New Equipment Coming!

I just ordered the DTD from Digital Dowsing (Bill Chappell) as I got to try it out during my latest ghost hunting event I attended back at the Stanley. I love it! It really helps to clear up all the confusion of exactly just what the PX said! I'll go into it more when I write up about this latest trip.

I also ordered a Mel-Meter as I got to meet the man who makes them, Gary Galka, during this trip too! I heard the story behind the Mel-Meters during his talk and it had me in tears. I told Gary that each time I use the Mel-Meter, I will always do so with reverence and remember his daughter and him.
This was a touching story that really brought home the reasonings behind alot of this equipment.

Again, I'll talk more on this when I get caught up here but I just wanted to give you all a heads up for now. It's been a really, super crazy and most busy past month or so in getting ready for Halloween and my daughter's Creepy 18th Birthday Party! Now time to get Halloween decorations put away and the house in order and for me to catch up on everything.

Coming up for the blog is the return trip to Gettysburg, Alcatraz, Chip Coffey's Coffee Talk, touch on Halloween and this latest Stanley Trip. Plus the new equipment reviews!

Trips in the future include a trip to Vegas (not investigation, just fun and divination although I may be using the PX/DTD at that time) and possible return to Gettysburg. I'd love to get to Mansfield but it is at a hairy time for me. Exciting times!

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, Part 6 -Ghosts

These ghost hunting events always seem to just fly by! You arrive and before you know it, they are over.

As I was about to leave Estes Park, there was a snow storm brewing up over the mountains and I could see it coming and I was glad that I was leaving early so I would miss it and be able to fly home and not be stuck at the Denver airport.

Luckily, it was not too early either so I could see driving down the windy, wet roads and not worry as much as I would before sunrise of hitting all the wildlife that crosses the roads. You still have to be careful up there but I knew closer to lunch, the less likely the wild animals would be out.

I could not help but look back towards the Carriage house while I was loading my car up in the parking lot that is off to the side of the hotel itself. I had to wonder just what ghosts or spirits were there that we did not get to investigate or try to engage in communication with. It is said that there is a darker element there. Those who had died in the hotel on the beds, those mattresses are taken down to the carriage house and before, it was used as a morgue. This place is abandoned and no one is ever allowed to go in there unless escorted or approved by staff. There are cold spots, EVPs caught there and EMFs have been detected. Someone had grabbed a woman who had been in there and things have been noted to fall over with provoking. The staff will not allow the regular person in there to investigate however and there are signs posted all over that you will be removed from the property if you are seen skulking about there. Part of me wanted to go sit near there at night to see what, if anything, I might get.

The rooms of the Stanley that are purported to be haunted are:
Room 401 - Lord Dunraven's room. He was the original owner and it is said that people can sometimes see a man standing in the closet and many provoke him. It's also said that he watches women dress.

Room 407 - Footsteps are heard outside this room's door and noted that it appeared that someone sat on the bed as you see the indentation but no one is there.

Room 428 - Noises are heard, a man pacing the room and has kissed women on the forehead and left. It is said to be a cowboy ghost with a hat.

Room 412 - Bed levitating and a woman hysterical. This is known as the poltergeist room.

Room 418 - A boy spirit here named Matthew.

Room 217 - Stephen King Suite, where he stayed and got the idea to write The Shining.

This room is where Jim Carey was to stay while filming Dumb & Dumber but he only remained within for like an hour and he came running back down to the front desk with his bags and said he would not remain there and would be staying elsewhere. To this day, he has not spoken of just what happened in that room. 

 My room the first year I stayed here, Room 215 is right next to this one and it is where I got my first EVP. Check out my posts of it in the archives here on this blog!

In the Manor House:

Room 1302 - People have woken up feeling paralyzed. Could be sleep paralysis? Or paranormal? Odd. This was the room that I felt the single pin prick in my right knee while sitting in one of the soft cushy chairs. Very bizarre and there was talk of a pig man?

Admin Building is said to be haunted by a little boy who died of TB and was 4 years old.
Employee was killed.

Concert Hall - An old woman is there. John Phillip Sousa opened it up.

I learned a lot during this last trip to the Stanley Hotel. The classes were even better than ever and we really got into the nitty gritty when it came to equipment. I liked to hear how certain pieces of equipment worked for some of the more experienced like the Constantinos and Billy Tolley. I scribbled lots of notes during those classes.

I look forward to my return there this November with another ghost hunting event with Darkness Radio and Ghost Adventures. I definitely want to hit a few places there for sure to investigate as it will probably be the last time I am at the Stanley for a long while.

Next up, I'll be talking of the return to Gettysburg! :)

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, Part 5, Pet Cemetary

The next morning, I decided to go down to the pet cemetary as I had gotten directions to where it was, right there on the property of the hotel. I had taken my equipment with me and although it was during the day, I still thought I might get something. I reached the cemetary and there was a man and a woman there already, looking around.

I had later heard a rumor that this pet cemetary was where Stephen King got his idea for that book, Pet Semetary but after a bit of research, I found out that no, that is not so. But so odd and coincidental that here at the Stanley, they too had a pet cemetary.

I had my PX with me and this is where I kick myself for not having my recorder on at the same time.

Anyway, I got there and saw the other two people and was respectful to not be in their way. I got out my PX just to see what I might get from it and I began to look over the small cemetary plots, reading epitaphs and being respectful of the small little fences that lined the path. My PX started to talk pretty quickly. I began trying to interact with it and ask questions. The guy who was there in the cemetary, noticed that I had a PX and he came over closer to talk with me as I realized that he and the lady too, were also there for the event.

As I began to talk with the guy and ask questions of the PX, I heard it say, "Officer". I turned to him and asked him if he is an officer? He said well yes, he is, actually and just as he said that, the PX said, "Hidden". The guy then lifted up his shirt and showed me his badge, the 5 pointed star badge that was 'hidden' and that he is actually a detective!! That was just amazing!

I started to ask questions of the PX and of the animals that were buried there and it said, "Rabid" and then I asked which dog was rabid? (There are mostly dogs at the cemetary). It then said "East" "15". So I took that to mean it was east and I faced that way and then 15 paces towards that way. It took me to the last grave and looking at the dates, the dog had only lived a year. Pretty wild eh?

Unfortunately, we did not get to stay too long. The PX went quiet and I spoke with the handsome guy for a little while longer and then he and the other woman left and more people came by so I took that as my own cue to leave and allow others a chance there.

This is definitely an area I would like to return to and definitely plan on doing so when I go back to the Stanley in November for the next ghost hunting event with Darkness Radio and Ghost Adventures' Zak and Aaron. I wish Nick could go there too! :) HINT HINT NICK!! ;)

I know it will be pretty cold up there in the mountains too, not much different in November from March and from when I was first there at the Stanley. But this is definitely a key area that I plan to get a bit more investigating done and I will be for sure keeping my recorder on for possible evps! This cemetary felt a bit sad and definitely spooky!

It was also nice that the pets who passed away, were seen to and memorialized right here on the land they roamed and played upon and that in some way, their spirits would never be forgotten.

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, Part 4

I was signed up for the 1st night of investigations at the Stanley. We all assembled to where Dave had separated us into the 1st night and the 2nd night, which comes to about half and half of the over 200 people who were attending the event.

What is nice is that Dave also further breaks you down between those who are new at investigating and those who are more experienced. I got to go with the first group of more experienced and I was led out to the Concert Hall where Bill Chappell was at with a plasma device that was very impressive and interesting as he showed us how it worked and had us do an EVP experiment. Again, as I've said often in my posts, this was not really the time to do any serious investigating due to all the people there and the inevitable contamination from everyone. But, it is very interesting in talking with those who are more experienced in the paranormal field and to learn of the latest technology that is being worked on and that is due to come out and be available to the general public.


We only had 4 hours to investigate and it seems there were more than 4 locations so that meant that we would have less than an hour at each location which was a bummer. My next stop was in the basement with the Constantinos!! Now here is where it got really good! My group got split at that point again, which was just brilliant and I made sure that I went with the Constantinos to the basement. They were getting some things happening there and I definitely wanted to see and hear for myself. I was towards the back of the group as Mark and Debby had us all sit down in a tight group and they said to keep an eye out on the hallway that had a light on at the end of it in an adjoining room. There was a curtain across the doorway there and the rest of the tunnel was dark where we had sat down at. I faced towards that room and had my back slightly turned away from the group and I kept my recorder playing. Debby kept coughing and was having a hard time of it when all of a sudden, she caught an EVP and I was able to catch it on my recorder as well!
Check it out as I put it up on YouTube recently:

This is the door at the far end of the basement that you can not get down into unless staff takes you there or at an event. Beyond the door are like tunnels. Take a listen and tell me what you think you might hear? I've cut and copied the evp and made it repeat itself so you might listen to it better.


Now this was just exciting!


But it got better!!
While I watched the curtain towards the back, it looked like it kept moving on it's own. I saw shadows down at the bottom and then at times, the curtains would open slightly and then close again. After a while of that, all of a sudden, the curtains parted and I could see a pair of dark shadowy legs stride across the room in a hurry! I thought right off, oh it has to be that someone is there. Someone remarked on it and I said no, someone is down there but then Debby said no...there is NO ONE there!? Wow! It was very wild!


Well, after that, I went up to the 2nd floor and towards the Stephen King suite. I really did miss having my room just next door like I did during the first event but aye well. Zak and Billy were up here and just as I made it up to the room, Zak shooed a bunch of us out and only wanted a few people in there. So I hung out in the hallway and talked to the others of the vortex that is there at the stairwell that I had learned of while passing by a tour going on earlier in the day.

We got to feel the surge of energy that seems to swirl there and eventually, Zak came out to investigate down the hall on that floor. I didn't get to go back into the Stephen King suite and I regret not going back there myself and that is a room that I definitely plan on returning to. It almost seemed that Zak may have been able to contact a lil girl spirit but it was hard to tell at the time.

Next stop was back out to the Manor House with Jeff Belanger and Aaron Sagers. Our group was pretty big at this point, over 20 people and in we all went to the one large room said to be haunted. I sat on a cushy chair, one that had no hard edges to it and I got comfortable. I placed my PX on one side of me and the ghost meter to the other and then held the recorder nearby. Jeff had a Ouija board and this wild contraption for EVPs but we did not get anything out of it. While I sat there, the PX talked a bit as someone on the other side of the room had a Shack Hack and the PX was quiet until she turned on her Shack Hack and it was then that the PX began to say words.


While I was sitting there however, I felt my right knee sting, like it was getting pricked by a pin. This was not the pins and needles of when your foot falls asleep or the circulation gets cut off, no. It was a single pin prick. It was like someone was there in front of me with a single pin and would begin to poke my right knee. It was like..Poke....Poke......Poke. It kept doing it. I moved my leg around to be sure it was not something internal, like a pinched nerve maybe? and then relaxed my leg again. Yet still, it would start back up again. It was just so wild! Finally, Jeff said if anyone was feeling anything happening to please let everyone know. Well that was when I finally spoke up and casually explained what I was feeling. Some other girl who was on the floor piped up that she too, was feeling the same thing and yes, in her right knee too!? Now that was really weird!

I didn't panic but just calmly explained what was going on and that it was a bit annoying and whatever was doing it, really needed to stop. Eventually, it did.

Afterwards I was up was the 4th floor with Chris Fleming and Aaron Goodwin. Aaron was in Lord Dunraven's room with a bunch of equipment. His PX had died so I brought mine out and we used it, placing it on the bed along with all the KII's and ghost meters. Aaron was in there with myself and about 10 other women. He shared with us pics of his skull collection on his phone and we all got to chat and had the PX talking and it came out again with 'Mommy" and I knew it was talking of me. It was talking a bit naughty too at one point with a prior group and a bit more with our's. I eventually went off down to another room where Chris Fleming was and we listened a bit there with his spirit box.

This is where the night came to a close and they had to prepare for the private ghost hunt and I was off to bed. I helped Chris lug his stuff downstairs and told him goodnight. This had been a pretty eventful night and one of the first that I had been touched or effected by....something?

By this time, I realized that I had begun to see auras. I had seen Chris Fleming's and Zak Bagan's both and in two different states but I had not seen anyone else's as of yet. Something else to talk of, that the more a person gets involved with the paranormal, the more you do open yourself up, become more aware and then realize more is going on around you and soon, may very well effect you as well. I bought a book on auras as well as on psychic shields, which is what I believe that I am. I have yet to start to exercise that 'muscle' and practice looking at auras, but it is very intriguing and exciting that things are starting to happen!

Mass hypnosis? I don't think so. Wanting it to happen, so 'making it so' or creating it myself? I doubt it highly. No, there is something to this. Something is definitely going on!


It has taken me a while to post this part as I was hunting down that EVP out of the many recordings I have gathered. Many times I gather recordings and it can be daunting to listen to them all, especially when you are not sure you may have something because of the potential for contamination by too many other people in the area or near you when you were doing your EVP session. I knew of this one however with Debby for she had gotten the same thing on her recorder and I had played mine back and voila! I heard the same thing! Wild too that it sounds a bit different now than it did then.
I still have a few more to listen to, some recordings are kinda long but as soon as I get thru them, I'll post more if I find anything and share it with all here! :)

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, Part 3

Speaking of EVPS, Billy Tolley, from Ghost Adventures was here at the Stanley too and he gave a class on how he discerns the EVPS that he listens to for the Ghost Adventures show. He went over recorders and software also as well as how he selects the EVPs for the show and that there are so many that are not shared that are just too faint to make out or too soft for the audience. I could well imagine his library and what he must have that is not shared!

One of the free softwares that Billy mentioned is called Audacity. You can find it here for download:

Audacity. It has versions for all operating systems! :)

Also of note, be sure and keep your recorder's software somewhere handy as well as you never know if you want to have it on a new laptop or computer in case your's goes down and of course as they tell you with all things, BACK UP YOUR FILES! I could not say that enough. I keep an external hard drive and I will be backing all of my own files to it soon.


Billy's class was the one that I was surprised, and happily so, to hear that my own recorder was one of the better ones to get EVPs on! I had been discouraged with it a bit and the quality only to find out that it is sought after as a recorder! Wow!
I was definitely paying attention in his class and taking some major notes! He talked of a few that were very expensive and yet they did not pick up the EVPs as well as some of the cheaper models. That makes sense as the newer ones will have too many filters on them as many recorders are used for board meetings and are trying to remove white noise whereas as a paranormal investigator, you are wanting that white noise to help the spirits to communicate with you.

Bill Chappell had a great class as well as to what is coming up as far as technology and equipment. I was excited to hear that soon, he will have an additional part that will hook up to the PX so that we can not only hear the EVPs, but we would see it as texted words. This will be really great for sometimes it is hard to hear what the digitized voice is saying. Be sure and check out Bill's site: Digital Dowsing for some of the latest and greatest!

(Jeff Belanger on the left and Bill Chappell on the right)




Sometimes at these events, you have some great vendors as well and I struck up a conversation with one who had a device that could let you know when you receive an EVP! It was along the lines of a real time EVP device. This reminded me of the devices that Chris Fleming has at his site and many that are already available! The vendor did not have a business card at the time with him but the equipment there they had for demonstrations was really great!

 Be sure and visit the vendors at all the events you may go to for you never know if they have something that really could help you out with your own investigations. Plus! Many times the celebrities and more well known will have some equipment for sale cheaper than what you may see online in their stores or elsewhere.


On to the investigations....Part 4!

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, Part 2

Usually after the meet and greet and the auction, that I enjoy watching as much of that money raised will go to a local charity which is really nice, I go up to my room to relax. Of course as I got up there this time, there was the champagne, truffles (2 of them) and the cheese and fruit tray. I had the foresight to buy crackers at the Safeway tho' not the ones that I would have preferred. I popped the champagne bottle and quickly realized that there was no way I would be able to finish it myself. 
Plus, there was tons of cheese and quite a bit of fruit, mostly blackberries tho'. It was very generous in portions in some ways and disappointingly sparse in others, namely the chocolate truffles, two of them and very small. I won't repeat this but it was fun to have done so at least once. Next time I return, I plan on bringing my own goodies along with a sharp knife to cut fresh apples and probably will pick up some Cracker Barrel Vermont Sharp cheddar from the grocery and a wine that would be more to my liking than the champagne.


I am not one to really hang in the bar, so I relaxed in my room and slept in the next morning when the classes would begin. I had drank my Shakeology for breakfast and then went on down to the classes. The first thing I had noticed that morning however is that my face felt really dry. The altitude coupled with the heat and I had the end room that faced the back parking lot made my skin very dry. I made a note to myself to be sure and bring my small mister for the bedside.
We had had a good little snowstorm hit while we were in line for registration and it was most beautiful to see the big flakes coming down.

Before I went to the Stanley, this time, I did a lil research and took notes. I watched an episode of Ghost Adventures and jotted down each haunted room and a bit of history as to what spirit is said to be where. I had then taken a pic of each room and will go over them.


There were a few new people giving talks that I had not met or heard of before. One of the classes was called "Reaching for the Veil" It was a brief look at why we're in the field of the paranormal and how we can make a difference. It was given by Karl Pfeiffer, from Ghost Hunters International fame. This class wasn't exactly as I thought going by the title but it really did make me think and I enjoyed the class nonetheless. He posed an interesting theory that I'll go into in a future post. This was however a brief look at why we're in the field of the paranormal and how we can make a difference.
Why are we doing this? Why are we doing what we are? Why are you?
Scientific vs Spiritual...which one do you lean more towards? Thank you Karl for making me think!


Dave Schrader from Darkness Radio gave his typical class/talk of ghost hunting how-to's and what not to do. That is always such a crack up to sit in on! I have been in his class often and just love the pics and his sharp wit and great sense of humor!

I also attended the class that Chris Fleming gave, which always seems to touch my heart and soul. I have attended each one of his and do not like to miss them as he has a most unique and spiritual way of looking at things. He also has some great pics and some scary vids as well that he shares. Chris Fleming always comes across to me as a very deep, genuine and most kind man with a great gift. I admire him and enjoy talking with him when I can and glean and learn things from him often. Be sure and check out his Podcast: Spirit Talk where he has some great interviews as well as his Unknown Magazine.

I attended Jeff Belanger's class, Legend Tripping, which he is the sort of guy that is similiar to Aaron, he's out there just having a blast! He has written several books and I had purchased one before I arrived on some haunted places in Texas. Jeff has a most keen, quick wit and a very inquisitive and curious mind. He is enthralled with legends and really gets you excited about them too by the end of his talk. His class is a must to attend at any location you go to for he shares what the local ghost stories are and its always a most enjoyable class. His energy just soars!

The Constantinos...aahh what I can say about this great couple! They are known as the EVP Specialists and if you have ever gone investigating with them, you quickly can see why! They can get evps like no one's business! They are just simply amazing and I enjoyed their EVP class as they went over their own techniques, software and recorders that they use. Check out their great site: Spirits-Speak. They shared alot of their evps they have gotten at various locations during this talk. It was great! I don't have a really good picture of them yet as I was again, sitting way in the back.

The Stanley Hotel Return - March 2011, part 1

The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado

Trips always seem to come up faster than I expect them to and yet I plan to pack early and yet it just doesn't always work out that way. I do make a list and lately, I have been starting to take notes when I am at a new location and list things that I forgot or wished I had taken with me.


This is a return trip to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. The famed hotel where Stephen King got the idea to write The Shining. I had heard some scuttlebutt about him getting the idea for Pet Sematary here also but I have since looked it up and the idea came from another pet cemetery in a field not far from his home in Maine. However, there is a pet cemetery on the Stanley Hotel premises!


What is nice is that I flew from Dallas straight to Denver non-stop. That's a really nice, quick, and direct trip on Southwest Airlines. I really should do a blog post about each airline and let you know which one is the better one but I'll leave that for another time. Suffice to say, Southwest was the cheapest and it got to my destination directly. Cheapest as in free, if you don't count the $5.00 -$10.00 airport tax. How did I manage that? Frequent flyer points! If you have not signed up yet, I would highly recommend doing so at every airline you fly with as well as join all the rental car and hotel clubs you can. Even if you do not travel often, trust me, that can add up and they often will send you special rates or fares or coupons to entice you to use them and it can save you a bit of money.


I used Enterprise this time. Again, that's another blog post! But I ended up with a Seabring, heated leather seats!! Nice in the cool March air with snow still on the ground. The Denver airport is in the valley and you can see the mountains in the distance. THAT'S where you are going!

I could see the storms just above the mountains, the dark ominous clouds that weighed heavy in the sky.

It was a nice drive on up to Estes Park and having my new Garmin with me, with the Boo bundle downloaded on it for free from the Garmin site, I had to laugh while going thru the winding roads and if you have not done so before, I recommend listening to Dr. Nightmare as he will talk to you randomly while driving out there, especially long distance!

Can you hear the music from The Shining as you drive up through the winding roads with the storm just before you?

I arrived at the Stanley before the next snow storm hit. It seemed they were due to get another storm and I was right glad that I had arrived early. Such gorgeous views on the way up! It always takes my breath away when I go up to the Stanley.

I had plenty of time before registration would start at 4 pm, having arrived just around lunch time. So I got my room and asked for a fridge and inquired of the cheese and fruit tray as well as the champagne and truffles I had ordered for my room. Oh yea, I was spoiling myself rotten on this trip! I would have the room to myself, not sharing it, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. I was informed however that the goodies would not be delivered to my room til 6 pm. That was a bit disappointing as I was wanting them to be waiting for me to welcome me in. Ah well, I was being spoiled enough as it is. So off I went down to the Safeway, local grocery store to pick up some water and a few other things, healthy snacks and some not so healthy. I wanted to try to stick to my Shakeology diet as much as I could and I had already brought my own nuts for a snack for each day. Sadly, the grocery there did not have the apple slices prewrapped so I had to forego that and a few other things. Back to my room, I set up the fridge which arrived and unpacked a bit.

Around 3 pm, I went downstairs to see about registration and I noticed already a line began to form so I figured I had better get in it as people were milling about. I recognized a few people that I remembered from other events which was nice. It did not take long before the line began to move and Aaron and Zak from Ghost Adventures were about in the ballroom where the line wrapped all the way around the back side of the room.

Nick, was not able to make it as they just flew in directly from a shoot and Nick went straight to his home to be with his family. He was greatly missed there. Aaron was his usual friendly self and I was very impressed with how down to earth he is and one of the most friendliest of people. He will come right on up to you no matter who you are or what you look like and throw his arm around you and hug you and pose for pics! Aaron is just great with all his fans and probably the most friendliest I have seen thus far. You can tell when you see him at one of these events that he is just out having a great time! It just sets you at ease right off the bat. I know some of the other celebrities may hold themselves back or seem to, but when you go, you have to understand for one, each having their own personalities and for two, some are just really bombarded by so many fans that it can be hard to handle at times. I am surprised that they are not tugged on more or hounded more than what I noticed.
These people are just like you and me, they are just on tv or happened to be at the right place at the right time and some earned their way there by many years or a lot of effort and time and dedication. I always try to be respectful of their space and understand even more so if they have family with them, that it can be very overwhelming to them, especially when just starting out at these events with the many, many fans they have.

Registration went well, I signed up for the first night of investigations and got my badge and said hello to Dave from Darkness Radio and then went on in to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. I had a wonderful meal and incredibly wonderful wine! I was alone, which is never easy but my friend Tina was not able to go to the Stanley this time. This event was sold out in no time! Plus, the costs I noticed are increasing too, so if you are interested in going, start to plan for it SOONER rather than later before it gets out of your reach.

That night, was the meet and greet and then the auction. I am still learning my camera a bit and forget that it does have a nice video. I was foolin around with it and caught a belt being auctioned off...right off of Zak's waist! I've uploaded it to YouTube for you to enjoy:

I was sitting way in the back, so please do understand that. As I get more used to my camera's video option, hopefully, I'll have some better videos in the future. :)