I decided to write this article about a few of the most interesting investigations that Quest Paranormal Society has completed. The cases, evidence and personal experiences all come from the Quest files. The first major investigation Quest had completed was the Overlook mansion. This investigation started out very interesting to say the least. We set up a walk through of the mansion as part of our preliminary meeting with the client. As we were taking our walk through we encountered some of the most chilling cold spots I have ever felt in one location. These cold spots were so strong that I immediately thought the air conditioning unit was running. To my surprise I found out that there is no air conditioning system in this mansion. The temperature that day was 72. The owner told us that she encountered cold spots, shadow figures, strange noises, voices, sounds of something running through the hallways and footsteps up and down the stairs. We set up a preliminary investigation after doing some historical research of the mansion. Our preliminary investigations usually last three to four hours. The investigating team for the preliminary investigation consisted of Jamie Black, Elaine DeAngelo and I. We began the preliminary investigation at the Overlook mansion at 8:00 PM. We decided to start our investigation in the Sternberg Suite. Guests and the owner have said that this room is very active. The mansion had been locked down. We were the only human occupants in the mansion, which is 7000 square feet. We recorded the baseline EMF and temperature readings of the room. Elaine started her EVP session and she asked, “Can you make a noise?” She received a direct response with a loud bang. I positioned myself right inside the door of the suite. I was filming Elaine and Jamie conducting their EVP session with one of our mini digital video recorders with night shot and an infrared light bar. The camera was mounted on a tripod. I heard what sounded like someone walking as I was filming from the hallway behind me. I immediately went out the suite door into the hallway looked and did not see anything. I then heard what sounded like movement going up the staircase. The staircase was to my left. I moved directly toward the noise that I was hearing. When I approached the staircase, what I witnessed was a dark shadow quickly dart up the steps. The shadow was much darker than the natural dark from the hallway and staircase. The shadow did not have a distinctive shape. It appeared to tumble quickly up the stairs. We also captured the classic EVP “you’re a devil “that night. As Quest returned to the Overlook mansion for follow up investigations we captured many Class A EVPs. We captured a strange mist on our hard-wired infrared camera system. Quest team members reported various personal experiences during the investigations such as hair touched, ears flicked, cold spots and hearing voices in the mansion. The next investigation I am going to discuss is Bube’s Brewery. Quest had the opportunity to meet with Jean Ellis the ghost tour guide at Bube’s Brewery and the owner Sam Allan. We learned of the history of Bube’s Brewery and the activity that some were experiencing in the establishment. We completed an overnight investigation of the brewery and we deployed all of our equipment. We set up an electronic net with audio and video equipment planted throughout the brewery in the most active locations. We captured multiple Class A EVPs including an EVP saying, “get out” captured in the lower catacombs on a ghost box. We also captured EVPs saying, “Who’s that” and “turn off the light”. We captured strange spheres of light moving through the Alois Bar on our hard-wired infrared camera system. Quest team members reported hearing sounds of footsteps in the third floor of the Central Hotel, which connects to the brewery. The Quest team members also reported strange sounds and major temperature changes throughout the investigation. Quest had the privilege of hosting a live event at Bube’s Brewery. This was a showcase investigation where the public could investigate with Quest team members. We captured an EVP from this investigation that once again tells Quest team members “you get out”. The most interesting aspect of this case is that we captured multiple EVPs of the same disembodied voice on two different types of audio equipment. The disembodied voice tells us the same thing on different investigations at the brewery. The examples of this are “get out“, “you get out” and “go home“.

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The next case I am going to discuss is a private residence. This client contacted Quest to help him get some answers as to what he was experiencing in his home. We set up a preliminary meeting. We learned of all the activity and where it was located in the dwelling. The activity was also seen and experienced by family members and friends. This case really touched me on a personal level. When I decided to co-found Quest Paranormal Society with Elaine DeAngelo I made it a priority to help anyone I can with any paranormal activity. I pledged to conduct the most professional scientific investigation I can and put the client in touch with professionals who can assist them. I also wanted to have society where a person can feel comfortable contacting us and not have to worry or to be afraid to discuss their claims. When this client contacted us, he put his faith in Quest and I took this very serious. We did an overnight investigation to start this case as opposed to doing a preliminary investigation. The reason for this is when we attended the preliminary meeting at the client’s home during the interview I took baseline EMF and temperature readings. I also recorded the interview so I had the information I needed to deploy the equipment. I captured an EVP upon reviewing the recording from the client’s interview. This was the first time I have ever had this happen on a case. This made my decision to go ahead with a full-scale investigation. The investigation was very active. We captured multiple Class A EVPs . They included responses such as “trapped“, “help me” and “Anna“. This case required us to return for a second full scale investigation on the request of the client. He asked us to validate the activity once again and get rid of it. I decided to deploy some new investigative techniques and equipment that Quest has invented and added to our arsenal of tools. We completed the second investigation at this location. We once again captured multiple Class A EVPs, strange noises, voices and equipment battery drain. Elaine and Lisa cleansed the entire home upon completion of the investigation. I hope you have enjoyed some of our experiences. Please continue to visit our website for more new and exciting paranormal investigations!

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Have you ever seen a ghost? Do you believe in ghosts? Do ghosts really exist? Is there anything such as an evil spirit? Do you believe that an orb is positive photographic evidence of a ghostly presence? Categorically, my answers to those questions are, in order: Yes, yes, yes, no, and I don’t know. Realistically, the answers would be, in order: I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, and I don’t know. In the 35 years that I have been investigating and interviewing in the pursuit of ghost stories, I have (I think) seen many ghosts; I believe (for the most part) that ghosts really do exist; I can dismiss (generally) the notion of evil spirits; and discredit (almost always) orbs as evidence of entities. This may lead you to believe that even after spending more than half of my life researching and writing about haunted places, I remain pitifully naive about it all; that I am entrenched in an archaic methodology; and that I am unaccepting of “technology” that has enabled anyone with a couple hundred dollars’ worth of gadgets and gizmos to detect or debunk the existence of ghosts. But mine is not to detect or debunk. If anything, mine is to debate all of that. I consider myself not pitifully naive, but blissfully agnostic about the existence of ghosts. And, I further believe, that is altogether fitting, proper, and necessary. Indeed, I have seen, sensed, smelled, and heard ghosts. Of that I have at once no doubt and every doubt. I have taken hundreds of pictures of thousands of orbs and mists and fogs and figures and forms, and have received and recorded innumerable audio excerpts that have come to be called Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP. Can I embrace each of those and all of that and close my phantasmal files forever? In no way. Those cases shall ever be cold, unresolved, and unsolved. What, after all, is the point of “proving” that ghosts exist? What is achieved by claiming that science–or pseudo science–trumps sensitivity? Who among us is at all qualified to pass judgment? Who among us can set the standards, declare the parameters, and make the rules of “ghost hunting?” Certainly not I. I have found that when dealing with the paranormal, the questions are many and the answers are few.

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There are many variables to consider when authenticating orbs in order to classify them as paranormal. I am a paranormal investigator and have captured many orbs on camera. Deeming orbs ghostly in nature or paranormal requires one to eliminate all the natural explanations for the anomaly. Field research has led me to the conclusion that a valid earthly explanation makes up about 90% of orb analysis. Shuffling your feet on a carpet kicks up dust and fibers. Snap a digital picture and you have orbs. Another example I can use is taking a picture at night when it is raining. Try this and you will see that the rain drops produce beautiful orbs. You should always take into account the kind of environment you are investigating. Most old buildings, factories, and even residential properties can house plaster dust, paint chips, sawdust, drywall dust, etc. Another interesting cause for orbs in a location is moisture, condensation, and humidity. A moisture tablet makes a colorful orb but it is simply moisture in the atmosphere. You also have the orbs created by insects of course. I am not trying to say that all orbs are not paranormal. There are some balls or spheres of bright solid white lights caught on digital video or digital still cameras that can be deemed paranormal. On a previous investigation one of the investigators caught an orb moving in an intelligent pattern on digital video. The solid white and bright ball of light moved in an upward motion from an investigator’s arm up to the investigator’s head. It then moved in a straight line out the frame. This light was not fluttering as if it were an insect. There was no evidence at the location of insects in the room where this video was captured. I will continue to diligently investigate the 10% of orbs that cannot be explained away.

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