Haslam's II Part B... The Search for Jack   

10.17.02

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Report of Haslam's Investigation

  October 17th, 2002

  8:00p- 9:00p

  Attendees:  Amy, Brandy, Sandy and Denise (also in attendance Ray from

  Haslam's and two representatives from the Tampa Tribune - I forgot their

  names!  ARGH!)

  By: Amy Rohrsen

  This was my first investigation with SPIRITS so when I arrived at Haslam's

  already my senses were heightened.  Although I do not consider myself a

  "sensitive" I have the ability to sense a shift in "energy" and that shift

  was immediately apparent when I walked in the back door. 

  Before we began the investigation I readied my equipment for easy access and

  also put two new fresh batteries into my digital camera (Sony Cyber-shot) -

  and checked the operation.  At that time the operation was fine and the

  screen showed a full cell. 

  Minutes before the investigation started I did a quick scan of the perimeter

  of the store and found myself drawn to the area where the American Flag hung.

  There were several occasions when I would find myself turning around, even

  when in different areas of the store, to look back to that area.  Digital

  photos taken in that area, however, did not produce any images nor were there

  any unusual EMF readings.  I did make a note that on the ceiling in the

  southeast corner there is a stain.  I confirmed this with Brandy who took a

  picture of the same spot. 

  The front wall east of the front door produced a consistent EMF reading in

  the "caution" range - this from as far up as my arm would reach and continued

  all the way down to the top of the last row of books.  What was causing this?

  Wiring behind the wall maybe? 

  It was at this point that Sandy picked up the presence of a female.  She was

  tall and slender in a tailored skirt suite.  She was wearing a fitted cap

  with short curly hair.  The image of a 1950's Lois Lane (from Superman) kept

  coming to mind.  (Oddly enough I noticed that there was the novel for

  Superman right in front of me - although it was behind the shelf and out of

  Sandy's point of view - this gave me the slight chills!)  The next entity

  that Sandy picked up on was male and was exhibiting a curious emotion.  She

  was able to pick up the name John and noted that he was finding it amusing

  that we were there doing what we were doing.  Sandy detected laughter from

  John.  A third entity was picked up by the name of Michael - but that was all

  that was detected. 

  We then moved into the northeast corner of the store in the area of the

  Horror/Western section.  There were no EMF readings here - however Sandy was

  able to pick up on some energy in the first shelf of books facing the

  doorway.  Her hands landed lightly on a book - and at that point she picked

  it up and noticed that the title was Notes From The Underground.  The

  temperatures on Sandy fluctuated in this room.  The room was a bit cooler

  than in the front of the store and there were some slight cold spots noted. 

  Right as we began to exit this section of the store my digital camera went

  completely dead with no warning.    Several attempts to turn the camera back

  on failed.

  Moving into the back room in the center of the store there were many many EMF

  flutters where the caution light would barely come on - before going out

  again - this happened on both Brandy and I's  EMF meters.  There weren't any

  significant spikes anywhere in the room. 

  We then moved into the room where the books on religious studies are housed. 

  (Occult, Eastern Religion, Astrology, Recovery Addiction, Gerontology, etc) -

  It was at this point that I began to take a photo of the west wall of this

  section through the door way that I ran into Denise who had stopped short

  feeling an energy "pulling" her into the room.  At our contact there was a

  physical and audible transfer of energy from her to me.  There was a

  popping/cracking sound - and immediately my left shoulder (the one that made

  contact with Denise) began to ache dully.  I paid not attention and began

  taking EMF readings into this section.  I noticed very high readings - and it

  was at that point that Sandy pointed out that the circuit breaker boxes were

  located here.  (North wall of this section)  As I came around the other side

  of the shelves the dull ache in my shoulder made its way down my arm and into

  my elbow - it felt as if it was following my tendons because it felt like I

  had hit my funny bone.  I tried to shake it out thinking it was my

  imagination but finally it made its way into my fingers and my hand went

  numb.  I had to transfer equipment out of that hand because I was no longer

  able to clinch my hand.  Sandy suggested I leave the room.  I did and tried

  very hard to get warmth back to my hand.  Denise took temperature readings on

  my hand and lower arm.  Temps ranged from 88 to 68 degrees.  At that point

  Sandy pulled the energy out of my arm "like a glove" twice and I began to

  re-gain warmth in my hand.

  We moved back into the southeast section and I experienced a very quick

  danger spike on my EMF meter right in front of the Mystery section.  It was

  as if something passed by very quickly.  I had not been holding my camera

  near the meter - nor was I holding the meter on the side of the on/off

  switch.   It was here that we did EVP.  The emotion of amusement came again

  and Sandy sensed giggling/laughter once again. 

  Once again we visited the section in the northeast where my camera died. 

  Sandy began to pick up images of a man sitting in a white plastic chair

  reading a book.  He was wearing jeans and canvas tennis shoes.  She detected

  that he perceived it to be sometime in the 1970's and that he had passed on

  due to heart trouble.  She also noted that he was a heavyset gentleman.  EMF

  and temperature readings near the chair did not produce anything unusual. 

  At the close of the investigation I attempted to restart my digital camera

  one more time, outside of that room, and it operated perfectly - showing a

  full cell once again.  I was able to scroll through the photos without it

  powering off.  I went ahead and changed the batteries anyway - and will test

  the originals in another device. 

  Haslam's is definitely a site with enormous energy.  In every room there was

  a shift - one-way or the other.  I never once picked up on anything

  "negative" - but definitely some "confused" energy.

Haslams B                                                                                                             October 17, 2002

Sandy

 

  Present: Brandy, Amy, Denise, Sandy, (of the SPIRITS), Kevin & Victor (from Tampa Tribune), and Ray (owner 0f Haslams).

  History:

  See previous investigations at http://centralflghosts.homestead.com/haslams.html and

  http://centralflghosts.homestead.com/haslams2.html.

  Activity:

  See links above.

  Investigation:

  We investigated the front part of the store this trip and for some reason I wasnt getting as much info as

  I normally do. I felt as if I was insulted from the energy around me. I did pick up on a man that found it

  amusing as we made our way around the room. I picked up the name John before communication was

  cut off. Next I felt a woman who was slender and dressed in a tailored skirt suit from the 1950s with a

  close fitting skullcap and short curly hair. The image of Lois Lane from the old TV series Superman

  kept coming to mind. I also felt the presence of a tall man in the front corner of the room watching us

  but could get no information from him.

  In the doorway to the Horror/Western Section stands a tall slender bookshelf that had a great deal of energy coming from it  After running my hand over the books I pulled one out with the title of Notes From the Underground that was published  in the late 1950s or 1960s. I have no idea what it meant. Also I got the sensation of cold on my right hand and it felt as if  someone were holding it. The sensation stayed with me no matter which side of the bookshelf I placed my hand.

 

  Also in this room I picked up on a man sitting in the chair along the wall reading a book. He wore jeans and canvas sneakers  and looked up as the others were taking his picture and doing readings. I also felt that he couldve cared less that we were  there and turned back to his book. Brandy and Amy reported battery drain from their flashlight and camera. We attempted  an EVP while here and I got a heavyset man with dark hair and razor stubble that wore a thin white tee shirt. When asked  specific question he just looked at us confused before finally pulling away.

  In the Metaphysical Section Amy and Denise reported an electric type shock passed between them that left Amys left  arm numb for a short period of time. Denise reported that she felt drawn to this room for some reason. I received a message  while in this room for Ray that the spirits in the store were concerned for his well being and feelings. He makes it a  comfortable and open place for them and they appreciate it. He accepts them and passes no judgment.

  Conclusion:

  Haslams is an extremely interesting and enjoyable place and I hope that we can do further investigations  there because every time we go we seem to make new findings.

Denise

At 7:30 p.m. on October 17, 2002  Brandy, Sandy, Amy and I met at the Haslems Book Store in St.

Petersburg.   Before we could begin the investigation, Sandy was being contacted by the spirits.  They were anxious to communicate with her.  As we walked the perimeter of the store, the communication was somewhat blocked by an invisible barrier.  There we no strong conversations between Sandy and the unknown forces.  Due to the electrical wires, lighting conditions and the air conditioning changing the temperature from one location to another, I did not note any significant EMF readings or temperature changes that caused a concern.

While investigating the south wall at of the front of the store, Sandy  began talking to a tall, slender, female who wore a tailored skirt suit.  She also wore a fitted cap and had short curly hair.  Sandy stated the female reminded her of the original woman who played Lois Lane in the Superman movies.  Although they tried, the female became quite frustrated because she could not communicate strongly with Sandy.  Minimal information was obtained.  Again, no EMF or temperature readings were acquired.

Sandy continued to communicate with several other spirits throughout the store.  Near the southeast corner of the store she spoke with John, who only laughed at us being there, and Michael.  No significant information was obtained from them.  While talking to John, the temperature reading towards Sandy dropped to 59 degrees.  Everywhere else surrounding this location read no less than the middle to low 70s.  A cold spot from the air conditioning unit or contact with John? My vote is still out. 

While I was walking near the metaphysical book area, which was in a location we were not going to

investigate on this trip, I began feeling a strong urge to enter into the room.  I felt as if I was being summoned into the room.  The feeling became quite intense.  I requested Sandy investigate to see if it was something supernatural wanting me or if I just had a strong desire to look around.    After Sandy entered the room and began making contact with a spirit, I walked to the doorway of the room.  I was unable to hear or concentrate on Sandys conversation due to having a strange and unexpected experience happen to me.

While in the doorway I began to feel an intense ice cold chill running through my entire body, starting from the inside spinal area and expanding outward.  Following the chill was what felt like a bolt of electricity flowing through my body, striking every nerve.  The feeling was so intense that I held on to the wooden frame of the door just to keep my balance.  While I was concentrating on my strange experience, Amy accidentally walked up to me and bumped her shoulder into mine.  It should be noted I had been standing still on a tile floor and leaning against a wooden doorway.  We did not touch skin to skin, instead shirt to shirt.  Instantly a shock of electricity flowed through my body, out of my shoulder and into hers.  We both heard the crackle as it occurred.  Needless to say the shock was so severe that Amy lost feeling in her left hand for quite some time.  It took approximately fifteen or more minutes for my feelings to subside and feel normal again.

Near the end of the investigation we went to the room on the northeast side of Haslems.  Sandy

communicated with a man who sat in a white plastic chair reading a hard back book with a grayish/green cover and gold lettering.  He had no interest in us being there and went about his business.   Several photos of  orbs were taken and the EVP was attempted.  

My observations about Haslems Book Store are simple, although there is no physical evidence (unattested) to say spirits exist and orbs are continuously being questioned,  I believe Haslems has several occupants who are very contented sitting around reading books in this old book store.    I also can not explain what occurred to me while in the metaphysical book area.  Therefor all my options are left open and spirits being present is one of them. 

Denise Schmidt

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

    PARANORMAL RESEARCH TEAM

    Field Investigation Form

    Brandy Stark

    Location: Haslam's IIB, Oct. 15, 2002. 

Lunar Cycle: Near ¾ moon

    Other:

Cold Front coming

Equipment used: Brandy's equipment:  Olympus digital recorder, ELF meter, Samsung digital, 2 35 mm with 4-00 speed film, b&w and color, walkie talkies (YES NO), Radio shack IR Thermometer, Polaroid 600, Sandy, Cellsensor, jacket, Denise, Digital, 35 mm, Amy, Digital, 2- 35 mm, black and white, and color, EMF meter (ELF)

Investigators Present: Brandy Stark, Sandy Bard, Amy Rohrsen, Denise Schmidt

    Others Present: Kevin Walker, Victor (photographer) Ray (Manager of Haslams)

EMF:  YES   Range of Reading:  Caution 15 seconds,

Location: Front right of room

Other occurrences:  Sandy sensed frustration, as she thought an entity was trying to communicate.  She did see a female in a suit, with short hair.

EMF: NOTE:  EMF towards the front eastern corner of the store was strong.  It seemed to radiate from the roof, was consistent with a cuation reading, and stopped about 5 feet above the floor.  It does knock out most of our capabilities to read spikes into the EMF.  It was consistent through much of the store.

    Location:  Front east corner.

Other occurrences:  Sandy sensed several possible entitiesa man named John, who found great humour in the situation, in the corner she sensed a man named Michale, who moved when we arrived. 

EMF  NO

    Location: Near "100 Best Novels of the 20th Century, front left/west of the store (room)

Other occurrences:  Sandy was attracted to a book in a binder.  When she pulled it out, it was "Notes from Underground," published in 1967.  She also felt very cold, though no discernible readings present.  A Polaroid image I took revealed nothing. 

In this area, EMF did fluctuate, with small blips of energy apparently coming from the books.Amy's digital camera, with new batteries, experienced a battery drain.  Brandy's batteries also drained in her flashlight; however, later tests determined it was the batteries, not necessarily the area.  The batteries were rechargeable; most likely, they lost their charge.

EMF:  As we moved through the history and central sections of the store, my EMF meter continued to have blips that lasted for fractions of seconds.  At approx. 8:15, I felt my EMF meter shudder in my hand, as if someone else had held it and tried to gently shake (described in notes as "stutter") it from my hand.  That sensation also lasted about 1-2 seconds, if that.  My hand was not fatigued, it did not happen again.  I am not prone to muscle fatigue (usually) with such low stress activity. 

Amy's digital batteries started to work again outside of the front room of the store, where they had drained prior.

EMF:  NO

Location: Metaphysical Room

Other occurrences:

Denise felt compelled to come into the room.  She does profess to be a Baptist/Christian, which may be important considering prior experiences in this room at Haslams (see Haslams II).  As we entered the room, Amy brushed against Denise and felt a shock pass through her arm.  EMF remained "caution" and steady (electronic panels in the room).

As we left the room, Amy felt her hand go numb.  She did not know why, but attributed it to the spark from Denise.  Denise said she felt very cold as they entered the room, and had unusual sensations.Amy's hand outside the room registered from 88 degrees to 69 degrees, though managed to average around the mid-80s for temperatures.

An EVP session was attempted near the front room as we went through a secondary time.  The EVP has revealed little, though Sandy sensed an entity in the room reading a book.  He was ignoring, or amused, by us. 

    Observations & Conclusions:

I was surprised at the strange sensations felt by Amy and Denise at the store.  I had hoped for stronger manifestations, though while I waited for the team to arrive I was able to go back and scan the back rooms for EMF.  The area where we had EMF during Haslam's II did not have the same level of EMF in the same area. 

I do believe that Haslam's has an entity.  I am not sure if there is more than one. 

However, our goal this night was to find Jack K., famed for haunting the store.  What I found interesting is that Sandy "sensed" someone and asked for images to be taken in the corner of the store at the beginning of the investigation where Jack's books are kept.  However, she attributed the name as "Michael", but complained of lower abilities to "sense" or "understand" what was being said to her.  Jack is said to have had a great attachment to his books, and, while alive, to often move them around to eye level (best buying area).  Perhaps there is still something with that areamaybe John and Jack are the same individual.  However, the results were not conclusive enough.

Only one photograph appeared to have a light orb image, though Denise did get a very nice orb in the Metaphysical room. 

Haslams is worthy of additional study perhaps after another long lapse in time.

Reader Submission  11/12/02

A few years ago, my girlfriend and I were book shopping at Haslam's.  We weren't looking for anything in particular, just browsing around.  While on the west side of the building, I felt that someone was right behind me, as if looking over my shoulder.  I spun around and found no one was there.  I told my girlfriend about it and she reported the same feeling. 

I stumbled upon your web site yesterday and was quite excited to see the reports of your investigations of Haslam's confirmed our feelings.

--JB

<---Very light orb.  This did not scan as well as I had hoped, hard copy shows it better.

Brandy, 35 mm 400 speed film.

Light orb image over Sandy's left shoulder, back of store----->

Denise, digital.

(left) Nice orb image in the back of the store (near the Metaphysical section).  Activity has been sensed there before.  Denise, 35 mm.

As 2003 dawns, the SPIRITS stand at the beginning of a new era.  Through struggle, work, and a little bit of luck, the group stands firm in its quest to seek out and understand paranormal phenomena.

October was an exceptionally busy month for the team.  In addition to nearly doubling in size, the media's spotlight fell upon us.  Several individual publications opted to follow the team on investigations.

This left a bit of a quandary.  The SPIRITS strive to maintain levels of privacy for the homes investigated.  We needed known haunted areas that could be opened to the public, without fear of recrimination.  Thankfully, Haslam's New and Used Bookstore agreed to host two separate investigations, both shadowed by members of the press.

The SPIRITS had some familiarity with the spectral happenings within Haslam's.  The team had investigated the area in February of 2001, and experienced high levels of activity.  A door rattled and footsteps were heard prior to the investigation.  Unusual EMF (electromagnetic energy) was recorded coming from areas of the bookstore with no known active electronic equipment or wiring.  As the group toured, one member felt compelled to snap a series of photographs aimed at a wall of books.  Of the 5 pictures, the third developed with a mist-like image, later judged and awarded by  other ghost investigators for its authenticity in appearance.

Would the results replicate during subsequent investigations? Or would the reporter's pen scare the ghosts away?

The answer to both questions appears to be "yes."

The first investigation, scheduled in September, was host to some unusual manifestations.    The meeting took place on a weeknight, with the store manager, Ray, remaining after hours to work with the team.  The two representatives of Imago magazine drove an hour and a half to get to this location.  The SPIRITS members, many of whom maintain full time jobs, arrived after work.  All appeared exhausted, though remained primed to see what types of manifestations, if any, would occur.

EMF was again recorded in unusual locations, but this time the readings remained consistent and most likely related to the internal mechanisms of the store.  Unusual noises, consistent and steady, were tracked to a drip in the toilet of a bathroom.

However, SPIRITS sensitives recognized several entities who attempted to communicate with the team.  The first was a little girl.  Attracted to a member who was, herself, the mother of three children, this child-spirit stayed nearby for a time.  Both EMF and temperature fluctuations occurred as the teammate attempted to soothe the entity.  A digital image captured both an orb and a light mist in that area. 

A second personality, relaxed and amused by the group, appeared to lounge in one of the store's plastic chairs, which emitted EMF. No known logical source of energy was located in the area. Subsequent photographs reveal potential orbs, though they may also be light refractions on the surface of the chair.

The most unusual phenomena came from an area that held no known prior activity. A 35 mm film photograph shows both a mist-like image snaking through a nearby internal doorway, and a small blot of dense white material hovering in front of  shelf of books.   The negatives were examined by a 12-year professional photography veteran who determined that both were part of the image, and were not created by external tampering or film defects.

A third trip to the store occurred when the Tampa Tribune asked to write a story about the SPIRITS.  This took place in October, near the death date of Jack Kerouac, the ghost most often said to haunt Haslam's.  While orbs appeared in digital and 35 mm photographs taken by the team, none seemed to related to Mr. Kerouac himself, who was thought to manifest near his own books.

The articles produced by both investigations are invaluable to the team.   They have garnered the interest of the community and serve to educate the efforts of paranormal investigators.  They also led to new faces and new opportunities for the SPIRITS as 2003 unfolds.

We wish to thank you for your continued support as we persist in improving ourselves and our investigative techniques, and as we maintain our efforts to eliminate the misunderstandings associated with the mysterious world of the unknown.

To see more images, read reports, and see the results of  all three Haslam's investigations, please go to the SPIRITS website at:  http://centralflghosts.homestead.com/home.html

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