|
|
|
Annette Martin - Ghost Investigator
Parapsychologist
& Author
Loyd Auerbach
and
Psychic
& Author Annette
Martin
If you think you
have a ghost - Please contact us to investigate your suspected ghostly activities.
View one of our ghost busting adventures at
Alcatraz
|
|
Loyd
Auerbach
|
Annette
Martin
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read
more about Loyd Auerbach
Read about Annette and ghosts
TV shows with Loyd and Annette
Annette
& Loyd with Distillery’s Blue Lady getting
earthly assistance
About ghosts
|
|
Are There Really Ghosts Out There?
By Mark Noack
Campbell Express News Paper - October 26, 2005
Nicole Huston was always creeped out by the backroom at her job at a shoe store in Hillsdale Mall.
"Lots of weird stuff happens," said Huston, "I always have a weird, uneasy feeling. Backpacks will
fall from the shelves and they fall nowhere near where they were."
In itself, Nicole's story may be strange. Yet thousands of stories of unexplainable occurrences are
reported every year and many people are led to the conclusion that paranormal forces such as ghosts or
poltergeists are the source for these aberrations. But are these eerie feelings and events caused simply
by a drifting imagination, or are they caused by something really beyond scientific explanation?
According the 2003 Harris Poll, 51% of the public believe in ghosts. Moreover, every culture in the world
carries stories and legends about dead spirits, although they vary with time and place. The belief in
spirits haunting a specific place is almost as old as civilization itself. Records from ancient Egypt speak
of poltergeist spirits causing stones to fall like rain and rattling the beds in homes.
"There's just too much evidence that there's hauntings," said Lloyd Auerbach, Director of the Office of
Paranormal Investigations, "I've come to believe that there are ghost out there, but they're rare."
Auerbach has made a strong reputation for himself in the paranormal community by authoring several books
on the subject of hauntings and through his attempts to track evidence of ghosts with Campbell resident
and psychic Annette Martin, "So far, we get a lot of situations where it's a mixture of paranormal and
normal activity," said Auerbach.
While Auerbach and Martin claim that ghosts do exits, they both say that most encounters that average
people have with ghostly apparitions are actually "impressions." These impressions are particularly
strong memories that are recorded in places where something horrific or dramatic occurred. According
to Martin, when a person is overcome inexplicably by a strong sensation, which may indicate that the
person is picking up on some past event.
Alcatraz is loaded with impressions," said Martin, "There are a lot of bed and breakfasts that have
them, and the gold rush country is loaded with it.
Martin believes that she has picked up one such impression on the corner of Winchester and Campbell Ave.
"It's a place where the Native Americans had a huge circle where they did their ceremonies. I don't know
what tribe they were, but there's an incredible energy right there," said Martin.
According to Auerbach, there are actual ghosts which are conscious entities that haunt a particular place
and sometimes will also go about a certain perpetual activity.
To investigate for ghosts, Auerbach uses a combination of scientific investigation and pseudo-science.
Auerbach will sometimes use magnetic field detectors, temperature sensors, and other environmental
technology in his investigations, but he uses them only to identify potential "non-paranormal explanations."
Many people who attempt to track ghosts "put too much stock in their technology," said Auerbach,
"Everyone, myself included, gets excited when their gadgets go off, but they don't put enough effort
into asking why their gadgets go off."
When Auerbach and Martin investigate a site for ghosts, they first ask the witness as many questions as
possible about the disturbance.
"Sometimes, teenage girls - their hormones are running extremely high, and their energy can cause things
to move," said Martin.
If they are led to believe that an actual ghost is present, then Martin attempts to communicate with
the entity. "I will first begin to hear them and the ghosts recognize that I can hear them and they get
excited at that," said Martin. "Sometimes the ghost doesn't know it's dead, sometimes it doesn't want
to leave and sometimes they just don't want to go into the light."
But despite the horror movie cliché of ghosts returning to haunt for revenge, Auerbach and Martin say
that no ghosts they've encountered have ever been aggressive.
"No, they're always generally peaceful. Maybe upset and confused, but never murderous," said Martin.
"Everything is exaggerated in film," said Auerbach, "But I thought the movie Ghost was one of the best
portrayals of how ghosts really are.
But many skeptics and fellow ghost aficionados scoff at Auerbach and Martin's methods for ghost
tracking. Joe Nickell, Senior Fellow at the Committee for Scientific Investigation, has been a
longtime ghost debunker but also an avid fan of the paranormal and superstitious. Nickell places his
trust in empirical evidence, yet he tries hard to remain impartial whenever he investigates a site.
"Much of what is done in the name of the paranormal is a logical fallacy called 'arguing from ignorance'
said Nickell. "We can't, for example, say "I don't know what that noise was that I heard in the old
house, therefore that's proof of a ghosts." No, that's just proof that we don't know what we heard.
Could be squirrels on the roof, or a rat, or a creaking of an old house, whatever-it doesn't imply the
supernatural."
Nickell admits that it's always more fun to suspend disbelief than to be immediately skeptical.
"I believe that the fascination with such things as the paranormal stems from our own hopes and fears;
that we are hopeful, for example, that ghosts exist, because that means we live after we die,"
said Nickell, "Or we're hopeful because maybe we can communicate with our dead loved ones. Those are
powerful emotions."
But whether or not ghosts really exist, Nicole Huston remains convinced that some kind of entity
inhabits her store.
"All I know is our ghost doesn't like Hillary Duff," said Huston, "Whenever her songs come on,
the DVD player fast forwards right through her album.
|
The Ghost
at
The Moss Beach Distillery Restaurant
The Moss Beach Distillery is well known for its famous ghost, "The Blue Lady," and the
popular NBC-TV series "Unsolved Mysteries" recreated a haunting version of
"The Legend Of The Blue Lady" and presented it to the world.
Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach has been investigating the Blue Lady at the Moss Beach Distillery
since 1991. Since then, he has conducted several investigative visits - along with renowned psychic
Annette Martin - and has continually monitored the ghostly goings-on at the restaurant.
His first investigation in 1991 was in cooperation with a Japanese TV company, and involved
a psychic from Yokohama. Her conversations yielded information about the Blue Lady - known as such
for the blue dresses she was consistently "seen" wearing - that was also picked up by a number of psychics
working with Auerbach's Office of Paranormal Investigations, most notably by Annette Martin.
In the mid-1990s, Auerbach brought in Annette Martin as the primary psychic on his team.
Martin and Auerbach have made a numerous visits to the Distillery, each time adding something
to their bank of knowledge about the reported phenomena and the ghost herself.
"Because of the relationship Annette has with the ghost, it's extremely rare for me to do any
research at the Distillery without her," said Auerbach.
While other psychics Auerbach worked with previously picked up her name as "Elizabeth" or "Elizabeth Claire,"
it was Annette who has received the most information about the woman we now call "Cayte." Her real name, according
to the Blue Lady herself, was Elizabeth Claire Donovan. She came to the Bay Area from the mid-west with
her husband, but left him in San Francisco as he beat her often. She came to become romantically entangled with the
piano player of Frank Torres's original restaurant, and ended up dead as a result of that affair. Based on accounts
from locals and via a local historian, and from what Annette (and other team members) received from the ghost, she
was killed by her enraged husband, who finally had tracked her down and learned of the affair. The information Annette
has received has definitely correlated to what has been gathered through other, non-paranormal sources.
Cayte is a name received along with her real one by Annette and a few others including local witnesses.
During a two-night investigation in 1999, in an extended conversation with the Blue Lady, it was revealed that
she preferred "Cayte" (and that spelling). Through Annette she said "I'm dead, and I can be called anything I like.
I like the name "Cayte."
"It was during that session that we were told of a major raid on the bootleggers on the beach," said Auerbach.
"So far, no record of this has been found, so one would imagine that perhaps Annette - or Cayte herself - made this up.
In a strange twist, one of our key witnesses to the ghostly sightings on the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum in Alameda
confirmed the raid - with a very close description - based on what he'd been told by his father, a man who was an attorney
for the State of California and in on the raid himself."
Even the investigators have witnessed a number of physical events at the Distillery, including lamps swinging
(no, not the ones that have been set up for recreations) and glassware moving. Their instruments have picked up
highly unusual and anomalous magnetic fields and temperature variations while Annette was conversing with the Blue Lady.
Loyd Auerbach experienced the ghost "walking through" him several times during the 1999 investigation. Annette Martin has had
subsequent, more lengthy conversations with Cayte since the 1999 visits. (Loyd and Annette are considering making the transcripts
of the conversation sessions available, if people are interested - email them about this!).
One unusual factor in the case since Auerbach's initial visits is that Cayte is most often seen in more modern,
black cocktail dresses and evening gowns these days. There seemed to be no real reason from her change away from her
traditional blue garb until Auerbach recently reviewed the 1991 program that aired on Japanese TV. He'd completely forgotten
that in her conversation with the Blue Lady, the late psychic Mrs. Gibo is seen on camera flipping through some American fashion
magazines, apparently updating Cayte on what she should be wearing! And Annette has been offering more fashion advice of late.
Most importantly, it's clear that Cayte is quite happy at the Distillery, and enjoys the atmosphere and the people,
and occasional visits from Loyd and Annette. According to Annette, "She's happy, she's flirtatious, and has no intention of leaving.
She is so content because she's surrounded by people who are eating wonderful food and enjoying themselves immensely."
She even enjoys the recreations that are running - although she sometimes interferes with them. She does miss frequent direct contact
with people, so make sure you say "hello" to her next time you visit - even if only in your own mind.
|
Read New article in the Oakland Tribune Oct. 19, 2003 with Annette and Loyd
|
Ghosts
Humans are drawn to a good "ghost
story." They are continually reporting situations in
which they believe "ghosts" are playing a part.
Annette and Loyd investigate some of the possible explanations
for these experiences that people have been having for perhaps
thousands of years.
Our primary areas of investigation involve
sightings of apparitions (ghosts); unusual happenings in homes,
offices, restaurants, hotels or other locations that people
have felt are "haunted," and poltergeist situations,
where there are reported unusual physical effects or movement
of objects.
By investigating the problems reported,
first looking for any and all "normal" explanations
before assuming a paranormal one, we then offer recommendations
and service with respect to dealing with the phenomena or
experiences.
Our first obligation is to assist our clients
through such situations and to provide advice and/or referrals
based on our findings in their cases. Most clients have reported
successful resolution of their paranormal experiences. In
addition, the specifics of all investigations are kept confidential,
except those where clients have explicitly stated otherwise
(in other words, we do not refer Media directly to our clients
without explicit permission of said clients)
What is a ghost?
There are all sorts of
definitions for ghosts and spirits out there. Parapsychology
and its predecessor, Psychical Research, essentially created
three main categories of what have often been considered “ghostly”
happenings. The three are different conceptually, but events
around each can appear similar and can even indicate unique
combinations of phenomena.
Experts use different terms for different types of ghostly experience. When speaking to a paranormal investigator, it's useful to understand a few of these terms. While misinterpretations of normal events make up a great majority of ghost experiences, there are three main types of genuine events.
The “big three” are apparitions, hauntings
and poltergeists. In shortened form, they are spirits, recordings
and living-agent psychokinesis.
HAUNTINGS:.... Haunting apparitions are the most common of genuine events. Also called a residual haunting or haunting meaning to have an awareness of living persons who are present. Witnessing a haunting is like experiencing a loop tape. According to paranormal investigator Loyd Auerbach intense emotions may leave a kind of impression or recording on their surroundings, and these recordings are in some way triggered and act like a "telepathic virtual reality." The reputed ghosts of Alcatraz Prison are hauntings.
APPARITIONS:.... Apparitions are traditional ghosts. Moss Beach Distillery's Blue Lady is a textbook example of an apparition. She is conscious of her identity, personal history and her current environment. She is also aware of the living and sometimes interacts with them. Auerbach says an apparition is "the survival of consciousness after the death of the body."
POLTERGEISTS:.... Poltergeists are no longer attributed to ghosts. Poltergeist activity is characterized by noises--commonly rapping and crashes, objects and furniture moving without apparent aid, sometimes in the view of witnesses--smells, electrical appliances turning on and off, computer malfunctions and even the spontaneous appearance of fire or water. Investigation has determined that the cause of poltergeist activity is usually a member of the household. The activity seems to be related to repressed stress and/or intense pent-up emotions. Though the source is almost always unaware that they are the cause, their emotional energy is released in the form of psychokinetic activity, causing the environmental disturbances. The source can be any age, though a majority of cases involve adolescents and teenagers. Once the source becomes aware of their connection the activity almost always stops abruptly.
PSYCHOKINESIS:.... Also called PK, it is sometimes called mind over matter. Psychokinesis is the mind¹s ability to affect the environment (matter and/or energy) without the use of the physical body. The Blue Lady is using PK when she causes chandeliers to swing.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SKEPTICS?
My reaction to skeptics about ghost is that
many people through the centuries have had experiences of
seeing, hearing, and feeling ghosts. The observers in this
century will try to research their experience through either
the library, people whom live in their area or through a parapsychologist
or psychic. The evidence is shown and proved that the person
they saw did live in that house or frequented the area.
I don’t think any of us knows the real
answer why this phenomena happens, we just have to keep tracking
the experiences and perhaps someday we will be able to build
a machine that will be able to pick up these frequencies and
solve this puzzle.
|
|
|
LOYD
AUERBACH is Director of the Office
of Paranormal Investigations and author of MIND
OVER MATTER (Kensington Books, May 1996).
His first book, ESP, HAUNTINGS AND POLTERGEISTS (1986,
Warner Books), dealt with the ways parapsychologists investigate
psychic phenomena outside the laboratory, and the misconceptions
of the phenomena held by the public.
It was named the “Sacred Text”` on ghosts by NEWSWEEK
(in August, 1996), and is currently being updated for a 2001
edition. PSYCHIC
DREAMING (1991, Warner Books; 1999 Barnes & Noble Books)
deals with the current understanding of dreams in general
and psychic dreams in particular. His third book, REINCARNATION, CHANNELING AND POSSESSION was
published by Warner Books in April, 1993.
Auerbach
has recounted some of his more interesting paranormal investigations
on two audiotapes, GHOST STORIES, volume 1 (Michael Scott
Studios, 1996) and GHOST STORIES, volume 2 (1998).
In addition, he has a video lecture ("Exploring
the Real-Life X-FILES:
GHOSTS) and video seminar (with psychic Annette Martin)
available. In
1999, he released the first of a series of videotapes on "The
Haunting of the USS Hornet" (a haunted WWII era aircraft
carrier in Alameda, CA).
He
has been a Consulting Editor for FATE Magazine, a 50+-year-old
national publication dealing with the “unexplained,” since
the beginning of 1991.
His column, “Psychic Frontiers,” appears bimonthly.
He
was recently elected President of the Psychic Entertainers
Association (PEA), an international
organization of psychic entertainers (performers of including
mentalism, bizarre magic, hypnotism, cold reading, and allied
arts). He is
President of the California Society for Psychical Study (repeating
a run from 1988-92), and was 1989 President of Assembly 112
of the Society of American Magicians, making him the first
parapsychologist to have actively served as an officer of
both a psychical research group and a magicians’ organization.
He is repeating this now as PEA President (and he's
also Chairman of the Bay Area magicians group Club 53).
Loyd
Auerbach has been an Adjunct Professor at JFK University in
Orinda, CA since 1983, and also served on the faculty of Rosebridge
Graduate School for Integrative Psychology 1996-1998.
He holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Northwestern
University (1978), and an MS in Parapsychology from JFK University
(1981).
A
married resident of Pleasant Hill, California, Mr. Auerbach
has been teaching Parapsychology and related topics in the
San Francisco Bay Area and in New York.
Over the last 20 years, he has taught courses in Parapsychology,
Anthropology, Altered States of Consciousness, Science Fiction,
Magic, and Media. The main topics of his public lectures are "Professor
Paranormal's True Tales of Ghosts & Hauntings," “Exploring
the Real Life X-FILES:
GHOSTS," “Mind Over Matter:
Do You Have the Power?" "Are You Psychic?"
and “Psychics and Charlatans.”
He is represented on the national college speakers'
circuit by Wolfman Productions.
He
was Public Information and Media Consultant to the American
Society for Psychical Research in New York from 1982 through
mid-1983. While
there, he acted as a spokesperson and as an intermediary to
facilitate communication between the media and the parapsychological
community. He
is still a member of that organization, an associate member
of the Parapsychological Association, and a corresponding
member of the Society for Scientific Exploration.
For
over 20 years, he has been investigating cases of reported
paranormal phenomena, helping people understand what may (or
may not) be going on in their lives.
In 1989, he founded the Office of Paranormal Investigations
(OPI), a group for people to call when they believe they have
a psychic or paranormal disturbance, and a resource center
for Media, businesspeople, scientists, law enforcement agencies,
and attorneys. While
OPI’s main investigations are in the Bay Area, the group has
affiliated investigators in many other areas of the country.
Mr.
Auerbach is very interested and concerned with media portrayals
of the phenomena and the science of Parapsychology.
He has been a consultant to various television producers
and writers in the United States, Japan, and Great Britain,
providing scientific, creative and promotional input.
Most recently he has been involved with shows for the
Discovery Channel, A&E, The Learning Channel, the History
Channel, and the Travel Channel. He keeps tabs on the Media’s
portrayal of Parapsychology through his constant contact with
the media and his familiarity and use of the Lexis Nexis information
services (as a part-time Applications Consultant in their
San Francisco office), and through the Internet.
His
media expertise is often brought into play as a media and
public speaking coach for authors and businesspeople.
He has taught a Media & Presentation Skills course
annually at JFK University, and he is featured as an “expert”
in PUBLIC SPEAKING FOR DUMMIES by Malcolm Kushner (IDG Books,
1999). He
also runs corporate public speaking workshops for companies
in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Besides
his media work, Auerbach also consults with other professionals.
In 1984, he was
called in as an expert witness in a San Francisco homicide
trial, his testimony dealing with psychic phenomena and the
anthropology of belief in the supernatural.
He has often consulted with attorneys and law enforcement
officials.
Loyd Auerbach is an accomplished Magician and Mentalist (he
calls himself a “Paranormal Entertainer”), performing for
private parties, corporations, at colleges and restaurants.
His knowledge and interest in magic began while he
was a graduate student; through a course he took intended
to introduce the would-be researchers to the methods of phony
psychics. He
has since taught that same course a number of times.
He is a charter member and current Chairman of the
Bay Area magic group Club 53, a member of the Academy of Magical
Arts, and on the Occult Investigations Committee of the Society
of American Magicians. He received a credit as a “Creative Consultant” to the MAGIC
OF DAVID COPPERFIELD X:
THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE (CBS 1988).
His
work as a Mentalist has expanded since late 1991 to include
his version of an old idea. Séance
Fiction Theater
presents a form of what has been called “spirit theater,”
entertainment in the vein of spiritualist séances.
A review of the show appeared in the May, 1992 issue
of OMNI Magazine. He is 2001-2002 President of the Psychic
Entertainers Association, and was the year 2000 chair for
their annual Meeting of the Minds.
He
now performs his new one-man mentalism show around the country
available to the college and corporate markets:
"Professor
Paranormal's Psychic Mind Theater."
Auerbach’s media exposure includes many prominent appearances
on paranormal-related programs for The Discovery Channel,
The Learning Channel, A&E and The History Channel, and
recently on LARRY KING LIVE. He was frequently seen on SIGHTINGS, and has had other national
exposure on THE TODAY SHOW, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, OPRAH WINFREY,
POPULAR MECHANICS FOR KIDS, THE NEW EDGE, THE WEB, THE NEXT
STEP, THE JOAN RIVERS SHOW, HARD COPY, THE DR. DEAN SHOW,
THE LATE SHOW, PM MAGAZINE, HOUR MAGAZINE, STRANGE UNIVERSE,
DISNEY ADVENTURES Magazine, INTUITION magazine, OMNI, GANNETT
NEWS SERVICE, ABC TALKRADIO, and the ASSOCIATED PRESS, among
others; Bay Area appearances & interviews with KGO RADIO
and TV, KPIX-TV, KTVU-TV, KHBK-TV, KCBS RADIO, KRON-TV, the
OAKLAND TRIBUNE, THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, THE SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE and EXAMINER, THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES; New York appearances
on many television and radio talk and news shows; and interviews
in the NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES.
A feature article about him appeared in Southwest Airlines'
magazine SPIRIT in March, 1998.
His
is a familiar name around the nation as he has been interviewed
on television, radio and in print all over the U.S. (and in
Canada). During October of each year, he is generally interviewed by
dozens of radio stations all over, and is often featured on
national and local television.
He has also gained recognition in Japan, having been
featured in six television specials in 1991-94 on Tokyo Broadcasting
System, the most recent shot in the Australian outback.
On
the “offbeat” side, in May of 1993, he took David Letterman
on a walk through a haunted house, which was broadcast on
LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. He worked on-camera and as
Associate Producer for a TV pilot for a series called HAUNTED
AMERICA with Abbitt-Prest Productions, and as a field director
for MYSTERIOUS FORCES BEYOND and STRANGE UNIVERSE.
Finally, he co-produced the first in a series of investigation
videos about haunted locations, THE HAUNTING OF THE USS HORNET
volume 1 (1999), focusing on the ghostly experiences aboard
a retired naval aircraft carrier.
Loyd
Auerbach, M.S., is available as a consultant and lecturer,
or for interviews (and of course, as Professor
Paranormal, for Séance
Fiction Theater or other magic & psychic entertainment
performances), and can be reached at The Office of
Paranormal Investigations:
(415) 249-9275.
Fax: (925)
676-5505.
Email:
esper@california.com
Paranormal
Network website: www.mindreader.com
|
|
|
Annette
Martin is an international Radio/TV
Psychic and one of the most reputed mediums of the west coast,
whose specialty is "psychic" medical diagnosing, criminal and ghost
investigations. A sunny blonde and former opera - singer from
Campbell, California, with a down-to-earth practicality, Martin
has done psychic consulting for police agencies around the
country for the last twenty-eight years. She holds a B.A. in
Psychology from the University of San Francisco which coupled
with her natural psychic abilities, makes her personal counseling
accurate and effective.
Annette’s
uncanny accuracy on phone readings has created a long list
of prominent clients across the globe.
Her psychic talents became apparent at the age of seven.
She has been teaching psychic development for the past
twenty-eight years and currently works with police agencies,
physicians and psychologists.
Annette
is the author of three books and three audiotapes and teaches
Psychic Development at Universities around the country. She
has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, films,
Television shows such as Montell Williams, Discovery Channel,
ABC, 48 Hours, A&E, Fox News, Norwegian Broadcast, BBC,
History Channel and the Travel Channel.
|
TV
Shows with Loyd and Annette
|
TV Show
|
Description |
|
The Travel Channel
"Alcatraz Revealed"
Apr 21 2003 - 9:00 PM
Apr 22 2003 - 12:00 AM
Apr 26 2003 - 5:00 PM
|
"Alcatraz Revealed"
Known the world over as "The Rock," this fortress imprisoned the
worst of the worst. Annette Martin and Loyd Auerbach explore Alcatraz
for hidden ghosts. Over a million tourists visit each year,
but few have this chance to explore the hidden citadel under the
cellblock, retrace the steps of the most daring escapes or visit the
cell of the famous birdman of Alcatraz.
|
|
TV Asahi - "Unbelievable"
A Ghost at the Winchester Mystery House
March 28, 2002 -
|
Are there ghosts in America?
This program was a Japanese documentary TV show, called "Unbelievable"
shown on TV Asahi, one of the major TV networks in Japan, hosted by
Takeshi Kitano who is a director and an actor of the movie "Brother".
This program introduces unbelievable and amazing stories from all over
the world to Japanese audiences. Annette Martin popular TV psychic toured the house and
told the story of the faithful resident ghost, Clyde, at the Winchester Mystery
House located in San Jose, California, USA.
|
|
Tech TV - Fresh Gear: The Coolest New Products and
Gadgets
Ghost-Hunting Gadgets
October 27, 2001 - 9:00pm ET
|
Does gear equal ghosts?
"Fresh Gear" met up with Loyd Auerbach and psychic Annette Martin at the
Moss Beach Distillery in Moss Beach, California. Legend has it that the
Distillery is haunted by the Blue Lady, a ghost patrons and employees have
claimed to encounter over the years. Our ghost hunter team, armed with the
ThermaCAM, two EMF meters, and Polaroid cameras, did manage to capture
strange phenomenon. Auerbach's meters registered unusual activity, while at
the same instance the ThermaCAM spotted unusual hot spots. Polaroid snap
shots taken at the time also captured strange white dots around the area investigated.
Auerbach said that for ghost hunters, this was a once in a lifetime event.
Having documentation of anomalous activity from four different sources
provides them with tangible evidence that a paranormal event has actually
taken place.
|
|
Mornings on 2
Mark Pitta visits the Moss Beach Distillery
Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - 7:00-9:00am
|
Mark Pitta visits the Moss Beach Distillery to see if it
really is haunted...will he encounter "the blue lady?"
www.mossbeachdistillery.com. Mark Pitta interviews the ghost research
team of Annette Martin popular TV psychic and Loyd Auerbach Parapsychologist.
|
|
CBS Morning Show
Ghosts In Our Midst
U.S.S. Hornet
Thursday, May 10, 2001 - 12:00 AM ET
|
Sandra Hughes reports
ALAMEDA POINT, Calif. --If you believe in ghosts, you may have
heard that one of America's most decorated ships is haunted.
There are about 200 reports of people who say ghosts are running
around the giant carrier U.S.S. Hornet. So CBS News Correspondent
Sandra Hughes came on board with Psychic Annette Martin and
Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach to talk with some of the ghosts.
Travel Channel - August 16, Americas' Most Haunted Places"
|
|
Americas'
Most Haunted Places
|
Annette Martin talks about the ghost
that haunts the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. |
|
Travel Channel
Weird Places
November 25, 2001
|
Annette Martin talks about the ghost
that haunts the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. |
|
ABC
REEL TIME SHOW
w/Andy Kindler
the movie Poltergeist
August 31 2000
|
Andy interviews famous Psychic, Annette Martin
between the commercial breaks at the Winchester Mystery House on ghosts
in general and the ghost that haunts the Winchester Mystery
House in San Jose, California. All of this leads into a scene with Andy
and Annette performing a séance in the now famous Sarah
Winchester séance room. |
|
Discovery Channel
"SCIENCE OF THE IMPOSSIBLE”
Episode: Invisible Forces
Duration: 60 mins
November 6, 1998
|
Psychic Annette Martin and Parapsychologist
Loyd Auerbach have been filmed in a segment for the Discovery
Channel on Ghost Busting at the Brookdale Lodge in Santa Cruz,
California. This five part series will be shown in the fall
of 1998. |
|
History Channel
A & E
Haunted Houses of San Francisco
Oct 30, 1998
|
The History Channel has filmed Annette
Martin in two of their segments for a special presentation of
Haunted houses. The first one will take place at the famous
Mansions Hotel in San Francisco and the other well-known Haunted
House - the Winchester Mystery House, in San Jose, California
where Annette performed a séance. |
|
History Channel
Haunted History:
San Francisco
(1998)
|
This special talks about the history of
the city, its place in America's past, and, of course, the
spirits that may still walk the streets and inhabit the dwellings.
Hosted by: Michael Dorn with: Richard Senate, historian/psychic
researcher Dennis William Hauck, author Annette Martin, psychic
counselor June Morrall, columnist Lloyd Auerbach, Office of
Paranormal Investigations
Contents
Fort Mason
The Haskell Residence, built in 1851, was built as fur trader
Leonides Haskell's private residence. The US government took
it over in 1863, and informs all officers about to move in
that
it is haunted. It seems that in September of 1859, US Senator
David C. Broderick met his death after losing a gun duel to
former Judge David Terry (the two disagreed strongly over
slavery; Broderick was against it, Terry for). His extreme
nervousness prior to the duel and death in the house may have
created a haunting presence in the house--residents feel his
presence and have heard footsteps, as well as tapping at a
window.
Winchester Mystery House
Actually located in San Jose, the Winchester Mystery House
is a sprawling mansion created by Sarah Winchester, daughter-in-law
of the maker of the Winchester Rifle, as a haven against the
spirits of those killed by the weapon. A medium told Mrs.
Winchester that spirits were out to seek vengeance against
her, and in order to avoid them, she had to continuously build
a mansion. So she did, having men work around the clock for
years, never stopping until she died, thirty-eight years after
construction began. The Winchester Mansion is still a maze-like
architectural wonder, and is now open to tourists. It is said
that spirits inhabit the house, including possibly Sarah Winchester
herself. A ball of red light has been seen in the bedroom
where Mrs. Winchester died, restoration expert Jack Stubbert
once
saw the translucent apparition of a worker, and a séance
once contacted a caretaker named Clyde.
The Mansion Hotel
The edifice at 2220 Sacramento Street was once the home of
silver tycoon Richard Chambers. Now fully restored, it is
a hotel that is said to be haunted by Chambers' niece Claudia,
who died in a bizarre accident involving knives. Some say
she was stabbed to death, others, that she was sawed in half.
A young woman, perhaps Claudia, has been seen around the halls.
A TV has turned itself on, and a toilet has flushed by itself.
In the Presidential Suite, a book entitled The Wind Bloweth,
by Donn
Byrne, once flew across the room. Once, during a séance,
a plant started to move (there was no wind around) and a sheltered
glass shattered by itself. A photograph may have captured
a ghost during that séance.
Moss Beach Distillery
Really located in Half Moon Bay, Moss Beach Distillery is
a former speakeasy that now a functioning restaurant. There
are two stories circling around the origin of the blue lady
that is rumored to haunt the Distillery; either she was a
woman who died in a car accident or who was murdered, perhaps
accidentally. This special, unlike the bit done on the Moss
Beach Distillery on Unsolved Mysteries, mentions only the
murder legend.
This is a part of a four-part miniseries
that first aired on the History Channel in October of 1998.
In
October 1999, the series continued with another four episodes.
|
|
Discovery Channel
America's Most Haunted Houses
May 31, 1998
Discovery Europe
Friday May 15,1998
|
Annette Martin toured the Winchester Mystery House
and talked about the resident ghost, Clyd, the caretaker, whom Martin had
had contacted several times performing a seance and his allegiance
to Sarah Winchester.
(Discovery Europe covering the UK,
Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland,
Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania)
|
|
Media Ghost Busting Séance
April - 1998
|
Moss Beach
Distillery Restaurant 30 Newspapers
attended this event where the well known TV and Radio psychic,
Annette Martin gave a séance with the Blue Lady, the resident ghost.
Loyd Auerbach, Director of the Office of the Paranormal, performed as master
of ceremonies and gave an enlighting magic show; a palmists roamed the restaurant
giving palm readings. |
|
Fox TV
May - 1998
|
"Ghosts Hauntings"
- 5 night special on the news - famous TV and radio psychic and
ghost investigators Annette Martin and Loyd Auerbach,Parapsychologist
interviewed on lights that showed up on the film of an other
TV show last Fall, 1997. Annette Martin and Loyd Auerbach agreed that the
lights were definite evidence of the little girl ghost that is in residence
at the well known Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California. |
THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Article Last Updated:
Sunday, October 19, 2003 - 11:04:43 AM MST
Restaurateur says his place is haunted
By Angela Hill
STAFF WRITER
PAULA, ARE you out there? Francois lives to find you. Sort of. He searches the faces of everyone who comes into the Cafe Van Kleef in downtown Oakland, just in case. Asks about you all the time, although no one listens. Knocks things over and turns off the stereo system, just because he can. He's not melancholy, which is odd considering he's a former lady-loving, party-happy, live-life-to-the-wee-hours French gigolo who's now got no body -- seeing as how he's dead and all. Yes, Francois supposedly soiree-ed a little too hardee one night and keeled over from a drug overdose more than a decade ago when he lived on the fifth floor of 1621 Telegraph Ave. So now he's stuck -- haunting the hallways, the first-floor cafe and its art gallery. Ooh, and especially the creepy elevator. "Once you get in the elevator, it hesitates, then goes -- unless somebody has pushed the button outside to get on," said cafe owner Peter Van Kleef. "But a lot of times, I've gotten on, the door closes, it hesitates -- then opens like someone was out there who pushed the button. But nobody's there. "Some people are pretty scared of that elevator," he said. "But I say, 'Come on in!'" Fortunately, Francois is not a fearsome ghost. He seems surprisingly cheery about being dead. Spirited, one might say, and one did. He has a great time hanging out with Van Kleef, who has been puttering around getting his very cool, eclectic bar, cafe and gallery ready to re-open in the next couple of weeks after a four-year closure. "I feel like I know him," Van Kleef said. "It's a constant thing. You see something go by out of the corner of your eye, but there's nobody there. I've never felt anything but positive or good feelings from him. It's kind of like having a cat. First he's there, then he's not. He turns off the stereo. Knocks something off in the back. "I welcome the company, especially on occasions when I work by myself," Van Kleef said. "I'm not a ghost believer, but I don't discount any of this."
Oui oui, Francois has a pretty good life for a ghost. He is content.
But he misses Paula.
Oh, and cheese. He misses cheese.
All this was discovered last week during a preliminary para-normal investigation of the old 1920s building, led by an electromagnetic-meter-wielding Loyd Auerbach, sensitive psychic Annette Martin, a couple of companions with video cameras and some people who just thought it was cool.
These are some of the big paranormal guns. Auerbach is one of the East Bay's resident experts on the eerie. He's the director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations in Pleasant Hill and has literally written the book on the subject, "ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists," in addition to several other related books.
Martin, a psychic from Campbell, has a degree in psychology, was once an opera singer and says she's been communicating with the decidedly deceased since she was a child. She has worked as a psychic for about 35 years, assisted in police cases and been on TV too many times to count.
She frequently accompanies Auerbach on investigations. That's the best way to hunt a ghost, you see, combining the scientific and the spiritual. Auerbach seeks out the physical evidence on film, tape, electromagnetic devices and through witness reports.
"Then if a psychic is having an experience at the same time something shows up on technology, you definitely have an anomaly happening in the environment, regardless of what you call it," Auerbach said. "That's the kind of thing we're looking for."
He has investigated the very haunted U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda and the notorious Moss Beach Distillery near Half Moon Bay, where a ghost named Kate or "The Blue Lady" lives. So to speak.
Francois is 'new.'
These folks know ghosts, and they were excited about Francois. He's a "new" ghost. Nobody's heard reports of him before, but Van Kleef and others say he's been bumping around in the building for at least five years.
Auerbach, who is also a professional magician and psychic entertainer, heard the story when planning future entertainment seances, which will soon be held at Cafe Van Kleef.
So the ghosthunters came to the cafe one afternoon last week, hung out for a while sipping Van Kleef's trademark "Dutchman" coffee -- a double espresso with bittersweet and sweet chocolate imported from Europe, which is so good it's probably why Francois is hanging around. Then they headed up to the fifth floor, where Francois supposedly departed from the land of the living.
"We're going up," Auerbach announced to the group, which prompted the elevation of numerous neck hairs.
They took the elevator. Rather industrial-looking, with warm-yellow metal walls, and cramped. Kind of like being inside an egg. Francois did not get in, however. (It would later be learned that he was already upstairs.)
The elevator opened to several bright rooms, walls of Crayola yellow, purple and blue.
No spooky cobwebs. This part of the building once held several apartments where Francois used to live, but now houses three youth-oriented nonprofits. Workers there hadn't experienced Francois. Dang.
But Martin did. Instantly. She took a deep breath.
Psychic's 'goosebumps'
"Oh, I'm getting goosebumps," she said. "It's gone now. It was like he just went right by me."
Everybody got quiet. Auerbach headed down a hallway, holding a meter in front of him, looking for all the underworld like Spock carrying a tri-corder. Martin stopped and closed her eyes.
"I'm getting a man with long brown hair. Some kind of moustache. Slight build. He's almost like a ballet dancer, he moves so gracefully," she said.
"And I'm getting a nice reaction here on the natural magnetic field meter," Auerbach said. The pointer bounced back and forth when Auerbach stood near the kitchen area. "Well, the fridge has certainly set this thing off," he joked.
Martin moved near the bathroom. "There's something here. An impression," she said, pointing to the floor. "I see a body on the floor."
An impression, Auerbach explained later, is different from a "ghost." It's like holding an object in your hand and talking about it. Or like a film strip playing over and over. But a ghost -- there's an actual presence there, who can be communicated with. There go those pesky neck hairs again.
Martin sighed heavily. "I hear him singing. Humming. Kind of dancing around a little bit."
"He's not singing 'Just a Gigolo,' is he?' Auerbach asked. (Paranormal humor.)
"He's very loving," Martin continued. "A very different kind of personality. A lot of female mixed up with male in his personality. He's asking a question of what we're doing here, why we're trying to find him."
Suddenly, the natural meter went crazy, then bounced gently. "There's definitely a fluctuation here," Loyd said. "That's not the refrigerator."
Someone asked why Francois is sticking around.
"Memories," Martin answered for Francois. "Lots and lots of wonderful happy memories for him here. Parties. Music. Wine. Cheese. Oh, how he misses the cheese. Mmm. He says he wishes he could taste cheese again.
"And he's looking for people. Goes around and looks in their faces to see who they are. He prefers the bar where people are laughing and talking.
"He's looking for a very beautiful young woman," Martin muttered. "Pale skin. Long, straight nose. Brown eyes. He's looking for her."
Martin paused. Stood perfectly still with eyes closed, hand extended, as if frozen mid-sentence. Hearing words in the quiet.
Looking for Paula
"Paula," she muttered. "Her name is Paula. That's who he's looking for."
Francois must have tired of talking, and the conversation seemed to come to an end. Everyone moved to another room except Martin, still frozen but seriously sweating. She sighed, opened her eyes. "Is it hot in here?" she asked.
It wasn't.
All told, the preliminary investigation went well. "The natural meter, which usually doesn't react at all except at Kate's and at the Hornet, was totally going nuts," Auerbach said. The next step is to interview more witnesses. Take more readings. Try to find actual details of Francois' death in county records and coroner's reports. Rule out possible physical explanations, such as short circuits in the stereo system.
After Martin's "conversation," Van Kleef confirmed much of the story. "I never met Francois, but a friend of mine lived in this building for about seven years and he knew him," Van Kleef said. "He described him to me as a beautiful young man. Angelic. Cherubic. Long hair. More beautiful even than his girlfriends, which was a blessing and a curse.
"The story goes that, because of the way he looked and spoke, people would give him anything he wanted," Van Kleef said. "So he quit working and his girlfriends started supporting him.
"Then he met a very beautiful worker in the entertainment industry -- she was a stripper in San Francisco. That might have been Paula.
"She drove in the fast lane in more ways than one. She was wise in the ways of the world. He was more of an innocent. She introduced him to elements of the dark side, and one of those elements did him in on the top floor by the bathroom. He overdosed."
"Francois likes your energy," Martin told Van Kleef. "The way you make people laugh and tell them stories. He's around you more than you think."
"Does he mind hearing the same jokes and stories over and over?" Van Kleef asked.
"No," Martin said, smiling gently. "He said, 'Merci beaucoup, mon ami.'"
THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Article Last Updated:
Friday, October 18, 2002 - 11:04:43 AM MST
Paranormal experts say it's not all funny business
By Angela Hill
STAFF WRITER
CONTRARY to popular belief, the life of the ghost hunter is not all lurking in attics, tape-recording bumps in the night and lying in wait for hours in somebody's stuffy broom closet for the ghost of great Aunt Selma to appear.
Sure, there's that glamorous side. But there's also some housekeeping involved.
Perish the thought! It's enough to make Aunt Selma do The Twist in her grave. Still, a group of paranormal investigators, clairvoyants, psychics and researchers from all over the country got down to the practical side of ghost hunting a few weeks ago in a bland, decidedly non-haunted conference room in the Concord Hilton. There, any cold spots were just fierce air conditioning, and electromagnetic fields were generated only by a tweaky fluorescent light. These are the professionals. People who seek out the dead -- not to make a living, but for the need to know, and to help folks who may have had odd and often frightening experiences. These are people with actual academic degrees in parapsychology, or 20- and 30-plus years investigating hauntings.
They know ghosts.
What they don't know is how to legitimize their field -- free it from the goofy "Ghostbusters" specter and let the world know they're dead serious about their jobs.
So about 25 of them gathered for a two-day session, talking about just that -- organization, standardization of terms, databases, dealing with the media and what to do about the explosion of amateur groups out there. They talked technology, from infrared-- thermal-vision devices to Geiger counters. They even came up with an official name: the Paranormal Research Organization, or PRO.
Oh sure, they threw in a few juicy ghost stories too, all oohing and ahhing like kids at a campfire when somebody's holding a flashlight under their chin. They can't help themselves. But it was all work-related.
The meeting was arranged by one of the East Bay's resident experts of the eerie, Loyd Auerbach of Pleasant Hill, director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations who has literally written the book on the subject, "ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists," in addition to several other related books.
"I think this is the start of something brand new for the field," Auerbach said. "It's to help us find out where we need to put our energies, where we need to focus, trying to figure out what is really going on in all these cases.
"We generally attend conventions with formal presentations, but we never get together and just talk," he said. "This is really about brainstorming."
And so they stormed. First off, they all admit there's a division in the ranks between the scientific and the spiritual, and the meeting brought both together -- several experts who seek out physical evidence on film, tape recordings, electromagnetic devices and through witness reports, plus several renowned psychics and clairvoyants.
Ultimately, when they work together, the result is much more impressive, they say.
"Both are valuable," Auerbach said. "When a psychic is having an experience and technology is getting something at the same time, then you can be sure an anomalous experience is taking place in the environment, regardless of what you call it. It comes down to having lots of evidence. Not just one photo or one psychic experience."
There was one case, he said, where a psychic said a little girl -- a ghost -- was holding her hand. "With infrared thermal vision, you could see that the psychic's hand got warm, then cooled at the exact same moment she said the little girl was gone," he said. "That's the kind of evidence we like."
"That's, of course, the ideal situation," said Kerry Gaynor of Santa Monica, who has investigated at least 1,000 cases of haunted houses during the past 25 years. "It's very hard to be at the right place at the right time."
Gaynor was quiet during the spirituality part of the conversation.
He looks a little like Fox Mulder with a puff of brown hair and sharp eyes. He sat next to Auerbach, who has a goatee and a common-sense way about him that makes talking about ghosts seem no more unearthly than discussing vaporlock.
To his right was Annette Martin of Campbell, a psychic who has a degree in psychology, was once an opera singer and says she's been communicating with the deceased since she was a little girl. Someone suggested a database and guidelines for amateur or new researchers. "We could have lists of good calibration centers to go to (for technical devices)," said Pete Haviland, a researcher from Houston. "And a certified photo analyst, for someone to say, 'This is real, this is a hoax.'"
The group held a brief debate on semantics. Aann Golemac, a clairvoyant medium from Alameda who has done extensive work on the USS Hornet said she doesn't want to be called a ghostbuster.
"When I was on the 'Today' show, they even used the 'Ghostbusters' theme music," she said. "The media just doesn't get it. We are doing serious investigations. We are paranormal investigators. I am not a psychic. I am a clairvoyant medium. I see, I hear, I sense and I bring messages from the other side.
"I am not a ghostbuster," she said.
Others in the group, though, felt that a sense of humor can help, especially when dealing with the media.
"When the movie 'Ghostbusters' first came out, I got all sorts of calls from the media saying, 'We know that's not real. So what do you guys really do?' I looked at it as an opportunity. I think there's a way to present that sense of humor and still be credible."
Kathy Rehm of Belmont, the only amateur in the group who has taught a college course on ghosthunting with your camera, said it's amazing how many people have had ghostly experiences.
As soon as I tell someone I'm a paranormal investigator, they immediately come up with a ghost story: 'My Aunt Edna died two years ago and I still smell her perfume. Is that OK?' Rehm said. The point is, everybody's got a story like this. It is a common thing. Part of life. We can be normalizing the experience for them by saying, 'Yes, it's OK."'
|
Loyd Auerbach - "Professor Paranormal"
|
|
|
January 2002
It is a romantic spot, just the place to meet a mysterious woman. And it's happened to many before you. Her name is Elizabeth Clair Donovan, but now she likes to be called Cayte. Most of the staff at the Moss Beach Distillery call her The Blue Lady. Those who see her describe a beautiful, young woman with blue eyes and long, honey-blond hair. Those familiar with her behavior say she is flirtatious and has a great sense of humor. She comes to the picturesque, seaside restaurant often, but she is rarely seen. You have to understand, Cayte is a ghost.
Loyd Auerbach has known Cayte for 10 years. The Blue Lady is one of the best-documented ghosts in the United States and that is due, in good part, to him. His appearance is scholarly, Sean Connery bald with a sweater and tweed coat. He is a parapsychologist, or paranormal investigator, with 20 years in the field. In his confident way, he seems to know something we don't, and he enjoys that. But, he enjoys sharing that knowledge too. His manner is serious--all business. Then, from nowhere, his impish sense of humor peeks out. A $5 bill dashes across the floor, and as you reach for it, you know you've been had. Just like that his work face is back.
As "Professor Paranormal," he is also a professional magician. Some wonder if being an illusionist strains his credibility, but Auerbach says no. In a ghost investigation, "the first step is to search for all possible natural explanations. Knowing how stage magic works is an immense aid to my work," Auerbach says. As for his opinion on the supernatural, Auerbach says, "I don't like the word, I prefer unexplained."
Cayte has been unexplained since the 1930s, when she first began to appear in the blood-soaked blue dress that earned her the nickname, The Blue Lady. Since his first investigation at the Distillery in 1991, Auerbach has never seen her. But he knows she is there.
It is 1999, and a documentary is filming a special about ghosts. Auerbach is working as their consultant. During a lull in the filming, Auerbach is behind the bar taking readings with a magnetometer. Auerbach considers it his most reliable tool. The handheld device detects magnetic and electromagnetic fields. Ghosts tend to produce a much higher reading than normal background energy fields. "It started fluctuating wildly," he says excitedly as he remembers. He looks for an electric source to explain the reading when something new begins to happen. His excitement level rises as he continues. "All of a sudden, I get this wave of tingly energy moving from front to back. And then back to front and front to back again. It occurs to me, after three or four times, that she is walking through me."
Then three of his associates, all psychics, enter the room. They all look at him and start laughing at the same time. "I don't recall which one said it, but one of them said, 'She's walking through you, isn't she?' and they looked at each other and started laughing again." Auerbach looks like he is at a loss for words and finally adds, "And then it stopped. So that was my really good encounter with her. And I tell people, kiddingly, it felt pretty good." Then he adds with a hint of uncharacteristic shyness, "I felt warm and fuzzy."
All three of the witnesses who saw her that night said that she was wearing a black evening gown, not a blue dress. According to reports of her sightings over the years, Cayte's blood-soaked and tattered blue dress begins to appear clean and untorn sometime during the 1950s. Around 1980, sightings indicate that she began to appear in the black evening gown. Now it seems to be her favorite.
Annette Martin is one of the psychics in Auerbach's story. She has worked with Auerbach on this and other cases, as well as having worked successfully on several police cases. "She (Cayte) is very curious about other women's appearances; the way they wear their hair and clothes," Martin says. Martin thinks the black evening gown is Cayte's way of being fashionable.
|
|
|
|
Over the years, Auerbach has worked directly with four psychics on The Blue Lady's case. They all report consistent historical and personal information about both Cayte and the Distillery. Auerbach claims to be extremely cautious in choosing psychics he can trust, and he regards Annette Martin highly. Martin claims she has spoken with Cayte on several occasions. It was during one of her early talks with The Blue Lady that the ghost told Martin that her name was Elizabeth Clair Donovan, but that she liked to be called Cayte now. "That's what I love about her, her sense of humor," Martin laughs. "She told me, 'I'm dead and I can be called whatever I want.'"
Witnesses and workers at the Distillery are and have been routinely interviewed since the beginning of the investigations. Jim Fassbinder says, "Interviews are the first step to an investigation." Fassbinder is an active investigator in San Francisco. He is a member of the International Ghost Hunters Society, and the creator and guide of The San Francisco Ghost Hunt walking tour. "The interviews are necessary," he says. "Most cases have perfectly normal explanations. People often misinterpret what they are experiencing. The interviews are the only way we can share what they have experienced in the past. It helps us figure out what to look for." Fassbinder gets an almost embarrassed look on his face and says it is also when they look for false motives and "the kooks."
As if to echo him, in a separate interview, Auerbach says the only thing he is afraid of is, "the people themselves, the crazy ones." The business seems to attract them.
Auerbach may not be too fond of loonies, but he isn't afraid of ghosts. "If you look at the paranormal as a mystery, curiosity and wonder will reign over fear every time," Auerbach says.
The interviews also build a foundation for the second stage of an investigation--historic research. "The research is usually what tells us what happened there and who the ghost might be," Fassbinder says.
The Distillery overlooks postcard scenery of the California Pacific Coast. From the dining room, guests gaze out at a secluded cove hemmed in by low cliffs, where rolling waves kiss the beach and run away. In spite of some reconstruction downstairs, the bar and main dining room haven't been changed since its notorious past.
During Prohibition, the Distillery was a speakeasy called Frank's Roadhouse, also known as Frank's Place, and illegal booze flowed for those who wanted it. Rumors abound about Canadian rumrunners and famous clients. Some tales speak of raids and shootouts between bootleggers and G-men. Others say that Frank's Roadhouse was never bothered by "the heat." Today it's the perfect place to do business with a friend. But in days past, when Cayte was Elizabeth, business was straight up with cash on the barrelhead, or else it ended with fast lead and you're dead.
"Typical of those times, birth and death records were rare," says Moss Beach historian Michele DuBroy Harris. Even the records that exist are sketchy and this is a problem when trying to reconstruct the tragedy of The Blue Lady. Different sources have reconstructed two versions of the story. Auerbach's is built on existing historical documents, interviews and contributions from Cayte herself through psychics he trusts, including Annette Martin.
As History Has It...
In the early 1930s, people came from San Francisco, and farther, to enjoy the guilty pleasures of a classy little joint called Frank's Roadhouse.
In Moss Beach, about the only way to make a living was by catering to those visitors. Mrs. Elizabeth Clair Donovan was no
exception. She worked at a hotel next door, but she enjoyed the nightlife at the speakeasy and sometimes moonlighted there as a hostess. Accounts seem to recall her in blue every night; she must have known how well it set off her eyes. Donovan had another reason to spend time away from home: her abusive husband.
Every joint needs music and Frank's had a piano player. They say he was handsome and charming--they say it a lot.
No one seems to know how it started, but the lady in blue and the piano player fell in love like all unfortunate lovers--quickly, passionately, and without caution.
One night, so the story goes, her husband showed up and caught them together down at the beach. There are no records of what happened next and even Cayte doesn't remember clearly, but the next morning she was found on the beach. She had been stabbed to death.
Her husband disappeared and no trace was ever found of him. The next night the piano player was back at Frank's, although he, too, soon left. Cayte told Martin that she died in her lover's arms and promised to wait for him.
She still waits.
Now Auerbach has his story. He believes his witnesses. Their experiences support each other. They are consistent with known apparition behavior and the history of the location. Even the information his psychics claim to get from Cayte directly is directly supported by the surviving records. But can he prove she exists?
This is the part of the investigation you see in movies, though it is rarely so dramatic. Observation is the art here. Auerbach's objective is to gather evidence of any measurable, hopefully that includes visual, activity. The hope is for conclusive evidence but the results are more often unusual readings, some unexplained activity and, very occasionally, a sighting.
All evidence that tends to be scientifically inconclusive.
Tech - TV Show - Ghost-Hunting Gadgets
Cameras, EMF meters used to detect the supernatural
By Sarah Kass
October 17, 2001
For centuries, ghost hunters relied mostly on human experience and sightings. Nowadays, with
high tech equipment, ghost hunting is more of a science. Investigators employ EMF meters,
tri-field meters, and even thermal-imaging cameras in their effort to gather
hard evidence of the supernatural.
"The idea is to see if there's any component in the physical environment that's measurable against the
experience of the individual who's seeing the ghost hearing the ghost, feeling something," said Loyd Auerbach, director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations.
EMF and tri-field meters Auerbach and ghost hunters rely on handheld devices (see one up close) sensitive
to magnetic and electrical fields in the environment. Two different types of handheld meters detect
and measure anomalous energy within otherwise low-level magnetic fields. ·
Natural tri-field meter -- detects changes in extremely weak static, electric, and magnetic fields while
ignoring power lines, appliances, and other man-made electromagnetic sources. ·
Electromagnetic field meter -- detects high levels of electromagnetic radiation which some fear may be harmful
to humans. Detects electrical fields as well as radio and microwave fields."In common usage, the same thing would
not set them both off.
In uncommon usage, the same thing sets them both off," Auerbach said.
Thermal imaging camera
People report feeling chills or cold spots in areas believed to be occupied by ghosts or other paranormal phenomenon. Ghost hunters sometimes use thermal imaging cameras to detect differences in heat, differences that may be interpreted as evidence of any ghostly presence.
The FLIR ThermaCAM PM 695 (see it up close) infrared camera employs a focal plane array detector that translates heat energy into a color image.
"The focal plane array detector is a 320x240 pixel array. It is the equivalent of taking 76,000 different infrared thermometers and pointing [them] at something at one time," said Jim Hungerford, district manager for FLIR Systems.
Does gear equal ghosts? "Fresh Gear" met up with Loyd Auerbach and psychic Annette Martin at the Moss Beach Distillery in Moss Beach, California. Legend has it that the Distillery is haunted by the Blue Lady, a ghost patrons and employees have claimed to encounter over the years.
Our ghost hunter team, armed with the ThermaCAM, two EMF meters, and Polaroid cameras, did manage to capture strange phenomenon. Auerbach's meters registered unusual activity, while at the same instance the ThermaCAM spotted unusual hot spots. Polaroid snap shots taken at the time also captured strange white dots around the area investigated.
Auerbach said that for ghost hunters, this was a once in a lifetime event. Having documentation of anomalous activity from four different sources provides them with tangible evidence that a paranormal event has actually taken place.
Distillery’s Blue Lady gets earthly
assistance
THE MOSS BEACH DISTILLERY
RESTAURANT
Half Moon Bay Review
By Stacy Trevenon
October 5, 2000
Beware those hanging Tiffany lamps over
the bar at the Moss Beach Distillery. They might inexplicably
start swinging.
Don’t be scarred if a ghostly face suddenly
appears in the ladies room mirror. Hear sprightly ragtime music,
or distant sounds of laughter and ice tinkling in glasses? It’s
party time in the spirit world. The Coastside’s most famous
invisible resident, the ghostly Blue Lady said to haunt the
Distillery, is set to undertake more spectral shenanigans than
ever before- with some down-to-earth help. “We’ve put special
effects up because the ghost wasn’t as active as patrons would
like, said Orinda base Office of Paranormal Investigations director
Loyd Auerbach, who worked with Barbour. “They keep asking,
“Have you seen the Blue Lady? Is she here now?”
On April 7, 1998 the effect were presented
to the press in a celebrity style dinner party featuring Loyd
Auerbach, and professional South Bay psychic Annette Martin,
other performances by mentalist David Riley and magician Robert
Kane. Martin, who claims to have channeled the Blue Lady,
said the thought the re-enactments will please the lonely
ghost. “She has an incredible sense of humor. She probably
thinks (the re-enactments) are very funny,” Martin, who said
she thinks the Blue Lady’s Charlie is still out there somewhere.
Martin also warned that Distillery patrons
might not have seen the last of the real Blue Lady. “She likes
people and excitement and teasing. This will not stop her
from creating her own movement of things in the restaurant.
|
FATE Magazine: PSYCHIC FRONTIERS: AUGUST 1998
by LOYD AUERBACH
More on The Moss Beach Distillery's Ghost....
I mentioned a while back that there'd be some interesting goings on at one of my
favorite haunted restaurants, the Distillery in Moss Beach, CA (near San Francisco).
For several years, I have been visiting there as both an investigator (of their
ghostly "Blue Lady") and as a performer (of psychic entertainment).
As to the former, employees continue to report occasional goings on that can
be attributed to the Blue Lady. As to the latter, last November, and again in April,
psychic Annette Martin (see my columns in FATE, August and December 1996) doubled up
with me for special evening events. During the events, I performed some mind reading
and other psychic feats of the entertainment variety, while Annette ended up playing
medium for the Blue Lady (who likes to be called Kate).
While I know some FATE readers may question this combination of pseudo-psychic
display (me) and mediumship (Annette), the combination worked well for the audiences,
for Annette, and for the ghost (after all, if anyone should be upset, it ought to be
the psychic and the ghost).
Annette (or Kate, through Annette) provided us with more information each
session about the Blue Lady than we had gotten before. Interestingly enough, there
were a number of items Annette provided that had also been spoken by two other
psychics (and one or two local witnesses) who had been in some sort of "contact"
with the ghost. More interesting is the fact that these items were not common
knowledge (I try to hold some things back from the public for just such situations).
The Blue Lady has passed along her opinion that she the more fun people have
at the restaurant, the happier she is, so mixing magic and psychic is fine with her.
The April "show" was held for an audience of reporters to promote a new
feature of the restaurant (I'll get to that in a moment). During the evening,
reporters got to chat with Annette and I while being entertained by my fellow
magician Robert Kane and palmist Michael Riley. I had them with their mouths open
by the time I finished my act, and then Annette drew them in. It was a rare chance
for a bunch of reporters to ask questions of both a psychic and a spirit.
Kate, who was knifed to death on the beach below the restaurant by her
estranged husband during the early '30s, became upset whenever her husband was
mentioned (outwardly, Annette portrayed Kate's distress). Very interestingly, the
two electromagnetic field detectors I had beside Annette, which each measure
different frequency ranges, BOTH began registering high readings whenever the
subject of the husband came up (but not at any other time).
Annette and I will continue these events at the Distillery beginning in the
fall, so if you happen to be in the San Francisco Bay Area, check the place out.
The new feature of the restaurant I mentioned above is a series of
reenactments. John Barbour, the owner of the Distillery, wondered what would
happen if the ghost was "helped" along with a few special effects reenactments.
I, too, wondered whether such effects would help or hinder the ghostly goings
on and the events reported by visitors. Fortunately, there is a model of psychic
functioning that says, basically, that a little artificial help can actually
increase paranormal occurences.
That model, put succinctly by the late British psi researcher Kenneth
Batcheldor, was used to great success by the Philip Circle in Canada a number of
years ago (see the book CONJURING UP PHILIP: An Adventure in Psychokinesis by
Iris M. Owen with Margaret Sparrow). A little fun "trickery" can help witnesses
get over their inhibitions of actually acknowledging the phenomena.
Therefore, strictly for the fun and amazement of the restaurant's patrons
(and perhaps because the ghost is not active every day), the Moss Beach Distillery
has installed a few "special effects" designed as reenactments of some of the more
frequently reported happenings cause by the Blue Lady.
The reenactments are directly related to past reported (and often repeated)
events attributed to Kate, the Blue Lady. These include: swinging lamps above the
bar, sounds of honky tonk pianos and people partying where no such sounds should be,
strange rapping noises coming from many places at once, the shadow of a figure moving
across a stained glass window in one of the dining rooms, a chair in the entryway
bouncing up and down, and a ghostly face that appears in the mirror in the ladies room.
There'll be some controversy over these effects, I'm sure." Disbelievers will claim
that it's been a hoax all along. To them I can say we know when these effects went
into operation, and it's recent! The effects can't account for the decades of
experiences reported by so many people, including people who knew nothing of the
"legend" of the Blue Lady.
What of the folks at the opposite end of the spectrum from the debunkers?
True believers of spiritual phenomena may note that such reenactments will insult
the ghost, make her go away. If that were true, the TV coverage, including
reenactments shot by UNSOLVED MYSTERIES and a forthcoming show on the History Channel
would have already affected her. Not so. There are still non-effects related events
being reported.
In fact, even David Richardson of D.R. & Associates, who installed the effects,
has been experiencing a number of events and encounters with the Blue Lady as he and
his crew have worked after hours. And Annette Martin has assured me in her contacts
with Kate (and we've asked Kate more directly when Annette's been channeling her)
that she is happy with anything that will draw people to the restaurant. The ghost
has made one emphatic point to each of the psychics and other witnesses who have
asked her why she's still there: she likes to be around people, especially people who
are happy, since she (the ghost) expects her lost love (a piano player at the original
restaurant she was in love with before she died) to also be drawn there.
At present, I have the owner and others on the lookout for reported events at
the Distillery. Since we know what and the reenactments are and exactly when they
happen (computer control), we can eliminate the effects, and look at what's left over
more readily. I expect that more people will report things via asking an employee
"how's that effect work, anyway" (no longer any fear of ridicule for witnessing an
event that would otherwise have no explanation).
Here are a couple of websites that should be of interest:
Find out more about Annette Martin at via a link at http://www.annette-martin.com
Published in Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine, January 1998
Ghost Chaser
By Judith Broadhurst
It's a sunny afternoon, a day so clear and carefree that even the clouds are lying low.
Right now, they look like puffy, pure white cushions stacked atop the rim of hills and
mountains along the craggy California coastline. Come nightfall, they'll drift out toward
the sea again, and shroud the San Francisco Bay area in eerie fog, as always.
At night, the fog conceals Seal Cove, a short stretch of windswept sand about 25 miles
below San Francisco, down state Highway 1, an officially scenic route known locally as
the Pacific Coast Highway. Back in Prohibition days, bootleggers docked their boats in
that hidden cove to unload cargoes of booze for the speakeasy that stood on the bluff
above. Some kind of tavern has been on that spot as long as anyone around here can
remember. In 1927, Frank Torres rebuilt it as Frank's Roadhouse, a white stucco building
with a curved front, shaped like the prow of a ferry boat drydocked there so they could
keep watch for feds sneaking in from the sea.
The roadhouse still looms over that chilly cove, but today it's a seafood restaurant
called Moss Beach Distillery, in honor of the reputation of rum running. The recent
remodeling added wide expanses of windows and a Mexican tile terrace overlooking the cove,
which provides such a spectacular panorama of the Pacific that it draws tourists and locals
at sunset, year-round.
Today, as they near Moss Beach, a village of 3,000 souls, Lloyd Auerbach and
his entourage turn down a rugged, winding road, guided by a sign that reads: "Moss Beach Distillery:
Food, Views, Ghost." It's the "ghost" part that lured him here, not the view nor food.
Auerbach's a parapsychologist who investigates paranormal phenomenon, or what even many
of his professional colleagues call a real-life ghostbuster.
The Ghost's Story
In its speakeasy heyday, the roadhouse was popular with politicos and vacationing movie
stars, and reverberated with live music. Legend has it that it was also a secret rendezvous
for the handsome rogue who played piano nightly and a lovely young flapper married to
one of the bootleggers or to a railroad machinist, possibly one in the same, depending
on which rumor you prefer. This classic saga of a love triangle gone wrong ended, so they
say, with her being stabbed to death down on the beach, in the cove. Thus she became
The Blue Lady, the ghost that has haunted this place since.
The Blue Lady is the primary suspect in a long string of incidents without explanation:
cases of wine that got stacked against the door of the wine storage room, from inside,
blocking access; doors that repeatedly slammed shut and locked the owners out; chairs
that turned flip flops; and a computerized cash register that dated an entire day's
transactions back to 1927, the year Frank's Roadhouse opened. Everyone thinks of her as
a mischievous, benevolent spirit, but there are contradictory variations on her story.
No matter, because the legend that lives on is that she now haunts the restaurant and the
cove, wandering while she waits for her lover to appear for their evening tryst, or
perhaps out of guilt for the young son some say she left behind. Those who've seen her
say she wears a blue dress. Sometimes a torn and bloody blue dress, mind you, or sometimes
one that's elegant instead, but almost always blue.
The Ghostbuster's Story
Although Auerbach's master's is in parapsychology, his undergrad degree is in cultural
anthropology, so he thinks of himself as an anthropologist, too. Anthropologists are
trained to observe only, never to interfere, so he isn't here to chase The Blue Lady away
nor to bother her in any way, really. Except....
Except, because he's so set on maintaining his credibility as a professor of parapsychology
at Rosebridge Graduate School of Integral Studies, and among his peers as a researcher,
and he's so genuinely committed to establishing greater credibility for psychic
phenomenon, he feels compelled to approach this onsite psi investigation, as they call it,
as a scientist. Yet, at age 48, he has long been frustrated that funding for psi research
goes almost entirely to those who conduct contrived experiments in academic labs.
"That's why I don't work full time in this field," he says, with some bitterness.
"There's not enough money. Most of the money has gone toward lab research, not
spontaneous case investigation. As a result, researchers have had to do field research
more as a sideline."
And as a result of that, he's forced to keep his day job as an instructor and consultant
for Nexis, the online research database outfit, so he can afford to spend a mere 20 hours
or so a month - for free or about 200 bucks a shot, max - doing what he considers real
research, in the real world.
But because he approaches this ghost busting business as a scientist, even though he
doesn't intend to disturb her, he came here to challenge The Blue Lady to reveal herself
in some way that will give him objective evidence that she actually exists as an
unearthly entity.
Even if that happens, he insists he won't claim it's proof. "It's very hard to quantify
what we observe, to show results," he says. Data is just data, not proof.
The Ghostbuster's Entourage
He arrives with two assistants and a psychic in tow. The assistants, both women, are
parapsychology grad students at Rosebridge. One's about to finish a more traditional
master's in clinical psychology; the other is already a licensed anesthesiologist, now
studying for a master's in parapsychology.
Their sole duties today are to carry and aim two magnetometers - handheld metal boxes
with needles and numbers - plus read and record results. These are the same kind of
devices contractors and engineers use to detect electrical conductivity or other
structural elements in buildings. Auerbach believes that ghosts may emit magnetic waves,
too, but he repeatedly explains the usual use of the magnetometers and why that can,
therefore, give readings that mean nothing whatsoever related to ghosts.
The psychic is Annette Martin. Auerbach says he sees her as a human instrument --
just one more way to alert him to possible paranormal phenomenon that he should check
with instruments, or to lend some degree of validity to whatever he might find with any
measurement device he uses.
It was C|Net's suggestion and connections that enabled him to borrow the most
sophisticated, most expensive high-tech gizmos he'll use today, though: the infrared
camera and the Raytek gizmo that looks like a ray gun and shoots laser beams, both of
which detect heat, basically. C|Net, the computer network online and on TV, wants to tag
along, because they need a hook on which to hang a segment about how those gizmos work.
Or don't. Or could.
Auerbach's dad was a producer for NBC-TV news, so he sees himself as "from a media
family," thus it all sounds like a great idea to him. He's been so good at getting
publicity for so long that he teaches media communications at JFK University, where he
also taught parapsych until they cut it from the curriculum. Auerbach does many
interviews and frequently cooperates with the filming of investigations of places people
suspect are haunted. He doesn't get paid for investigations for shows like the C|Net
segment or ones on "Haunted America" or The Discovery Channel. He doesn't like doing
them much, either. Although today's isn't, such shows are usually completely staged, with
actors in costumes and scripted dialogue, and he steps in only for the on-camera
interview. "I feel like a prop sometimes," he says, looking down at the floor, rather
shamefaced.
He does the shows, he says, for two reasons: He hopes it will get people to take
paranormal phenomenon and psychic abilities more seriously, and he hopes that maybe,
just maybe, it will lead to funding for the Office of Paranormal Investigations, in
Orinda, California, which he founded and directs.
Auerbach's a dark-bearded, stocky guy of average height. In his late '40s and getting
bald. But more attractive than that sounds, when it's all put together, more because of
his intensity and intelligence than his appearance alone. Because of his spirit, you
might say. He sometimes seems driven because, even though he's calm, sane and reasonable
in person, he maintains a frenetic pace, juggling his full-time job with periodic
teaching, speaking, psi consultations and investigations, even serving as an expert
witness in court cases, occasionally. For extra money and just the fun of it, he also
performs as a magician some weekends. He feels it helps him avoid being tricked because
he can tell how tricks work.
Over dinner, he happens to mention that he's thinking of starting a Haunted Restaurants
Association, which would involve installing special visual and sound effects in
restaurants he had investigated and found worthy, or at least possibly worthy, of the
name. When questioned about the effect of that on his credibility as a scientific researcher,
he scoffs. "Aw, they said that about the magic shows too, but those have actually
increased my credibility with people in the field." Some of his colleagues agree with
him; others diplomatically refuse to comment.
Setting the Scene for the Investigation
C|Net's credibility can't hurt, although this is definitely a reciprocal deal. The TV
crew tromps in toting so many cases and cords that they fill a whole dining room:
cameras, lights, an IBM Think pad notebook computer to run some of it, with cryptic
graphs showing on the screen, once it's all hooked together. It takes most of the
afternoon just to set up all that complicated equipment, then the crew has nothing to
do for hours, until the dinner crowd comes and goes.
It turns out the only reason we had to show up so early is to just so the TV crew could
get set up in time to roll right after the dinner customers leave, after dark, because
TV viewers expect ghosts to show themselves only at night. Balderdash, says Auerbach.
Ghosts show up in daylight or darkness, depending on their own agendas.
First Signs of an Invisible Presence
Sure enough, before the restaurant opens for the evening, while the crew is milling
around outside or downstairs, something strange happens upstairs, in the empty lobby.
The hostess goes in and out as she sets up the reception desk for the evening, so she's
the one who notices and darts into the adjoining room, calling in a stage whisper,
"Loyd, Loyd, come here!" Several of us see it too and move in for a closer look.
A Tiffany-reproduction chandelier in the foyer swings to and fro, at a rate of about
two seconds in each direction, in an arc that doesn't diminish and slow to a stop as it
normally would. This continues for roughly fifteen minutes. Twice during this
mesmerizing movement, observers touch the chandelier as they exclaim, "Look!" So it's
hard to tell if the motion is real, imagined or manipulated. Yet the sweep of the arc is
so steady, for so long that you can't help but wonder if....
An Unexpected Dinner Companion, Perhaps
Later on during dinner, Annette Martin, the psychic, gets goosebumps and tells us
all that she feels The Blue Lady beside her and hears her talking to her. The needle on
the magnetometer does, indeed, oscillate a bit. But Auerbach concludes that the extent of
the movement isn't sufficient to indicate a ghostly presence.
After that's settled, while we're still waiting for the dinner customers to leave, it's
too tempting not to push him about why he pursues ghosts with such a passion. His
explanations of his boyhood fascinations with Greek myths and science fiction don't add
up, because other children go through those phases without growing up haunted by the very
idea of ghosts.
The more you talk with him, the more impossible it becomes not to believe he's sincere,
precisely because of his boyish enthusiasm and that he simply is so sincere. Or obsessed,
or all of the above. It would be easier to write him off as just an artful, articulate
self-promoter, as some do, until you ask him, for perhaps the tenth time, why -
why really - does he do this?
Is it, deep down, that he's looking for proof that there's life after death? Well, no
wonder he's so serious about it, if that's the reason. He reacts like that's overstating
the case.
"Growing up Jewish, as I did, you don't hear much about life after death. I don't think
there is a hell, nor that there's a heaven. I have no clue. There could be another plane
of existence, or it could be just our perceptions. Anything I speculate about gets into
either religion or science fiction and..." he trails off, as if to say, "...and you know
how futile it is to try to discuss either of those."
Then he bounces back. "Even if I had proof, here's the one piece impossible to prove: for
those who don't stick around, where do they go? And wherever that place or that state of
being is, here's what's important: how do we communicate with it?"
The Medium Steals the Message
After dinner, we're all sitting around downstairs, on straight chairs turned every which
way, in a room adjacent to the terrace, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the
cold cove. The sun has set, long since, and Annette Martin has been recounting her life
story as a psychic for most of the past hour: "When I was seven years old..." It's like
being backstage before a concert. We're just killing time, waiting for the last of the
dinner customers to leave, so the show can start.
Then in struts some short, skinny, late-20s guy with slicked-back wavy hair who starts
glad-handing all around. "Hi, I'm RYAN! Hi, I'm RYAN," he says to each and every person
in as much of a booming voice as he can muster, as though we should all feel privileged
to be able to say, ever after, "I met RYAN!" Among Auerbach's small group, clustered in
the corner, nobody has any idea who he is, nor why he has made such an entrance. It turns
out Ryan is the "talking head," or on-camera "talent" who holds the mic to Auerbach's
and Martin's mouths and asks the questions that the producer, hidden off-camera behind
him, prompts him to ask.
Finally, a male voice shouts, "Head 'em up, move 'em out," and the herd of 13 people -
most of them part of the C|Net TV film crew - file up the stairs to the empty dining rooms.
"There! Over there!"
First, we all head into the front dining room, the one with the curved window where the
psychic tells us she sees the piano player pounding away, grinning at the crowd, in his
brown-and-white checkered suit and bowler hat. She sees people dancing too, she says.
First it's dancers performing, in a floor show. Then, no, just couples, just people
dancing.
She gravitates to a round table in the corner, explaining to Auerbach and the grad
students that she thinks she senses something there, maybe even The Blue Lady herself
looking longingly at her lover. For the next 20 minutes, various people aim various
gizmos at the table, but nothing even mildly suspicious shows up on any of them. All
of us, including Auerbach, seem at a loss for where to try next.
Then, "There! Over there!" says Martin, as she points through the window to the next
room, and we all move that direction, dragging along gizmos, large and small, like
some giant amoeba dragged down by mechanical attachments.
After a bit of futile fiddling around, it's the same: Nada. But Martin's attention
is already elsewhere.
"My! She's all over the place tonight," Martin comments, in a rather giddy tone of
voice. The rest of us shift around awkwardly, glancing sideways at one another or down
at the floor or outside, into nothing. Hardly anybody looks anyone else in the eye,
because we all know that no one has seen nor heard any evidence of The Blue Lady since
we officially began the investigation. Yet.
We want to believe, really we do. Well, kinda. Mostly. Depending....
"Over here, I feel something over here!"
Following Auerbach's lead, we all traipse into the rear dining room, along the cliff
side. The film crew's increasing impatience is palpable. Nothing significant has happened
since they've been shooting, so what's there to show on their show?
"Over here, I feel something over here!" announces Martin, as she strides quickly to the
far corner of the room, beside one of the windows that span the wall overlooking the cove
and the terrace that hangs above it. Everybody eagerly surrounds her and Auerbach, just
in case.
As we all crowd in, trying to hear what they're saying and get a glimpse, the
heat-detector ray gun registers that corner as colder than the surrounding area.
Theoretically, that could mean it touched upon a tunnel into the past, or at least
something paranormal.
"Maybe it just means they need more insulation," mutters one of the skeptics. Auerbach,
too, dismisses the significance of the ray gun's reading.
If It's Not a Ghost, What Is It?
Next, we all troupe into the kitchen, at the psychic's insistence, despite Auerbach's
mumbled protests that there are too many appliances to get reliable signals. Someone in
the crowd crammed into the narrow passageway gets excited about another reading from the
ray gun. On closer inspection, that ray gun reading turns out to be from a refrigerator.
Finally, we all meander back into the main room, where Auerbach and Martin subject
themselves to more questions from the talking-head guy (who is still being prompted
by the producer, in the background). Toward the end, Auerbach seizes one last chance to
make his pitch:
"If we find something and if it's not a ghost, let's figure out what it is," he urges.
"Maybe it's something environmental, but if it's affecting human behavior, then we still
need to find out what's causing it. We may not be happy when we don't find something
that might help reassure us that there's life after death, but what we find could, just
could, lead us to a major advance in mind-brain research."
Winding Down, Dispirited
It's now close to midnight, and people are starting to pass the ray gun around, casually
shooting laser beams at one another. "Not at the eyes!" warns one.
Then, of course, we want to see how the Swedish-made infrared camera works, close-up.
After reluctantly letting a couple of us look through the viewfinder (which makes images
of people look, well, ghostly), the guy who has wielded it all night grumbles: "Our CEO
says we didn't make this camera to photograph ghosts."
He's the West Coast regional manager of Agema, the company that makes the camera, so
this whole thing is beneath him anyway, you understand. But they weren't about to let
that $43,000 camera out on loan, even to C|Net, without one of their own along to make
sure it was handled well and returned safely.
"I've got a flight out at 6 a.m. tomorrow for my vacation. My wife and baby are waiting
in the car," he goes on grousing. "I've gotta get outta here." He's been here for hours
already after all, so within minutes, he's gone.
The two grad students in charge of carrying around the magnetometers slipped out sometime
in the last hour, unnoticed. The whole thing is winding down, dispirited. As he leaves,
Ryan again goes around the room to each of those who have stayed the course, shakes
hands and says, "Glad to have met you," and most of us find ourselves mumbling, "Glad
to have met you, too, Ryan."
As he intended from the outset, every one of us remembers his name.
Ghost Eludes Ghost Chaser Again, End of Story
Ten tedious hours after he arrived, Auerbach concedes that the ghost eluded him, as all
others have before. He's yet to see a ghost, himself, he admits. But claims he's not
discouraged, because what he does is like being a detective on a stakeout, often with
similar results.
For tonight, Auerbach and the TV crew give up, pack up and trudge out into the darkness,
disappointed. But you know he'll be back to try again someday - one way or another.
"If I come back as a ghost," he says afterward, "my mission will be to really haunt and
bug skeptics, especially the people who are the loudest attackers. I'll try to pull what
Patrick Swayze pulled on Whoopie Goldberg in 'Ghosts,' where he kept her up all night by
singing 'I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am,' and wouldn't quit until she accepted that his
ghost existed."
|
|
© 2008 Annette Martin, All rights reserved.
| | |
