I’ve mentioned before that I have to manually approve comments to my blog because I get a lot of spam-bots that leave weird, nonsense messages for me. Recently, I have also received some comments that personally attacked people featured on my blog. While I certainly welcome differing opinions (I love a good debate and realize that sometimes, I’m just plain wrong), I will not approve comments that attack a third party. I appreciate your understanding on this matter. Thank you!
Last week, my friend Heidi and I, along with her roommate, went to The Alliance Theatre to see Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a piece of musical theatre written by Stephen King with music by John Mellencamp. It’s a ghost story interwoven with rock and blues…and a very typical mind-bending Stephen King ending.
The synopsis, as posted on the Alliance’s site:
In the tiny town of Delight, Mississippi in 1967, a terrible tragedy took the lives of two brothers and a beautiful young girl. During the next forty years, the events of that night became the stuff of local legend. But legend is often just another word for lie. Joe McCandless knows what really happened; he saw it all. The question is whether or not he can bring himself to tell the truth in time to save his own troubled sons, and whether the ghosts left behind by an act of violence will help him – or tear the McCandless family apart forever.
I’ve been a Stephen King fan since I was in middle school. (Yes, I was far too young to be reading the likes of The Stand and Pet Sematery. It explains a lot about me, doesn’t it?) I’m also a big musical theatre fan, so I was looking forward to seeing this show. Let’s take it a piece at a time…
The Set
The set is on display (complete with actors sitting in place, perfectly still) the minute you walk into the theatre. It was absolutely beautiful, and some of its technical aspects were impressive. You really feel like you’re walking into a cabin in the Mississippi country.
The Story
I liked the story, but as I said above, I’m a huge King fan, so that makes me biased. Act one was a little slow, but act two had a good, steady pace and a nice twist at the end.
The Music
There were some solid songs in this show, but I actually expected a stronger rock/blues style than what we saw. “Tear this Cabin Down” was one of my favorites, as was the opening song, “That’s Me.” Otherwise, I felt like a lot of the songs could have been stronger and conveyed more attitude.
The Cast
First of all, I am totally biased toward Shuler Hensley, who played Joe McCandless. Heidi and I work with him each spring on the annual Shuler Hensley Awards for excellence in high school musical theater. The man is a Tony Award winner. What more can I say? I was also tickled to see Justin Guarini, who is best known as the runner-up on season one of American Idol. He is going to have a great stage career: his singing, acting, and stage presence were all spot-on. Emily Skinner was my favorite female cast-member as Monique McCandless. Her voice was well-suited to the blues songs she belted out.
The real standout in the cast was blues singer Jake La Botz, who played The Shape. The Shape was both narrator and instigator in the show, and he could just as easily have been called The Devil, Randall Flagg, or even the man in black (if you’re a Dark Tower fan). La Botz was simply brilliant, an evil greaser from hell with tattoos and sex appeal in spades. I immediately went home and bought his latest album, I’m a Crow, on iTunes: think Hank III singing blues and honky-tonk.
Overall
I liked Ghost Brothers, but I can see where aspects of the show will need tweaking before it’s ready for Broadway. And I hope it does make it there, because the show certainly has potential. And to whoever might direct it: please bring back La Botz as The Shape. And if you need a production manager, a lighting designer, and a writer…Heidi, her roommate and I are available!
A square in Savannah, Georgia.
On Tuesday I finished the manuscript for Ghost of a Hope, the fourth and final book in my Betty Boo, Ghost Hunter Series. I knew I was close to the end, and I was so inspired to finally see how things would wrap up that I banged out almost as many words as I typically write in an entire week.
And it left me feeling utterly exhausted and sad.
One one hand, it felt good to see those final words on the page. I already knew what the epilogue would be a year ago, but I wasn’t sure exactly how my characters would get up to that point. The journey, as it turns out, made me cry. Twice. I didn’t even know that authors could make themselves cry. I felt silly: they are characters out of my own imagination, and I’ve known their eventual fate for ages. Why was I getting so emotional?
Because, I realized, it was The End. I’ve happily lived in Betty’s world of ghosts, demons, friendship and, yes, even zombies for three years, and I’m sad about leaving it. It’s time to go, though: Betty’s story has been told, and whatever adventures she has following the events of my series is up to each reader to imagine.
I can now understand why Stephen King said that he wrote his forthcoming Dark Tower novel, The Wind Through the Keyhole, because he simply missed being in the fictional Mid-World. Maybe, in the future, I can go back and read the series, though I’m afraid I’d wind up critiquing it as I read. It’s hard to turn off the writer/editor part of my brain.
In the meantime, I can look forward to editing and revising Ghost of a Hope. Its publication will mark the end of my creative process in Betty’s world: every word will be final.
I just hope that readers have loved getting to know Betty, Maxwell, and the others as much as I have. As for Maxwell…boy, am I going to miss him! His character, inspired by a trip to Disney World’s now-defunct Pleasure Island, was the catalyst for finally getting this series off the ground. Who knew a demon could be a muse?
Heather Woodward: Author, Psychic, All-Around Awesome Lady
Heather Woodward is tuned in: she is the first psychic to be featured in a Paranormal Investigator Profile. Heather is an author, clairvoyant, tarot reader, producer and screenwriter: talk about a seriously cool combination of talents! She’s also the author of “Ghosts of Central Arizona.”
Where do you live?
Tucson, Arizona
To what investigation teams do you belong?
Right now, I am a free agent.
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
I have always had an interest in the paranormal since I was a kid. It never came to my mind that I was going to be a “paranormal investigator” – I just was one. The concept of ghosts and the after-life have always been fascinating to me especially since I lived in a good amount of haunted houses growing up.
Ghosts were not intrusive, they were forms that I had to share the house with. It became a curiosity for me to figure out what it was and where it came from. When I was around 7, I remember sitting in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room listening to the sounds of a man pacing in the kitchen. Only there was no man and all I could see was the slats of light coming in from the kitchen window. I used to sit there for what seemed like hours trying to figure out who the man was and why he paced in our kitchen.
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
When my son was a baby, I worked in a video store that was haunted. Nobody liked going to the upstairs bedroom because people encountered a strange feeling and sometimes a dark apparition in the room to the right of the bathroom. I got permission from my manager to investigate the place. My boyfriend at the time was a photographer. We bought some infrared film and he put a time on the camera so that it would take pictures every 30 minutes until the film ran out. We set up the camera on a tripod, turned off all the lights and left it there overnight. In the morning, I opened with the manager to make sure that nobody touched the camera. I gave the film to my boyfriend and we developed the film in his bathroom. The pictures showed nothing for the first few hours. Then slowly but surely the outline of a head and a body showed up in the carpet. It looked like a chalk outline from a dead person. It took three pictures for it to show up and then three pictures for it to fade away. To this day I have never seen anything as weird as those pictures. On my days off I would go upstairs and perform EVP sessions by myself. A few times I got a woman humming. It was so distinct that it sounded like someone was sitting next to me.
Heather, second from right, investigating the Queen Mary.
Another time, I accidentally hit the rewind button and play button together (this was before digital media and I still used magnetic tape) and I heard a woman screaming and then distinctly the words, “Help me.” I was so startled by it that I rewound it a few more times and let other people listen to it without telling him what it was. I decided I was in over my head and we called Richard and Debbie Senate. They went through the place and Debbie Senate said the location was haunted by a dark haired woman who had died in the location. She said the upstairs used to be an apartment and she was killed upstairs. I showed the pictures to Richard Senate and had him listen to my backwards EVPs. He said it was very common for EVPs to be played both forwards and backwards on the tape since ghosts didn’t deal with linear time. He was intrigued by my findings.
A lot of the regular customers had weird experiences renting videos in the building especially going to the bathroom. So, when they found out I was investigating there was a lot of curiosity. So, I left the pictures and the tapes with my tape recorder at the front in a folder. One time I went to go pick it up and the manager said someone had taken it home and it was nowhere to be found. He didn’t know who had taken it. I was really bummed because I had no evidence that the place was haunted. Later, I found out the manager who I had spoken to had stolen the evidence and tried to sell it to some media company. He was looking to sell the story to make a quick buck.
To this day, I have never seen such compelling evidence of a haunting and I probably never will. I think it’s because I went in with no expectations and had an open attitude. I didn’t care if I got anything or not. I just wanted to have the experience.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
Every time I have investigated Camarillo State University something has happened. There were two times that freaked me out so bad that I almost left. The first was when we were in the oldest building on the premises. It wasn’t even dark outside. We went in during the light of day and were walking around the building being quiet as possible.
Down a hallway we heard a woman whining, “Help me. Please, somebody help me.”
We called back to see if anyone followed us or if someone was stuck in the building. But nobody answered us. We even went so far as to search the building but we were the only ones there. Every so often we kept hearing the same woman’s voice always just out of reach.
On another occasion, my sister and I were investigating the old cafeteria. We found a bathroom at the end of the hallway that I had never seen before. My sister was filming so she wasn’t really paying attention to where we were going since she was looking through the lens of the camera. In order to get to the bathroom we had to walk through a utility room with all kinds of cleaning supplies. As soon as we walked in I told my sister that I had a bad feeling about the whole area and we should probably just leave. Ignoring me she said she wanted to go into the bathroom since it was a place we had never seen before. I was behind her and kept the door open while she walked in with the camera. All of sudden there was a loud BANG noise followed by two more. The whole bathroom shook. My sister was so frightened she handed the camera to me and ran the other way down the hallway.
I sat there and laughed because I was so afraid to do anything else. Later, we found the other investigators that went with us to try and debunk the noise. Nobody could figure out where or how the noise came from…
Celebrating the Day of the Dead in style!
What is your dream investigation?
I have always wanted to investigate Waverly Hills and The Stanley Hotel.
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
I like good ol’ fashioned psychic investigation. Going into a place and experiencing the ambiance of the location.
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
There are few people who I truly respect in the community. Off the top of my head I admire Guy Jackson because he is so friggin’ smart and he knows just about every theory about ghosts and investigation. He also has a lot of cool equipment and he is fun to investigate with. He is always up for trying new techniques.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
Stop watching paranormal shows and read about the forefathers of paranormal. Study Spiritualism and Parapsychology. Actually read those silly little manuals that come with your equipment. There is important information in there.
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)?
I write books and screenplays. My boyfriend and I produce and make movies. I love to play Words with Friends and my sister just got me into Draw Something. I love reading and have a relationship with my Kindle Fire. Watching bad movies is fun too. For a living I perform tarot readings on the phone and in-person which is kind of fun. I get to talk to people all day and try to fix their problems. Or at least give them a heads-up about what’s next.
Let readers know where to find you and/or your team! Post links, Twitter accounts, etc., here:
www.heatherwoodward.net
Are you a paranormal investigator who would like to be featured in a future Paranormal Investigator Profile? E-mail me and let me know!
Claudia Cirey with VAPIR Paranormal and Past Present Paranormal.
Claudia Cirey is the founder of VAPIR Paranormal and, most recently, the founder of Past Present Paranormal in Las Vegas. With those kinds of credentials, it’s not surprising that Claudia has had some amazing experiences – and she has the pictures to prove it! I was amazed at some of the photos that Claudia sent over. Click on them to see the full size. (The shadow person in the cemetery is especially worth a second look.) Thanks to Claudia for sharing these!
Where do you live?
Recently moved from GA. to Las Vegas NV
To what investigation teams do you belong?
Founder of Vapir Paranormal in Valdosta GA.
Founder of Past Present Paranormal in Las Vegas NV.
Claudia and another investigator walk into a house. The shadow of a woman is between them.
Unexplained shadows on the porch of a house.
A mist over the house adds to the paranormal activity there.
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
Unexplained Paranormal Activity in our Home.
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
My first Investigation was with my Daughter, in a Cemetery in the middle of the Woods. We just walked around asked Questions, after reviewing the Audio,we looked at each other and asked the same Question. “Who is that Woman talking, and telling us when she died?”
A shadow figure at a cemetery.
Part of an apparition is visible beneath the tree on the far right of this cemetery.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
I would say, it was a local Cemetery, there was so many Unexplained Activity, I still have no Explanation for all of it.
What is your dream investigation?
To investigate a Castle.
A mist floats over a cemetery.
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
I like doing EVP Sessions, nothing better then a Class A EVP.
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
All the Teams that keep it real, without the Drama.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
Don’t get into it for the Thrill. Investigations are a lot of Work, Research and take many Hours of Time. Follow the Rules, and never investigate any Location without Permission.
An orb captured with a full spectrum camera.
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)?
Stay at Home Mom, retired Military Spouse, spending Time outside in my Garden and taking Care of the Household.
Let readers know where to find you and/or your team! Post links, Twitter accounts, etc., here:
You can find us at www.pastpresentparanormal.com .
A Trail Cam at Claudia's house captures an odd anomaly...
...that is clearly moving across the room. But what is it?
Are you a paranormal investigator who would like to be featured in a future Paranormal Investigator Profile? E-mail me and let me know!
David Howington, Co-Founder of Rock-n-Roll Paranormal.
David Howington is the co-founder of Rock-n-Roll Paranormal, and he is today’s featured paranormal investigator. The RnRP website is a good resource for aspiring investigators and includes tips and advice. The team is also active in Atlanta-area charity work, so check their website to see how you can get involved in helping local organizations.
Where do you live?
Loganville, GA.
To what investigation teams do you belong?
RnRP – Rock-n-Roll Paranormal.
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
For me, it was definitely personal experiences from when I was younger. I like answers and not having them for what was happening and had happened, drove me nuts. So, I started reading and when I got older and could comprehend it more, started the research part. All the rest was just finding people to help get it started.
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
We really have two firsts, one was a funeral home. They were having some odd things happen. That was a good test of the new equipment.
The real first as a proper group was a vacant apartment. The story was a teen had committed suicide after his girlfriend broke up with him. It was creepy, definitely got answers in tune with how a teen would answer, caught footsteps, and breathing on the recorders.
We were able to debunk some things, we found a fear cage in the middle of the living room, but were able to confirm that there is something there.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
For me, it might have been the second time we went to the apartment. We found that there were actually two entities there. The evidence collected that night by far has been some of the best. Multiple times we captured voices and got video of a question and answer session with the EMF meters that is quite chilling.
What's that in the window at Stately Oaks?
Our investigation of Stately Oaks wasn’t the most eventful, but review of photos afterward provides us with one of the creepiest pictures I have ever seen.
What is your dream investigation?
There are a lot of places I want to go. I would love to go to the Winchester House, the Myrtles Plantation, The LaLaurie House, old infirmaries/hospitals, anywhere really.
My dream would be to go places that have been the site of sheer terror, probably due to a few things that I experienced as a kid.
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
I tend to like using EMF meters and EVP recorders for each sessions. That way, we can try to communicate with the EMF’s and maybe catch a vocal response or sounds.
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
You really have to give the TAPS guys a lot of credit. They have really brought a credibility factor to paranormal investigations and people aren’t afraid of looking crazy when asking for help regarding possible activity.
They weren’t the first but you can’t deny their positive impact on being able to get investigations but also the increase of the new technology and equipment.
David does an equipment sweep during an investigation.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
I always say, just go do it. You don’t need a van full of gadgets. Start small and build if you decide it is something you want to do.
You can watch all the shows you want but you really have to find your own way and what works best for you.
Just remember, not everything weird is paranormal. Discount all you can before putting “evidence” on display.
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)?
Outside of the RnRP and the day job, I am a court reporting student which keeps me fairly busy. I watch a lot of hockey and soccer, spending time with my girlfriend and friends, and reading when I can.
Let readers know where to find you and/or your team! Post links, Twitter accounts, etc., here:
Our website is www.rocknrollparanormal.org. The site has news, articles we write and written by other people, some of our evidence that we have collected, lists of equipment, links, anything that might be of interest to paranormal fans. We can also be found on Facebook.
Are you a paranormal investigator who would like to be featured in a future Paranormal Investigator Profile? E-mail me and let me know!
Gretchen at Fellowship Rd. Cemetery in Tucker, GA.
You never know where you’re going to run into a paranormal investigator. Today’s featured investigator is Gretchen Mann, who I met through our shared love of hockey. Gretchen and I were both avid Atlanta Thrashers fans. Hockey and ghosts…what could be better? Also, check out all of the links Gretchen provided to haunted locations where she has investigated!
Where do you live?
Born in GA grew up in Stone Mountain, GA. Reside in Tucker, GA with my husband Greg.
To what investigation teams do you belong?
GOGPI (Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal Investigators), but I have hunted with SPARS, PSI, Georgia Paranormal Research Society, and CAIPRS as a guest (Cape and Islands Paranormal Research Society- Cape Cod)
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
Loved the paranormal since I was very young. Never had experiences as a child but loved hearing my grandmother’s stories when she was a child on Cape Cod. My fourth grade science project was on paranormal investigations and I was a child in the 70s 
and in the Bible belt town of Redan. I am also personally very interested in life after death….
Gretchen and team members at OMER Cemetery north of Lawrenceville, GA.
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
Besides running around graveyards all my life. I think it was 2007? It was FUN….if it wasn’t I would not being doing it . My first investigation was in Lawrenceville in the old cemetery there, and then we went back to The Singing Bean in Lawrenceville Square and investigated there. It’s a coffee karaoke restaurant. Captured a Class A EVP of a child saying, “I’m happy!” in the cemetery. I was hooked and Joined the PSI network the next day.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
Wow…at first glance these questions seemed easy. This one is almost absolutely impossible to answer.
Gretchen says Hales Bar Marina was amazing. Her team was there a week after Ghost Adventures filmed there.
I like different places so far for different reasons. I love client homes, just because they are so interesting. but the most memorable? 1. For disembodied voices- PORT COLUMBUS in Columbus GA (Civil War Naval Museum). 2. For Appartions (an undisclosed hotel in Rome GA ). 3. My flashlight was in my tool pouch in my lap, and it is a push button LED. I was supine on a bed where a man died in Trenton, GA. My flashlight went on and off on demand as I was touched (like the itsy bitsy spider movement up my arm). 4. I had a doppelganger experience at Old South Pittsburgh Hospital in Tennessee. 5. Hales Bar Marina…..EMF detectors, flashlight interactions and EVPS to die for…haha..to die for.
What is your dream investigation?
My dream investigation would have to be Gettysburg. I love any cemetery or battlefield, but if I could investigate Gettysburg, I could die happy. I would also like to investigate the Manse house/ school in Dennis, MA. It is a very old homestead turned museum in Dennis, MA Cape Cod. Maybe someday
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
Wow I like using my five senses best. I am a strong believer that the best equipment on an investigation is the investigator. And I am working on my Sixth sense I do love EVPs and when they accompanied by personal experiences they are best. I think they are tangible, and I like the reaction my husband gets when he hears a really good one.
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
All my team members of course…but I’ll mention Derek Bartlett, Founder of CAIPRS on Cape Cod. His group has different departments. From ghost hunting to Cryptozoology to graveyard specialists. He holds monthly classes and talks at the community college in Barnstable. He also runs a ghost tour, that he only charges new attendees. It is interactive. He has keys to some of the establishments in town and you get to go in them where claims have happened. I think their group is very professional, and do a lot to raise awareness of the field. He has also held seminars with famous pioneers in the field, vendors, and hunts. He has taught at colleges. If I I ever live on the Cape I will try to be a member of CAIPRS.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
Do it! It’s fun and interesting. Protect yourself and join a group you trust and you get along with. My team trains new people.
Gretchen experienced a lot of cold spots at the Gatlinburg town cemetery.Do it! It's fun and interesting. Protect yourself and join a group you trust and you get along with. My team trains new people.
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)?
I am a cardiology nurse. I used to be an Atlanta Hockey Fan 
and in this category there is NO life after death . I have a second degree blackbelt in Tang Soo Do, I love to crochet, and I play the flute. Mostly I investigate now since there is no hockey season.
- great group of people check them out.
Kimber McDermott, in costume as Kaylee from Firefly.
Please welcome the lovely and talented Kimber McDermott to my Paranormal Investigator Profile series! I had the pleasure of meeting Kimber not through ghost hunting, but through a Guinness World Record attempt of the most people dancing to Thriller. Kimber was a co-organizer of the attempt during Dragon*Con. We didn’t get the record, but 903 of us had a blast busting out our creepiest moves!
Where do you live?
Outside of Savannah, GA
To what investigation teams do you belong?
I belonged to Historic Ghost Watch Investigation.
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
I was curious to see if there was anything to ghosts, and I figured being part of a team was my best bet in finding out. Was I ever right!
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
My first investigation was in March of 2004 or 2005 at a location known as Hell’s Church in Canton, GA. It’s actually the New Hightower Baptist Church, and it sits at the end of a very long, very rural road. A small cemetery fills the area around the building. Although there really isn’t much that might be paranormal about the area, it became rather infamous for being a church that was burned to the ground because supposed Satan worshipers used the area for rituals. Three teens threw firebombs at the church in 1990 for revenge on the man that killed one of the young men’s father 15 years before. The murderer had no ties to the church, but the young man thought the killer was a Satan worshiper and that burning the site of other worshipers would bring revenge for the death. A bit of a stretch on logic.
Nothing phenomenal happened except the appearance of a small, blue orb that was probably caused by the security light around the church, and a police officer that visited mentioned that a young woman supposedly hanged herself years before in the cemetery.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
We did the Military Hospital down in St. Augustine, and that was probably the most active for me. It’s very hard to describe what happened, but two different spirits came to me in a very strong way. The first one was the closest to evil as I can describe since I really don’t like using that word when talking about spirits. It makes people think of demons (which I don’t believe exist). When I walked into the room a blackness engulfed me and I felt as if I were being assaulted. Fear and coldness was all I felt. I had to break away from him, and when I did I ran out of the building and most of the way down the street sobbing. I had never done that before or since. Truly horrible, and I almost didn’t go back in. When I did, finally, our group stayed upstairs while the other group investigated downstairs. I sensed a little girl in the room, and it was as if she took over my body. I felt light and happy for the first time all night (my group said my voice changed, but I don’t know about that). That feeling went swiftly away when I went downstairs, and it made me very sad. For the rest of the night I was terrified of the room where the attack happened, and I could sense him in the corner…perched and waiting.
My other favorite was a little more positive.
What is your dream investigation?
Any castle in the UK that isn’t advertised as being haunted but probably is.
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
I let the spirits come to me if they want. I’m a sensitive, and I just wait for them to speak or show themselves. I never have to wait long.
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
Honestly, no one right now. It’s all about the books or the TV shows. I’m more interested in helping those being haunted and learning about what causes hauntings. I don’t want to make any money or garner fame.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
Remember that a lot of what happens is most likely due to hysteria. I’ve seen many people go nuts because one person claimed to be touched, then suddenly everyone else is being touched. Every little noise is not caused by a ghost, and EMF meters don’t help find spirits.
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)? I’m a homemaker…pretty boring. (A note from Beth: First, being a homemaker is anything but boring, I’m sure! Second, if you’re a Firefly/Serenity fan, check out Kimber’s beautiful work at Nala Serenity.)
Are you a paranormal investigator who would like to be featured in a future Paranormal Investigator Profile? E-mail me and let me know!
I’m happy to announce that Ghost of a Memory (Book 3 of the Betty Boo, Ghost Hunter Series) debuts on Wednesday, March 21! Since that’s just two weeks away, I thought I would share the synopsis and cover here. If you need to catch up, you can read Ghost of a Threat and Ghost of a Whisper in both ebook and paperback. Enjoy!
Synopsis
A month after losing Maxwell, Betty “Boo” Boorman is feeling lonely, isolated, and desperate to get away from reminders of her demon ex-boyfriend. When rival ghost hunter Carter Lansford approaches Betty with a wild story about zombies, Betty jumps at the chance to investigate. An abandoned island resort off the coast of Georgia is infested with the walking dead, and a preservation team has asked Betty and Carter for help. The only thing worse than spending two weeks on an uninhabited island with Carter is having the whole thing filmed for a new reality show. As Betty tries to put on a brave face for the camera, she faces stubborn ghosts, rotting corpses, and one very handsome historian.
Kerri Wright with Georgia Paranormal Investigators
Kerri Wright is today’s featured investigator. As a member of Georgia Paranormal Investigators, she has had some incredible experiences, and collected a few stunning photos, which you’ll see below. The Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia, was already on my list of haunted places I’d like to investigate, but now I want to go there with Kerri. She gets results!
Where do you live?
Byron, which is in Middle Georgia
To what investigation teams do you belong?
Members of GPI on an investigation.
I am one of the Co-Founders and the Case Manager for GPI, Georgia Paranormal Investigators. I also work closely with a local Demonologist on cases, trying to help those in need of Spiritual help.
What made you want to be a paranormal investigator?
I have always had a life long, deep interest in all things paranormal. I did have an experience as a child, where my deceased grandmother was standing at the foot of my bed looking at me. I would like to know who, what, why, where & how come? Why does this phenomena happen?
The Windsor Hotel. The left-hand pic shows the mist by the frame. In the right-hand pic, it's floating across the room.
When was your first investigation, and what was it like?
My first “real” investigation was at the Windsor Hotel in Americus, Ga. After being in the hotel room for only a few minutes, we “caught” our first EVP, which at the time, we did not know we had someone speaking to us. When reviewing evidence, came across a male voice that said, “Please, I gotta find a way outta here”. (What a great Class A EVP!) Later that evening, I witnessed what I believe to be an apparition moving across the room, where I suddenly became very emotional, crying & then laughing. The covers on our bed at night were being tugged on, as well as we photographed many so called “orbs” and a mist that formed from a picture hanging on the wall moving towards the door. For one of my first investigations, it was an awesome experience and we obtained remarkable evidence of the paranormal.
What is your most memorable investigation so far?
Note the figure in the doorway and the golden streaks radiating from it. This is a plantation home from the 1800s.
I would have to say the Windsor Hotel, which was my first investigation. We obtained a great deal of evidence in the time we were there, from Class A EVPs, mist forming & moving about the room and the personal experiences we had. Followed by that, it would be The Eagle’s Tavern in Watkinsville, Ga. Our team was down in the basement doing an EVP session, when there was physical movement of one of our video cameras. I asked that
the entity show us one more sign of it’s presence & our camera was knocked off it’s stand, while all the team members were on the other side of the room.
A close-up of the above shows what seems to be a figure of a child. A little girl did die in the home.
What is your dream investigation?
My dream investigation would probably have to be investigating the famously haunted Waverly Hills Sanitarium in Kentucky, followed by Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Kentucky. There are so many places I would live to go, if money and time allowed!
What is your favorite method of investigating (i.e. EVP sessions, dowsing rods, etc.)?
My favorite method of investigating would have to be conducting EVP sessions. You can debunk a lot of “orbs” in pictures and video, however to hear a voice that was not present at the time of the investigation, is so awesome to me and pretty much can stand alone in evidence. I just wish “they” would answer the questions I want to know the answers to!
Who do you look up to in the paranormal community?
The person(s) I most admire is those paranormal investigators and teams who share paranormal unity. We are all in this field of research for pretty much the same reasons, to find out if there is life after death and why. I believe that paranormal investigators should share information, venues, research methods, equipment possibilities and evidence.
What is your advice to people who want to get involved in paranormal investigation?
GPI members.
My first suggestions in to be strong in your faith, whatever that might be. We never know what we are talking to & what is talking back! I truly believe there are demonic forces out there as well as intelligent and residual energies. Read, study, read, study & then read some more about all things to do with your field of study. Knowledge is power. Never enter places that are restricted and are clearly marked as no trespassing, as this makes all paranormal investigative teams look bad. Do a lot of research and understand what you are reading so you can apply it in the field. Be an investigator, looking for all probable causes of any activity, whether it be man made, nature, or paranormal. Be open-minded, very patient, be supportive of others, other than that, get some minor equipment to start off with & go have fun!
What do you do outside of investigating (family, hobbies, job, etc.)?
I work full time as the Business Manager of a local newspaper, have a fantastic family that supports me in my quest for paranormal knowledge & evidence. In fact, that is where I met my “better half”, as we both investigate the paranormal as well as help out spiritually with a local Demonologist.
Let readers know where to find you and/or your team! Post links, Twitter accounts, etc., here:
Georgia Paranormal Investigators can be contacted thru our website, www.GaParanormal.net or you can check us out on Facebook. Our e-mail address
is GaParanormal@hotmail.com.
