StanJanParanormal

July 14, 2011

Staying the night in one of the rooms at the Amargosa Opera House was the intended highlight of a trip to Death Valley. The Opera House lies just outside the entrance to the National Park at Death Valley Junction. Originally a "company town" built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1923, the structure was leased in 1967 by artist Marta Becket. She spent years hand-painting murals inside the Opera House. Then, in 1974 she launched non-profit preservation for the property. The murals inside the Opera House are visually impressive, as are the murals in the hotel rooms. In our room, Becket had painted the headboard on the wall, and from a distance, you could not tell that it wasn't an actual headboard. You had to walk up and touch it to be certain.

 Paranormal activity has been reported in the Opera House for many years, and Billy Tolley used to host ghost hunts here before joining Zak Bagan's Ghost Adventure team. As for us, we captured some insect activity on camera that, at the time, we thought was something, but not so much now that we have more experience. We were granted access to what is known as "Sleepy Hollow," a part of the structure closed to the public, which is decrepit. In low light conditions, I witnessed an orb with my naked eye dive in front of me to the floor. As it moved, it flipped over, which gave me the impression that it was more like a phonograph record shape than a sphere. We captured no other substantial activity. At this time in the early hunts, we used background music as we tried to mimic television shows. We quickly grew out of that.

July 14, 2011

The same video as above except posted in 240px low resolution for cell phone usage.

Sept 14, 2012

Situated in Old Town San Diego, the Cosmopolitan has a rich history of reported paranormal activity.  Room 11 is reported to be the hot spot for that activity, with reports of guests claiming that they hear and feel a "ghost cat" in bed with them.  We experienced no such activity in room 11 and questioned the authenticity of those reports as a marketing ploy.  We noted that the upstairs room carries a premium while offering a view of the A/C unit.  However, even though we experienced nothing in the room, while in the lobby, I did witness the overhead lobby chandelier turn off and on.  The occurrence repeated itself upon verbal request while I filmed.  The present manager walked me back to the lighting switch in another building locked up while explaining that it was a security safeguard.  The light switch is in a separate building so that a robber can not switch the lights off.  It was an exceptional occurrence and one of the few times I have witnessed electrical manipulation directly.

Sept. 14, 2012

While staying at the Cosmopolitan in Old Town, we took Michael Brown's tour of Pioneer Park above the Old Town area.  We had taken one of Michael's tours once before.  The first time was on our honeymoon in April 2007.  However, we were just curiosity seekers and had no equipment; we found the tour, which weaved through the closed structures of the shops in Old Town, to be exhilarating and pushed us into the investigative field. 

This private tour was of Pioneer Park, a San Diego park that served as a cemetery until the gravestones were removed and the city overlaid it with topsoil.  The city of San Diego turned the graveyard into a baseball field, while no graves were ever reinterned.   There are still at least 1800 people buried under this park while kids play in it and hold ball games.  Headstones were indiscriminately thrown into the ravine bordering the park and freeway.  Brown showed us his areas in the park where he picks up constant undefined metered EMF activity.  The park was a fantastic hunt, and I hope to return with better equipment soon.  If in the Old Town area, I recommend Brown's tours.  Usually, there is a fold-out placard in the restaurant area of Old Town advertising his tours with his phone number for contact.

Oct. 31-Nov 4, 2012

The ocean liner Queen Mary sits at a permanent dock in Long Beach, California, rendered inoperational.  This ship has also been rumored to have tons of paranormal activity, and indeed it does.  On this, our first hunt here,  the surveillance unit captured something moving through the room that the DVR could not make sense of and squared off the edges.  It appeared purple on the monitor, like a square cloud.  When it passed over the cameras, it created a rainbow effect of the entire room, the likes of which I can not explain, nor can anyone else who has ever tried.  Upon returning to Las Vegas, an electrical engineering tech analyzed the DVR and cameras and found them to operate within normal parameters.  As a last attempt to debunk this capture, we reformatted the drive and copied a new date over it to determine if the recording sector had malfunctioned.  The surveillance unit, after formatting, was used on many more hunts and never showed signs of a bad sector or any other malfunction.

This is the best video capture we have ever made.  There was also constant EMF activity in the holds of the vessel and hallways of the ship.  While walking one hallway, an overhead sign swung down and almost hit me for no apparent reason.  Unfortunately, we did not have the camera running at that time.

The same video as above except posted in 240 resolution during the time when cell phone usage required lower resolution.

Oct 31-Nov 4, 2012

The color spectrum as the purple shadow passed through our surveillance cam during an investigation of the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, California as compared to X-ray imagery captured by Nasa's NuStar spectroscopic camera array.  NASA includes a breakdown as to the elements that the various colors of the spectrum represent when captured by X-ray. (Actual capture of the Queen Mary anomaly was on Nov 2, 2012.)

May 14, 2015

Possible EVP of propeller sounds captured in our room during an investigation of the Queen Mary in 2012.  The hum of the ship's props has not been heard since this ship hit the dry dock and was gutted.  The hum was a curiosity discovered on review but could have been generated from other sounds coming through the hull, such as the air conditioning units on the lower level.   (Actual capture was Nov. 2, 2012, during the four-day investigation)

April 24, 2016

This investigation of the Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula allowed us to personally witness and record on surveillance one of the alleged haunted activities, that being claims of a closet door in room 307 that opens on its own during the night. We captured it opening on its own on the surveillance and then tried for over an hour jumping on the floor and banging on the wall next to it to get it to repeat.  We could not get it to repeat through physical manipulation.  It  was a fascinating capture. Some other minor activity included odd scents in the room, but alas....no apparitions as we had hoped there would be.

April 25, 2016

Online sources claim that the old William S. Hart ranch has some paranormal activity, so we popped for the tour, which required climbing a pretty good size hill to get up to the ranch house.  Beautiful views abound of the valley from up there, but be aware that you must bring your own water and in the summer heat it can be a scorcher. No activity was observed and we didn't whip out any EMF detectors or other equipment that might have made the docent feel uncomfortable.  There is a police guy that follows the tour around. The park docent was nice enough to say that picture captures and video was encouraged.  (You should always ask beforehand, as if you don't have permission, a posting site such as YouTube can claim copyright infringement of another by you as you photographed paintings and such hanging on the walls.)  Don't touch the walls or artifacts or the police guy that follows you around will bounce you back out, as Jan almost found out when she leaned against a wall. 

Sept. 23, 2016

Calico Ghost Town, near Yermo, California.  Once owned by Walt Disney, the town is now a tourist trap with buildings redone as gift shops.  Nevertheless, it is outdoor fun for all of the family, and there is even a perimeter train ride for a fee.  There are two pay-for ghost tours that you can sign up to take, the Old School House tour and the Maggie Mine Tour.  Both tours take place at night after the park is closed to other guests.  This video is of the Maggie Mine tour.  You may get some video captures on this tour as it is the kind of tour you would expect to capture it on.   Be forwarned, however..no equipment of any kind other than a camera and flashlight is permitted.   You can take a four-hour private mine tour, but it was too pricey for our taste.  We didn't get any captures except that Jan got a painful scratch on her leg (small, about one inch long), which she said just came about and that she did not bump into anything.  It was the first time either of us had gotten scratched on tour, and by the time we left the mine, the scratch had disappeared and could not be photographed.   It is my theory that paranormal scratches are microwave burns.

Sept. 23, 2016

Calico Ghost town, an old west town (once owned by Walt Disney) near Yermo, California, is the site of two after-hour ghost tours: the Old School House and the Maggie Mine tour.   The Maggie Mine tour video is just before this one in the video postings.  Be aware that no devices, EMF detectors, or electronic equipment other than cameras and flashlights are permitted on either tour  (that sucks).   This video is about the hunt inside the old schoolhouse at night with limited lighting.  No activity was recorded or felt, but it was pretty warm inside, all scrunched together sitting at old 1800-style kids' desks.  It was also fun to experience.   Be forewarned that if you opt for these tours during the warm months, carry a flashlight as the rattlesnakes don't seem to care if you are on tour or not.  You are in THEIR home.   One of the guides will walk in front of the group looking for them on the trail before you hike it.  The schoolhouse is at the top of the hill.   If you sit on any of the benches to rest, Black Widow spiders usually nest underneath them.  Check with your flashlight underneath them before sitting down.  There is an age limit on these tours for apparent reasons. 

Feb. 17, 2017

The Queen Anne Hotel, San Franciso, California.  This historic hotel used to be a boarding house for wayward young ladies in the late 1890s.  It is reported to have activity throughout it, especially in the room we rented, the Mary Lake suite, room 410.  This old hotel is full of antiques.  It's a wonder to see inside and walk the old hallways.  It probably hasn't changed much since the 1890s.  It seems to be a favorite with today's local set, who leave us bizarre comments about the property and send us weird emails that don't make much sense, leaving me scratching my head.   It makes me wonder what is haunted, the hotel or the folks who watch this video.  During our nights in the room, we did capture a little EMF activity but certainly not what we had hoped for, given the "haunted" rumors. 

Feb 18, 2017

Alcatraz.."The Rock." Nothing more needs to be said about this prison erected on an island in San Franciso Bay, as the imagination alone can fill in the gaps.  From the infamous men incarcerated to the dashing attempts to escape, it fills the mind with wonder.  We took the evening tour, which is restricted to about thirty or so folks, with a park docent leading us to all the famous places, including the solitary confinement cells where we got to spend some time alone.  If you want to book a tour to Alcatraz, you must book months in advance and plan the rest of your trip around the timing of your tour here.  You won't get a second chance if you come before booking.  Parking on the dock area was $40 a day regardless of how long you are parked there..not cheap.  Expect rain and mist even in summer.  It will get cold once the sun goes down, and this tour will join up with another more extensive tour as it comes to its end, and you will have 300 other folks to contend with fighting to see the same area, so if you bring an EMF detector or something get it out of the way early.  We didn't capture anything while alone in solitary, but I got a real strong hit while walking a trail, and it passed right on by as quickly as it had come as I stood still.  There is paranormal activity there if you can capture it. 

April 23-26, 2017

A Queen Mary revisit.  Our second tour of the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach Harbor.  This ship never disappoints, both times staying here we have captured adequate activity all over the ship.  In our room, the surveillance system captured a bathroom door closing on its own (although we can't dismiss that it could have been from the ship lurching in the water) and we also picked up adequate REM pod and EMF activity.  This ship is a premier place to hunt.  I could be a docent here for one of the ghost tours when I retire if I didn't hate living in California (sadly I was raised in the Orange County area).

April 23, 2017

A review of the Queen Mary Ghost Hunt hosted by Matthew Schultz of the ParaXPlorer Project.  Schultz's tour is the best tour or hunt that we have ever taken aboard the Queen Mary.  Schultz will take you to the usual hunted areas, such as the 1st class pool area, and places that have permanently been restricted to the public, like the forward hold.  Schultz has his equipment, and you may bring your own with you.   In the forward hold, I was "nudged" by something I thought was Jan getting something out of my pack, but when I looked, she was fifteen feet away from me.  It was the first and only time I have ever personally touched by anything.  I was even a skeptic that folks who claimed physical contact weren't letting their imaginations get the best of them.   It took me a while reviewing my information files to figure out how physical contact from an ethereal source can occur.