I've been remiss in reporting here about the SoCalParaCon, as well as anything else the last few months on the site, and for that I apologize. It's not that I haven't wanted to report anything here, it's just that I've been too busy to do any web editing, so all reports of new stuff and news in general has been posted on our FaceBook page, and reported on our radio show, (http://blogtalkradio.com/claranormal) a quick and simple way to do this, and perfect for saving time. The radio show is currently on three days a week at 9:00 PM Pacific time, Tuesdays with an open format, Thursdays, Ask Ovilus, and Fridays which is Ghosts in History day.
Most recent news:
Yesterday was the SoCalParaCon, the very first one, and the largest paranormal convention ever in Southern California. There were well over 200 attendees from what I'm told, and I was able to meet many really great people, and meet up with a some people I had met before. I did not snap any pictures of either the paracon, nor of the participants, as there were good photographers doing just that.
On the SoCalParacon, we were sort of junior members of the team that put it together, and really didn't do much to make it happen. We got in in the early stages, but not the very beginning, and our financial contribution towards the ParaCon was almost nil, this due to the fact that I and my business got into poor financial situation, and my energies and finances were needed to put towards saving my business. Yes, we promoted the Paracon, we made the suggestion and initial inquiry into the L.A. Convention Center as a location for the event when the 2nd of three candidates fell through. I worked with the Museum of Death to secure that location as a second location for the AfterCon ghost hunt, but that was at Jessica's urging after the other three hunt locations fell though, one of which I worked fruitlessly on, that one holding the key to the other two. By and large, our contribution was miniscule, especially compared to the efforts of the others involved in the committee who put this on. And heading the committee was Jessica, who was, simply put, a rock star!
One of the funnier things I witnessed, funny to me at least, was the great number of people having pictures taken of themselves with the various personalities at the event, which to me is a rather odd custom. Although I certainly understand it, it really isn't my bag, as to me it slides perilously close to sycophantism. Don't get me wrong, I like and respect these people, I'm simply more comfortable meeting and conversing with the 'stars' in the paranormal field as colleagues rather than as 'heroes.' People are people, not 'photo-ops' as far as I'm concerned, but I don't begrudge people with the opposing view.
I saw Rex Williams, but he never got close enough to me to 'meet and greet,' and I've never seen his show anyway, so what would be the common ground in which to warrant shaking his hand and conversing with him? Same with Christopher Booth, he never approached close enough to meet, although I have seen some of the productions he and his brother have put together.
On that note, "The Haunted Boy: The Secret Diary of the Exorcist," based on the true story behind the movie "The Exorcist" looks like it's going to be great! Mr. Booth was there to give a preview of the film, and folks, this is a must see! I can't add any flowery descriptive to that, it's simply a must see.
I have no pictures to prove I met Douglas Carnahan, Mark Nelson, Don Staggs (finally) Scott Gruenwald, et al, however I am none the less pleased with having done so. Don, Doug, and Scott are extraordinary individuals, in and out of this field. and each of whom I was greatly impressed with. A+ people. I only got to speak with Mark Nelson briefly when he was on his way out of the convention, and from the little bit of conversation I had with him, I'd say that he too is an A+ person.
On Mark Nelson, he gave a demonstration of psychometry, and although it seemed scintillating, from my vantage point I couldn't hear a thing, so my hope is that next year they'll have the personalities hooked to wireless microphones.
On Scott Gruenwald, and not to the detriment of any one else I met at the SoCalParaCon, he was by far was the most impressive. He's a super cool guy, a bundle of enormous energy, and he lets it all hang out. Simply put, he himself is a force of nature, an extraordinary individual.
To be sure, our group is sort of the "Odd Duck" in the local field. We were not "trained" or mentored by any of the local "stalwarts" in the field, nor were we trained by, or imitate televisions shows. We have learned the field from the ground up by studying the field in text books, and by experience in the field. Nor would we ever deign ourselves to be the end all, be all authorities in this field, as I have a conscious aversion to people who posture and position themselves as the greatest thing since sliced bread in any field. This, however, has left us a bit isolated from the local groups, something that hopefully my presence at the ParaCon helped resolve.
What's amazing to me though, is that nearly every speaker I heard at the ParaCon thinks, believes, and works almost exactly as we do. One in fact trumpeted the work of late, great Hans Holzer PhD, a personal hero of mine, (which you would know if you've listen to my radio show over the last month or two) and someone who, if he were still alive, I'd be MORE than thrilled to have my photo taken with! That would be a picture worthy the undertaking of a tiny bit of sycophant behavior.
We have always promoted groups working together in this field and stopping the ego driven drivel which permeates this field EVERYWHERE, something we have harped on quite heavily on our radio show since inception, and have stated publicly many, many times, long before the radio show came into being. The good news is that most of the people and groups I spoke with at the paranormal convention were extremely forthcoming, open, polite and friendly, yet, and this just floors me, a few people were none of the above. No names, and that's how it'll stay.
The AfterCon P.I.E.
This is my term for it, a tongue in cheek poke in the eye at the use of acronyms in the paranormal field, and it stands for the After Paranormal Convention Paranormal Investigation Event.
The P.I.E. was originally set to go to 3 locations on Hollywood Blvd, but we just couldn't seem to hammer out an agreement with any of these places through no fault of our own. I'm not going to mention names, but one particular person in this fiasco refused to return calls, and we were sort of stuck without a P.I.E. location until almost the last minute. Luckily the folks from Boyle Heights Paranormal Project came though for the SoCalParaCon with Linda Vista Hospital.
This was the primary location for the P.I.E., Linda Vista Hospital, as seen on Ghost Adventures, You Tube and Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood (with yours truly). Even though the tickets for this were event were $75.00 each, all of the available slots sold out fast, as one would expect of an uber-haunted location which has been televised. Due to the sell out of tickets, I, along with a great number of others, were not able to attend the Linda Vista Hospital Investigation, as only so many people could be allowed in there at a time.
I was asked by Jessica, who was the primary force behind the ParaCon, to secure a secondary location for a paranormal investigation, and her suggestion was the Museum of Death on Hollywood Blvd., a business she'd been to before, and she thought was an "awesome place."
Well, as it turned out, I got designated as the lead for the Museum of Death, a place I have never before visited and knew nothing about, "leading" a group of people I had never met before that day, so "leading an investigation" was quite out of the question, as I had no idea of the investigators' techniques nor capabilities, nor what to expect of the Museum itself. I decided the best course of action would be to allow those who came to just "do what they will" rather than try and focus them in any particular area. Let face it folks, the people who went on the investigations are veteran ghost hunters in their own right, and really didn't need me telling them what to do. That would have been pretentious.
The Museum of Death is owned and operated by Cathee and J.D., in order of my introduction to each, and is managed by Eric. I spoke to Eric on the phone, a pleasure to be sure, and I met Cathee and J.D. for the first time the night of the investigation. As one would expect of owners of a Museum of Death, they are characters, but in a good way. Both being very lively and upbeat, they run the place in a lively and upbeat manner. A bit odd considering the subject matter, death and the manner of deaths presented, is anything but "lively." It was very much a pleasure to visit despite this apparent dichotomy.
Funny sight: I saw a lady and her husband enter the Museum of Death when I first arrived, and saw them leave a short time later, the lady obviously unsettled. Nevertheless I gobbled a foot long meatball sandwich from Subway before going in to see the exhibits, although I wasn't sure that was such a great idea. However, I had not eaten anything all day, was on the verge of passing out, so when I was told there was a Subway next door to the museum, I was off like a shot. Surprisingly I had no regurgitation issues at all despite the gore displayed. My grub stayed right where it needed to be.
The Investigation
I can't write on the Linda Vista Hospital investigation, because I was not permitted to attend, even after the Museum of Death investigation ended at 1:00 AM, so I'll leave that to those fortunate enough to have attended. Jess texted me at 1:12 AM from Linda Vista while I was on my long drive home asking if we were done with the Museum of Death investigation, (Scott and most of the people with him left somewhere around midnight) which was of course was answered with an affirmative, and texted back that we had in fact caught some EVP's, and had a sighting of an apparent spirit. Later she texted me that there was "awesome lots of activity" at LVH.
Back at the Museum of Death
This was the first ever investigation of the Hollywood Museum of Death according to the proprietors,
The ladies with a group from Stockton, California had both witnessed a ghost of a woman standing directly behind me, and I mean RIGHT behind me. My first instinct was the same as if they had told me there was a rattlesnake behind me, but I quelled that knee jerk reaction and held my ground. I don't run from ghosts or spirits, but usually head towards them. Still, it's a bit unsettling to have two people tell you, and confirm for each other that there's a spirit they can SEE behind you, almost breathing down your neck. I checked both of their eyes (not easy in the dark) to ensure they were both looking in exactly the same direction, at the same exact thing, and yes, they were. I wanted to be positive they were not engaging in an elaborate ruse, you know, a clever game of "Scare the Ghost Hunter." Even though I didn't think they would ever do such a thing, I still wanted to be able to document for myself that this was an honest sighting. I believe it was.
The area that I feel was the most active in this building was the area with the Sharon Tate, and Elizabeth Short (black Dahlia) crime scene photos in it. We caught EVP's in this area, felt something moving around like a charged energy, and logged a 6 degree temperature drop in an area which had no openings in it at all, and which a short time later resumed it's baseline temperature. The Stockton investigators also had this stuff I have never used called "Ghost Powder," which is sprinkled on ones clothing, and which in theory 'lights up' or gives off visible light when said area of clothing is touched by a spirit in complete darkness. One of the lady's present said she was being touched by something unseen, and sure enough, the powder glowed, affirming this.
The second most I feel was the area with the severed head of a serial killer on display. This is an actual head of a man who killed over 200 women in France, and was executed by Guillotine in 1923. This is where the spirit of the woman behind me manifested.
We also experience 11 or 12 seemingly random hits on the K2 meter in various spots of the museum, from outside the front door, to almost every room. These measured up to 10 milligauss, but what's odd is the the other EMF meter, our Ghost Meter, never sounded off once.
Lastly, I took a photo of the proprietors before I left to display with the written account and the evidence collected, but it did not turn out. Something odd happened to it, like a double exposure, but what's curious is that something moved in the photo which is not part and parcel of a double exposure. Further strange is that I examined the photo before leaving the premises, and there was nothing odd about it at all. It was clear, but when I downloaded the photo is was full of artifacts.
