...so Dusty D dashed off to do a bout of research in the Archives for one last thing.
Man, is that place creepy when you're alone there.
Dusty D busily checked the microfilm for her target date and stared determinedly at the tiny text. Now, DD is a steely-eyed, iron-stomached, copper-toed realist. I don't cotton to all that ghost nonsense, nosir.
Not too much, anyways.
DD ignored what appeared to be flickers out of the corner of her eye (just my imagination) and a feeling of being watched (bah, indigestion or something).
Then the microfilm drawer closed by itself.
Which it has never done in my frequent use of it in the past.
"Ha ha, how odd!" Dusty D cheerfully thought while leisurely gathering her things at about 95 mph. "Must just be a hidden spring or something, yes, that's it of course," she meditated, while setting the security code in a blaze of fingers and springing like a springbok up the steps. "Funny thing, that."
Showing posts with label ghost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghost. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Highland Cemetery Ghost Photo?
This photo was taken in Highland Cemetery last Saturday night while ghost- hunting. SLAPS member Jennifer says, "Here is the picture that we took when Gerry started yelling that the car was moving. It was taken by our ghost hunter T."
This photo was taken in the extreme southwest section of Highland Cemetery.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ghost-Hunting in Highland Cemetery
The South Lyon Area Paranormal Society generously invited Dusty D to ghost-hunt in Highland Saturday night. We met there at 10 p.m., entering the caretaker's driveway.Jennifer told the caretakers we were there, and I chatted with SLAPS member Scott, who demonstrated his military-style flashlight, purchased from Harry's Army Surplus. Another SLAPS member unloaded a handheld temperature probe and a tape recorder from their vehicle.
We spoke verbal introductions to any nearby spirits, stated our names, and Jennifer told them we were not here to threaten them but only to communicate if they wished.
We set out along the main southward path. A tiny white and black cat was following us, and Jennifer shone the temperature probe's red laser pointer on the ground, playing with the cat, who pounced on and chased it. Periodically Jennifer turned around and called, "Hello? Anyone there?" We froze and listened. "I thought I heard someone following us," she stated. I didn't hear anything. We continued walking.
The group's psychic, Jerry, and another SLAPS member took the car and ventured to a part of the cemetery Jerry wished to visit. Jennifer showed me Carrie Hardy's grave--and the grave of her husband Ervin, who she'd married late in life! This was astonishing, and I felt privileged to see Carrie's grave and quietly stand and pay my respects for a moment.
Jennifer tested the temperature probe on some of the markers, a tree, and a mausoleum. In each case the objects were about 5 degrees warmer than the air temperature, since they retained heat for some time after sundown; I found this interesting. The probe is to test for the "cold spots" that some associate with spirits.
The denouement of the night came at the southern end of the park. Jennifer was showing me another set of Hardy graves from another branch of the family. Jerry was in the car about 200 feet away down the path.
Suddenly one SLAPS member whirled around and stared at the car. "Is Jerry all right?" she said nervously. One half second later, Jerry yelled, "The car's moving! The car's moving!" He was sitting in the 2nd row of seats and couldn't get to the brake pedal.
Jennifer ran to the car, leaped in, and stopped it. Later she said, "I could see it moving when I got to the car." No one was hurt, but Jerry was very agitated. He said he had seen a menacing figure in a black cape who had spoken to him. The figure said, "You will be sorry."
Well, that put an end to walking around in a pitch-dark cemetery. We all piled into the car and drove around the back part of the cemetery. The other SLAPS member said, "I've never said that before--'is Jerry all right'; but I just felt you were in trouble." Jerry repeated his story, and we were all a bit spooked. A consensus that the ghost-hunt was over was unanimously reached and we drove back to the caretaker's house, piled out, said goodbyes, and left. It was midnight.
Dusty D did not pick up any vibes from walking through the cemetery, but I don't think I have an ability to see or detect ghosts if they exist, and I was there with my sweetie and so wasn't concerned. The cemetery at night is beautiful and a tad spooky in a pleasant gothic manner, and I very much enjoyed my time there with the very nice SLAPS members. It was an interesting and fun new experience; thank you, SLAPS!
Note: The photo is not mine, but another photo of Highland altered to suggest night.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Are There Ghosts in the Museum?
The Archives' "Obituary Room" lies apart from the main archives area, where visitors stop by with questions, chat with the Archives helpers, and quietly peruse items on the big public conference table.
Ducking under the low brick arch, so low it regularly whacks one 6'5" former wrestler and Archives helper, the explorer of the Obituary Room enters a silent chamber. One obituary file silently slides open to reveal hundreds of index cards. Historians from decades past have helped amass these tiny records of former Ypsilantians.
"You'll learn, as you look at these cards, who made mistakes and who cut corners," advised Archives helper J., as I began adding new obituary cards today. Some cards show spidery pencil handwriting. Others have yellowed newspaper clippings glued on. Others have ambiguous old handwriting leaving the visitor wondering, "is that a W...or a D...?"
"
Absorbed in delving through the thousands of tiny cards, the visitor senses that the room gets even quieter than silence. The light looks oddly harsh. The opened drawer of cards suddenly seems like a crowd at a party, with each card with something to say. The temperature drops. In the corner of your eye--er, what was that?
Are there ghosts in the museum?
Three paranormal groups have investigated the Museum and Archives. Here is a recent report from the South Lyon Paranormal Society. Transcript below (click on image for larger version).
"We came on the 27th of March. We came at 9 p.m. and investigated until around 1 a.m. We had some very interesting experiences while we are there. Jennifer who is the historian and ghost hunter, saw a woman for a quick second by the piano in the parlor. Cam who is a ghost hunter heard a knock on the attic door and heard the door open a bit behind him. However, these are just personal experiences and we have only our stories to prove these things ever happened. However we did get some photographs with some interesting things in them.
"One of the best ones was when we were up in the attic looking down the stairs at the open door. In the open door are two white balls, which we believe are orbs. We sometime say the balls of light are not those; however there was a picture taken after the white balls were gone, when it is dust it stays around to the next picture.
"We had a fun time at the museum and would love to come back. On us saying it is haunted or not, we believe that it might be. We didn't get any sounds, however hte pictures say a lot. But who ever is here was very shy when we were there.
"They were around but stayed one step ahead of us.
"Thank you,
"South Lyon Paranormal Society."
Ducking under the low brick arch, so low it regularly whacks one 6'5" former wrestler and Archives helper, the explorer of the Obituary Room enters a silent chamber. One obituary file silently slides open to reveal hundreds of index cards. Historians from decades past have helped amass these tiny records of former Ypsilantians.
"You'll learn, as you look at these cards, who made mistakes and who cut corners," advised Archives helper J., as I began adding new obituary cards today. Some cards show spidery pencil handwriting. Others have yellowed newspaper clippings glued on. Others have ambiguous old handwriting leaving the visitor wondering, "is that a W...or a D...?"
"
Absorbed in delving through the thousands of tiny cards, the visitor senses that the room gets even quieter than silence. The light looks oddly harsh. The opened drawer of cards suddenly seems like a crowd at a party, with each card with something to say. The temperature drops. In the corner of your eye--er, what was that?
Are there ghosts in the museum?
Three paranormal groups have investigated the Museum and Archives. Here is a recent report from the South Lyon Paranormal Society. Transcript below (click on image for larger version).
"We came on the 27th of March. We came at 9 p.m. and investigated until around 1 a.m. We had some very interesting experiences while we are there. Jennifer who is the historian and ghost hunter, saw a woman for a quick second by the piano in the parlor. Cam who is a ghost hunter heard a knock on the attic door and heard the door open a bit behind him. However, these are just personal experiences and we have only our stories to prove these things ever happened. However we did get some photographs with some interesting things in them."One of the best ones was when we were up in the attic looking down the stairs at the open door. In the open door are two white balls, which we believe are orbs. We sometime say the balls of light are not those; however there was a picture taken after the white balls were gone, when it is dust it stays around to the next picture.
"We had a fun time at the museum and would love to come back. On us saying it is haunted or not, we believe that it might be. We didn't get any sounds, however hte pictures say a lot. But who ever is here was very shy when we were there.
"They were around but stayed one step ahead of us.
"Thank you,
"South Lyon Paranormal Society."
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Ypsilanti Museum Attic
If the Ypsilanti Museum is "the city's attic," what is the Museum's own attic?
Unsettling.
"I was going up here the other day," Archives helper J. told me as we rested, winded, on the third floor before ascending to the attic. "I got up there, and I could have sworn I heard something. I said, 'Hello?'" And I swear, clear as day, I heard a voice from the corner say, "Hello."
J. related this story just as my foot had touched the first step of the stairway leading up to the attic. My foot froze on the stair. Just the previous week a team of ghosthunters had combed the Museum with electronica and flashlights. They'd got a recording that two Archives helpers verified they'd later heard on tape--the voice of a man saying "Help me."
One helper emailed me later to say,
Yes, the one group did record something that sounds like a male voice saying "Help me." We do not know who it could be, but a Robert Burns died in the house, January 12, 1921. the most activity occurred when his name was used. I did feel two cold spots during the investigation, one in the second floor dress room, and the other at the table in the archives room. Whatever it was seemed to feel more comfortable near me than with the others. The presence seemed more male than female. We may have more than one ghost in the house. When two of the investigators walked through the kitchen their k-2 device lit up. They asked if the ghost wanted to talk to them, once for no and twice for yes. The device lit up once. So they left.
I had to stop in at the archives the next day, or I might never have been able to enter the building again.
Unsettling.
"I was going up here the other day," Archives helper J. told me as we rested, winded, on the third floor before ascending to the attic. "I got up there, and I could have sworn I heard something. I said, 'Hello?'" And I swear, clear as day, I heard a voice from the corner say, "Hello."
J. related this story just as my foot had touched the first step of the stairway leading up to the attic. My foot froze on the stair. Just the previous week a team of ghosthunters had combed the Museum with electronica and flashlights. They'd got a recording that two Archives helpers verified they'd later heard on tape--the voice of a man saying "Help me."
One helper emailed me later to say,
Yes, the one group did record something that sounds like a male voice saying "Help me." We do not know who it could be, but a Robert Burns died in the house, January 12, 1921. the most activity occurred when his name was used. I did feel two cold spots during the investigation, one in the second floor dress room, and the other at the table in the archives room. Whatever it was seemed to feel more comfortable near me than with the others. The presence seemed more male than female. We may have more than one ghost in the house. When two of the investigators walked through the kitchen their k-2 device lit up. They asked if the ghost wanted to talk to them, once for no and twice for yes. The device lit up once. So they left.
I had to stop in at the archives the next day, or I might never have been able to enter the building again.
