“So, what do you do for fun?” I asked Brenda Schmidt between bites of dinner. We were on our way to see Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy at the Rialto Theater in Joliet.
“My husband and I hunt ghosts for fun.”
I nearly dropped my fork. Not because I had the reaction that most people do about ghosts–the “let’s not talk about uncomfortable topics” squirm, but because it was a subject I had lived with for many years.
Back in 1977, my parents bought two cottages on Christie Lake in Michigan. Mike, the next door neighbor, told us some stories about the previous occupants, including the original owner, Mr. Eberhart, who died at the end of the pier during a storm.
For many years, I felt Mr. Eberhart’s spirit in the tiny bedroom that I shared with my sister.
When my parents moved the house (literally) across town and built their retirement home on the same spot, Mr. Eberhart settled in. For many years, we were busy with the kids. However, whenever I slept in the “Blue Room,” I felt like he was there.
One day, my father asked me if I believed in ghosts.
I told him yes. I told him I felt Mr. Eberhart’s spirit and that he never left. We compared our stories–the footsteps at night (Dad heard this) and the impossible-to-open closet doors that were left open in the middle of the night. My sister also experienced the open closet doors, so I knew I wasn’t imagining things.
We started sharing the stories with visitors and it made for lively conversations around the fire at night. Then our visitors began experiencing Mr. Eberhart’s antics. Whispers in the ear, “I’m still here,” flashing lights, disappearing items.
My mother never believed any of it. The ghost had a habit of turning on the radio in my boat and draining the battery. I replaced the battery, rewired the boat, and figured the problem was solved.
One evening, I took my mom out for a sunset ride in the boat. When we docked, I made sure she watched me turn off the radio, because my father accused the kids of leaving it on.
We were on the dock when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the radio light turn on.
“Mom, you saw me turn off the radio, right?”
She nodded.
“Well, take a look at the radio now.”
Her mouth dropped open.
Yet, she still didn’t believe in ghosts.
So when Brenda told me that her husband Paul was the president of The Illinois Paranomalists , I had to share the story. I gave them a copy of Totally Scared, which featured the story of the ghost at the lake house.
Could we prove the ghost theory?
Paul was intrigued. He stopped by my house to get a key and headed up to the lake house. He spent several hours there, setting up equipment and recording both audio and visual modes.
The results were pretty clear: the house was haunted. I was finally validated after all the years of sharing “ghost stories.”
I invited Paul to share his experiences:
I am extremely honored that Karen invited me to be a guest on her blog. The hardest thing has been deciding what to write.
Karen writes about finding and following your passion. I have a lifelong passion for the paranormal—resulting in my becoming a ghost hunter.
I grew up reading everything I could on ghosts: Bigfoot, the Bermuda triangle, Loch Ness monster, etc. I enjoyed the fact that there are still mysteries in the world. I dreamed of one day actually seeing one of these mysterious phenomena. Unfortunately, advances in technology have proven many of these supposed mysteries to be nonexistent or in some cases fabricated.
About 11 years ago I realized it was possible to pursue my interests in ghosts when the show “Ghosthunters” first appeared on the SyFy channel. Like many of my ghost hunting friends a light bulb went off and I realized people actually do this stuff.
I began researching and going on “pay to hunt” public hunts. I then joined a club and learned all I could. At the urging of my family I finally formed my own club with a group of friends—The Illinois Paranormalists (TIP). We all love to ghost hunt and have fun together. We’ve explored places like the Rialto Theatre in Joliet, The Eldred house, and the Goldenrod Showboat.
Karen and my wife Brenda are friends and during a dinner conversation my hobby came up. Karen’s family owned a home for many years that they thought was haunted but did not have proof. She invited me to investigate and I jumped at the chance to visit somewhere no one else had ever investigated. (BTW: you’d be surprised how many people tell me they live, work, or know of a haunted location.)
I brought my cameras and recorders and investigated into the night. While I was there, I had some very interesting personal experiences. To me the most interesting thing was actually how my body tingled for at least an hour when I was up in the bedroom that Karen identified as haunted. Karen says the spirit would say “I’m still here” to occasional visitors. I could not believe the reaction of my KII meter when I asked the question “are you still here”. Usually a few additional lights light up, but my meter went crazy with the lights going up and down in a blur. In 20/20 hindsight, I wish I had filmed it with my iPhone. The camera I had in the room was pointed too high to catch it. My recorders however captured a number of unexplained loud noises in the bedroom where the haunting appears to be centered.
Karen was happy to finally have some validation to the experiences she had while in the house over the years.
If you are interested or have more questions, my club has a webpage at www.ghosttip.com and a Facebook page. I want to thank Karen again for giving me this opportunity.
The tools you need for a passionate life: Unwrapping Your Passion