We did this investigation a good while back.
We've been deciding whether to post it online or not. We can't say the date or where it happened for privacy reasons, but we finally felt it needed to be posted. We've learned from it and our main purpose for posting it is so others may learn something as well. We wish it hadn't happened, but it did. So we're taking it as a learning process and to hopefully help teach others as well.

I just now wrote the report and just posted it online.
Be sure to fully read all the info for a full understanding of what was going on and the events of that night.
http://www.ghosttracker.com/evp-04-04-04Possession.html[/URL]

Wow! I'm glad the affected individual is now allright.
I would really love to be able to view pics or footage. Spooky. Maybe some creative editing could make some of it releasable. Thanks for sharing what you could.
That was very interesting. Just goes to show that being careful, & protecting yourself & others is of the utmost importance in these cases. I think you stated that very well & responsibly on your site.
I'm curious how she feels about it now, after the dust has settled? So, you feel it's important to warn others about the dangers of paranormal investigation?...Well, I think you did a nice job, IMHO.

[ April 05, 2004, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: hallowseve ]

Wow is right! Good to hear this is rare. I am also glad my ghostly guests have not had the desire to jump on in.

I too hope she is alright. I agree Hallow it would be great to see some footage. All those orbs on video would have been a good clip. I am also now oh so curious where this place is. The only hint we got was there is a gift shop and you can stay there or close to it (in attached building?). So I guess that narrows it down to a few thousand places.

Thanks Matt, I'm glad you decided to share the story, and agree you did a good job providing ample warning about being careful. One should always protect themself before venturing into the paranormal - even if going for a stroll in a cemetary to take pics or capture EVP's.

Cat =)

Wow!

OK -- I'll admit I didn't listen to the clips - it was enough for me to read the text. Gives me shivers!

Thanks for sharing the information and the reminder about always protecting oneself and keeping an eye on those around you.

Glad to hear your colleague is OK -- must have been harrowing to say the least!

HB

uummmmm .... maybe just a general location of where this place is ... Just so I can stay far away from it.... would hate to stumble into it by accident.

Thanks for the comments.
Hopefully people will share this link and learn from it as we have.

And ya know.. I also feel that it's possible that Spirit very well may have been "guiding" me to post it... because..

We had been wondering whether or not to post it online for awhile.. never really came to a conclusive 'yes' or 'no' though, and then no one mentioned it for a long time.

The other day I had been up all night working on websites and stuff, I was dead tired and decided to finally lay down. As tired as I was though, I couldn't fall asleep for some reason.. I felt like I needed to do something, but had no clue what.. like something was nagging at me, keeping me awake.. I got up and got back on the computer and did some more website editing even though I was VERY tired.. then went and laid down again.. still not able to sleep though.

So I finally got back up again and back on the computer. A few moments later, for no reason, that event popped into my head and I felt the need to finally post it online for public viewing.

I E-Mailed Deb (another member) about feeling the need to finally post it online, about how I feel people can hopefully learn from it as we did if we posted it, and she replied to it the next day. But right after I sent her that E-Mail, I started working on a report to post. I spent the rest of the night working up the report and it was all ready to go online, so I was just waiting for Deb to E-Mail me back with the "Okay, let's post it" or "No, I don't think so, not yet". After writing the report, I laid back down and fell asleep without problems.

The next day Deb E-Mailed me back saying sure, that she felt it was okay to go ahead and post the audio and some info, so I threw the audio and what I had written online.

It's been 3 days since I posted it online.
I've gotten LOADS of E-Mails and comments about it.

For the most part (as I've seen here) people say how freaked out they were just by listening to it and also sympathy towards us for having to go through such a thing. People also mention that our team did a great job with the situation, which I fully believe and am very proud of our team. And most everyone has said 'Thank you' for posting it online, that it's something every investigator or person interested should read and hopefully learn from (which is the main reason I wanted to post it). And of course there's also been a few that think we faked it/computer edited it all together, etc..

For the most part, the E-Mails I've been getting are "Thank You"'s though. I'm glad people are taking it in and using it as a learning process just as we did. Hopefully they'll share the link with any investigators or people interested in ghosts and hauntings that they can (especially people/groups just starting out.. but anyone interested in this stuff can benefit from it).

The girl this happened to is doing better, although she doesn't remember anything from the event, and she's never watched the video or listened to the audio (which is understandable). She's also taken a break from doing investigations for awhile (which is also understandable).

We had a person on a video camera that recorded this whole event, but they were across the room and it was dark. You can see the girl that this was happening to, but not enough to see anything of significance other then her sitting on the floor. We had a video camera set up right next to where she was also (which captured the audio in clip 03 on the site). It wasn't pointing at her though, she was sitting to the side of it. We had gotten a couple orbs here and there through-out the night on it, but at the exact second she started laughing heavy, orbs starting shooting in all directions on that camera. Some were even leaving long trails behind them. Great footage, unfortunally because of privacy issues we can't post it for there being identifiable items from the location in the frame. Maybe in the future at some point we'll be able to post it though. Not sure. That was the only real video of significance captured during that time. All the others were a good distance away from the girl and they just captured the audio of it, no anomalies on video.

We've learned from it and my main purpose for posting it online is so others may learn something as well. We wish it hadn't happened, but it did. So we took it as a learning process and to hopefully help teach others as well.

Matt, I am so glad that you decided to post this online. I think it is very important for people who do investigations of this type to pay close attention to what you are saying. Thanks for thinking of fellow investigators, and giving them the benefit of your lessons learned, and the experience that you had. Every time I replay that laughter in my head, I get goosebumps over my entire body. That is something that rarely happens to me, and usually occurs in connection with intense paranormal / psychic / spiritual events. I do not doubt for a second that this posession happened. The soundtrack had nothing about it that sounded staged in any way to me. I could hear the tension and fear in the voices of the people in the background noises. Those people were showing their true emotion in their voices, and I think you are all to be commended for remaining calm and finding your way out of this place as quickly as possible.

So, ghost hunters and paranormal investigators... stay safe, and be sure to watch out for one another. It is also wise not to go alone, ever! Always make certain to tell someone where your group is headed before you leave home, too. It is always best to have someone who doesn't go with you to know where you are. You have clearly shown that things can go wrong on an investigation, things so bizarre that no one has any experience in dealing with it. It was good that all of you kept your heads, and just got out as quickly as possible.
Kudos to your group, and I am so glad that the young lady is OK now.

Mare

Hi Mare,

Thanks for the kind words, and I totally agree on your comments.

I've updated that page. Scroll down a bit on it and you'll see, in bold yellow text:
"UPDATED
Afterthoughts since posting this report/audio"

Also, alot of people have been asking me about what happened in those 3 minutes between the laughing, and the screaming on the stairway, so I put that audio and info up as well (Clips 04 and 05).

I posted info about it under the bold yellow text labeled:
"What happened in those 3 minutes?"

[ April 07, 2004, 07:07 PM: Message edited by: Matt Ferrell ]

Whoa! I'm glad that everyone is ok! That's quite an investigation. Unfortunately I was unable to listen to the clips. Not sure why, but I keep getting an error after downloading.

You know, you never really think that something like that can happen. I agree that from what I've read you and your entire team handled the whole situation very well.

Thank you for posting...I think it's very important for anyone who does investigations of any kind to know that these things can and on occasion do happen. I know that we have a few people on the board that are interested in ghost hunting and have asked questions on how to go about doing that. I definitely think that your investigation story is a good read for those people inpaticular as you give some very good advice on what to watch out for.

Thanks again Matt!

A few people who deal with this type of stuff on a regular basis have been contacting me, including Andrew Calder in Georgia (you may remember him from being on Ghost Tracker Radio if you ever tuned in). He deals mainly with the "bad ghosts" cases. He has encountered and learned from many possession cases. He gave me some good info that I thought I'd share.

He said that 'spontaneous possession' just doesn't usually happen.. the person had to of either open themselves up to it without being able to handle it.. or they already were attached to this spirit.. like maybe they thought it to be friendly and invited it to come through, etc.. They may not have invited it to come through THEM.. but something as simple as a "Can you make yourself known to me?" may be asking for something you really don't want/can't handle. That's an invite that you may not want to make.

So basically, if you stay safe, you'll be safe. I think this is great info, and I plan to post these E-Mails that I'm getting from these people who have experience in this stuff onto that possession page (with their permission first).

Don't open yourself up if you can't handle it. Alot of researchers go out into the field thinking "Oh! Cool! I'm going to be completely open and I'm going to experience all this cool stuff and maybe even hopefully capture it on photo/video/audio/etc." This is defiantly not the way to think. I believe that to be able to handle this type of stuff, it takes years and years of research and learning on the subject, and even then, you still might not be able to handle it. If you open yourself up and can't handle it, things like what happened that night may happen.

And still again, alot of researchers also go out to these haunted locations going "Okay! Show me you're here! Do something! Let me know you're here!".. this is again opening yourself up. You may be asking for something you may not like.

I think this info is VERY important and ghost researchers/investigators everywhere should know it.

Go in, try to capture your evidence, then leave. Simple as that.
Don't try to make it anything more then that if you can't handle it, because you may get what you seek.. something "more then that".

I'll make it unanimous.....WOW!

Like HB I too didn't have the nerve to listen to the clips.....just reading the text was enough for me!

Thanks for the "Head's-Up" about protecting oneself Matt!


I have next week off. Since I'm from NYC I was thinking about getting over to Ground Zero at the World Trade Center with a recorder to see if I could get any EVP's......think I'll pass on that for awhile until I get a little more experience.....

Matt, I finally had time to listen to the clips. Wow! I also am very glad you found a way to post as much as you have. Whether you investigate to prove or disprove hauntings, go with respect and seriousness. You never know what you will run into from the living or dead.

I know you said the girl was taking a break from investigations, but do you think she will ever subject herself to that again?

Thank you again for making the decision to go ahead and post this.

Matt, I'm so sorry for your group. I am a investigator myself and we try to protect yourseves but like you said you never know when this may happen. I appreciate you posting it for all to read. I couldnt get the audio to work and would like to listen to it. I'm glad the girl is ok and I don't blame her one bit for taking a little time off. Thanks again for posting.

Matt, I finally got a chance to listen to the audio....WOW! I got like insane goosebumps! kudos to you for the way that everything was handled! I don't know that i would have had the same cool head. I am glad that everyone is fine. Thanks so much for sharing this with everyone!!!!

Thanks for the replies.
People have been E-Mailing me and mentioned on message boards about not believing, that they "don't buy it", that it's nothing and something was just wrong with the girl, etc..

So I thought I'd post this here as well:
The girl this happened to was tested and examined a number of times, but nothing was found to cause what happened that night. Also, Jeff (founder of Ghost Tracker) was there that night as well with us as this was happening. He's a Firefighter/Paramedic and has been for over 15 years. From being there and seeing what was going on first hand, he didn't have an answer for what was happening to her.

I respect and understand others "not buying it". I totally agree with the fact that all we can show is audio, and just hearing audio makes it hard for some to believe or totally understand what was going on since they weren't there at the time. You have to respect others opinions in this line of work because there's just as many opinions and people out there that buy it, as there are that don't buy it.

We're not out to change peoples beliefs (and alot of people won't believe anythig they see/hear/read online, or usually people won't believe until something happens to them, and even when it does, they still may not believe). We do our research/investigations and post our findings because we do believe that "something" is happening. We share what we learn for those that believe, to help get a better understanding of what that "something" is, and to hopefully help others doing this research. If we didn't share our findings and even our experiences, there would be no point in the research and investigation, we wouldn't be getting anywhere. We're here for those people that believe, to help get a better understanding of that belief. We're not here to try to change peoples beliefs.

From the investigations into the person this happened to, examinations, past history, etc.. we didn't find anything to cause what happened to her that night.

From the investigations into the location, we found loads that confirmed what happened that night. From our data collected, to other peoples reports, to other activity that happened that night, to past investigations there that we've done showing that the place does have odd events going on (past investigations showed nothing of this nature though), to other people being called in to try and cleanse the place, to other peoples reports (who had no idea of this event or what happened to us there) mentioning an uneasiness in the exact same area this happened to us at, to tour guides there (who I said nothing about this event to for the privacy reasons) talking to me about a "very angry male spirit" they feel is there, that follows them, and that they have even seen, etc..

I believe something is going on there. There's too much data to just throw out and say nothing is going on. From our personal investigations there over the years, to other peoples personal reports (some even verifying what happened to us that night, but they didn't know anything of the event), to physical activity (things being moved around) when no on is in the building, to things that happened to us that night (besides what happened to the girl) that we can't explain, etc.

Even if what happened to the girl is totally explainable.. to many other things are going on there.. which makes me believe that something is there. This is one of the reasons I'd LOVE to get a group in there that's experenced in this part of the research.. but we can't, it's not our decision to make.

I didn't post this info/audio to make people believe. I didn't post it to scare people. I posted it because I feel it can help others. From the people I know and have talked to that deal with this type of thing (the "bad" ghosts).. some of them have been in this field for over 30 years. They gave me advice (which I posted on that page). Info about possession cases they've delt with in the past. Things they've researched and learned from. Don't be too open if you can't handle it, don't form an attachment that may allow spirit to come through if you can't handle it (Like using a ouija board, or something as simple as saying "can you make yourself known" or "can you let me know you're here"..) those are all invitations and you may be asking for more then you can handle.

I could have just posted the info from that night, with the warnings.. but for most that may not have been enough. Because of the privacy thing, we couldn't post alot.. but I decided to post the audio as well so people could at least hear. I didn't post it to scare people, but for some that may be what it takes to get the info and warnings I posted into their heads. I posted the info so others will hopefully take it in and learn as we did. There was just so much going on that night (and nights after that as well) to just say that it was nothing, and nothing paranormal was going on there. Even if you take what happened to the girl out of the picture, still.. alot has happened there.

The girl this happened to was taking metaphysical classes at the time. She was learning to be more open to what was around her. I think she was a bit too open and wasn't able to control it yet. Whatever was there took advantage of that. Her being tired I feel played a role as well because her guard was down.

I feel the info we learned and that I posted is something all paranromal researchers should keep in mind. If you don't believe it, that's fine. In a way, that's your guard. It's what helps keep you safe. But the researchers who go out hoping for something to happen to them, and go out all open, and asking spirit to do something, etc.. If they can't handle it and something does come through with malicious intent, it could turn out bad. Those are the people who I worry about. Those are the people I posted that info for. Those are the people I'm hoping will read and learn as we did. Those are the people I'm hoping will stay safe through what I've posted.

Someone also mentioned to me about how maybe just researching/investigating can be opening yourself up.. and that the best way to stay safe is to just not "ghost hunt" at all..

Thought I'd share my idea on this here as well:
There always is a risk in researching/investigating the unknown. I agree that there's a risk in just being out there looking for this stuff.

But from research and reports (some from people who have spent 30+ years in this field that I've talked to), just looking is usually safe for most people. It's when they try to do more then just capture photo/video/audio/meter readings/etc.. that may cause unwanted results. It's one thing to set up a camera and let it record, then review it later on, and other thing to sit there and invite something to make itself known.

It's like trying to take video of a lion at a zoo. Usually you're behind the barrier seprating you and the lion.. looking through it. That's your guard. That's what helps keep you safe. You can take photos and video all you want, but as long as your guard is up, you'll hopefully be safe. It's when you want to take it further then that.. that's when things could get messy. It's when you want to interact with the lion that you may be asking for more then you want. The lion may be nice, or may be mean. When you let that guard down and go to try and interact, being wide open.. you don't know if you'll be able to pet the lion easily, or get hurt. People who train to deal with lions can do it because they know how to control what's happening. People that don't though are better off just staying behind the barrier (keeping their guard up) and just taking photos, video, etc.

Saying "Show me you're here" or "Let me know you're here" or "Do something so I can see", etc.. these are all invitations. I used to do this alot too! and sometimes would get results, whether it be audio on EVP, or anomalies on video. But, In a way it's just as bad as using a ouija board if you can't handle it. It's opening that doorway (inviting them through) and leaving it wide open for whatever may come in. That doorway is your guard in a way. If you leave your front door wide open in your house, inviting whoever walks by to come on in.. for the most part you'll probably get good people coming in (or the good ones may not come in at all, since they don't even know you).. but there also may be the "bad" person that may decide to take advantage of that open doorway and invitation.

I mentioned EVP a minute ago and that brings up another question.. Is asking them questions (trying to interact and get answers) also bad? Hmm.. I think that as long as you don't let your guard down and invite them to make their self known other then answering questions if they want.. just asking their name and stuff should be safe. Going back to the lion idea.. it'd be like standing behind the barrier (keeping your guard up) with your recorder and asking the lion to growl. As long as you keep that guard up, you should be okay. It's when you go around to the side and open the gate wide open (dropping your guard) asking the lion to come up and play and make itself known known that you may run into trouble.

[ April 15, 2004, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: Matt Ferrell ]

As far as people believing... or not.... some people don't want to believe... it is like it goes against everything they have been taught growing up. That ghosts and spirits are a fantasy of books and Hollywood. Some feel that Ghost Hunting is the same as the Occult... and they fear persecution from their churches. I know from personal experience ... its not a good idea to bring the subject up in front of your pastor.. LOL ... needless to say I got a lengthy sermon. It is totally ok for those who choose4 not to believe .. and for those of us who do... just like politics .. everyone does not think or have the same ideas. There are skeptics about everything... my wife's grnadfather is 87 years old and he still does not believe that man has walked on the moon... he says it was staged. Nothing you can say to him will change his mind about this. For many years growing up I was afraid of the dark, afraid of ghosts of the Hollywood kind that would spark nightmares. I learned in my years of maturing that my fears could be overcome by facing them. I cured my fear of heights by climbing around on cliffs in my 20's .. also I overcame my fear of the dark ... by camping alone ... and discovering the biggest thing to fear in the woods at night was my own mind playing tricks on me... as it did the same when I was younger... waking up screaming ..because mom's housecoat hung on the back of the door .. and the air conditioner was making it move... to a lil kid just waking up that was a floating headless ghost reaching for me. I became interested in the ghost hunting field when I caught something on film I could not explain.. and sent the image to a website .. since that time I have capured many orbs and misty "things" in pics ... have communicated with orbs just as I would be talking to someone alive... and had them respond to me ... not all orbs are dust.. though many are. But if I sense that someone is not comfortable with the paranormal I will not persue it with them. Although it is kind of funny ... when they look at like I have two heads and six arms and start slowly backing away from me.

Always keep your guard up is the best rule ... if your guard becomes weak do not proceed....
You would not launch a boat with a leak and expect to stay afloat ... would you?

Gee Alan sounds like you were afraid of the boogey man under the bed like a lot of us were. The dark can sure play tricks on your eyes when you are a kid (even now sometimes). Thing of it is I would bet that some of those times it wasn't always your eyes playing a trick but actually seeing what was truly there.

I can relate with you on the holding back when talking with others that have that stunned deer in the headlight look when talking on the subjects of paranormal. Things like the paranormal are not always tangible or explainable and not part of everyday discussions and media events. That leads to that uncomfort zone for many. In some cultures it is part of everyday discussion and even teachings in schools. They embrace the fact that there is more to this existence and that our soul travels and exists in different realms/dimensions.

I agree always keep your guard up. Would like to hear more about your experience with talking to orbs if you care to share.

Cat =)

Here ya go Cat ... the pics are gone thanks to Village photo ... but here you will find my post about it. Orb Post[/URL]

hello...
I can't seem to be able to listen to the clips. I got the computor to open it, and it took the normal time...Then it disappeared. So Í searched the computor for it, and found it. But it won't open, no matter what. Tried to delete it, but it wouldn't do that either. Tried to open it again on the webpage, but it refused to do that. Any tips on how to get it working?

/wilhelmina