There were seven of us. Kathy, team leader. Theresa, electronics expert. Her daughter Ailish, photographer. Millie, EMF person. Kara, publicity. And Jen, Wiccan and secretary to the group. And me.
Kathy had been forming a ghost hunting team, the Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers. She'd visited Radio Shack, and picked up equipment---And also picked up Theresa, who managed the place. Theresa had recruited Ailish, who'd brought in Kara. Kathy, looking for historic information, had come to the Heisey Museum, where I work, and picked me up. And during a tour, I'd met and recruited Millie.
In the initial days, we'd also been through a couple of people who had turned out to be flakes, and a psychic who had turned out to be a fraud. But we'd narrowed it down to us.
We walked into Highland Cemetery, to do a walk-through, have me show the important spots, and practice our investigation.
It was the beginning.
It was the morning after a meeting. Ailish and Kara, eighteen and twenty respectively, picked me up before work, and we hiked out to Zindel Park. Ailish had gotten hold of an underwater camera, and planned to climb down into the pit with the Giantess, to get photos.
"You're her mother," I'd said to Theresa at the meeting before. "Can't you do anything about this?"
Theresa had shrugged. "I figure, let her."
The Giantess was from a Henry Shoemaker story about an Indian prince who had a giant sculpture carved in the form of the woman he loved. But this sculpture had a curse put on it, so that it caused death and famine every time it was placed anywhere. The Indians chose to bury it in McElhattan Creek, and there it stayed. The story ended with a spooky little clause about "think what happens the next time it's discovered!"
That had been this summer, and it had been me who discovered it.
"I thought we'd just sort of, you know, stick our hands in the water with the camera," I said. "Is there any way I can talk you out of this?"
"Are you kidding?" said Ailish. "This is the most fun I've had all summer."
"Oh, yes," I said. "And I'd like to thank you, Ailish, for giving me a pretty good sense of how my boss feels all the time. That's really what I needed, more sympathy for Anne."
We walked in, me smoking a Cuban Mistake. No snakes this time---The weather was cooler. I'd brought my whip from home, just in case. I'd shown Ailish the one at work, in my desk drawer. Ailish had been highly amused at the idea of a "work whip". When we got there, we took a prybar, and lifted off the metal trapdoor.
"You sure I can't talk you out of this?"
"Oh, ease up, Lou," said Ailish, and went down the ladder.
She put on her goggles and tried going under, but couldn't see a thing. So, clinging to the ladder, she held the camera under water, and got several photos and a minute of video. She flailed around in the water for a minute, trying to get a better angle, and then emerged, grinning.
"I kicked it in the head," she said. "Maybe I shouldn't do that. Didn't this thing kill a whole lot of people? I am so bad-ass!"
"Well, come on, bad-ass," I said. "Let's dry you off. And then, if you guys got time, let's stop at McDonald's. I owe you a breakfast."
We all agreed on it later. We'd had meetings, a few practice runs, and we were getting to know each other. I'd hung out a lot with Ailish and Kara---With my background, it wasn't surprising I'd end up taking the younger members under my wing. But this was our first actual investigation, a place in another county. And we all agreed on it later: It was the first night we'd come together as a team.
I rode up with Kathy and Jen, with Millie driving. This was good. I'd already gotten to be friends with Kathy, and I'd become close to Kara and Ailish, but I hadn't gotten to know Millie or Jen all that well. So this gave me a chance. I showed off my new GPS to Millie. "We have 48.7 miles to go. You're going 30.6 miles an hour. At this speed, it will take 1.6 hours."
"Does that thing really say that?" said Kathy. "You're kidding. Let me see that. Hey, there's a little guy walking on the screen!"
"Don't show me," said Millie. "I'll want one."
When we got there, Kathy led the team in a sort of protection prayer. As an atheist, I'm more comfortable with the thought of fighting off a ghost then I am in the prayer. So I'd pitched the idea to Kathy about letting me go in unprotected, to see if any hostile spirits were truly in the house. In the name of science. Ailish and Kara both followed my lead on that, and later confessed to me that they weren't so comfortable with the prayer, either.
"You have a hard time being a grown-up, don't you, Lou?" asked Theresa.
"I don't know," I said. "I've never tried."
We split into groups, took different rooms, did the investigation.
"Setting up the video."
"Temperature eighty-three, and steady."
"I'm going to take some negative photos, see if I can catch anything."
"Lou, can I try your listening device?"
We found very little in the daylight. So we broke for dinner, except for Ailish and I, who skipped out and found the closest two geocaches.
It was almost dark when we went back for more investigating. As we walked back, wearing our brand-new uniforms, someone called from a porch,"How come you guys are all dressed alike?"
"We're twins," I said.
Kathy, being the responsible team leader, stopped to explain that we were paranormal invesitgators, and hand them a business card. Then we went back to the investigation.
Negative photos. Infrared cameras. EVPs. EMFs. How did I ever end up in this business? We did some recording, and sat and talked in the dark---Ailish was still intensely pleased with kicking a cursed statue in the face.
Kara and I decided to go sit in the attic. We sat in the dark together, taking films and talking.
"I don't know, Kara, when you described this attic, I pictured bare beams and insulation," I said. "This is really pleasant. Indiana Jones never has pillows and quilts."
"You know, you don't have to be up here," she said. "I can do this alone. I'm tough."
"I don't doubt it," I said. "I am not casting aspersions on your toughness or your courage. I fully believe you are capable of anything, probably even kicking a cursed sculpture. Maybe I'm your friend and wanted to spend time with you, ever think of that?"
Kara smiled. And we talked. About anything---Movies, books, our favorite TV shows. Things we'd done, people we knew. I brought up a Jason Lee movie that was made from a book by Dave Barry. "You ever hear of Dave Barry?"
"Oh, yeah, I love Dave Barry."
"My god, Kara, I've married girls for less than that."
I asked what five movies she'd want if she were stranded on an island. It was from a newspaper column I'd read, years ago. She considered it, and said,"Can I ask what your five movies would be?"
"Oh sure. Casablanca...."
"I love Casablanca!"
"Me too, but nobody wants to watch it with me, because I mouth along with all the lines."
"Yeah, I do that, too!"
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail...."
"....'Tis but a scratch!"
"Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, because I love the whole series, but I'm limited to one each. And I sometimes flop between Spider-Man and the Princess Bride."
The radio went off. Kathy, downstairs. "Lou, we're going to pack up in a few minutes."
"On our way."
Kara and I grabbed our stuff. I slid all my equipment into the pockets of my black vest. "Hey, Kara," I said. "You did good tonight. I'm proud to have you as a friend."
"Thanks," she said. "Me, too."
When we all compared notes downstairs, Kathy had a photo with a strange face in the fireplace, and one from Theresa with an odd black shape in it. Kathy said the closing protection prayer, with me, Ailish, and Kara waiting in the next room. (Perhaps considering I'd dealt with curses and evil spirits all week, this was pushing our luck.) We packed our stuff, and went out to the vehicles to head home. I turned on the GPS.
"Be careful going home," Kara called across the parking lot.
"Promise," I called back.
I rode up with Kathy and Jen, with Millie driving. This was good. I'd already gotten to be friends with Kathy, and I'd become close to Kara and Ailish, but I hadn't gotten to know Millie or Jen all that well. So this gave me a chance. I showed off my new GPS to Millie. "We have 48.7 miles to go. You're going 30.6 miles an hour. At this speed, it will take 1.6 hours."
"Does that thing really say that?" said Kathy. "You're kidding. Let me see that. Hey, there's a little guy walking on the screen!"
"Don't show me," said Millie. "I'll want one."
When we got there, Kathy led the team in a sort of protection prayer. As an atheist, I'm more comfortable with the thought of fighting off a ghost then I am in the prayer. So I'd pitched the idea to Kathy about letting me go in unprotected, to see if any hostile spirits were truly in the house. In the name of science. Ailish and Kara both followed my lead on that, and later confessed to me that they weren't so comfortable with the prayer, either.
"You have a hard time being a grown-up, don't you, Lou?" asked Theresa.
"I don't know," I said. "I've never tried."
We split into groups, took different rooms, did the investigation.
"Setting up the video."
"Temperature eighty-three, and steady."
"I'm going to take some negative photos, see if I can catch anything."
"Lou, can I try your listening device?"
We found very little in the daylight. So we broke for dinner, except for Ailish and I, who skipped out and found the closest two geocaches.
It was almost dark when we went back for more investigating. As we walked back, wearing our brand-new uniforms, someone called from a porch,"How come you guys are all dressed alike?"
"We're twins," I said.
Kathy, being the responsible team leader, stopped to explain that we were paranormal invesitgators, and hand them a business card. Then we went back to the investigation.
Negative photos. Infrared cameras. EVPs. EMFs. How did I ever end up in this business? We did some recording, and sat and talked in the dark---Ailish was still intensely pleased with kicking a cursed statue in the face.
Kara and I decided to go sit in the attic. We sat in the dark together, taking films and talking.
"I don't know, Kara, when you described this attic, I pictured bare beams and insulation," I said. "This is really pleasant. Indiana Jones never has pillows and quilts."
"You know, you don't have to be up here," she said. "I can do this alone. I'm tough."
"I don't doubt it," I said. "I am not casting aspersions on your toughness or your courage. I fully believe you are capable of anything, probably even kicking a cursed sculpture. Maybe I'm your friend and wanted to spend time with you, ever think of that?"
Kara smiled. And we talked. About anything---Movies, books, our favorite TV shows. Things we'd done, people we knew. I brought up a Jason Lee movie that was made from a book by Dave Barry. "You ever hear of Dave Barry?"
"Oh, yeah, I love Dave Barry."
"My god, Kara, I've married girls for less than that."
I asked what five movies she'd want if she were stranded on an island. It was from a newspaper column I'd read, years ago. She considered it, and said,"Can I ask what your five movies would be?"
"Oh sure. Casablanca...."
"I love Casablanca!"
"Me too, but nobody wants to watch it with me, because I mouth along with all the lines."
"Yeah, I do that, too!"
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail...."
"....'Tis but a scratch!"
"Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, because I love the whole series, but I'm limited to one each. And I sometimes flop between Spider-Man and the Princess Bride."
The radio went off. Kathy, downstairs. "Lou, we're going to pack up in a few minutes."
"On our way."
Kara and I grabbed our stuff. I slid all my equipment into the pockets of my black vest. "Hey, Kara," I said. "You did good tonight. I'm proud to have you as a friend."
"Thanks," she said. "Me, too."
When we all compared notes downstairs, Kathy had a photo with a strange face in the fireplace, and one from Theresa with an odd black shape in it. Kathy said the closing protection prayer, with me, Ailish, and Kara waiting in the next room. (Perhaps considering I'd dealt with curses and evil spirits all week, this was pushing our luck.) We packed our stuff, and went out to the vehicles to head home. I turned on the GPS.
"Be careful going home," Kara called across the parking lot.
"Promise," I called back.
A couple weeks ago, Ailish had dropped into my office with a newly discovered Henry Shoemaker story. It detailed a Civil War deserter who hid out in a local mountain, and found a cave that turned out to be haunted by the ghosts of Indian warriors, who had chased him out because of his cowardice. Using the maps in my office and the details in the story, we'd figured out what mountain it was, and roughly where the cave should be.
And we were there.
A rock underneath me gave out, and I started to slide down the mountain. I whipped around and grabbed a fallen tree root with my left hand, not dropping the camera. I dangled for a moment, then reached up and set down the camera on the tree trunk, and climbed up.
"Are you allright?" caled Ailish.
"Oh sure." I wiggled the tree root. "I'm lucky that held."
I took my photo, and then we started climbing back up. Pausing at the top to rest, I lit a cigar. Ailish stared at me.
"You almost killed yourself falling down the mountain, I'm out of breath, and now you're smoking a cigar?" she asked incredulously. "That's so cool, like a movie character!"
"Victory cigar," I said. "We found our cave."
The LHPS team met at the McElhattan McDonald's at six. Not for dinner, but to go investigate the Giantess statue. I rode over with Kara, and we met Kathy and her father, Karen, Theresa and Ailish, Jen, and Millie. I had my whip, and I'd worn my best Indiana Jones hat because I knew it would amuse Ailish and Kara.
After some food, we proceeded over to Zindel Park. Carrying all our equipment, we walked in. I'd been worried about smoking around Kathy's father, who was there to supply the underwater camera. But when I asked if anyone would mind if I smoked a cigar, he asked if I had an extra for him. I gave him a Cuban Mistake.
We walked in to Zindel Rock Garden together, and got our stuff---While we got set up, Ailish hid her own geocache, and I took the reading. She's been dying to place a cache there since the first day I took her. Kathy and her father hooked up the camera, and everyone gathered it around while they lowered it into the water.
Which was more murky than before. And a dead spider floating on the top didn't comfort some of the girls any. So we pulled the camera back up through the grate, and Ailish, Theresa, and I pried the trap door up again. There were two huge spiders, which sent Jen and Ailish running, and I suddenly found Kara velcroed to me. Which was pleasant. I knocked the spiders away with my whip.
We lowered the camera down through the trap door. Turned it, spun it, got a few glimpses, which were intriguing. Everyone gathered around, but we didn't have much control of the camera. We pulled it back up---This was like looking for the Loch Ness Monster.
"Can we tie the camera to something?" suggested Kathy. "To get better control over it?"
"Anybody got string? Duct tape?" suggested Theresa. Everyone dug through their packs and bags.
Twenty minutes of digging and messing with the camera:
"Can we strap it to this stick?"
"Nobody has string?"
"See if my hair band will hold it!" Kathy.
Kathy and Ailish tried to strap it on the with hair band, which didn't work.
"Here!" I held up my first aid kit. "I have some cable ties."
"We can use my tripod," suggested Ailish. This went better.
"If I use two zip ties, I can get it on," said Theresa.
Theresa and Ailish finally got the camera strapped on. Ailish lay down on the concrete, and lowered it in through the trap door---I give her credit, she wasn't letting the spiders stop her. Everyone gathered around the screen, and Ailish moved the camera at our direction, to focus on the Giantess. And everyone got a clear look at the thing for the first time.
"Ooooooh!" Everyone, all at once.
"You see why the Kids and I were so excited over this?" I asked.
"Yeah," breathed Jen. I have to give Jen credit, though she was afraid of the spiders, she hadn't run, either. All of us wanted to see this thing pretty badly.
"It's humanoid," said Kara. "Look, there's a head."
"Can someone take over for me, so I can see?" Ailish asked. I went over and took the tripod, and she went to the screen.
"Tell me when I'm close," I said.
"Ailish, he's got longer arms than you," said Theresa. "He can get closer in."
Ailish, mostly, directed me. I got very close to it with the camera, and everyone tried to get their own still photos of the screen. When we had enough evidence, I pulled the camera back up.
As we packed our stuff away, Kathy said,"Guys, you did really well tonight. I saw some very good teamwork."
"Thanks, guys," I said. "Usually, when I make a discovery like this, I gotta do this stuff alone."
But I'm not alone any more, am I? I don't have to do it alone. I'm part of a team.
We gathered in the Mackeyville area a few days later. Millie had proposed an investigation of Cedar Hill Cemetery. Ailish and I were interested in finding the Chisholm family, who had been murdered in Mississippi by the KKK around 1877. Also, a geocache.
We met for ice cream, headed out to the cemetery. The first meeting we'd had, at the hospital, was stilted and uncomfortable, all of us judging one another. But by now, we'd gotten to be a team. More than a team----We'd become friends.
We entered the cemetery at dusk.
And we were there.
A rock underneath me gave out, and I started to slide down the mountain. I whipped around and grabbed a fallen tree root with my left hand, not dropping the camera. I dangled for a moment, then reached up and set down the camera on the tree trunk, and climbed up.
"Are you allright?" caled Ailish.
"Oh sure." I wiggled the tree root. "I'm lucky that held."
I took my photo, and then we started climbing back up. Pausing at the top to rest, I lit a cigar. Ailish stared at me.
"You almost killed yourself falling down the mountain, I'm out of breath, and now you're smoking a cigar?" she asked incredulously. "That's so cool, like a movie character!"
"Victory cigar," I said. "We found our cave."
The LHPS team met at the McElhattan McDonald's at six. Not for dinner, but to go investigate the Giantess statue. I rode over with Kara, and we met Kathy and her father, Karen, Theresa and Ailish, Jen, and Millie. I had my whip, and I'd worn my best Indiana Jones hat because I knew it would amuse Ailish and Kara.
After some food, we proceeded over to Zindel Park. Carrying all our equipment, we walked in. I'd been worried about smoking around Kathy's father, who was there to supply the underwater camera. But when I asked if anyone would mind if I smoked a cigar, he asked if I had an extra for him. I gave him a Cuban Mistake.
We walked in to Zindel Rock Garden together, and got our stuff---While we got set up, Ailish hid her own geocache, and I took the reading. She's been dying to place a cache there since the first day I took her. Kathy and her father hooked up the camera, and everyone gathered it around while they lowered it into the water.
Which was more murky than before. And a dead spider floating on the top didn't comfort some of the girls any. So we pulled the camera back up through the grate, and Ailish, Theresa, and I pried the trap door up again. There were two huge spiders, which sent Jen and Ailish running, and I suddenly found Kara velcroed to me. Which was pleasant. I knocked the spiders away with my whip.
We lowered the camera down through the trap door. Turned it, spun it, got a few glimpses, which were intriguing. Everyone gathered around, but we didn't have much control of the camera. We pulled it back up---This was like looking for the Loch Ness Monster.
"Can we tie the camera to something?" suggested Kathy. "To get better control over it?"
"Anybody got string? Duct tape?" suggested Theresa. Everyone dug through their packs and bags.
Twenty minutes of digging and messing with the camera:
"Can we strap it to this stick?"
"Nobody has string?"
"See if my hair band will hold it!" Kathy.
Kathy and Ailish tried to strap it on the with hair band, which didn't work.
"Here!" I held up my first aid kit. "I have some cable ties."
"We can use my tripod," suggested Ailish. This went better.
"If I use two zip ties, I can get it on," said Theresa.
Theresa and Ailish finally got the camera strapped on. Ailish lay down on the concrete, and lowered it in through the trap door---I give her credit, she wasn't letting the spiders stop her. Everyone gathered around the screen, and Ailish moved the camera at our direction, to focus on the Giantess. And everyone got a clear look at the thing for the first time.
"Ooooooh!" Everyone, all at once.
"You see why the Kids and I were so excited over this?" I asked.
"Yeah," breathed Jen. I have to give Jen credit, though she was afraid of the spiders, she hadn't run, either. All of us wanted to see this thing pretty badly.
"It's humanoid," said Kara. "Look, there's a head."
"Can someone take over for me, so I can see?" Ailish asked. I went over and took the tripod, and she went to the screen.
"Tell me when I'm close," I said.
"Ailish, he's got longer arms than you," said Theresa. "He can get closer in."
Ailish, mostly, directed me. I got very close to it with the camera, and everyone tried to get their own still photos of the screen. When we had enough evidence, I pulled the camera back up.
As we packed our stuff away, Kathy said,"Guys, you did really well tonight. I saw some very good teamwork."
"Thanks, guys," I said. "Usually, when I make a discovery like this, I gotta do this stuff alone."
But I'm not alone any more, am I? I don't have to do it alone. I'm part of a team.
We gathered in the Mackeyville area a few days later. Millie had proposed an investigation of Cedar Hill Cemetery. Ailish and I were interested in finding the Chisholm family, who had been murdered in Mississippi by the KKK around 1877. Also, a geocache.
We met for ice cream, headed out to the cemetery. The first meeting we'd had, at the hospital, was stilted and uncomfortable, all of us judging one another. But by now, we'd gotten to be a team. More than a team----We'd become friends.
We entered the cemetery at dusk.
