One of the most frequent questions asked is, "Can anybody see ghosts?"
The answer is yes. In fact, many investigation requests originate from those that have never had an unexplainable experience before and are suddenly meet with something they can't rationalize. It can be as simple as sitting on a park bench and seeing a lady that isn't there vanish in front of them after talking to that lady. Or perhaps a new parent is dealing with their infant interacting to something unseen. Sometimes it's a new house, or an old house that's been remodeled. Other times there is a recent death and a person is woken to the recently passed loved one.
In any situation, there doesn't have to be any prior paranormal encounter or knowledge of spirits. Unfortunately, it is often more frightening the first time one sees a ghost and it isn't on TV. The natural response is, "I didn't just see that." The next step is to explain what the person did really see and investigate. However, depending on what was seen this may be too scary for some.
The number one thing to remember is a ghost or spirit is not like TV and will not typically cause any physical harm. The media makes ghosts out to be scary for ratings to sell movies. While each situation must be taken on a case by case basis, if you have had a spirit around for years and it hasn't hurt you. Then the likelihood of it every bothering you is pretty darn low. As my husband says, "Just ask them to pay rent!" Now we have had a case of one spirit doing the laundry. I offered to bring them home, but my husband said, "no".
So can anybody have a paranormal experience? Absolutely! In fact it's usually when you least expect it too. Just remember to remain calm and not think of those scary Halloween movies.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A private moment between this world and the next.
For those that know me growing up, I was able to sleep through anything. The night of my grandfather's passing (in another state) he woke me with his pipe smoke at the time of his passing. He even had to wake me a second time to make sure I gave my mother his message. Now, here was the catch. My mother and I never spoke of what I had the ability to "see". Even more distressing, "How does a child tell her mother that her no longer living father has a very important message for her?" Since I promised him would tell her, I had to figure out a way. I'll tell you now that it took me five years to deliver grandpa's message. The message was exactly what she needed to hear most from him and I had no way of knowing.
Why do I share this? For those of you that sit in silence and are too afraid to break that silence. There comes a time when you know in your heart that you have to put your own feelings aside. Yes, you will be hurt from time to time. However, you will suffer even more by sitting in silence.
In the end for me, there was a new bond formed between my mother and I. I was able to share things I saw as a child about her family. She later showed me pictures that I had never seen. One of the ladies I thought was a stranger growing up, was actually an aunt that was very close to my mother.
To this day I can still smell my grandfather's pipe smoke. Mom knows he is around when she smells it now. I've been visited by other relatives at the time of passing, but never jarred awake for the purpose of giving anybody a message. It's easy to relate to stranger's that have passed. However, when it's family asking for help it is so very much more difficult.
Out of this, I was forced to open up. I had not told anybody to what extent I saw dead people until then. After that I began work as a paramedic. I new what equipment to grab because I saw the victims and the injuries before we got to the scenes. Perhaps grandpa was preparing me?
Why do I share this? For those of you that sit in silence and are too afraid to break that silence. There comes a time when you know in your heart that you have to put your own feelings aside. Yes, you will be hurt from time to time. However, you will suffer even more by sitting in silence.
In the end for me, there was a new bond formed between my mother and I. I was able to share things I saw as a child about her family. She later showed me pictures that I had never seen. One of the ladies I thought was a stranger growing up, was actually an aunt that was very close to my mother.
To this day I can still smell my grandfather's pipe smoke. Mom knows he is around when she smells it now. I've been visited by other relatives at the time of passing, but never jarred awake for the purpose of giving anybody a message. It's easy to relate to stranger's that have passed. However, when it's family asking for help it is so very much more difficult.
Out of this, I was forced to open up. I had not told anybody to what extent I saw dead people until then. After that I began work as a paramedic. I new what equipment to grab because I saw the victims and the injuries before we got to the scenes. Perhaps grandpa was preparing me?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
My First Ghost Story
It began with mom and dad cleaning out the closed off room in our 100 year old farm house. I was five, but it seemed like yesterday. I peeked inside this once sealed room to see thick dust over old dressers and cob webs everywhere. It was like the movie "Child of Glass" when they entered the old abandoned farm house. What made it so odd, was this room had not just been closed, but painted and nailed closed. I asked once, but there was no answer as to why.
When I first entered the room under restoration, it felt like an ice box and scared me terribly. It wasn't too long before my sister and I had to sleep in there on our bunk beds. That was the last time I rested at night. I felt like I was being watched from the foot of my bed near the window. I even put my pillow down there so I wouldn't feel my imagination staring at me. That made it worse, and I slept with the covers over my head. Not long after that I felt an especially strong urge to look at the corner of my bed, only to see an elderly woman with big curly gray hair in a black high collar dress. She was not family. I can only guess she lived in the home with the original owners. She wasn't mean, but very stern. I now she looked after me, but I still couldn't rest knowing I was being watched.
When I was in my early teens, I was given the option of moving into the front tiny bedroom or staying in that large one by myself. To my parents surprise, I jumped at the chance to leave the room.
I don't know how long after it was that the dreams of a fire began. Our whole family got out every time, but the fire was always in the same place. When I asked about the fire in the kitchen downstairs, my mom turned white. She had never spoken of it. I begged her to tell me what she knew. She made me tell her why I was asking and every detail of my daily dream. She still had no colour.
She finally confirmed that there was a fire exactly were I told her and to stop asking questions about it. It was made clear that my "vision" was unacceptable.
I struggled through many years of growing and seeing things that I knew to be glimpses of the past or future. It wouldn't be until I was over 30 until I found a way to share what I saw routinely.
This is why I have such passion for helping children and families with unexplainable events. Nobody needs to live in fear by themselves. They could have taught me how to figure out that some of what I heard, was just an old creaky house. Now we have an amazing relationship and I would not have changed a thing in how they raised me. It made me who I am and able to help others.
Ann Bender (Overhiser), API Co-Founder
When I first entered the room under restoration, it felt like an ice box and scared me terribly. It wasn't too long before my sister and I had to sleep in there on our bunk beds. That was the last time I rested at night. I felt like I was being watched from the foot of my bed near the window. I even put my pillow down there so I wouldn't feel my imagination staring at me. That made it worse, and I slept with the covers over my head. Not long after that I felt an especially strong urge to look at the corner of my bed, only to see an elderly woman with big curly gray hair in a black high collar dress. She was not family. I can only guess she lived in the home with the original owners. She wasn't mean, but very stern. I now she looked after me, but I still couldn't rest knowing I was being watched.
When I was in my early teens, I was given the option of moving into the front tiny bedroom or staying in that large one by myself. To my parents surprise, I jumped at the chance to leave the room.
I don't know how long after it was that the dreams of a fire began. Our whole family got out every time, but the fire was always in the same place. When I asked about the fire in the kitchen downstairs, my mom turned white. She had never spoken of it. I begged her to tell me what she knew. She made me tell her why I was asking and every detail of my daily dream. She still had no colour.
She finally confirmed that there was a fire exactly were I told her and to stop asking questions about it. It was made clear that my "vision" was unacceptable.
I struggled through many years of growing and seeing things that I knew to be glimpses of the past or future. It wouldn't be until I was over 30 until I found a way to share what I saw routinely.
This is why I have such passion for helping children and families with unexplainable events. Nobody needs to live in fear by themselves. They could have taught me how to figure out that some of what I heard, was just an old creaky house. Now we have an amazing relationship and I would not have changed a thing in how they raised me. It made me who I am and able to help others.
Ann Bender (Overhiser), API Co-Founder
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Fraud and Death in the Paranormal Field
While I prefer to simply help people, I understand that public education is an inherent tool to helping people understanding how we help. It is also important for the public to understand how not not be fooled by those just our to make a quick buck, fraudulently. I like to teach by example. While I don't judge a medium or psychic that takes money for service rendered (it's not my place). I do wish there were some sort of guidelines in place that addressed fraudulent activity that has come to run rampant across the country in this hard economy. Also, while psychics are an easy target, I do not believe they are by far the worst offenders.
Just like in the early EMS (Emergency Medical System) days of the 1970's, there are NO regulations for the paranormal community as a whole that has now become an industry of it's own. Example: and yes, this is true, ambulances originally carried bodies to the morgue or patients to the hospital. The "ambulances" were paid more money to bring a body to the morgue than a live person to the hospital. Some companies brought more to the morgue than the hospital that could have survived. It took over 25 years for regulations to establish this fact and correct this atrocity. Not all was because of deviancy, but simple lack of training. I was a paramedic for 10 years and those in the field, this is fact not fiction. It was a living horror movie not yet made to date. There was a comedy made in the 1980's called "Mother, Jugs, and Speed". Believe it or not - this was how it really was in some ambulance companys! If you know this movie, it is NO different for the paranormal world today.
The is fraud ongoing on an international level, but is not life and death. I fear because of that, it will be far longer than 25 years before there are some guidelines for the everyday paranormal investigator. The deaths will stack up from people trespassing and perishing on unsanctioned investigations. Since tragedy drives legislation, more will need to perish this way before central guidelines are established and recognized.
Sadly, it is the deviant individual that prey's on a scared family in crisis or need. Or the prepetrator will seek out an elderly person grieving the lose of a loved one. These people may eve form "teams" that can consist of one, two, or more people that may or may not be real. Meantime, hardworking teams/individuals that are there to never take money are grouped into the same category. Some of these people may charge for their professional service as this is how they make their living AND have years of experience to offer for that service. Hence why I do NOT judge a single person. Each person taking money knows why you accept that money and under what pretense it is handed over. The paranormal field is deeply entrenched in psychology. This is a great thing and at other times a deadly thing for the victims.
Case and point: If you are looking for paranormal help, I BEG of you to research the people you are asking to help you. These are strangers in your home and life. Just like you trust a doctor with private information, you need to feel comfortable with them. If you do not - no matter the team - find one that is a right "fit" for you. Ask questions to the people you meet. Find out about their day jobs. Observe their eye contact and body language. Get copies of anything you sign, or did they even ask you to sign anything? Think in legal terms when confidentiality like when you visit a hospital or any professional (whom would you give personal information to).
Perhaps the team is new and teams are limited in your area? Maybe you know some legalities they may need and don't do - then offer to help. Watch for the response. That response will tell you volumes. Also, just because they are new, doesn't mean they can't help, either. They may not have the years of experience to draw from, but enthusiasm and a listening ear will go miles if they are ethical!
Best of luck to you all!
Just like in the early EMS (Emergency Medical System) days of the 1970's, there are NO regulations for the paranormal community as a whole that has now become an industry of it's own. Example: and yes, this is true, ambulances originally carried bodies to the morgue or patients to the hospital. The "ambulances" were paid more money to bring a body to the morgue than a live person to the hospital. Some companies brought more to the morgue than the hospital that could have survived. It took over 25 years for regulations to establish this fact and correct this atrocity. Not all was because of deviancy, but simple lack of training. I was a paramedic for 10 years and those in the field, this is fact not fiction. It was a living horror movie not yet made to date. There was a comedy made in the 1980's called "Mother, Jugs, and Speed". Believe it or not - this was how it really was in some ambulance companys! If you know this movie, it is NO different for the paranormal world today.
The is fraud ongoing on an international level, but is not life and death. I fear because of that, it will be far longer than 25 years before there are some guidelines for the everyday paranormal investigator. The deaths will stack up from people trespassing and perishing on unsanctioned investigations. Since tragedy drives legislation, more will need to perish this way before central guidelines are established and recognized.
Sadly, it is the deviant individual that prey's on a scared family in crisis or need. Or the prepetrator will seek out an elderly person grieving the lose of a loved one. These people may eve form "teams" that can consist of one, two, or more people that may or may not be real. Meantime, hardworking teams/individuals that are there to never take money are grouped into the same category. Some of these people may charge for their professional service as this is how they make their living AND have years of experience to offer for that service. Hence why I do NOT judge a single person. Each person taking money knows why you accept that money and under what pretense it is handed over. The paranormal field is deeply entrenched in psychology. This is a great thing and at other times a deadly thing for the victims.
Case and point: If you are looking for paranormal help, I BEG of you to research the people you are asking to help you. These are strangers in your home and life. Just like you trust a doctor with private information, you need to feel comfortable with them. If you do not - no matter the team - find one that is a right "fit" for you. Ask questions to the people you meet. Find out about their day jobs. Observe their eye contact and body language. Get copies of anything you sign, or did they even ask you to sign anything? Think in legal terms when confidentiality like when you visit a hospital or any professional (whom would you give personal information to).
Perhaps the team is new and teams are limited in your area? Maybe you know some legalities they may need and don't do - then offer to help. Watch for the response. That response will tell you volumes. Also, just because they are new, doesn't mean they can't help, either. They may not have the years of experience to draw from, but enthusiasm and a listening ear will go miles if they are ethical!
Best of luck to you all!
Dowsing with Dänna Wilberg on Paranormal Connections
I was humbly asked to be on Paranormal Connections with Dänna Wilberg, recently airing Oct. 4th and 5th locally in Sacramento. She was a joy to talk to and made me feel very comfortable on a topic very personal.
I will be stepping outside of my shell on Oct. 28th and teaching a small dowsing class to others at the Sacramento Learning Exchange. You may make your reservation at http://www.ap-investigations.com.
This is all to benefit American Paranormal Investigations and to help them assist others in need of understanding the unexplained in their homes or place of work.
I will be stepping outside of my shell on Oct. 28th and teaching a small dowsing class to others at the Sacramento Learning Exchange. You may make your reservation at http://www.ap-investigations.com.
This is all to benefit American Paranormal Investigations and to help them assist others in need of understanding the unexplained in their homes or place of work.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Nightwatchers at the old hospital in Virginia City, NV
It's now the St. Mary's Art Institute by day. If you wish to stay the night you may see more than art. The old hospital sits on 5 1/2 acres of original cemeteries, mine shafts, and old artifacts not yet rediscovered. The caretakers of the surprisingly huge 3 story building are happy to give anybody a guided tour and share experiences. They have had blinds move that didn't exists, to sightings as far back as the 1960's of a lady in white. While the rooms are very comfortable some come supplied with more than the usual furnishings. In one room we began our tour by hearing a man's voice whisper very firmly at us. While we couldn't hear the words, I didn't get the impression he wanted us hanging out in his room.
In the old surgery, now the new meeting area and second kitchen, nothing seemed unusual during the daylight. Nobody present could explain the difference at night except for a heavy feeling that made it very uncomfortable to stay there.
Up on the the second floor where the bulk of the patients slept is now the main art area. Michelle took an interesting picture of bright lights that we actually saw zipping at us. It's easy to brush off "orbs" but this experience was very different in that we saw what she took a picture of.
On the third floor I stood in the psychiatric room and source of at least one fire. On the tour Angela had mentioned that they heard wheels on the floor at any time of day or night. Right by the outside of the door I heard a set of 2 wooden wheels go back and fourth. I looked and nobody was there and the investigation had not started. I never heard that sound again all night during the investigation.
The best part about the weekend was how wonderful the caretakers, Angela and Ron, and every single Nightwatcher was that came to the event. It was a joy to meet and investigate with you all.
I look forward to a return visit.
In the old surgery, now the new meeting area and second kitchen, nothing seemed unusual during the daylight. Nobody present could explain the difference at night except for a heavy feeling that made it very uncomfortable to stay there.
Up on the the second floor where the bulk of the patients slept is now the main art area. Michelle took an interesting picture of bright lights that we actually saw zipping at us. It's easy to brush off "orbs" but this experience was very different in that we saw what she took a picture of.
On the third floor I stood in the psychiatric room and source of at least one fire. On the tour Angela had mentioned that they heard wheels on the floor at any time of day or night. Right by the outside of the door I heard a set of 2 wooden wheels go back and fourth. I looked and nobody was there and the investigation had not started. I never heard that sound again all night during the investigation.
The best part about the weekend was how wonderful the caretakers, Angela and Ron, and every single Nightwatcher was that came to the event. It was a joy to meet and investigate with you all.
I look forward to a return visit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)