moved toward the doors leading into the main house.  Two members of the team, both displaying sensitivity towards the paranormal, "felt" a tall friendly male presence that associated himself with the house owner.  His name began with a "J" sound, most likely "John." They also determined that he was mechanically inclined, a tinkerer of sorts.  He was the origin of the footsteps that echoed so often through the house, though he did not go into the main bedroom.

As the group continued through, a second area of manifestation appeared.  Though temperatures did not fluctuate the EMF meter did flicker several times.  Two people sensed children running through the hall, as if at play.

The third and most tangible phenomena occurred in the master bedroom.  The atmosphere in the room was heavy and thick.  With drawn shades, dark shadows seemed to stretch across the walls.  As one woman was snapping photographs of the room, the other two began to sense a strong energy within.  Minutes passed and the presence grew stronger: it was an old woman with wild gray hair and eyes.  She appeared irrational to those who could sense her, and developed an intense anger towards one SPIRITS member.  Unable to shake the feeling, the sensitives temporarily vacated the house to regain their bearings.

The interview afterwards answered many questions.  The homeowner's husband died in the late 1960s, before she moved into the home.  His name was "John" and, indeed, he was a mechanic.  As a hobby, he also tinkered with mechanical items on and off throughout his life.  It appeared that in death he still worked to keep an eye on his wife.

The homeowner also revealed that her grandson, who grew up in the house, often complained of hearing children running through the house.  He thought they were closer to the living room, playing games in and about the front areas of the structure.  Subsequent research has not turned up any records of children living in the home, though spans of history are incomplete.

From the 1970s to the late 1980s, the main bedroom belonged to the homeowner's mother.  The mother deteriorated into dementia, though her daughter continued to care for her at home.  She was described as having irrational behavior, including extreme territorialism and anger.  She chased people out of her room, and once chased her grandson out of the house.  A painting of the woman revealed that she did, indeed, have gray hair and watery gray eyes, possibly matching the description recorded earlier. 

Though the investigation revealed little in the way of typical spectral manifestations, the amount of information picked up and confirmed by the sensitives was remarkable.  Both arrived with no prior knowledge of the area investigated, and details exceeded what the contact had been told.  It shows the amazing abilities of the human mind.  From one side of the spectrum, it exceeds death and reaches out in both loving watchfulness and fits of anger.  From the other, foreign images or sensations are felt as the living struggle to make sense of what they've found.  This investigation again validated that those close to us in life are often not far away in death.

It also bears asking, can larger areas manifest signs of haunting in multiple households?  If so, why and how?  Thus far, two houses on the same street intersect in ghostly happenings, with rumors of others on the block.  How is this possible?  Why don't all areas display this activity?  It is a question only those who silently communicate can answer.