Chip Coffey's Coffey Talk

Last year, Chip Coffey of Psychic Kids fame, went on a tour called: Coffey Talk. I had met Chip several years ago at a paranormal event where he gave a gallery reading to a group of us. If you have not been to one, you should definitely go! He is an amazing psychic!


Chip is one of the most down-to-earth, forthright men in the paranormal field. His tell-it-like-it-is, no-nonsense approach to the gallery readings is very refreshing! Definitely not a fluffy-bunny type of psychic, he has no qualms to tell you quite honestly what he thinks or believes.


When attending a paranormal event that Chip is there and giving gallery readings, be sure to sign up! I attended every one that I could and although I was not picked from the crowd, I absolutely enjoyed myself and was in awe at his talent and great wit!


Last summer, when I found out that he was going to be coming to Dallas to the Adolphus Hotel, I jumped at the chance to attend and talked with my daughter about her going to meet him. She was not too sure at first, so I had already purchased a Super VIP ticket for myself that would include not only his talk and gallery reading but a ghost hunt as well!


I was excited! Then my daughter decided to go and I went to get her a ticket and they were sold out of the Super VIP! Oh no! So I purchased her a VIP instead (included everything but not the ghost hunt) so that she would at least be able to get her pic taken with Chip and attend the talk and gallery.


The Adolphus Hotel itself is simply exquisite! Of course, there are parts of it that is said to be haunted, namely the bathroom downstairs at the small cafe and also one of the hotel floors as well.


When we arrived, the parking was terrible and we had to leave the car with the valet. This was a bit disappointing as we went to get the car afterwards and found out there was a $25 or so fee.
As we were there super early, we went down to The Rodeo Bar and Grill in the lower level of the hotel and had an amazing dessert or two there!


I was able to pay a bit extra to upgrade my daughter's VIP ticket to a Super VIP as they opened them up again and I was glad that she would be able to attend the ghost hunt. We were surprised however when we went into the room set up for his talk and gallery reading, to discover there were a lot more Super VIPs than we had anticipated. We were hoping for a small group but it was my fault that I did not inquire as to any cut-off number of people who would be able to attend the ghost hunt.


The talk was great and much like the ones he gives during the gallery readings at the paranormal events. This is followed by the gallery readings and do note that there is no guarantee that you will be picked for a reading, but it's normally those whose deceased family members come through the strongest. I've never been picked by Chip but it is quite the experience to see him in action!


After the gallery reading, we took a break and were able to get pictures taken with Chip as well as receive an autographed poster of him as well. This was really nice!

Afterwards, those with the Super VIP tickets, filed back in for the ghost hunt. I had thought and hoped we would be going around to different locations within the hotel for this part of it, but unfortunately, we remained within the conference room and Chip attempted to communicate using a few pieces of equipment he had, but alas, with no luck. I did get off my chair and sat on the floor near a doorway to what looked like a kitchen of some sort and I set up my own equipment I had brought with me, but I did not have any luck either, unfortunately.


It was nice to see Chip again however and to have my daughter meet him! If you are unable to attend a paranormal event that Chip is attending, be sure to catch him when he appears at a city near you during his Coffey Talk Tour! :)

Last Two Paranormal Events!

Sadly, it was announced that Dave with Darkness Radio will no longer be putting together paranormal events! The last two this year will be your last chance to go on a paranormal ghost hunting event put together by Darkness Radio's Dave Schrader. I found this terribly sad, but like all good things, it has come to an end.
If you were not one of the lucky ones to go over to Transylvania with Dave and the other celebrities, then the next and last two, will be your last chance!
Eastern State Penitentiary on July 26-29 and The Stanley Hotel on November 15-18 will be the final two paranormal events that Dave will be putting together.


Don't miss out on them! You will really not regret going!!

I met Dave several years ago at The Stanley when he hosted a paranormal ghost hunting event with Jason and Grant of Ghost Hunters. It was the first time I had been introduced to this unique and witty man. I have learned a great deal from attending these events and getting to see all the new equipment and meeting the celebrities and some of the experts out in the paranormal field, has all just been a fantastic adventure to be sure!


It seems only fitting that Dave will be ending it all at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. I wish I could have had the money to go over to Transylvania with him and the others and unfortunately, I will not be able to attend these last two events either as I am currently saving to take my daughter to the UK for a 2 1/2 - 3 week tour next year when she graduates from high school.


I'd like to thank Dave for all the great events he has put together! I have had a great deal of fun in attending them all and I do still have a few more events to blog about from last year. I hope to see Dave again in the future and I wish him all the best until then!


Thank you Dave!

K II Meter

The K II Meter measures electromagnetic fields in milliGauss and is often seen on Ghost Hunters. The one you see Jason and Grant use is the first one that came out and why they had to use a coin to engage the on/off button to hold it down.

The new KII's do not need that adjustment as the on and off button will just stay down once pushed. You can find these at various ghost hunting equipment stores online. You can also find these with small infrared lights on the side and other variations.

The K II seemed to be touted as one of the better electromagnetic field detectors in the previous years and better than the Ghost Meter. Many believed the Ghost Meter in comparison would pick up cell phone energy but I did not experience that at all. In fact, I almost felt that the K II can be too exclusive of some frequencies that it may not pick up on things as well as the Ghost Meter. I seem to get better interaction especially with children spirits with the Ghost Meter as the bar flashes so brightly compared to the K II. I do like using the K II as a backup however.

One thing to note when you go on any of the ghost hunting events, is that you should put your name on ALL of your equipment! This is very important. I had left my first K II at the Widow's Cottage I believe while in Gettysburg and it was not to be found thereafter, so we believe someone picked it up and kept it, unfortunately. So I had to order a second one. I did order it from the link above and it came very quickly!! Thanks Chris!

Overall, I do like the K II as I use it in conjunction with the Ghost Meter, pointing it in another direction to help pinpoint the location of energies or spirits that may try to communicate with me. It's fairly simple to use, easy on/off button and you hold it steady in front of you and move it slowly throughout a room or location to get a base reading first. That will allow you to locate any energy pockets of high EMFs where perhaps powerlines may be, etc etc. Then, it is best to set it down on something sturdy and level. I like to use it in doorways or thresholds much like the Ghost Meter but anywhere like a table or the floor where it won't be stepped on, or some place that is steady. It's a great steadfast and basic tool to have.

San Antonio, Texas--May 2011

Almost a whole year has gone by since returning to San Antonio and already, I will be returning in a couple weeks. This last time however, I wanted to take another ghost tour, a different one than I had before and so I had called up Alamo City Tours as I really wanted to take the Mission Trail tour and/or one that was publicized for the cemetary. But, as I spoke of in my review of the Alamo City Tours, they do not have them for small handfuls of people, only for bus tours.


San Antonio is one of my favorite places to visit as my hero, Jim Bowie, died there at the Alamo in 1836 while fighting the Mexican Army along with William Barrett Travis and the famous Davy Crockett. The Alamo itself is kept up by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and it is definitely worth going into to see. The mission and the surrounding courtyard is said to be haunted and there have been sightings of ghostly apparitions. Please don't be fooled by that other 'ghost hunt' tour group however who call out for a ghost to appear by getting you to flirt with them. It was just way too hokey to believe and to have a ghost come out on command like that every time....it just too farfetched for me. I preferred the Alamo City Tours as it was chocked full of great history. The only thing was that they used dowsing rods and well....I am not a big believer with using that tool and you have to be careful about those types of devices.


For my own experiences, whenever I go inside the Alamo mission itself and stand in the center where there is a plaque on the floor, I always seem to feel something at that spot. I become overwhelmed with sadness and a few times I have even had tears stream down my face. It could be just because of the significance of the place to me and how close I hold it to my heart, but I feel like there is a bit of energy just lingering right there. I don't want to say vortex but just a whirl of energy I can usually feel. Unfortunately, you can't go in there alone to investigate. The shrine itself is never in the dark and no building built around it may cast a shadow upon the mission, in honor of those who have died there. There is also a monument just out at the courtyard, depicting those brave men who fought there.

I stayed at the Hotel Indigo at the Alamo as my work was there giving a course. The Hotel Indigo is part of the Holiday Inn chain and there are two of them in San Antonio. We stayed at the one that is across diagonally from the Alamo itself, in what was known as the historic Gibbs building. This is located where the north wall once was of the Alamo complex and during renovations, some of the workers experienced alot of strange things.

In the basement, they found a cannon that dates back to that time period. It is no longer there however but it is said the basement that now houses the gym and conference rooms, is haunted. I asked permission to conduct a small investigation down there and I took my ghost meter and KII down there as well as my recorder, laser grid and the Shack Hack. I heard alot of stories about some of the staff feeling really creeped out whenever they go down there and after doing an initial scan, I found that there are areas down there that are a hotbed of very high, off the chart, EMFs! There is one area down by the bathroom and well into the ladies room as well as by the laundry and of course where the power/utility room is at that is just screamin off the meters! Anyone spending any long periods of time may very well experience feelings of paranoia or that someone is watching you. I could sense something odd about the layout but when I used the meters, it was just wild.


I did manage to go into one conference room that had this tile on the ceiling and I soon realized that I was below the street. I could see and hear people walking just above me and almost see them thru the clear glass blocks. I was well away from the EMF hotbox and I used the laser grid that soon got drained. I was starting to wonder if something is wrong with my laser as the batteries seem to get drained very easily. I thought I saw a shadow at the far end of the room at one point, it was fleeting however and just for a moment. It could very well have been a trick of the eye or mind matrixing.


Another haunted area was told to me of the elevators that will sometime open and close on their own. Odd things about the elevator and it is very old and set up in a strange way. Hard to explain until you see them. But I didn't experience anything odd with that. I did go up onto the 2nd floor which also has a few of the staff feeling weird. There are some EMFs up there too but nothing like the basement. I did feel very odd in some areas of the hotel as the layout is not exact and there are corner rooms that have weird sort of ways to get to the door, narrowing halls and just weird.


We got lucky to get a corner room, way up on a higher floor and it faced towards the Alamo. This was on the side of the hotel that was the main entrance. We did catch an orb in a photo in the living room section of the room that appeared near my leg and I am not sure exactly what it is. We did not see it with the naked eye, only with the camera. It doesn't seem to be dust to me nor a bug? Take a peek and maybe you can see what it might be or if I am wrong? Hmm maybe a bug?? Just odd as it was not there in the successive pics before or after, only in this one and I didn't feel anything odd.

One of the most strangest things that did happen while I was there was at about 3 am or so, we were woken up by what sounded like someone running down and then up a fire escape outside the window, that metal tapping. I figured it was that or maybe it was hitting the side of the building in the wind but no wind. It seemed to almost shake the room and made me get up to look outside the window. There was no fire escape. Later, the trash truck came by and we saw them emptying the dumpsters out and banging around with them tho' this sound was not the same? I am not sure if it was the trashmen or not? It was bizarre. I even made sure there was no fire escape when we went outside later in the morning. Nope. I am chalking it up to the trashmen however as the sounds were similiar but again, not 100% as we were not there long enough for the trash pickup again.

See? No fire escapes on either side of our room.


The Post Office across the street is also said to be haunted and was currently under renovations and we could not go over there. People have reported seeing apparitions there as well.


The Emily Morgan Hotel, where I had stayed before was just beyond the post office and that too, has haunted floors and the basement used to be a morgue when it was a hospital.

Please check out the Alamo City Ghost Tour Blog Post about the tour that I took.


The riverwalk is always one of my favorites and I love to go strolling along there in April as it is one of the best months for it. My favorite Irish Pub on the riverwalk is Waxy O'Connor's and they have the best Irish Stew!

I love to sit out in their patio and watch the people along the riverwalk, both walking and in the ferry boats getting tours. If you have not done the ferry tour, please do! They were fun and informative and lets you see the riverwalk from a whole other perspective!


I did pick up a book at the Hotel Indigo about the Alamo. I have a ton of information collected over the years about the Alamo, Jim Bowie and San Antonio. This book, 13 The Alamo Book of Days, is nicely illustrated account and interpretation of the 13 days of Glory, the 13 days the Alamo and her defenders stood in defiance of tyranny is well done. My only issues are some of the intepretations of the defender's thoughts and some of their actions as it would be most difficult to really know for sure what it was that was said or done beyond the correspondence that was preserved.


An interesting chronological history of the mission itself can be found here: Alamo History.


Friends took me to nearby San Antonio Sea World and we had a really great time! It was a great trip!

I do have this self-guided walking tour that I found on the net and plan to do so when I return to San Antonio in a couple of weeks! My Own Private Alamo


Also, I may try to see what I might find when I go out to a few of the places that are talked of in the tour with some of my equipment. It should be very interesting! But one thing above all, is that I will always...

Remember the Alamo!

Return to Gettysburg, March 2011, part 9, Drive to Harper's Ferry & Extras

After Chip Coffey's gallery reading in Gettysburg at the Eisenhower Hotel, I was packed, but before I  drove off to meet my friend David in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, I stopped by the vendor's room one more time and managed to get a few more pics in! This first is myself with John Zaffis, the Godfather of the Paranormal! Please be sure and check his link out off to the right as well as you can find him on the SyFy channel in the show: Haunted Collector. Be sure to catch him!

Of course, I had to get a pic of the best smelling man at the event, none other than Jeff Belanger! He really is a total goofball, just like you see him on 30 Odd Minutes! But don't let that wickedly sharp wit fool you! He's a talented writer and accomplished author! The Legends Man himself!

I did get to catch up to the Pickmans, Debra and Tony, of The Sallie House fame and talk about what had happened at the General Lee Headquarters and the great pics that Tony had taken! I had a lovely conversation with Debra herself. Do be sure and meet them if you can and talk with them! Their experiences are just incredible and they are both very nice people!

And last but certainly not least are the folks below from The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio! They run the tours and are chock full of great information on how you too, can go there and ghost hunt! Please be sure and check out their site highlighed in green just above! For those who may not know, it's where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed! Very creepy place! I've not been there yet but I would love to get up there and do an investigation some time! It is definitely on my list! They were very friendly and kind and I had a great conversation with them!

It was a lovely drive out to Harper's Ferry and I got there in time to meet my friend David for dinner. We ate at a really nice restaurant that sat on a hill. For those who have never been there, so much of Harper's Ferry is situated on a high hill! It's wild!
The train that passes through is still very active and you could easily picture the supplies for the civil war being transported upon the train as it followed the river.


David had signed us up for a walking ghost tour, led by none other than Rick Garland himself from: "O' Be JoyFull!" . If you have not ever gone or went on this walking tour, it is a MUST! Just be prepared to walk up steep hills! I thoroughly enjoyed myself however and he was a most entertaining and very knowledgeable tour guide! I won't spoil it nor reveal a great deal so I will leave it at that so that when next you go thru there, you may go and enjoy the tour! :) 
We had a lot of young ROTC kids along with us on the tour, a lot more people than I would have anticipated or guessed. But it is definitely a tour that you can't miss!

Afterwards, I drove off to my hotel and David went home. We met the next morning, he picked me up at my hotel and then off we went to a few wineries in the area he wanted to show me. :)
We had a really grand time and it was a great ending to a wonderful event and trip for me! I was able to just relax, sit back and drink some wine, enjoy good food and wonderful company!
Here are some pics of some of the wineries in northern Virginia that we were able to visit:

These were the gorgeous views that we had from the top of the hill where our first winery was located. Simply beautiful!

This is at the back of the winery, we were on the balcony and I could imagine how lovely this is when it's closer to early summer/late spring on a nice sunny day!

This is my friend David, Slainte!

On to the next!

This one was sorta tucked away and we kinda just fell into it as we were out driving about.

They had a lovely large tasting room however, nice, lovely wine! We did go to one other but I did not get pics of that one. It was very quaint inside and they had a nice selection of cheeses and small platters and lots of wonderful bread! I enjoyed myself immensely! Thank you David! Nice way to cap off a great ghost hunting event!

Return to Gettysburg, March 2011, part 8, Monuments

Since I was up so late, I slept in late and took my time getting something to eat. I missed the Cryptozoology as well as the How I Help the Paranormal Client classes. But I had also taken a drive back out to Confederate Ave to see what I might be able to come up with, evidence wise or at the very least, get some more pics of all the monuments along that particular road where Tina and I had been before and picked up the EVP in the car while on this particular road.

There was just something so very haunting while I was out there, all alone.



This was President Eisenhower's farm that is talked of in the pics above.

The pics below are all from this one monument to the boys of South Carolina.

Having lived in South Carolina for some time, I really wanted to be sure to take some nice photos of this particularly impressive monument. 

Below is the backside of the monument.

                                                  

I really loved this tree pictured below:

I tried to imagine the soldiers out on this field fighting and I played some of the civil war songs I had in my cd player, in honor of the men who fought and died here in Gettysburg.





After I returned to the hotel, in time for Chip Coffey's gallery that afternoon, I had already checked out and knew I would be taking off as soon as the gallery ended. As always, Chip touches the hearts of so many, and I so wished I had brought a box of tissues with me as I ended up shedding many tears for the other people who were picked.