getagurutarpon2

First Investigation of Getaguru Soap Shop

Getaguru Soap Shop

Second Investigation, April 17, 2004

Scott H.

Saturday, April 17, 2004

This report is being written approximately two hours after the investigation of the Getaguru Soap Co. store concluded.

The investigation began with our first walk-through at just after 7 PM. I was equipped with a compass and an Olympus Brio Zoom D-150 1.3 Megapixel digital camera and a teammate had loaned me a spare EMF meter. Throughout the investigation, I took 28 photos with the camera, filling up its memory card. At the time of this report being written, I have transferred the images to my computer's hard drive, but not taken the time to review any of them. As the camera lacks any preview function that I've ever been able to determine, I was unable to review the photos during the investigation. Also, I had the flash function turned off for the entire duration of the investigation and did not use the camera's zoom function at all. I turned the flash off for two reasons: 1) So that light flashes from my camera would not interfere with photographs taken by other team members. 2) To reduce the risk of illumination from the flash creating false orbs or other light anomalies in the photos.

The team of eleven split into two groups of five people each while Brandy moved back and forth between the two groups. The group I was with was assigned the front portion of the shop while the other, second, group took the back section. I took my first three photographs at approximately 7:20 PM, noting the time in a notepad I was carrying. I had previously been told that the wall clock in the shop was running one hour behind, having not been set forward for daylight savings time. The minutes, however, seemed to be accurate. I used this clock to gauge the timing of the first several photographs I took. By approximately 7:27 PM, I had taken four more snapshots. All five of these photographs were taken in the front and middle sections of the store.

At approximately 7:35 the EMF meter I was carrying may have spiked. This occurred in the mid-section of the shop, which was close to the incense section that others on the investigation team reported having felt energy. It was also in what the shop owners say is the path of an energy "vortex" that passes from one side of the shop to the other. As I was juggling the meter, my camera and notepad at the same time, the very brief, split-second during which I thought I saw the middle "Caution" light on the EMF meter illuminated may have been a product of my imagination. I cannot be sure one way or the other. However, later, another teammate told of having felt a cold chill at the same time as I thought the EMF meter spiked. The compass I was wearing on my left wrist showed no indication of activity at all. I snapped a photograph of the spot and moved on, following the rest of my team towards the back of the store.

7:39 PM. I took two more photographs in the kitchen area of the shop.

7:40 PM. I snapped a photograph of a side door as several other members of the investigation team exited through it, on their way to the outside courtyard area.

During this time, I overheard team members talking about the air temperature. One investigator was carrying a digital temperature gauge. All of the temperatures I heard reported were between 68 degrees and 71 degrees. It never occurred to me to ask at the time, but I am assuming that the temperatures were in degrees Fahrenheit. At the beginning of the investigation, the owners turned off the air conditioning and most of the lights so as to eliminate forced air blowing from vents and light glare.

The team I was with went into the small courtyard outside. While there, I took several more photographs not only of the courtyard itself, but of the outside section of the soap shop itself that was visible from that position. The entire time I was in the courtyard I experienced a vague sense of unease. It was a feeling I can only describe as being slightly dark, though I did not notice any lessening of the sunlight.

By approximately 7:49 PM the team I was with had returned to the inside of the shop. Brandy photographed the front counter where the cash register is located. She became excited about something that had turned up on the image. A mist, I believe she said, followed by an orb in her next photo. She asked anyone with digital camera to begin taking pictures of the counter area. I took several, not only of the counter itself, but a couple of the ceiling in that area as well. These photographs finished filling up the memory card in my camera, thus ending my ability to take pictures of the site.

Shortly thereafter, team members who were still taking photos began to report malfunctions of their digital cameras. Apparently, from what I was hearing, it seemed that the cameras would turn on, then switch off before any photographs could be taken.

After that initial walk-through, the two teams converged and discussed sights, smells, feelings, impressions and thoughts gleaned from our passes through the shop. A couple of "hot spots" were declared and we returned to those.

The first area we returned to was the incense corner of the shop. Several team members said that they felt energy there. I feel that it should be noted that this area of the shop is, if not in the path of the vortex mentioned above, it is very close. Brandy walked along the wall with a compass in her hand. The needle wavered oddly, even when she was still. I followed her path with my own compass, but detected nothing.

Next, the group returned to the kitchen. Brandy asked another team member a series of questions about her psychic impressions of the place, beginning, I believe, with whether the presence was energy or an entity. The answer was "entity". Answers to further questions told that the entity was female and had been named Donna. While there was no answer to how she had passed, Donna seemed to be aware that she was deceased and, while she did not stay in the soap shop all the time, spent much of her time there. Donna, it seems, liked our group of investigators better than the usual tourists, as we took a real interest in her, rather than just being there, passing through and she manifests as "moisture in the air". Donna seems to stay as she wants something to change in the product line that the shop offers. Something "iconic" added was, I believe, the answer to the question of what she wants. When asked about a sign that would prove that Donna was in the shop, the answer was to ask the owners about the "moved spoons".

We revisited the back room next. Since most of the digital cameras in use seemed to be malfunctioning, Brandy took out a Polaroid film camera to use to take more photos of the room. The camera would not eject the picture. Brandy passed the camera to another team member, who managed to get the jammed photo out of the camera. She then tried to take another snapshot, but the camera spit out two pieces of film at once. She gave it one last try and the camera ejected a single piece of film. I do not know what the problem with it was, but camera was making an odd whining sound whenever it was used. The camera was put away and not used again in the investigation. Also during this time, the woman who had previously been receiving psychic answers to the questions Brandy was asking hear the word "Momma".

Afterwards, the team met up with the shop's owners and an employee of the shop by the front counter where the flurry of photographs had been taken not long before. The owners were told of the results of our walk-through and the returns to the "hot spots", including the answers given to the questions asked about the presence. The shop owners did not seem to know what was meant by the "moved spoons".

Next, the investigators were told several stories by the owners and the employee of the shop about the occurrences on the premises, including stories of how customers regularly report seeing someone who isn't there, or sense a presence or energy. The wall where Brandy noted the odd compass readings seemed to consistently be the source of the sightings and impressions by the customers. The woman who worked in the store told of how she left several incense packages arranged on a shelve one night before leaving, but did not like the way they were arranged and planned on moving them in the morning. She said that she came in to the shop the following morning to find the same packages arranged in a completely different manner than what she'd left them in. She also told of how she had recently left a chair sitting with its back to the wall, only to come into the store the following morning to find the chair turned facing the wall and moved a few feet out away from the wall and to one side of the position she'd left it in. The wall where she claims that the incense and chair both were moved is once again the same wall where Brandy experienced the odd compass readings before.

After that, talk turned away from the investigation and more and more to small talk, effectively ending the evening's inquiry.

Tarpon Springs Soap shop

4/17/04

Two days before a new moon

While waiting for the rest of member arrive standing to the right of the front door got slightly dizzy.

Could have been the strong soap smells.

Two groups were selected

Members in my group

Charles, Linda, Nicole, Maria, Susan

Storage/Office

77 degrees

emf at phone cord

Kitchen

75 degrees

No emf

Felt breeze going from kitchen to work room

Workroom

75-77 degrees

Felt uncomfortable around knife in work room but I feel uncomfortable around knives period.

No emf

Storage room

No emf 77-78 degrees

Incense room

No emf but I couldn't stay in this area. It made me very uneasy.

Front of store

No emf

Courtyard outside

No emf but felt uneasy and like someone ran their hand through my hair. Could have been my imagination.

Second walk through

Storage/Office. Could not get same emf reading as first walk through but there was a refridgerator on the other side of the wall from the phone cord. That fridge could have running during the first run through and thats where the emf was coming from

Work Area

Psy-sensitive pick up a woman named Donna that passed through the shop on occasion.

Incense room

Still could not stand back there but other members' compasses where not behaving as normal when walking through the room and most pictures taken back there were showing anomolies.

Conclusion

I think there is at least a watcher there. Someone who comes around every now and then to check things out. He/She is not necessarily there to interact with anyone. There seems to be a lot of energy in that store centered around that one area of the store.

Get a Guru Soap Company

Tarpon Springs

Brandy's report

Waxing moon

4/17/04

7:25 - 9:15

Brandy, Charles, Linda, Nicole, Maria, Susan, Amy, Jeanne, Beth, Scott H.

Others: Eleni, Russell, Debbie, Dan

Pre-investigation: Susan and I came from giving a presentation. I felt very drained and had been chilled beforehand coming into the store.

Note: EMF is on 0 3 scale unless otherwise noted.

The store is a soap shop with a lot of strong aromas.

Store front: 77 degrees

EMF: .2

Amy's camera died, fans still on (store owners turned them off).

Walking to the front of the store I had odd EMF spikes of 2.0 2.8; spikes were choppy and erratic, but I thought they may be related to the electrical. Called Amy over to verify.

Storage room: Chill on leg; high EMF readings (Consistent).

Back of store: Cold spot on my hand.

Office: 0 EMF

Large eye window (wards of the evil eye) in this room. My camera had problems working in the office.

Kitchen: 0 EMF

Work room: Spike of approximately 3.0, very fast. Also noted a spot on wall with EMF; electrical outlet.

Amy borrowed my camera since her digital would not work at all for taking photographs. Tried new batteries, no success. She used two sets of batteries on my back up digital to take 50 pictures (unusual for that camera). My camera kept shutting down; could be explained as it's an older camera.

Outside courtyard: 68 degrees; very nice and artistic.

Assessment:

Linda: While waiting for team, she felt dizzy up in the front of the store. She sensed drafts in kitchen and workroom. Cannot stand in an area of the storefront that sells incense (felt very uncomfortable). In the courtyard she felt that she had a hand in her hair.

Charles: Coolness near turn style. Flagstone felt strange.

Amy: Feelings in front of store, sensed a history in the courtyard. Her camera malfunctions.

Scott H. EMF meter: Caution in the area that divides the store from workrooms. Courtyard: felt unease.

Beth: Cool where Scott got his EMF spoke; workroom, found electrical outlet.

Nicole: Energy: female in eye area and kitchen Outback: impression of a family (also distracted by a conversation in alley way).

Susan: Storage room and office: 0 EMF, painting, heard "Momma"

Working area: Felt intense feeling, heard "Donna"

Intense sacred feeling in incense area; sensed "mermaids"

Camera issues

Something about "horses"

Maria: Kitchen: breeze

Workroom: Heavy feeling

Incense room: back breeze

Courtyard: small window, something going on.

Jeanne: Nothing on compass or meter

Brandy: Front of store: I caught a smoggy image on my camera; Amy caught a strong orb in the same area. I later caught a lighter orb in an adjacent area.

Areas of interest: Incense section, office, work areas, storage area (back of store).

Very little activity until the work area of the store. There, Susan picked up Donna, died at the age of 45. She liked to help create in the store as she was a painter and sculptor herself. She died in the 1970's.

She was tall; once had long brown hair but cut it short. She was not from Tarpon but did live there; she is of Portuguese, not Greek, heritage.

She smoked a lot; knows she is deceased.

She feels that there needs to be an addition or change to the produce like, working on icons. She has appeared to others, with a strong manifestation of a woman and man. She appears as moisture in air, and is not connected to the other energies in the store.

(We also heard a popping sound near us in a glass shelf area).

Office: Cameras locked up; Polaroid locked up (sent out multiple film images; has not been used in a while, though has never done that before).

Incense area: Compasses acted oddly (turning off about 10 degrees in either direction) as I walked a straight line by the counters.

Owner interview:

I read the article and conclusions from first ghost hunt; then interviewed homeowners for updated activity. For more information, see prior Tarpon Springs ghost hunt.

October through Jan was the time of heaviest activity

The new store manager reported that on Jan. 8: for three weeks, people coming to store noticed things

Children reported picking up on ghost in the store

One woman also reported the ghost.

Happy energy.

Incense moved one night: upon leaving store manager had it in a straight line, came in the next morning to find it in a fan shape (no one had been there between the time she locked up and came in). Chair also moved one night.

Bathroom door latch unlocks itself (2 people report that).

Investigator's Conclusions:

After reviewing the digital camera pictures that I took in the store, I was amazed to find that light was warped in some of the areas of the store. All came into clear focus, except for the light, which ran to center of image or off the shot. Not sure why.

Two images in the area of the EMF spikes in the front of the store may have a "face" in them, though they may also be simple inkblot images.

The store, itself, was reputed to be on a lei line (the line ended in the area where the anomalous readings were taken, near the incense area).

I think that the store has an unusual enough history that it could have the lei line running through it. It appears to be mildly haunted, though the store owners are open to that sort of phenomena and with the creative endeavors that happen in the store, entities of a like mind may be attracted.

No negative feelings were sensed in the store; it's eclectic atmosphere is safe and inviting. The soaps are great, too!

Team: Susan, Linda, Charles, and Nicole

Storage Room: 77*

There were many boxes in the room. There were desks, glassware, mirrors, framed art/unframed art, and an eye stained glass window. The floors were concrete.

Kitchen: 75*

Small window on top of sink. The floors were of stone tile. There was a fridge and cabinets.

Work Room: 75*

The floor was made of concrete. There was plastic and wood shelving, a wooden workbench and religious paraphernalia. The room gave me a very heavy feeling. It felt as if the room was coming down on me, getting smaller in a sense.

Store Room: 76*

Many boxes.

Front of the Store: 77-78*

There were windows, wooden stands to display soap, electric cash register.

Incense Room:

The wall open to the workroom, but covered with a curtain. I felt a slight breeze when standing next to a display of incense.

Courtyard:

There was foliage, a mirror, and a glass and metal table.

Backyard:

There was metal air conditioner, stone inlaid flooring. There were was garbage cans and storage in a corner. The little window atop the door was very interesting to me.

During our group walkthrough we revisited the incense room again and there is felt as if someone pulled me back. It startled me.

Jeanne's report

Our group met up in Tarpon Springs at the Getaguru Soap Company at 7pm. We had 10 members present, so we divided into several groups, and started in different areas. Our group went through the front of the store first. I got very low EMF through this whole area, and no movement on my compass. We through the back storage area, and an office area, and the kitchen and workshop. I got no unusual EMF or compass readings in any of the rooms. Then we went outside to the back courtyard, and I got low EMF there also. Our groups met back inside to discuss our findings. Linda felt like someone touched her hair in the courtyard. She also felt very uncomfortable in the area of the store that sells incense. Nicole felt a female energy in the back room with the stained glass eye. She said that there was a feeling of a family in the courtyard. Susan heard the word "mama" in front of a painting in the office. In the workshop, she got the name Donna. In the incense area, she sensed a mermaid. Maria felt a breeze in the kitchen, and had a heavy feeling in the workroom. In the incense area, she felt like someone was walking behind her. Brandy got an EMF spike near a glass case in the shop, and chill in the storage room. We decided to return to the workshop first. Susan got the name Donna there. She was a 45 year old artist who died in the 1970's. She had dark hair and eyes. She was not Greek, but lived in Tarpon Springs. Susan asked her if she shows herself, and she said that she moves things. She also said that she has appeared at night to employees. Next we went to the incense area of the shop, and Susan said that she felt an energy there, not an entity. In this area, Brandy got a digital photo with a mist, and one with an orb. I took lots of 35mm photos. Then we met with the owners to hear their story. They told us that many children have come into the shop and made comments about there being a ghost there. One of the employees saw a woman go by the door when no one was there. Another employee said that things were moved during the night. They said that the activity usually increases in October. In conclusion, I got no unusual EMF or compass readings throughout the store. Out of 24 of my 35mm photos, I got one with a strong orb image in the incense area.

Store owner communication post article: 7/31/04

Hi Brandy,

Thanks very much for sending the article/link.

I have some new thoughts on the investigation. One is that you all got that 'Donna' was portugese-and I remembered that although I know Portugese is a different (but similar) language-in Spanish 'Dona' is a form of respect for an older woman (but pronounced 'donya').

I don't know if it is used in Portugese or not though.

I also actually know (or knew) someone who fits the description of the entity. I have no idea if she is still alive or not. I haven't seen her in many years. Although she didn't die in the 70's. Very eccentric artist that was of spanish desent (sp?) married to a mexican diplomat but then divorced and moved here for awhile. We met her in the shop and had some crazy times-like I said-verrry eccentric...a real character. Rosa was her name. She would definetly have been a 'dona'.

Also I think that my grandmother and her siblings referred to their mother (my greatgrandmother) as 'mamma'. My great grandparents, great aunts uncles cousins etc. all used the back yard years and years ago before I was born.

My family, friends including the designer who was killed that used to work with us, and at least one other friend who is passed over-we all used to spend alot of time in the side courtyard. It was a hangout for us. We had parties, meetings, coffee-all that back there. I wonder if they picked up residual energy?

Interesting. we have such a long history here in this space that it is hard to remember everything from years past. The impressions of the investigators brought alot of memories back.

Anyway, Thanks again for everything. I have your site bookmarked and keep up with you.

Take care and enjoy the blue moon. -e.

Best Wishes,

eleni simeon-oakley

http://www.getaguru.com/

getaguru@aol.com

getaguru handmade soap corp.

777 dodecanese blvd.

tarpon springs, FL 34689

The Getaguru Soap Shop hosted a second SPIRITS investigation on its premises. It was, perhaps, one of the most diverse group of SPIRITS in attendance. New and established members mingled among the soaps and scents, all eager to learn more about the supernatural housed within.

The first investigation revealed a strange energy source running through the store; compasses changed directions nearly a quarter of a turn in one area and store customers cited strange sensations. A few entities strolled through from time to time, revealing themselves to various store employees.

This time, there had been activity in the months prior to the group's visit, but things had since settled. Eleni, the store owner, wasn't sure what, if anything, might be found.

During the first walk through, nearly everyone felt something in the incense area. Compasses manifested the same strange behavior as they had on the first trip.

A sense of dizziness washed through others as they went through the soap storage racks towards the office, which housed a large blue Greek "eye of protection" meant to ward off evil energies and hexes. Meanwhile, a sensitive picked up the name "Donna" in another storage space.

As the group reconvened, EMF started to register at the front counter. A camera captured mist images and bright orbs.

A more intense look into the incense section produced a couple of anomalous images on digital camera. Bright light streaks register in front of a cabinet, some of these creating what could be a face. It is difficult to tell in the photos where the light comes from and the face could be an inkblot image, in which the familiar facial features are instinctively created by human imagination.

The group worked to hone in on "Donna" and tried to discover her connection to the store. Sensitives detected that she was tall, dark haired, and enjoyed expressing herself through the arts. She died in the 1970's, and was not from Tarpon but did live there; she was of Portuguese, not Greek, heritage. She also knew that she was deceased.

"Donna" manifested herself in the store, making one strong appearance, in her own estimate, to a male and female pair of co-workers. She encouraged the owners to expand their product line.

When we spoke to the store owner, she explained that in the months prior to the SPIRITS visit, customers were reporting a ghost in the store. Much of the information came from children who did not feel threatened by the entity; it was a happy energy. Twice, items in the store had been moved after it was closed and locked. A chair changed positions and incense had been rearranged, though nothing else was amiss.

Overall, the store remains an enigma of sorts. The findings this time were both similar and quite different than the first visit. Yet, the openness of the employees and the establishment, mixed with the creativeness that flows throughout, most certainly could attract a disembodied soul. After all, what more interesting a place could there be to spend a few minutes of eternity?

See the store owner's comments on this investigation...scroll to bottom of the screen or click here.