Spirit Activity: Little Prairie Girl Captured in Photo

Spirit Activity; why are spirits more active during the cold months? 

Some of our best evidence is captured during cold evening investigations and it would not be misleading to say that the colder the better.  Why is that? There is an enormous amount of information we have yet to compile when it comes to dealing with the paranormal. This field is just gaining recognition. It was not that long ago ghost stories belonged only to scared campers around the campfire.  

Now, anyone with a camera and a recorder can organize their own ghost hunt, so why not gain more information and not waste the time.  

I doubt that spirits are bothered by the temperature in that they prefer cold weather over hot summer nights to roam. They are after all, without a body and the ability to feel sensations. So, why is it that cold weather seems to be linked to capturing really great evidence?  

It is actually scientific. Cold weather has drier air and that produces static electrical charges, which can be used as energy for spirits; thus, the colder the night the better chance of static electrical charges providing an energy source for greater activity.  

Below are several photos representing how static electric charges can energize spirit activity; the first one is taken at Detroit Cemetery in Detroit, Kansas,

               A definition according to Wikipedia: -Detroit is an unincorporated area in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. It is located halfway between Abilene and Chapman, two miles north of Enterprise. The town is at an elevation of 1, 147 feet.  

In the early years of the county, Detroit was once strongly considered to be the county seat because Abilene was considered to be “too wild” of a town to serve as a center of government. However, Abilene became the county seat and Detroit ceased to grow from that point forward.  

Detroit is a "square" town, two blocks long and two blocks wide. The three north-south streets are Main, Middle, and School. The three east-west streets are First, Second, and Third. There are no more streets in Detroit. All six streets are unpaved.

The following is reported by Cheryl Miller, Founder of Cee’s Ghost Hunting and Paranormal.  

                   “It was a cold, spring night as we passed through Detroit on our way home. I carry my camera with me at all times and something nagged at me to stop at the old cemetery. It was 8:30pm, and as the sun dropped the night came in cold. I walked around, snapping shots and looking at tombstones. That’s when I captured the prairie girl standing by the fence line. Her clothes resemble a pioneer around the early 1800’s. There was no one else with me that evening except for my husband. There were no other cars in the cemetery and we saw no one standing in our view. It was not until we inspected our photos at home that we realized we had captured a young girl in pioneer garb standing by the fence. “

Let's take a closer look

She's on the right side of the photo: Let's enlarge it more.

 See her now?

Compare the size of the tombstone in the forefront to the girl. Wow! Now that's a good photo.

 

“At another cold evening investigation in October, we stopped in Manchester, Kansas, an even smaller town than Detroit. Manchester boosts a population of 95 according to the latest census.  The entire town is 0.3 square miles. In 1887 it was a hub for the Aitcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad.

There was crispness to the air, a chill in the wind and I decided to walk the sidewalk taking photos. Here is what that cold static filled air produced in spirit activity.  We of course, saw none of this with our eyes; it was not until we looked at the photos themselves that we could see these anomalies of lights and energy. “

Lights appearing in strans of ribbons, darting here and there, exploding with energy

Tips to remember when investigating in the cold:

1. Hold your breath when you take your photos; that way you won’t contaminate your photos with wispy exhales.
2. Walking—be careful if there is frost or snow on the ground not to stir up crystals that can infiltrate your camera frame. Walk slowly and deliberately

REMEMBER

Remember all you ghost hunters out there, respect property and respect the dead, and always carry extra batteries! Be sure to check back for more investigations by Cee’s Ghost Hunting and Paranormal. You can also sign up for email notifications at the bottom of this blog.  Be careful out there.

ghost-written by D. Susan Rutz

The Ouija Board

The Ouija Board

According to Wikipedia, the art of planchette writing began around 1100 AD in China, used by the Quanzhen School as a means of contacting the spirit world. It was part of special rituals and spread throughout the ancient world and medieval Europe. It was banned from use by the Quing Dynasty but by that time the practice of speaking with spirits was well defined.  The planchette is the small triangle object used as a ‘pointer’ when identifying letters, words and numbers. At that time only the planchette was used and the letters, numbers, or symbols were drawn on the ground in dirt, painting on the floor of sacred rooms and possibly carved into moveable wood pieces.

It became a ‘toy’ in the late 19^th century; patented by Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard as a board game.  Kennard claimed that in using the planchette it identified itself as Ouija; an ancient Egyptian word meaning, ‘good luck’; thus the Ouija Board was born.

For many years the game was a mere parlor entertainment to fascinate the users into believing they were contracting the other side.   The darker side of the game was emphasized in the late 1990’s; mostly by evangelicals Christians as a tool of the devil. It became known as the ‘witch board’ and deemed a portal to evil.

Movies, books, stories of ghastly happenings when using the board became a Hollywood promotion to sell tickets.

Recently, the board game has been banned by paranormal groups as portals that allow spirits—good and bad---to enter your home.

We had a Ouija board and used it at every sleep-over during my high school years. I can remember being scared when the planchette moved, slowly spelling out words and ‘talking’ to us. Usually, it was followed with accusations of someone moving the planchette deliberately and quickly exchanged for pizza and doing our hair. Scientists agree that the planchette is moved by an ‘operator’ in what is called the ideomotor response;  which means the power of a mental thought translated to muscle reaction. If you think it, you will do it.

In the early 1900’s the board was used by psychics in séances to conjure up their spirit guides and contact the unknown for a price from the client.

What really surprised me was the use of the Ouija board in literature.

Quoted from Wikipedia:

Emily Grant Hutchings claimed that her 1917 novel Jap Herron: A Novel Written from the Ouija Board was dictated by Mark Twain’s spirit through the use of a Ouija board after his death.

Poems and novels written by Patience Worth, an alleged spirit, contacted by Pearl Lenore Curran, for more than 20 years, were initially transcribed from sessions with a Ouija board.

In 1982, poet James Merrill released an apocalyptic 560-page epic poem entitled The Changing Light at Sandover, which documented two decades of messages dictated from the Ouija board during séances hosted by Merrill and his partner David Noyes Jackson.

He won the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer.  Maybe my writing would take off if I started using the Ouija—worth a thought. But, what about the prospect of opening a portal to the other side; I am cautious about such horrors.  Skeptics claim that if users were blindfolded during use of the game, the letters would spell nothing-- it is the subconscious mind transmitting through the users and not spirits.

So why do most paranormal groups warn against their use?

Perhaps it is not the object that is bringing the spirits through the portal but the users themselves. Believing in something can attribute to making it real, and maybe ghosts are catching on that when a Ouija board is used—fear is building enough energy for them to connect. They are coming through you, not the board itself. It’s kinda of like a possession of sorts. The spirits are using your fear, your energy to enter and communicate.

If you do decide to use the game there is one important rule: always close the board by sliding the planchette to ‘good-bye’ when you finish. Remember what your mother told you—close the door. If you do use the game and run into problems, give us a call!

Remember all you ghost hunters out there, respect property and respect the dead, and always carry extra batteries! Be sure to check back for more investigations by Cee’s Ghost Hunting and Paranormal. You can also sign up for email notifications at the bottom of this blog.  Be careful out there.

ghost-written by D. Susan Rutz

Marion County Poor Farm Investigation

Most poor farms cost the counties they resided in, but the Peabody Poor Farm in Marion County actually brought in money.  The building was constructed in 1890 and when superintendent, W. K. Palmer took over in 1893 he brought a new attitude toward the ethics of poor farm residents.

The men farmed 180 acres and raised hogs. The women produced baked goods and sewing as means of supporting themselves and the farm needs. Palmer was so good as encouraging and promoting new ethics to the residents that soon they had a surplus of $200 toward county taxes.  

The residents were the poor, the indigent and the mentally challenged of the area. Unwed mothers were allowed to stay during their pregnancy but had to leave when their child was adopted.

In the 1900’s much of the land was sold off and the poor farm became the Marion County Rest Home at Cedar Ridge.  In 1964 the residents were moved to the new Cedar Ridge Rest Home and the old building was purchased locally and turned into apartments.

There is no ugly past to the property; no mistreatment of the people who lived there. 

There should be nothing but good memories from the place. As a poor farm, the residents; or as they were called back then- the inmates were well treated and held great pride in their ability to sustain themselves and pay taxes to the county. When it became a rest home it was renovated to accommodate the new residents and even an elevator was installed for access to upper floors. 

The residents were so happy with their new home that when TV became a new item, they pooled their own money to purchase one for the house residents.

In 1973 the property and building are down to 2 ½ acres and sold to a private family.  It has been a private resident, a restaurant, a spiritual retreat and finally a private resident/museum.  Activities in the home are substantial especially after the home was struck by an unofficial tornado in 2009. That event seems to have stirred up activity in the residence.

We made several visits to the home and captured class A EVP’s (electronic voice phenomenal).  Personal experiences included being touched, hearing footsteps and whispers and numerous cold spots throughout the property.  Below are some of the photos we captured.

Marion County Poor Farm

The rear of the home took the storm damage and opened up a splurge in paranormal activity.

This photo was taken in the attic

                                      Notice the interesting rod on the left side of the photo.

Taken in one of the back bedrooms now with a damaged roof after the storm.

Be sure to check back for more photos.

Remember all you ghost hunters out there, respect property and respect the dead, and always carry extra batteries! Be sure to check back for more investigations by Cee’s Ghost Hunting and Paranormal. You can also sign up for email notifications at the bottom of this blog.  Be careful out there.

ghost-written by D. Susan Rutz

Ward Meade Mansion Investigation

Side view of the Ward Meade Mansion in Topeka, Kansas.
(clicking on the photos will enlarge them}

Anthony Ward and his wife Mary Jane purchased 240 acres of riverside land in 1854 from an Indian named Joseph James; he was a half breed from the Kansa tribe. The Wards were the second settlers in a town yet to be named Topeka, Kansas.

By the 1870's the family built a two-story, Victorian home; constructed of limestone and brick. Limestone is a known conductor of spirit activity. Reported ghostly activity includes a male apparition, footsteps, the sound of children giggling, mist and arm grabbing as well as EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon). Mr. Ward died in April, 1874 and his wife in March of 1897. Their daughter, Jennie, married a railroad man named John Mackey Meade and their decendents lived in the mansion until it was given to the town of Topeka as a historical site in 1961.

After the house and grounds were turned over to the historical society of Topeka other buildings of historical interest in Kansas were brought to the site and turned into what is now called, Old Prairie Town.

On our investigation we went through the mansion and the Potwin Drug Store brought in and set up on the property. The drug store was in operation in the Potwin area of Topeka for seventy-five years and when moved included everything that was in the building, even the marble counter topped soda fountain. The drug store is still opened for fountain treats and boasts the best ice cream floats in the area. On the second floor were the offices of a local dentist and all his equipment and furniture were included in the move.

The parlor or sitting room

It was a hot evening when we arrived for the investigation. We were disappointed to find out that the furnishings in the mansion were not original to the building and most were reproductions of the era. The photos and paintings on the walls were originial to the house so that gave us hope to catch something paranormal. Energy from previously owned processions can often attract the spirits that owned them.

                                    

Something over the mantle. Notice the camera fuzzed over and the rest of the photo is out of focus.

The upstairs master bedroom. That's the cradle in the photo. We expierenced a lot of cold spots upstairs, in the hallway, in the children's playroom and in the master bedroom. We also smelled perfume in that room. We left a recorder on the dresser but some time after leaving the house to investigate the drug store, the recorder mysteriously turned off.

The entrance to the Potwin Drugstore, notice the red streak at the entrance.

The entrance to the upstairs dentist office shows an orb at the bottom left by the bushes but there is also a large one at the top of the stairs.

The photo right after it shows the large orb has disappeared and a new orb is on its way up the stairs.

The investigation at the Ward Meade mansion and Old Prairie Town buildings was exciting and we were hungry for more, so on the way home we stopped at a local cemetery. This is a tree at the entrance to the cemetery. It is carved as a work of art but notice the blue mist enveloping the tree trunk.

Orbs in a cemetery? Who would have thought, right? Well, we know there are more orbs than dust and bugs in a cemetery, check these out.

What is that off to the right? Let's get a better look at that one.

A smiley face? Let's get even closer and see for ourselves what kind of bug or dust ball this might be.

Don't you love it! We do. We love capturing evidence and anomolies both. Well, all you ghost hunters out there remember to respect your surroundings, respect the dead and always carry extra batteries.

ghost written by D. Susan Rutz

Abilene Kansas Private Home

This is a investigation we did at a private home in Abilene, Kansas.

We had activity as soon as we entered. Light anomalies were everywhere and we were just sitting and talking at this point.

 at one point I started freezing, it was like a ice cube was being drawn down my side so I told Candie to take photos. I guess someone was reaching out to me or maybe they were just curious.

Keep your eyes on that lamp

As the investigation progressed the light anomolies continued but then in going over the photos at the end of the night we found this one. The man on the stairs.

 We were going up the stairs when we took this and did not see anything until we looked at the photos later. The light is a window at the top of the stairs that is allowing natural light to invade. But the person on the stairs was not visible to our eyes.

Let's Talk Orbs

Wikipedia definition: Orb (optics): The term orb describes unexpected, typically circular artifacts that occur in flash photography—sometimes with trails indicating motion—especially common with modern compact and ultra-compact digital camers. Orbs are also sometimes called orb backscatter, or near-camera reflection.

The definition goes on to explain that light from the camera illuminates particles close to the camera such as dust, pollen, water particles and such.   

Many investigators believe that orbs are nothing more than dust particles, or balls of energy coming off of power lines and do not believe that they are paranormal. The truth is Science does not know what orbs are, where they come from and what their purpose is. That’s why we keep investigating so that we can find out more about paranormal events.  

Whatever you believe we present to you some of the best photos we have captured of orbs.

First we have Orbs in motion.

 

 tree orbs

No Idea what this is! Looks like motion but someone commented that it looks like Elvis. ?

I love this photo. The night seems to be alive with activity.

 Blue orbs

Now comes the mist! Some say that mist is nothing more than water vapor captured by the camera. you be the judge of what you see.

This one looks like a head to me, see the ear?

 Look at this one rising from the grass. It resembles a person's face.

This one has it all. Orbs, mist, moving objects--the activity that night was unreal!

Let us know what you think of orbs.

Remember all you ghost hunters out there; be safe, respect your surroundings and always carry extra batteries!

ghost writer for this article D. Susan Rutz 

Skiddy Kansas Investigation

Settlers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey made their way to a location in Kansas south of Junction City 

and the Big Red One of Fort Riley, Kansas. It was 1870 and their leader was named, W.E. Tomlinson. The community was mostly Baptist and the first general store was built by J. R. College.  The name for the new community came from an unusual source. They name their town Skiddy, after a railroad man Francis Skiddy from New York. Francis Skiddy was a magnate on the Union Pacific Railroad and controlled the Northern Extension of the Tebo and Neosho Railroad, which ran between Sedalia and Nevada Missouri. The connection between Mr. Skiddy and the townsfolk is unclear, but rumor has it that he promised to build a library and community center if the town were named after him, unfortunetly after doing so Mr. Skiddy left the community and neither were ever built.

Skiddy Kansas flourished in their infancy with the construction of their church in 1882 and the 

population grew to 120 residents.  By the 1880’s residents moved on and Skiddy fell into a ghost town.

We took a trip out to Skiddy, and the surrounding fields where the old west remains virtually untouched. 

There are no construction teams digging up the ground to build. The earth remains quiet, waiting and resting. There are a few buildings standing around and a house here or there on the outskirts where a farm touches up to a town that no longer exists. But, the spirits are alive and active. Here are some of the photos we captured on our investigation.

it was a cold night in Feb and the orbs were everyehere.

they were even checking out the cats!

There are investigators that argue there is no Scientific proof that orbs are spirit related. We think they are. We submit the following photos for your viewing pleasure, what you believe-that's up to you.

Orbs were everywhere! I love those bright round globes.

And if you have problems with orbs, what do you think about mist?

That mist is coming up from the ground, the grass, the earth itself and it sure looks ominious to us.

Mist forming in the trees

tree mist

Now, we present some photos of a very bright orb and if you look at the fence you might see a face.

See the face on the fence--it's behind the bright glowing orb.

Same photo a moment later with the orb is missing but the face is still looking at us. The night was very active. The surrounding woods, fields, even some old abandonded buildings produced orbs.

There seems to be plenty of activity in the old town, perhaps residents never wanted to move away and when their time came they found their way back to the town they once loved in Skiddy, Kansas.
But, if you don't believe in orbs or mist or faces on a fence then you really shouldn't look at the next photos because we don't even know what we captured with this one.

what is that? Let's enlarge it.

let's get a better look at this weird thing

Whatever it is, it has a lot of energy. That's no bug that we've ever seen and if I had dust like that floating around me, well, I'd have a hard time breathing. Look at the hook thing on the end of one of the appendices. Like some sort of arrow tail or something.

Remember, all you ghost hunters out there respect property, repect the departed and always carry extra batteries.

article ghost writer: D. Susan Rutz