Officer Quarters One
PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION REPORT
WTPO081608-001
Fort Concho Officers’ Quarters One
Paranormal Activity Report (Interactive)
West Texas Paranormal Organization
San Angelo, Texas
(Copyright 2008)
Abstract
Paranormal investigation is the process in which investigators use modern technology to obtain tangible evidence regarding the existence of ghost or spirits. Claims of paranormal activity at Fort Concho’s Officers’ Quarters Number One were investigated. Investigators interviewed Fort Concho’s historian and senior tour guide and reviewed historical documents. A paranormal investigation team using sophisticated electromagnetic detection and audiovisual recording equipment searched Officers’ Quarters One for evidence to debunk or support paranormal activity. The investigation resulted in debunking three claims and collecting evidence to support paranormal activity. The supporting evidence is audio recordings of a girl, a woman, and a male ghost, and one infrared video recording showing a ghost attempting to become visible. One of our findings is congruent with previous paranormal investigation.
Fort Concho’s Officers’ Quarters One Paranormal Investigation
One major caveat to personal paranormal experiences is there is scarce or no direct evidence to support the person’s claim. No matter how credible or sincere the person may appear, there will remain a level of skepticism when they relate their paranormal experience to others. The whole purpose of a paranormal investigation is to search, record, and document objective and verifiable evidence that either supports or debunks paranormal encounter claims.
Recently, local paranormal investigators have shown increased interest in the many reported encounters with ghosts in Officers’ Quarters Number One (OQ1) at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas. Two local paranormal research groups attempted to find evidence that support these ghost stories. (Texas Shadow Chasers 2007; San Angelo Paranormal Society 2008). Combined these two research groups provided tantalizing but inconclusive evidence to support claims of paranormal activity in OQ1.
In this investigation, we tried to identify the sources for the paranormal claims in OQ1 by conducting witness interviews, reviewing historical documents, and examining contemporary ghost stories that surround Fort Concho. Next, we performed a formal paranormal investigation within OQ1 using modern technology to observe variations in electromagnetic force energy, infrared light reflection and absorption, and acoustical anomalies common in hauntings.
A growing body of paranormal research suggests that finding localized anomalous variations in background electromagnetic radiation (EMF) may be useful in identifying paranormal activity, that is, a ghost. (e.g., Hawes & Wilson 2004; Danelek 2006.) Coulomb’s Law influences much of this research based on the force which one electrical charge exerts on another. One paranormal theory contends when a ghost attempts to make its presence known, EMF energy may increase near the epicenter. Through a spherical shaped electrostatic field, a pathway of apparent conscious energy interaction may temporarily exist between a living being and the ghost by way of electromotive force. Electromotive force connection is similar to the connection that occurs between creating the thought of moving your finger and the finger physically moving.
In the Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Guiley, she writes that most hauntings can be tied to historical events that are unhappy in nature, however, there are cases of benign hauntings, and ghost even act in a benevolent ways toward the living. Most paranormal researchers recognize two types of hauntings, intelligent and residual. In a residual haunting, the ghost performs a routine without any apparent regard to the human observer, whereas in an intelligent haunting, the ghost appears to be aware of the observer. In the Texas Shadow Chasers investigation, they recorded activity outside OQ1 that suggests an intelligent haunting;
an investigator asked a direct question and the ghost answered.
Method
Research
Interviews.
Our research on the history of Fort Concho and OQ1 uncovered information useful to this paranormal investigation. On August 12, 2008, two West Texas Paranormal Organization (WTPO) investigators, Merissa Swink and Steve Haidinger interviewed the fort historian and tour guide. The Fort Concho historian has worked at Fort Concho for 18 years. The Volunteers Service’s Manager at Fort Concho and tour guide has worked at the fort for eight-years.Our interviews with the historian and tour guide revealed discrepancies between historical documents and published ghost stories about Fort Concho. The historian gave us access to documents detailing the lives of individuals living at Fort Concho in the late 1800s. We also examined a collection of letters written by Alice Grierson detailing daily activities at Fort Concho. Alice Kirk Grierson (1828 -1888) was the wife of Colonel Benjamin Grierson (1826-1911). Grierson was Fort Concho’s commanding officer 1875 -1881. According to the historian, Alice Grierson was a blunt spoken military officer’s wife who held strong Victorian values. Among the pages contained in Susan Miles historical book, 1877 – Traumatic Time at Fort Concho, Alice Grierson documents an awful span of time between 1877 and 1878 when physical and mental illness plagued the fort’s occupants. During this time, Edith Claire Grierson, the daughter of Alice and Benjamin Grierson, died shortly after her 13th birthday in September 1878, allegedly due to typhoid fever.
Edith (Edie) Claire Grierson.
In conducting our paranormal investigation, we developed a profile of Edith Grierson (1865-1878). In letters written by Alice Grierson, she describes Edith as a vivacious, free spirited young girl. In a daily entry, she recounts Edith’s exuberance when Captain Nolan’s troops returned from an ill-fated scouting mission. Edith, upon hearing of the soldiers’ return to the fort, ran out to meet the men without wearing her bonnet. Her mother writes about watching Edith flitting among the troops without her bonnet. Alice uses the term, queer, to describe Edith. Queer is a Scottish word meaning differing from what is usual or ordinary. In William Elton Green’s book, The dancing was lively, he writes that Edith liked to dance. The Grierson family hosted hops. A hop was a celebration filled with live music, refreshments, and games Green writes, at these hops, it was not uncommon for Edith to dance every dance. In other letters from the Alice Kirk Grierson collection, she tells about Edie being very protective of her younger siblings. On August 14, 1877, Edith wrote a letter to her father. In the letter, Edith referred to her father, Colonel Benjamin Grierson, as her papa and to her mother, Alice Grierson, as her mama. Her letter illustrates Edith’s education and literacy and defined how she referred to her parents when communicating. This researcher believes Edith would use the same terms of endearment when speaking to her parents.
There are few photographs or portraits of Edith Grierson. One such photograph (photograph 1 in attachments) shows Edith wearing a light colored dress and sporting a dark kerchief tied around her neck. Her brown hair is pulled back by a hair comb. In a portrait hanging above a fireplace in OQ1 (photograph 2 in attachments) it portrays Edith wearing a light green or blue off the shoulder gown with double ruffles along the neckline. Her shoulder length brown hair is pulled back. According to our interview with Fort Concho's Historian a postmortem stereopticon slide taken by M.C. Ragsdale on September 10, 1878, shows Edith’s body stretched out on a lounge wearing a plaid bodice dress and a delicate white cap.
Grierson Family Tragedy.
Fort Concho's Historian shared her knowledge with researchers concerning Edith Grierson’s final days, based on first hand accounts she read from Alice Grierson’s letters. Shortly before Edith’s thirteenth birthday on August 27, 1878, Edith became ill. Alice took Edith to the fort’s doctor for treatments on her tonsils with a caustic substance. Within a few days Edith began to vomit and run a fever. She was unable to eat or drink without throwing up. As Edith’s condition worsened, the fort’s doctor gave Edith bowel injections of quinine for typhoid fever. By accounts wrote by Alice Grierson these injections caused Edith great suffering.
Alice Grierson’s account detailed Edith’s illness as lingering. According to the historian's interview, Alice Grierson moved Edith to the ground floor bedroom to be near her daughter during her illness, which was reasonable considering West Texas heat in September. Typically, in San Angelo in the late days of August and early September, temperatures may approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon the Colonel’s return from an inspection tour and hunting trip, Edith moved to an upstairs bedroom, the bedroom in which she passed away. Although we may never know the exact location of Edith’s death, this investigator believes it would be the upper floor, east bedroom. The east bedroom would have been the coolest as it would not have been exposed to the blistering heat from a West Texas afternoon sun in September. Edith Grierson died on September 9, 1878 around 7:00 p.m.
Edith was buried in the fort's graveyard, one quarter mile southeast of Fort Concho, near the present location of Angelo Glass and Mirror at 11 West Washington Drive. In the 1930’s, Edith’s remains and those of the Buffalo Soldiers buried in the fort’s cemetery were roughly exhumed to make way for city expansion. The buffalo soldiers' remains were taken to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. At the request of Dr. Samuel Smith, Edith’s body was relocated to Fairmont cemetery in San Angelo, Texas, and reburied in the Samuel Smith family plot.
Paranormal encounters
Early ghost stories.
Two businessmen from San Antonio, Texas commissioned the original buildings at Fort Concho then later leased them to the U.S. Army to house troops. When the U.S. Army abandoned Fort Concho, the buildings were turned into apartments for San Angelo citizens. According to our interview with the historian, she told us about a conversation with a man, who as a boy in the 1950s, living with his family in what was OQ7. One evening he recalls sneaking out of his house to watch a movie downtown. When he returned home around 2:00 a.m., he entered his house to see a cavalry soldier standing next to his parent’s bed. He told the historian he could see through the solider, but regardless, he could make out every detail. The man also mentioned to the histroian that neighbors near the fort also report seeing ghosts.
Staff member’s paranormal encounters.
The Fort's Historian’ encounters. The Fort Concho Historian has worked at Fort Concho for over eighteen years. During her time at the fort she reports paranormal encounters at officers’ quarters nine (OQ9). While holding children’s activities at OQ9 she would lock the front door and exit the back door, leaving the door unlocked so she could get back into the building. When she returned, she discovered the back door locked. The door was locked using the older 1880s mortise type latch and not the modern dead bolt. She states the lockout occurred several times. During Christmas at Old Fort Concho in the 1990s, she reports being alone in the troop barracks when she decided to make coffee in an old-fashioned coffeepot. After placing the pot on the stove to heat, she went to perform other duties in an adjacent room. She says she heard the sound of the lid of the coffeepot being opened and then closed several times. She finally said aloud, "If you’ll leave the pot alone, it will boil." The sound stopped.
Tour guide encounters. Fort Concho's tour guide has worked at Fort Concho for eight years. He told interviewers about a paranormal encounter at OQ1 and near the enlisted barracks. While preparing for activities at Fort Concho, he reports hearing the sound of footsteps on the boardwalk porches surrounding the enlisted barracks. He told interviewers the footsteps sounded like those possibly made by a person wearing leather-soled boots.
In 2000, while preparing for Christmas at Old Fort Concho, the guide stayed the night in OQ1. The next morning, he decided to take a shower in the upper-floor bathroom. To prevent fogging the windows and mirrors, he left the bathroom door open. He tells the interviewers, although he was alone in the building, someone closed the bathroom door. The guide said the doors and windows were closed so he does not think it was a gust of wind. In 2007, while preparing OQ1 for Christmas at Old Fort Concho, he was moving furniture from the second floor west side bedroom. When he noticed the armoire closet door was open, he closed and latched it several times, only to return to the room to find it opened again. The door is not easily opened, requiring sliding a latch and actually pulling the door open. He again closed and latched the armoire door then told Edith if she wanted the door open she would have to open the door another time. The guide left the room for a few minutes. When he returned, the armoire door was once again open.
Selected documented personal paranormal encounters.
Over the years, there are other documented personal accounts of paranormal activity at Fort Concho. The stories range from individuals being pushed by an unseen force, to an invisible presence entering a room and sitting to listen to a conversation. Among the many reports of ghosts and haunting events, two stories stand out as examples of possible paranormal activity in OQ1.
Andrea Dominquez encounters a ghost-girl standing in the stairwell. In June 2003, the City Manager of San Angelo, Harold Dominquez, and his wife Andrea stayed in OQ1 for one night. The historian said on this week, the weather was "raining and nasty." Andrea Dominquez reported that all through the night that she and her husband heard a woman screaming. The next morning when they were packing up to leave, Andrea Dominquez related to the historian that she saw a young girl wearing a pale peach colored Victorian-style dress standing midway on the stairwell.
B.D. Shaffer, the man who saw the ghost-girl sitting on the floor. A second account came directly to our investigators from Mr. B.D. Shaffer. He reports while working as a delivery-person for Tom Ridgeway, a local florist, he was helping deliver and place arranged flowers in OQ1, before a funeral reception. He took two flower arrangements to the upper floor bedrooms. Upon entering the west upstairs bedroom, he felt like he had stepped between two individuals. He remarks he begged their pardon, only to discover he was alone in the room. He mentioned in his e-mail that as he entered the room he felt a sensation similar to static electricity, which made the hair on his arms, stand upright. After placing one flower arrangement in the west bedroom, he took a second to the east bedroom. Shaffer writes in his message that when he entered the east bedroom, from his peripheral vision, he noticed a young girl sitting on the floor to his left. He goes on to say that he set the vase on the dresser and then turned to the girl who faded away. He said in his message, upon first noticing the girl, she appeared solid and in full form. Shaffer also wished to correct misinformation about his encounter by saying he was not a florist, nor did he see the little girl playing jacks.
Published ghost stories.
There are grandiose reports of misty soldiers marching across Fort Concho’s parade field at night, horse drawn wagons filled with soldiers and women racing along the fort’s roadways. Stories become embellished like B.D. Shaffer’s experience, which evolves into the little girl in Victorian clothing, playing jacks, who looks up and smiles before disappearing to the occasional visitor in OQ1. This investigation uncovered such published flights of fantasy, misinformation, and tall-tale ghost sightings at Old Fort Concho.
Our interviews with the fort historian and tour guide suggest a couple hybrid tales found their way into a collection of ghost stories contained in a publication by Elaine Coleman, entitled, Texas Haunted Forts. One story surrounds the enigmatic figure of Colonel Ranald Mackenzie who was commander at Fort Concho before Colonel Grierson. In Coleman’s book, she reports Col. Mackenzie’s ghost is thought to haunt OQ3. In Texas Haunted Forts the author writes while in OQ3 of hearing someone cracking their knuckles, apparently conjecturing this was how Colonel Mackenzie gained the nickname "Bad-Hand." During our interview with Fort Concho's Historian she corrected this misrepresentation of Colonel Mackenzie. She said the Fort Concho historical archives had no reference to Colonel Mackenzie’s alleged knuckle cracking behavior. By all historical accounts, Colonel Mackenzie was a successful military officer who led many campaigns against the Kickapoo and Kiowa tribes who occupied Texas in the 1800s. Colonel Mackenzie (1840-1889) rose to the rank of Brigadier General, ending his career at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Later in life, he succumbed to mental illness, living out his remaining years with his sister. General Mackenzie died at his sister’s home in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. He is buried in West Point National cemetery.
Research from previous paranormal investigations.
On September 2, 2007, the Texas Shadow Chasers (TSC), a San Angelo based paranormal investigation group, captured an intriguing digital voice recording. An electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) is the sound of a disembodied voice, which is only heard on play back of the recording device that was not present during the actual recording. A TSC female team member, Debra Gray, captured an EVP while conducting a survey around the west side of OQ1. Debra asks, "Edie do you want to come out and play?" Immediately following the question the recorder captures the voice of a girl saying, "No."
Research Analysis
Our preliminary research information was derived from first hand interviews, documented reports, and a digital recording. Based on our research of accounts detailing paranormal activity, we found references to sounds, voices, partial and full body apparitions, odd feelings, and objects moving on their own. All the events so far recorded, appear to relate to people who resided at Fort Concho while the U.S. Military occupied it during the late 1800s. Our information points to activity in troop barracks six and seven, OQ9, OQ6, OQ3, and most notably OQ1, the location of Edith Grierson’s death and subsequent reported sightings of a ghost-girl on the stairwell and east upstairs bedroom. Based on our interviews and research we elected to conduct our investigation on the interior of OQ1.
Paranormal Investigation
On August 16, 2008 our six-person team conducted a paranormal investigation of OQ1. Our investigation began at 6:00 p.m. on August 16, 2008, and concluded at 3:46 a.m., August 17, 2008. The purpose of this investigation was to locate or discover ordinary explanations for perceived paranormal activity and to record evidence to support or debunk claims of paranormal activity.
An unstable air mass moved into the Concho Valley on the afternoon of Saturday, August 16, 2008, causing overcast skies and light rain. Saturday's evening temperature was 82 degrees Fahrenheit with 100 percent humidity and barometric pressure was 29.78-mm hg. The lunar cycle was a full moon at 3:15 p.m. combined with a partial lunar eclipse. Based on our research, we elected to focus our investigation and monitoring to the two upper bedrooms, stairwell, and ground floor foyer since these areas had been the sites of reported paranormal activity.
Equipment selection. Paranormal activity can occur at anytime. The time and location of a paranormal event are often random, fleeting, and isolated. Consequently, we elected to bring a wide array of investigative equipment that would afford us the best advantage to capture and document any paranormal or normal activity should the opportunity present itself. Our equipment inventory consisted of infrared video cameras, an infrared digital thermometer, ultrasonic and hypersonic listening devices, static, EMF, and ELF detection devices, digital voice recorders, a 35mm camera, digital camera, HI-8 analog camcorder, 8mm digital camcorder, VHS video recorders, and CRT monitors. Support equipment included a PC computer, walkie-talkies, portable solid state power units, assorted audiovisual cords, electrical extension cords, and a folding table.
Securing and profiling the investigation area. Often, paranormal activity can be attributed to ordinary causes including high-voltage or defective electrical equipment or circuits that produce high EMF energy. A strong EMF field may make people feel ill or uncomfortable. Recent studies also suggest that being in or near an EMF field can distort human brain waves, resulting in making a person feeling like they are being watched. Static-electrical fields can cause hairs to stand on end. An exceptionally strong static-electrical field can lift small objects or attract items toward the energy center. An extremely low frequency (ELF) field can create a disturbed or restless feeling in humans and animals. Therefore, we conducted a profile of the area to identify and eliminate these fields before the investigation.
Two team members arrived at OQ1 at 7:00 p.m. They toured the building taking digital photographs, a video of each room and drawing a floor plan. During this survey, we determined the best placement of our equipment. During the tour, we decided to place our control center in the ground floor bedroom. We chose the ground floor bedroom because it had no reports of paranormal activity, was easily sealed from the rest of the house by a heavy door, and had sufficient electrical outlets to support our power requirements. The bedroom also has its own restroom and is also large enough to hold our equipment and seat team members.
As the remainder of the team arrived, they were assigned duties to conduct a preliminary electromagnetic and electrostatic energy survey of the building. We surveyed each room with detectors for sources that might explain the paranormal reports. Team members also scanned the building’s interior with hypersonic and ultrasonic detectors to locate unusual sounds that could be attributed to paranormal activity, yet have a mundane cause such as bats or owls roosting in the attic or chimney.
The team detected one static electrical anomaly outside the upper floor bathroom but did not find any other abnormal EMF readings. Based on the preliminary survey discovery of the unusual and isolated static electrical bubble to the right side exterior wall of the upper floor restroom we investigated for a cause. We were unable to find a natural cause for this static discharge. Most likely, two unlike surfaces passing near or rubbing against one another can create a static electric charge. The static field we discovered may be attributed to PVC water pipes brushing against insulation inside the walls that service the toilet. Hypersonic and ultrasonic detection devices did not discover any unusual sounds. The interior ground floor temperature registered between 77 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit on an infrared thermometer. The upper floor temperature range was 81 to 85 degrees. We took digital photographs of every room in all four directions during the profiling. One photograph taken looking up the stairwell from the ground floor, contains an intriguing flash reflection hovering in the air (photograph 3 in attachments). Closer inspection of the stairwell found no reflective surface in the stairwell to create such an anomaly. An inspection of the digital camera found no problems, nor does the reflection appear in subsequent photographs.
On closer examination, the reflection seen in the digital photograph taken in the stairwell are three objects stacked one behind the other. Each reflection is offset from the other creating a butterfly wing effect. The objects are round, out of focus, and vary in color from white to pale pink. The out of focus, spherical shape suggests what paranormal investigators call orbs. Most orbs have a natural cause such as dust, pollen, or insects in the air. The objects do not appear to create their own light or be luminous but instead only reflect the camera flash. Unlike traditional chemical-emulsion film cameras, digital cameras use a charged, coupled device (CCD) to capture images. A CCD is a tiny electronic circuit covered with microscopic photoelectric cells. Dust, pollen, and insects reflecting light back to the cells on the CCD often confound the camera’s software. This software interprets the electric signal as a round and out of focus object.
The investigation
Bedrooms and stairwell. Using wireless infrared (IR) video cameras allowed us to record in total darkness. We positioned an IR camera at the top of the stairwell to view the upper stairs and landing. A second IR camera focused exclusively on the armoire the tour guide reported opening on its own. A third IR camera was set for a wide field of view in the upper floor west bedroom. Our six-person crew divided into three two-person teams. One team consisting of Valori McDaniel and Jackie Hall went to the upper floor east bedroom. Another team of Wendy Hind and Terri Sawyer was assigned the western bedroom on the upper floor. Each team took with them a digital voice recorder, a two-way radio, and a static electrical energy detector.
Merissa Swink and Steve Haidinger staffed our control center located in the ground floor bedroom. In the control center, we monitored the IR video cameras by remote wireless receivers hooked to VHS videotape recorders that transmitted images to two closed circuit television monitors. The control center maintained the remaining equipment ready for immediate use. At 8:56 p.m. we turned off the lights in the building and started the VHS recorders. The teams were advised to begin the formal investigation.
Investigation technique.
The teams remained in their assigned areas for ninety minutes. They asked standard protocol questions while recording the session using digital voice recorders. This technique is sometimes effective in recording electronic voice phenomenon (EVP). Questions put forth by our investigators were inquiring what is the date, day, what do you see, what is your name, are you male or female, and are you alone or are there others? Our teams also asked additional specific questions that the Fort Concho staff asked that we attempt. We added questions to learn if the paranormal energy was happy with the fort's appearance, the way it was kept and did they enjoy having people come in and visit?
The investigators had the latitude to ask questions, pose comments, and engage in activity they felt might solicit a response from a paranormal energy. The questioning and comments were kept friendly and respectful in honor of the individuals who lived and died at Fort Concho. Our team used a play ball, a floppy ear rabbit doll, and a baby doll as instruments to engage interaction with paranormal energy which might be aware of our presence. Over the course of the night’s investigation, team members switched rooms, and roamed the structure using hand held cameras and digital recorders.
Investigation discoveries
Debunking claims
Woman screaming or crying. Many claims of paranormal activity have natural and mundane causes. During this investigation, the team discovered a ventilation fan built into the wall (see photograph 4 in attachments) between the ground floor bedroom and stairwell which creates an eerie sound under the right conditions. Our investigation discovered that when the ground floor bedroom door was closed and the suspect fan actuated, it created a moan followed by a higher pitched wail. The sound only occurred when the bedroom door was closed, leading investigators to believe there is a faulty bearing in the fan’s electric motor. The sound was captured both on a digital recording and an IR video. To a sleeping person waking to this noise in the night, it might sound like a woman screaming or crying aloud. Although this may not be the cause of the reported woman crying, it is a reasonable explanation.
East bedroom armoire closet door opening. Paranormal activity does not respond on command. Finding evidence that a door opens or closes seemingly by an invisible force is often a combination of preparation and opportunity. At 1:35 a.m., August 17, 2008, one of our IR cameras in the upper east bedroom captured the right door on an armoire opening by itself. On closer examination, investigators discovered two factors may contribute to the phenomenon. First, the bedroom door was closed which has a large gap at the bottom edge to accommodate return air circulation when the heating and air conditioning system is operating. Second, is immediately prior to the armoire door opening, the air conditioner blower started. Based on careful observation of the videotape and sounds in the room, our conclusion is that cool air flowing from the room, under the bedroom door, creates a low-pressure zone at the door’s threshold. The armoire is situated inside the bedroom to the left of the bedroom door. Inside the armoire, the air pressure is equal to the rest of the room. When the low air pressure zone forms at the lower edge of the bedroom door, the air pressure inside the armoire pushes the door open, giving the appearance of being opened by an unseen force. Someone staying in the room at night, in the dark, might hear the door when it clicks open and see the door open.
Paranormal evidence
Electronic voice phenomena (EVP).
An EVP is the sound of a person’s voice for which there is no apparent natural or scientific explanation. Sarah Estep established the American Association – Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) in 2000. Because of her work and those who came after, paranormal investigators have adopted the Estep classification for EVP analysis. The Estep classification recognizes three categories or qualities of EVP voices. A Class-A EVP voice is clearly heard and understood by most individuals. Class-B is clear, but there may be different interpretations of the words. Class-C voices are faint and usually require headphones, amplification, and are much harder to decipher. The Estep system suggests not offering Class C EVP(s) into evidence. West Texas Paranormal Organization subscribes to the Estep classification standard. During our investigation, our research discovered several interesting EVPs but only those qualifying as class A and B are contained in this report.
West bedroom upper floor (EVP). In paranormal investigation, corroborating evidence strengthens a case for paranormal activity. Teri Sawyer and Wendy Hind investigated the upper floor west bedroom. While conducting an EVP session at 11:25 p.m. Terri asks, "Is there anyone in this room who would like to talk to us?" Six seconds elapse, then the digital recorder captures a voice of a middle-aged, stern female voice saying "Edie!" Five seconds later comes the reply from a girl, "Yes Ma?" The spirit which the girl calls Ma, did not interact with investigators. Instead the spirit appeared to communicate directly with the spirit of the girl. The encounter we heard on the recording seemed similar to a protective warning a mother might issue to a child. The exact meaning of the warning remains speculative.
East bedroom upper floor (EVP). Valori McDaniel and Jackie Hall investigated in the east bedroom where B.D. Shaffer reported encountering a little girl sitting on the floor. At 11:47 p.m. Jackie reports hearing footsteps in the hallway outside the bedroom, followed by the bedroom door appearing to open, then close. A digital recorder and an IR camera positioned in the room both captured the footstep sounds followed by sounds similar to a doorknob being shaken and a door opening. Valori and Jackie express anxiety as the activity in the upper east bedroom continues to escalate. Jackie asks if the presence in the room is Edie? A moment later, their digital recorder captures an EVP masculine voice whisper four syllables that sound like, "Ah da wakan."
Capturing the same evidence on two or more instruments is preferable when developing a convincing case for paranormal activity. It is rare when a piece of evidence is captured by multiple sources and experienced by multiple investigators. The footstep sounds captured by the digital recorder and IR camera microphone in the upper east bedroom were also captured by a microphone on a second IR camera stationed at the top of the stairs on the upper floor. The IR video camera did not detect any movement within the hallway, thus adding to the credibility of paranormal activity.
Infrared camera evidence
Ectoplasm.
The term ectoplasm is applied to filmy photographic anomalies such as white fog and mist, which have no known explanations. Some paranormal investigators believe an ectoplasm display may occur when a ghost tries to manifest itself into visibility. Not unlike the Aurora Borealis where electromagnetic waves from the earth’s poles capture plasma from solar flares to create colored sheets of lights across the northern sky, in fact ectoplasm displays may be micro-versions of such a phenomenon.
Stairwell ectoplasm display videotape evidence. Five hours into the paranormal investigation, team members commenced roam-mode. Roam-mode is an investigation technique where investigators walk freely about an area, stopping in locations where they have a feeling or detect a possible paranormal energy signature. While in roam-mode, Jackie Hall and Terri Sawyer descended the stairs in OQ1, under surveillance of a fixed IR video camera attached to the stairwell banister rail aiming up the stairwell. As Jackie reached midway down the stairwell, when white vapors appear near her knee and then rises. The vapor seems to congeal and becoming filmy before disappearing through her. Since the stairwell was completely dark, Jackie was unaware of the ectoplasm display occurring around her legs.
Evidence Results Review and Analysis
Audio recordings (EVP)
Our investigation collected almost forty hours of voice and video recordings. Our protocols have team members critically review the collected evidence for possible inadvertent mistakes. Mistakes may happen during any investigation. Evidence can become contaminated, misinterpreted, or improperly documented. When such mistakes are suspected, we discard the evidence. A false positive EVP can occur if the sounds and voices caught on the recorders were inadvertent movements or whispers among team members. After review, we dismissed four EVPs as false positive and accepted four EVPs as authentic and entered into evidence:
1. West bedroom EVP, "Edie! Yes Ma."
Video recordings
We examined our video evidence for stray analog television or radio signals that create false images, and for possible bias errors where a member accidentally creates a situation or misinterprets a natural phenomenon as paranormal. After our review, we dismissed two videotape recordings, one because of television signal interference and the other due to dust orbs. We kept two videotape recordings as evidence:
Analyzing the evidence
EVP Evidence.
Girl’s voice. In this research, we compared the girl’s voice captured on the digital recorder in the upper west bedroom with the recording collected by the Texas Shadow Chasers (TSC) group on September 2, 2007, by passing both recorded signals through a KORG digital chromatic tuner. The recording of the girl saying, yes ma, registered at frequency of 412 Hz at G# tonal quality. We then compared the TSC recording of the girl saying, no, and that signal also registered at 412 Hz at G# tonal quality. After analyzing the voices with a chromatic tuner, we discovered they share the exact voice print quality. We then had our investigators listen to the two voices back to back. Our research found the two EVPs sounded very similar in timbre and resonation.
Woman’s voice EVP. This EVP precedes the girl’s voice above who responds with the words, "yes Ma." We captured only one word from this older female spirit when she said, "Edie!" By itself, the EVP is interesting, however what makes it remarkable, is its context and connection to the girl’s EVP. We recorded a conversation between two spirits that may show a bond exists between the two spirits. If the woman’s voice heard on the EVP saying Edie is the spirit is Edith Grierson’s mother, Alice, this presents future investigators with a quandary. Alice Grierson died on August 16, 1888, in Jacksonville, Illinois from complications due to bone cancer. She was buried in Jacksonville, Illinois.
Male’s voice EVP. The male voice captured by digital recorder in the upper floor east bedroom is significant on different levels. Whatever message is contained in the EVP remains unclear, making it a Class-B EVP. Interestingly, the voice on the recording sounds distinctively male, within a room where both investigators were female. We speculated the voice was of a Native American speaking in his native language. We sent a transcript and a copy of the voice recording to Laura Redish, the Director of Native Languages of the Americas, at the University of Arizona. Laura Redish evaluated our submission and responded back in electronic mail, that the last word sounds like Wakan. Wakan, Redish explains is a well-known Lakota Sioux word meaning sacred.
To the Lakota, wakan has separate meanings, Wakan Tanka can be loosely interpreted as "wakan" as "mystery" and "tanka" as "something great." And being the "creators," the Wakan Tanka also are Wakanpi, those things above mankind. The Wakanpi according to Lakota belief, the Wakanpi are eternal, they are never born and they never die. A western equivalent might be an angel. The Wakanpi, spirits, have power over everything on earth, and control everything mankind does. There are benevolent Wakanpi, that may bestow the wishes any man asks of them, and evil Wakanpi are to be feared.
Footsteps recording. The recorded sounds of footsteps that preceded the above EVP event increase likelihood for paranormal activity. Merissa and Steve heard footsteps from the control center. After visually verification with the stairwell IR camera that there was no one to be seen walking on the stairs or in the hallway between the two bedrooms, Steve left the control center carrying a red-light emitting diode light (LED) to investigate the sounds. His investigation is seen on the stairwell IR camera. After careful investigation, we could find no normal or apparent cause for the sounds.
Ectoplasm display. There may be rational and normal explanations for the videotaped anomaly seen on the stairwell; spider webs and dust are two logical possibilities. Dust particles, when illuminated in IR, show up as small fuzzy white to light green translucent spheres. In a paranormal investigation, these anomalies are called orbs. Most seasoned paranormal investigators discount orb displays. In the stairwell anomaly, the object lacked the classic spherical shape common with orbs. Instead, the object appeared as filmy gauze, with an irregular shape. A floating spider web could offer a reasonable explanation for the phenomenon.
In an attempt to duplicate the ectoplasm discharge by normal means, two researchers conducted experiments using spider webs visualized under IR light. Two investigators collected spider webs and suspended the webs from a stick. In a darkened room, investigators placed the stick with the web twelve inches in front of an IR camera. Under the experimental conditions, the spider webs appeared thick, stringy, and white. Next, the investigators collected fresh spider webs and held them in a speared out free-floating, fashion 48 inches in front of the IR camera. Again, the spider webs appeared as a thick, stringy, white mass, not the thin wispy vapor like substance seen in the stairwell ectoplasm display at OQ1.
Another compelling argument against spider webs and dust being the cause for the anomalous mist seen in the video is pedestrian traffic on the stairwell. The video of the ectoplasm display was recorded five-hours into the investigation. By the time the ectoplasm appeared on the video all six members of the investigation team had traversed the stairwell several times. Logically, the ascending and descending action of so many individuals would have aided in clearing much of the dust and spider webs from the stairway. Terri descended the stairs directly ahead of Jackie. In our research of the video we paused the video playback of the incident and counted the stair steps between Terri and Jackie. The video shows five stair steps separated the two investigators. Another data-point is the substance rose upward from the stairs does not travel with the air current created by Terri’s passing but seems to rise and turn to meet Jackie. The ectoplasm display is short lived. Using a stopwatch, investigators timed the encounter from appearance to disappearance, the elapsed time was 1.69 seconds. In 1.69 seconds the vaporous substance appears at Jackie’s knees, shifts to her right and then rises upward to her waist level before disappearing.
Researchers than considered the possibility of IR light reflection caused by florescent-chemicals in Jackie’s pants. Several modern clothes washing detergents contain chemical fluorescent brightening agents (FBA) or fluorescent whitening agents (FWA). These chemical compounds are dyes that absorb light in the ultraviolet (UV) and violet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and then re-emit light in the blue region. These FBA and FWA additives are used to enhance the appearance of color of fabric and paper causing a perceived "whitening" effect, making materials look less yellow by increasing the overall amount of blue light reflected. We reexamined the video frame-by-frame to discover if what we saw was an IR reflection created by FBA or FWA in Jackie’s jeans. This possibility was discarded after careful review of the videotape. The video shows that the object moves from Jackie’s left pant leg to her right pant leg. In the moving process, the object passes through the space between her legs where there is no fabric. The object remained visible while suspended in air independent of the fabric.
Debunked claims. The objective of this investigation was to find evidence to support or debunk paranormal encounters and activity inside OQ1. Our investigation and research debunked three paranormal claims.
B.D. Shaffer provided testimony refuting seeing a little girl playing jacks in an upstairs bedroom. Our investigators discovered a ventilation fan which sometimes creates a noise similar to a woman’s voice crying or screaming. Infrared video recordings captured a closet door opening with air movement in the east upstairs bedroom. The closet door that opened is not the same closet as described in the guide's interview.
Discussion
The investigation of OQ1 on August 16, 2008, shows there is a high probability of paranormal activity. It is virtually impossible to place OQ1 inside a controlled experiment environment and conduct rigorous testing. Therefore, it could be argued the EVP and video recordings serve no other purpose than to entertain and amuse the masses and do not qualify as scientific measurements. To this argument, our investigation submits that replication by other independent investigations, yielded similar results. September 2, 2007, the TSC group captured an EVP recording of an apparent young female, identical in voice pattern quality to the EVP of Edie speaking during this investigation. The relationship between location and voice similarity does suggest, within OQ1, there is a high probability someone or something creates a sound of a young female who responds to the name Edie.
Our investigation interview with Fort Concho staff members disclosed that individuals sometimes hear the sound of footsteps without anyone present. This investigation captured an audio recording and IR camera recording of such footsteps and validated that the sounds appear to come when no one is visibly present to create these sounds. Two IR cameras captured the same phenomenon from different points of view, suggests at very least, the sound does occur even if we do not know its origin or cause for the sound.
Investigators conducted a thorough EMF survey of the interior of OQ1 and found an electrostatic energy signature located on the upper floor hallway near the bathroom. Most of the paranormal activity observed in OQ1 seems to emanate within ten feet of this electrostatic field. Previous investigations conducted at other locations find a correlation between electrostatic bubbles and paranormal activity. Again, this does not show cause and effect, it is simply a correlation, however, a correlation when combined with other evidence found during this investigation cannot be totally dismissed as coincidental.
The presence of a male voice on an EVP recording, within a room where only female investigators were present, provides a strong case for probable paranormal activity. Not only is the voice male in timbre and resonation, but it seemed to answer a direct question. This evidence suggests an intelligent haunting. Additionally, the male voice seemed connected to the footsteps, as if one in the same, adding a connective dimensional quality to the paranormal activity.
The ectoplasm display on the stairwell cannot be ignored, but adds to a growing body of evidence supporting paranormal activity in OQ1. Investigators spent several hours reviewing videotape footage searching for alternate and mundane reasons for the anomaly. They conducted experiments in an attempt to duplicate the ectoplasm effect using the same equipment. All attempts were unsuccessful. In view of the rigorous examination of the ectoplasm display, it stands on its own merit as strong evidence to support paranormal activity.
The absence of standard testing models for paranormal activity may distract some individuals from giving serious credibility to the results of our investigation. Although our investigation captured audio and visual evidence that appears to validate claims of ghosts residing in OQ1, strict science minded people may argue the evidence is inconclusive and speculative. These individuals could contend that the analytic and holistic interpretations of our audio and visual records lack conventional scientific methodology. Granted, the modern paranormal investigation is more exploration than science, and in a paranormal investigation, there are few litmus tests. In our investigation, we subscribed to the few generally accepted practices that exist within our field. Sometimes there are revolutions in science and sometimes there are revolutions in our conceptions of what science is and how it works. It would be very foolish to throw away the right answer on the basis that it doesn't conform to some criteria for what science is or isn't. In future investigations we suggest greater use of the K-2 EMF meter in trying to engage in direct communications with Edie.
Conclusion
Our research conducted on the history of Fort Concho and OQ1 discovered people who had lives just as rich and full as ours today. Their lives were filled with hard work, happiness, and sadness. The loss of a child makes the story of the Grierson’s even more tragic. Our investigation discovered and documented evidence that supports claims of paranormal activity. Audiovisual recordings do appear to validate personal experiences from previous encounters at the fort and OQ1. Based on recorded evidence, we believe there are three spirits connected to OQ1. Two ghosts seem reclusive, but not malevolent. The ghost we call Edie appears willing to interact with visitors. Our conclusion is OQ1 at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas is a haunted location.
References
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