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 esper@california.com annette@closure4u.com

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 By Kristal Hawkins Keddie Resort, Calif.: The Unsolved Nightmare in Cabin 28 Movie poster: The Strangers Basis for the 2008 film The Strangers On the morning of April 12, 1981, 14-year old Sheila Sharp left a next-door sleepover and returned to Cabin 28 at the popular Keddie Resort, where her family had been living for the past two months. What she found there would cast a permanent shadow over this bucolic vacation spot in the northern Sierra Nevadas of California. The walls and furniture had been destroyed and were covered with blood. Amid the chaos were the bound, mutilated and nearly unrecognizable bodies of her mother Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp, 36, her brother John, 16, and his friend Dana Wingate, 17. Her sister Tina, 13 was missing; three younger children, her two other brothers and their friend, were unharmed in another room. John Sharp and Dana Wingate had hitchhiked to Keddie from Quincy, Calif., the night before, possibly after a party. Either awaiting them, accompanying them, or soon to follow them were the killers, who used duct tape and electrical wire to truss Sue, John and Dana Wingate, as well as Tina Sharp. Then, over the course of ten hours, the killers brutally attacked the group—and their surroundings—with steak knives and a claw hammer. The next cabin was a mere 15 feet away, but neighbors and passersby didn't hear a thing. Tina Sharp wasn't there when police arrived, but subsequent investigation showed that she had been there part of the night. The friend who'd been in the other room was able to convince police that Tina had indeed been there, and helped them determine that there had been two assailants and put together sketches of the pair. The killers were never caught. Some think the neighbors who'd invited Susan Sharp to a bar that night (she declined) were involved—the list of accusers at one time included one of the men's own wife. Other locals whisper about Satanic worship; yet others suggest there was a drug connection, either through the two young men or in a case of mistaken identity. In a gruesome coda, Tina's head was found three years later near a waterfall fifty miles down the hill. The case has never been solved. The once-welcoming Keddie Cabins would subsequently fall into disrepair. Longtime owner, Gary Mollath, tried to sell the place and renovated it, but the tragedy made the once-beautiful place unattractive. After a period of decay and infestation by squatters, he again rented some of the cabins, but Cabin 28 remained empty, becoming the object of rumors of hauntings. Locals say they've heard moans and the sound of slamming doors from the abandoned building and seen shadowy figures. Mollath's stepdaughter recounts once seeing the word "no" scrawled on the house's door, with a pitchfork propped beside it—the next day, both the writing and the tool were gone. In 2004, Mollath razed Cabin 28. Annette Martin, a psychic in nearby Campbell, warns that victims of violent, unsolved crimes may stick around because their traumatized spirits don't understand that they're dead. She maintains that this mysterious "no" was the victims' continuing cry against their assailants—and that simply razing a building won't quiet its ghosts.     SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS - October 29, 2008 A woman hunts her spectral quarry, whose passings are lost in the mists of time By Karen D’Souza Mercury News Annette Martin has been seeing dead people since childhood. Now 70, the Los Gatos resident makes her living as a psychic. A ghost whisperer since before Jennifer Love Hewitt was born, Martin recently “investigated” three of the Bay Area’s most famous haunts to discover if the truth is really out there. Be forewarned, what follows is an eerie tale of death by ax, unrequited love and a tragic car crash separating newlyweds. Forever. Since one-third of all Americans believe in ghosts, according to a recent Associated Press poll, it should come as no surprise that Martin is dead serious about her craft. She has worked on real-life murder and missing persons’cases with the Marin County Sheriff’s Department. “My dear, let me tell you, all this stuff about going at midnight, at the witching hour — that’s just bunk,” says Annette “You can go in broad daylight, and if the ghost is there, it’s there. As soon as I walk in,they come out because they’re eager to have someone to talk to.” —PSYCHIC ANNETTE MARTIN   GHOSTS|A psychic journey on the trail of tragedy Martin, a grandmotherly woman with a sunny disposition And smiling eyes that look right through you."You can go in broad daylight and if the ghost is there, it’s there. As soon as I walk in, they come out because they’re eager to have someone to talk to.” Of course, there is no scientific evidence that supports the existence of ghosts, but Martin pays little mind to disbelievers. We begin our search under harsh fluorescent lights at the Sunnyvale Toys R Us, where toys have been said to jump off the shelf and float through the air. The purported poltergeist is Johann Johnson, a ranch hand who bled to death on the site in the 1880s after slashing his leg with an ax. According to lore, Johnson fell in love with the rancher’s daughter, but she never returned his yearning. Martin needs no crystal balls, tarot cards or Ouija boards to uncover secrets of the dead. She does not shudder and convulse; she feels a sudden drop in temperature or sees a bright white aura flecked with hints of red. She casually strolls past shoppers and stops at aisle 5B, known as animal alley. “I’ve got goose bumps,’’ she says,before asking the empty air: “Why are you here?” Her face flushed, her breathing rapid, eyes tightly shut, Martin channels a spirit — Johann, who calls himself Johnny. He says his father told him to tend to the orchard. He never meant to scare anyone by making toys levitate. “We were playing,” he says through Martin, who shifts abruptly into the first person. “I like watching the children,” she murmurs softly. “I like to watch them laugh and play.” Later, tears well up as she says Johnny entered her body. She describes Johnny’s thoughts as jumbled and childlike. It takes her a few moments to recover from the experience, which she describes as intense, not unlike the pottery scene from the movie “Ghost.” Minus the Patrick Swayze factor.Johnny disappears by the time Martin asks him to make a toy move. WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE Earlier, we ghostbusted the valley’s most iconic urban legend. Martin claims to have chatted up the resident specter at the Winchester Mystery House so many times they’re old chums. Only it’s not the one you might think. The drafty manse with the stairs going nowhere is still home not to rifle heiress Sarah Winchester but her caretaker. Moments after Martin steps inside, Clyde comes to greet her. Apparently lurking in the shadows at the top of the stairs, he gives no sign to anyone but Martin, who communes with him in silence. He wants to know who is with her. Clyde confesses he was madly in love with Winchester. Not one to kiss and tell, he vowed to tend her house for all eternity. But can he make a pen roll off the fireplace mantel? Martin inhales deeply, rolling forward on the balls of her feet, whispering to the wraith. The pen stays put. For the record, Shozo Kagoshima, manager of the Winchester, says he has never seen any evidence of the supernatural in 32 years on the job. “I think you have to believe,’’ he says. “If you don’t believe, you don’t see.” NILES CANYON - The investigation continues in Niles Canyon, on the winding old road that snakes between Fremont and Sunol, in search of the Niles Canyon Ghost. Legend has it that a young bride was killed in an auto accident in 1938. On dark and stormy nights, the lady in white flags down motorists for a ride to San Francisco. As the car reaches the Dumbarton Bridge, the hitchhiker evaporates. Driving through the canyon, we zigzag past sun-dappled hillsides, trees erupting in fall colors and a stream of bicyclists. Martin remains silent. We bolt from the car. On the tracks near the Sunol train depot, hands outstretched like weather vanes, she sees a figure in the distance, a woman of 17 or 18 in a wedding dress, with long brown hair and brown eyes. “Oh, she’s so sad,” says Martin, her eyelids fluttering. “She’s very shy; she’s afraid, and she’s lost. She doesn’t know where to go … She’s waiting for her fiancee.” “Mary Anne” is trying to get to San Francisco, but is unable to cross the bridge. She wanders the canyon forever reliving the accident that took her life. As a locomotive chugs into the depot, Martin senses Mary Anne’s vibrations in the last car. “Sometimes people riding the train report strangethings,” admits brakeman Jim Corder. A cold wind howls through the canyon, and passengers board the train, unaware they may be rubbing elbows with the undead. Contact Karen D’Souza at kdsouza@mercurynews.com or (408) 271-3772. Check out her theater reviews, feature stories and blog at www. mercurynews.com/kdsouza. ONLINE If you’ve got a question about the world of the paranormal,we’ll pass it along to psychic detective Annette Martin. Post your questions at www.blogs. mercurynews.com/AEI   Looking for Ghostbusters? Call us! Posted by Karen D'Souza on October 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 pm | Categorized as Bay Area Hot Spots, General, Karen D'Souza, horror, mystery, pop culture, suspense Crossing over with Annette Martin. Got ghosts? Whether you’re bothered by pesky poltergeists, icky ectoplasm or serious ESP issues, we’re here to help. If you’ve got a question about the world of the paranormal, just post it here and we’ll pass it along to psychic detective Annette Martin, whose story is told in the new book “Gift of the White Light.” She’ll answer your supernatural questions and the answers may be featured in the paper in the coming days. The truth is out there. TL Iwafuchi says: October 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 am My mother predicted that she would die before my father, even though she was 59, and not ill. My father was 82 at the time. Mom said she was at peace with everyone and felt like she had accomplished everything in life that she wanted to do. She also told me some things about watching my son at age 13 for tummy troubles, and that my daughter would be very creative. She didn’t say a lot about me, except that my best and most successful years were coming. She was drinking at the time so I didn’t think much about the conversation. Two days later, she died of deep vein thrombosis. Now I wish I had listened more carefully! Sometimes I think she is hanging around to make sure I don’t hurt myself or get in trouble. I don’t feel like she is a constant presence, but more like she checks in every once in a while. Can “normal” folks be psychic? How would I know if she *is* hanging around? Dear  TL Iwafuchi, “Every child that comes into the world is sensitive, but rarely is the child encouraged to recognize and enjoy the benefits of their so – called sixth sense.”                                       Quote - Annette Martin’s, book, “Discovering Your Psychic World.” We are all born with six senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and the sixth sense, sensing or a knowing. We all have the capacity to learn how to develop this skill of sensing or knowing. It sounds to me that your mother was quite intuitive herself, which would make it easier for her to contact you from the spirit world. Generally when a spirit comes to you, there will be an electrical sensation, you might feel cold, or a chill, or a queasiness in your stomach, or light headed.  Some can actually smell a fragrance that perhaps a mother or grandmother used in life, so that they are able to recognize that this is mother or grandmother. Sometimes they will try to do something that you would recognize, like a bird coming to your window, the smell of cookies baking, when you are not baking cookies or anything. I have heard many stories of beautiful butterflies coming to the window or if you are outside, landing on your hand.  It is different, of course for everyone, so you need to remember what your mother liked and loved in life. This is how they try to convince you that it is them by doing something that you would remember or recognize. When you sense this the best thing to do is sit down and close your eyes and talk to the spirit, to see what they have to say.  They may just be coming to make sure you are all right, or maybe to tell you something.  Or to check on your children.  They rarely will stay a long time, just long enough to see how things are going or to tell you something. LKN says: October 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm Hi Annette, We work in the Water Tower II Building in downtown Campbell Ca, this building was the prune factory… we sometimes  feel that someone is watching us and sometimes in the morning papers are all moved to different desk tops. Strange.. what have you heard about our building. Thanks Dear LKN, No one has approached me about the Water Tower II building in downtown Campbell.  This is the first time that I have heard of any paranormal occurrences there. If you are having papers moving around consistently and being moved to different desk tops, then you may surely have a ghost.  To make sure of this and find out who it is, is it male or female, what they are doing there, are they willing to go into the White Light and anything else that I can pick up from them. The best thing would be for me to come down to the office and check it out.  Let me know if you would like to do this and contact me at my office, 408-378-1220. O.M. Ramirez says: October 27th, 2008 at 5:37 pm QUESTION ON GHOSTS FOR PSYCHIC ANNETTE MARTIN: This is just one question, always wanted to know at what age of their lives ghosts come back: the age they were when they died? A different age of special significance to them? When people see them, what age of their lives do they present? Any idea why they appear at that age, the significance of it? Dear O.M. Ramirez, First of all:  Ghost do not come back, they are usually in one place, as where they died, were murdered, or lost. But generally they stay put in the place where they past away. When we talk about a loved one coming to visit us for a short period of time we are talking about a Spirit, the consciousness of our deceased relative or friend. They will only stay for a very short time, to check in on you or to try give you a message and then they leave. What I have experienced is that the spirit will appear when they feel they were in the best of health or a special time in their lives that was significant, like a birthday party or celebration of some kind. If they passed away in their 60’s or 80’s, they might appear to be in their 20’s or 30’s, or 40”s, each one is different and unique in their physical appearance.  You must remember that they still have the same consciousness and will want to appear healthy and happy. Michael C says:   October 28th, 2008 at 7:30 am I have heard that the best way to get rid of an unwanted ghost is just to ask it to leave. Is it really that simple? What about exorcisms etc? Please explain. Dear Michael C, Sometimes it is difficult to ask an unwanted ghost to just leave. Here are some techniques if you are trying to do it yourself, below are techniques used by myself. 1. Before you start, surround yourself with White Light for protection, if there are others with you, have them do this as well.  This must be a complete sphere that goes all the way around your body, without any holes or gaps. It is most important that you believe that you are protected by the White Light. Sometimes the ghost does not know that they are dead or they are very confused as to why no one can see or hear them. Ask themto leave, explaining in a loving voice that they are dead and it’s time for them to move on into the light and be with their family members. Once they have made that transition they can come and visit as a spirit to check on their loved ones still alive. Be courteous at first and then be firmer in your tone of voice, as if you really mean it.  Shouting at them does not do it as they might become more angry with you. If this does not work, you can make the place unpleasant for them, like playing very loud music, or saying horrible things for days on end.  This has worked for some people, as the ghost will get disgusted and go on into the light to get away from it all. Many times I will ask folks to put a crucifix above their bed, so that they can sleep without being disturbed.You can get some sage and burn it in all corners of every room in the house, allow the smoke to slowly go up the walls and to the ceiling, take your time.  Be sure and open all the windows and doors while doing this.  As you are walking around talk out loud to the ghost and tell them that you want them to go out of your house or office or building and they need to go into the light, where they will be safe and happy. Consult An Expert On Ghost Releasement Stephanie N. says: October 28th, 2008 at 1:03 pm I heard somewhere that ghosts are ‘lost souls’, can you explain what that means. And how come some people who have passed on can become ghosts & wander around in the physical world? Why wouldn’t they want to stay up in heaven or the spiritual world instead? Please explain. Thank you Dear Stephanie, After a person dies, the soul/spirit normally leaves the Earth plane by "going through the tunnel to the light." The next step, for the deceased, is to do a life review and then be taken to the pure spirit level. My experience with those who have past and gone through the light are what I call Spirit’s, they have maintained their same consciousness but are definitely in another plane of existence.  Spirit’s do not become Ghosts even though the consciousness stays the same and they do not wander or stay stuck on the earth.  Spirit’s will only come for short periods of time to comfort a loved one, give a message, to see a sick child or to convey a message through a medium or their loved one. Their energies are quite different from a Ghost or apparition.  When they come through to me it is a more subtle feeling versus a cool and stronger sensation with a ghost.  Goosebumps usually appear on my body with a ghost in a room, so I am able to define what it is immediately. Spirits of relatives, for example will come and visit with a loved one and that loved one may smell a particular aroma, such as perfume that they always wore or even cakes and cookies that the person used to bake.  They are trying to connect to their loved one so that they know they are with them for a short period of time. However, some souls/spirits get stuck in the death process and do not or cannot go to the light. For some reason, the person may not know they are dead, or they are  lost, thus the term, “A lost soul,” or they may refuse to pass over as they face some sort of hell on the other side due to crimes committed on the earthly plane.They could have experienced a sudden or violent and confusing death, have a fear of what or who they may encounter on the other side, or didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. My experience with “Ghosts” is that there are many different reasons why they stay and hang around the Earth plane. While being here in their "ghost" form many are very unhappy about their disorienting situation of being without a body and others are quite content, I have found. Karen D'Souza says: October 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pm This comes from Christina Lacroix: I’ve always believed in an afterlife, even had personal experiences when I was younger. But I’m stuck here… Four years ago my daughter was killed in an accident that should have, but was not investigated. I feel her, but haven’t had a single dream of her. We had an incredible relationship. I can’t think of anything left unsaid… I know, as do her friends, that more happened. The man (and driver) that survived, went to jail, got married in jail, gets out in 2 years - and I’m still in legal limbo. I don’t know if I block out her presence to survive grief (I have to think of my husband and 3 sons)or if it is my way of avoiding grief so I can move forward. I’ve felt her presence (especially in one room of the house) and seen signs… I’m curious about the opinion of a psychic…. She was a diamond. So many people miss her. I miss her. Any thoughts? Dear Christina, I do not believe that you are blocking your grief and I do believe that you are feeling her presence in your home.  My sense is that she is trying to let you know that she is alright and she doesn’t want you to worry about her.  She wants you to move forward and to get on with your life with your family. She is coming back frequently to make sure that you all are doing well and that you understand that she is fine.  And also that she doesn’t want you to be angry with the man that survived the accident but to forgive him instead. Sometimes we do not dream of our lost loved ones but instead experience their presence and I feel that is exactly what is happening with you.   paul bonick says: November 1st, 2008 at 8:02 pm my brother peter bonick and his friend rick lampson disappeared in march 1970 and were nevered heard from again. they were hitchiking from san mateo to half moon bay. my mother went to sylvia brown with no results. our loss naturally has been hardest on my mother but if we could get some closure. if you have the time i would appreciate your help. paul bonick                   Dear Paul, Thank you for writing in about your brother and his friend who disappeared in 1970.  I am terribly sorry for your loss and hope that I can help to bring some closure to your family.   Our process for working on missing persons is for the family to get in touch with the Detective on the case and send him our web address: http://www.closure4u.com If he is open to working with me he would need to call or email our office so we can set up a time to do a session with him. All missing person cases are handled through the police agencies.  We will also send you a letter as to what is required to start the process please email our office.  Our email address is: annette@closure4u.com Q: Leslie Meisner asks: Annette, can you speak about pets. When they “cross Rainbow Bridge” will we see them again? Can they stay close to us even though they are in spirit form? Will we meet up with them when -we- cross the bridge? Two of our sweet dogs, passed away, Muush in Dec 2007 and Sofie in Aug 2008. Sofie was mine, and I hers. I have had dreams and messages from her. She lives in my heart and I miss her so much. She taught me so much. She is the best “person” I have ever known. I know she is OK. Will we ever be together again? Thank you. A: Hello Leslie, Yes, when an animal has “crossed the Rainbow Bridge” passed over to the other side, they can be accessible. They can stay close to you in spirit form and I have had many personnel experiences with clients of mine. One particular time while doing a reading on a lady from Northern California, I closed my eyes to see what else was going on with her health and saw this dog, described the color, shape, the personality of the dog and that he was around her frequently. The dog was a family pet that had passed over a month or so before this reading. The woman was sobbing at the thought that she could still be in communication with her beloved friend of 13 years. I saw that the dog was with her quite often, especially in the kitchen and the woman said, that she felt his presence every time she was cooking but thought maybe she was imagining things. I do have and know of stories where the animal has reincarnated into another animal of the same species. From what I gather they do not change species, so a cat stays in the cat realm and a dog and so forth. Just recently a client brought in a photo of a new puppy they found at their veterinarians. They had put to sleep their 12 year old German Sheppard six months before and the vet called her to say, “I think we have found a puppy for you that you are going to love!” When they arrived at the office and met the puppy the woman could see some resemblance to her German Sheppard and by the end of a month she was convinced it was the same dog. The mannerisms were the same, the way the dog behaved and special things the first dog always did were identical. When I held the photo, I knew immediately this was the same soul of a dog they had before, the interesting thing was the lady had not told me that this was a new puppy they had just gotten. With the thousands of readings that I have done throughout my life, I have not seen an animal with the spirit, when we cross over into the light, as a human being. What I have seen is that the animals have their own place where they reside after death. Q: Jan L. asks: I have heard that everyone has a “sixth sense” or, in other words, some psychic ability. How can a person to whom it does not come naturally develop his/her psychic ability? A: Hello Jan L. The renowned psychic, Edgar Cayce believed that everyone is psychic to some degree because, as he said, it was a “natural ability of the soul.” All of us have what are called ‘psychic abilities, but in most of us, these abilities have not been detected. ESP, Extra Sensory Perception, being psychic, is “the ability to receive or send information not using the five senses of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell.” Hence, the term, “sixth sense.” And it generally consists of five categories: .telepathy - mind-to-mind communication .clairvoyance - seeing events or objects through an inner sight .precognition - the ability to view events before they occur .retrocognition - the ability to view past events .psychometry - the ability to learn the history of an object by touching it Fortunately, there are exercises and books, including mine, “Discovering Your Psychic World,” to help you develop your sixth sense. I firmly believe that, “If one starts with enthusiasm and practices patience along with the exercises, the unlimited powers within will manifest.” It definitely takes time for the subconscious to be able to communicate with the conscious mind, and the best way to do this is to simply start thinking about it. Read about the subject. Knowledge will help, as you need some understanding of how things work. Start out like you are taking up a new hobby. Become involved in it, buy books and magazines. The first step is to acknowledge that “psychic ability” or the “sixth sense,” exists and that it is present within you to develop. Although this might sound silly or trite, begin by telling yourself that you are intuitive. Make it a mantra or prayer that you repeat to yourself daily and often. This kind of self-talk has a scientific basis. It is now known that when a person learns something - whether it's a physical skill like learning to play golf or a mental exercise like memorizing music - through repetition, his or her brain physically changes - “rewires” itself, if you will - to accommodate that task. This process of rewiring your brain for psychic ability begins with your belief in it and having patience with yourself. Q: L.V.West asks: If we are beings that are eternal, then is it possible that we have more than one “incarnation” on this planet? And if we have “been here before” are these existences sequential in time, one after the next? I ask this because I wonder how those to talk to ancestors are doing it.. are those ancestors talking from a place removed, or could that being actually be on the planet at this time and still be able to communicate this way? A: Hello L.V. West I do believe that we incarnate more than once on this planet earth. What I have observed and experienced is that the incarnations can be several hundred years apart to just a few years in between. During a reading if the client wants to know about a past life or I just tune into one, it invariably has something to do with the life they are living now. Either they haven’t finished something and are back here to complete that process or they are holding on to something that is coming from a past life and they just can't understand why their life isn't working. It has been amazing to see the light go on in someone's head when I have seen this other life they have led have such an impact on what they were trying to work on in this life. It has helped so many to sort out the deep dark secret within them and have a realization that they can change their life. I have found it to be so freeing and healthy for the client to experience this awakening. The ancestors who have past away come in a spirit form or just a voice and will talk to the psychic or medium. Some times in my readings they just interrupt and start talking to me, letting me know what their concerns are for their loved one. We also call this channeling or being a medium, where the departed talk through the consciousness of the medium or psychic. Spirits can also come to us in our sleep or in those twilight hours where we are drifting into sleep or just before you wake up in the morning. You are very relaxed during this time and your conscious mind is quiet allowing your un-conscious mind to be active. Q: Patricia J. asks: I keep getting spirit visitors thru my home and especially at night since I’m up into the wee hours. Often one will try to connect with me thru my solar plexus and it can be very painful-what can I do to stop this? Thanks so much for your help! A: Hello Patiricia J, I don't blame you for wanting to stop the pain as that is not necessary. You will have to be very firm and say out loud to the spirits that you do not want them coming to visit you. Tell them that they need to do their visiting somewhere else and to leave you alone. I wrote about this in my new biography, “Gift of the White Light.” While living in Mexico City I became like a stopping off place for folks that had just passed away. They came to say good - bye and some of them I didn't even know, but they knew me! I had to get very firm about them not coming and it worked, so I know that you can do this too. Good luck. Q: Charmayne says: Dear Annette, I live with my parents in a new home (now 10 years old). My parents often go to their second home as I stay here to take care of the house. I am often woken up in the early morning with thumping and running in attic and walking around in my parents room when nobody is there. Who is it? I have often felt a presence in my room as my cat won't come in. How can I ask this entity to go away? Thank you for your help. A: Hello Charmayne, Well, it sounds like you might have a ghost in the house. Have your parents heard the thumping and running in the attic as well? Are there any other abnormal things happening in the house, like TV’s going on and off or radios? If not, then I would say you just have a ghost who is curious as to who you are. I don't feel any real negativity coming from the ghost towards you, just a curiosity. You might want to talk out loud telling the ghost that it is scarring you and you want it to go away. You can also play loud music and sometimes they can't handle the loud sound and will leave or you can call a “ghost buster,” to come and help you. Q: Cindy asks: Hi Annette.. I greatly enjoyed your new book and I'm looking forward to having another private session with you soon. My question is this: From your lifelong experiences with the supernatural, do you believe there are other dimensions and/or parallel universes; and, if so, is this where Heaven or our afterlife resides? A: Hello Cindy, I am so glad that you enjoyed my new biography, “Gift of the White Light.” I do believe that there are other dimensions and/or parallel universes. This is what the other side looks like to me. Since I was raised in Catholicism, I would call it Heaven or a place of great light where our afterlife resides. During many readings I will see our loved ones in a spirit form. They are standing, sitting or sometimes laying down in a beautiful place where there seems to be many different spaces. Class rooms, lovely gardens, rooms that have beautifully decorated chairs or pillows on a floor where many are seated or half laying down. The departed seem to be very busy learning and understanding in this other dimension. Then there are the ones that are still very tired from the physical aspect of their body on earth and are still recuperating. Sometimes I hear music as well while receiving information from these spirits. Q: Stephanie N. says: I heard somewhere that ghosts are, lost souls, can you explain what that means. And how come some people who have passed on can become ghosts & wander around in the physical world? Why wouldn'tthey want to stay up in heaven or the spiritual world instead? Please explain. A: Dear Stephanie, After a person dies, the soul/spirit normally leaves the Earth plane by going through the tunnel to the White Light. The next step, for the deceased, is to do a life review and then be taken to the pure spirit level. My experience with those who have past and gone through the light are what I call Spirits, they have maintained their same consciousness but are definitely in another plane of existence. Spirits do not become Ghosts even though the consciousness stays the same and they do not wander or stay stuck on the earth. Spirits will only come for short periods of time to comfort a loved one, give a message, to see a sick child or to convey a message through a medium or their loved one. Spirits can also become a guide for someone. Their energies are quite different from a Ghost or apparition. When a spirit comes through to me it is a more subtle feeling versus a cool and stronger sensation with a ghost. Goosebumps usually appear on my body with a ghost in a room, so I am able to define what it is immediately. Spirits of relatives, for example will come and visit with a loved one and that loved one may smell a particular aroma, such as perfume that they always wore or even cakes and cookies that the person used to bake. They are trying to connect to their loved one so that they know they are with them for a short period of time. However, some souls/spirits get stuck in the death process and do not or cannot go to the light. For some reason, the person may not know they are dead, or they are lost, thus the term, “A lost soul,” or they may refuse to pass over as they face some sort of hell on the other side due to crimes committed on the earthly plane. They could have experienced a sudden or violent and confusing death, have a fear of what or who they may encounter on the other side, or didn't have a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. My experience with “Ghosts” is that there are many different reasons why they stay and hang around the Earth plane. While being here in their “ghost” form many are very unhappy about their disorienting situation of being without a body and others are quite content, I have found. May the White Light Be With You, Annette Martin Contact Karen D’Souza at kdsouza@mercurynews.com or                (408) 271-3772        . Check out her theater reviews, feature stories and blog at www.mercurynews.com/karendsouza   Exorcising ghosts of past  New owner hopes to reopen resort haunted by 20-year-old slayings Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, June 10. 2001   Keddie, Plumas County -- It had been more than a year since she ran screaming from the inexplicable, dark things she saw there, yet Ashley Conte still shivered as she stood in front of the battered little house. "Anyone with any brains will never set foot in there again," she said, mustering all the conviction her 16 years would allow. "You can never change what happened inside. The house should just be ripped down." She wrenched her gaze from the twilight shadows creeping onto the boarded up windows. "It's haunted," she whispered. "Everybody knows it. Rip it down." Whether the terrors Ashley and others say they saw inside Cabin #28 of the Keddie  Resort -- chairs and bodies floating mid-air, carvings disappearing from walls -- were figments or genuine spooks is up for grabs. But what took place 20 years ago this spring is not. Back then, a mother, her two children and a teenage friend were butchered here in a one-night frenzy so off-the-charts savage that to this day cops don't like to step inside the house. The murders ruined this northern Sierra mountain resort, a 3,205-foot- elevation enclave so popular people used to drive hundreds of miles just to eat at its log-walled lodge. In short order, appalled tourists began staying away in droves. And even now -- spirits or not -- the specter of the killings continues to keep this pretty resort empty. "It's spooky, a real ghost town," said Scott Lawson, director of the Plumas County Museum in nearby Quincy. "Nobody goes there, really. And I doubt anyone will until they find out who killed all those people. "But that," he said, eyes going wide, "is the whodunnit of the century around here." Twenty years ago, Keddie Resort was in the latest of many heydays dating from its founding in 1910, a placid getaway where you could rent one of 33 rustic cabins or a room in the hand-crafted, two-story lodge. The streams had great trout fishing, and pine-studded trails beckoned all around. The Keddie Lodge restaurant was packed most every night with customers who came from as far as San Francisco to dine on barbecued bear ribs, sherry- basted racoon steaks -- all shot locally -- and fine wines. "It was always a special, pretty place to go, a real draw," said Lawson. Then came April 11, 1981. Sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. that day, 15-year-old John Sharp and his buddy, 17-year-old Dana Wingate, were seen hitchhiking from Quincy to Keddie Cabin #28. John had been living there for months with his 36-year-old mother, Glenna Sharp -- and once the two boys walked through the door, police say, the horror began. A pair of killers either went in with the boys or were waiting with Glenna Sharp, and they tied up all three with duct tape and electrical wire. Soon after, John's 13-year-old sister, Tina, showed up and was bound, too. What followed was a night of torture. By the time the killers left 10 hours later, they had used steak knives and a claw hammer to such effect that the victims were barely recognizable. "Whoever did this stabbed the victims so violently they bent one knife totally double from the force," said Sheriff's Patrol Commander Rod DeCrona. "They stabbed and pounded on everything in sight -- the walls, the people, the furniture. Everything." He shuddered at the memory of first walking into the murder scene. "There was blood sprayed absolutely everywhere," DeCrona said. "You knew right away we were involved with a psychopath." The carnage was only discovered the next morning by John's 14-year-old sister, Sheila, who had been at a sleepover next door. To the enduring surprise of police, nobody outside the charnel house had heard a thing. And the mystery only deepened: Not only was the body of Tina, most likely killed at the scene, missing -- but three near-toddlers sleeping in one bedroom had been amazingly left untouched. Tina's severed head was found three years later by a bottle-digger, 50 miles downhill at a waterfall. One of the children in the bedroom -- two were Sharp brothers, the other a play-pal -- remembered enough so police could make a sketch of two killers, but the boy was so young the picture's accuracy is considered questionable. Thousands of leads and suspects have been picked over since then by deputies, the FBI and state investigators -- but nothing panned out, DeCrona said. A timeline of the case dominates three walls of the sheriff's office, tips still come in, and DNA samples were sent to the state crime lab just two months ago, but nobody's holding his breath. "Usually in a crime like this, the killers get sloppy and leave more behind, " said DeCrona, sighing. "I wish it were that simple. We have no motive, no suspects." Dana's father, Gary Wingate, thinks there were so many police agencies involved that they "stumbled over each other and fouled up the case." But he tries not to stew about it. He never even calls the Sharp family -- who declined requests through intermediaries to be interviewed. "Nobody has the faintest idea who killed my son, so I long ago had to let this thing go or it would eat me alive," said Wingate, who lives near Quincy. "I don't think about it, I don't go to that ghost town and I have no idea if ghosts exist there. "But I do know this. There is evil in this world, and evil was in that house that night." Ashley Conte and her neighbors think the evil is still there. People began to shun the resort after the killings, and within a year it was empty. The owners put Keddie up for sale in 1984 for $1.8 million -- and nobody bit. Over the next decade or so, it rotted into a refuge for squatters and hobos, and the county condemned most of the buildings. But in the past few years longtime owner Gary Mollath has gone on a furious restoration campaign that has the old resort looking pretty much as it did in 1981 -- sans people. He's rented out a couple of the best cabins, and says he hopes to rehab the rest enough to reopen in a year. But first there is Cabin #28 -- dubbed "The Murder House" by locals -- to contend with. The condemned building's yellow-and-white paint is flaking, doors are nailed shut and most windows are covered with plywood. Bums and kids -- including Ashley, Mollath's stepdaughter -- have often broken in for kicks, but by several accounts they all flee in a hurry. Ashley said that aside from seeing murky forms and rocking chairs in the house, she once saw a pitchfork and the word "no" carved in the kitchen door. "When we went back a half-hour later, the words and the pitchfork were gone," she said. Other locals, including 22-year-old Forest Jones, said they heard moans, doors slamming and footsteps when the house was obviously deserted. Others don't buy all the spooky stuff. "I hate it when people call this a ghost town," said Lynn Seavy, 46, who lives next to The Murder House. "Keddie is a nice, peaceful place where you can hear the wind in the trees. I wish people would get over what happened." Mollath's solution is just as his step-daughter suggests. "That house has been such a negative point for so long that I intend to tear it down and put a park there," Mollath said. "Then I'm going to open this place back up and cater to groups -- with people traveling closer to home now, I think the timing will be just right. "I want people to come and say, 'Wow!' when we start up again. Not be scared." Before he flings open the gates, though, he'd better do more than just raze The Murder House, maintains Annette Martin, a psychic in Campbell who advises police throughout the nation on murder cases. The trouble in Keddie, she said, is that because the mayhem was so abhorrent, the victims's ghosts are probably in shock and don't know they are dead. So even if their house is demolished, "they'll still be there, hanging out." "We often find this type of poltergeist activity in cases like this, especially if people were chopped up," said Martin. "My guess is that the 'no' the girl saw was the victims still trying to say 'no' to their killers. There is unresolved business there." The only way to cleanse the area of spirits, she said, is to have someone spiritual perform a healing ceremony after the house is gone. "Otherwise, whatever is in its place will be haunted," Martin said. "And it will stay haunted." E-mail Kevin Fagan at kfagan@sfchronicle.com   By Kristal Hawkins Keddie Resort, Calif.: The Unsolved Nightmare in Cabin 28 Movie poster: The Strangers Basis for the 2008 film The Strangers On the morning of April 12, 1981, 14-year old Sheila Sharp left a next-door sleepover and returned to Cabin 28 at the popular Keddie Resort, where her family had been living for the past two months. What she found there would cast a permanent shadow over this bucolic vacation spot in the northern Sierra Nevadas of California. The walls and furniture had been destroyed and were covered with blood. Amid the chaos were the bound, mutilated and nearly unrecognizable bodies of her mother Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp, 36, her brother John, 16, and his friend Dana Wingate, 17. Her sister Tina, 13 was missing; three younger children, her two other brothers and their friend, were unharmed in another room. John Sharp and Dana Wingate had hitchhiked to Keddie from Quincy, Calif., the night before, possibly after a party. Either awaiting them, accompanying them, or soon to follow them were the killers, who used duct tape and electrical wire to truss Sue, John and Dana Wingate, as well as Tina Sharp. Then, over the course of ten hours, the killers brutally attacked the group—and their surroundings—with steak knives and a claw hammer. The next cabin was a mere 15 feet away, but neighbors and passersby didn't hear a thing. Tina Sharp wasn't there when police arrived, but subsequent investigation showed that she had been there part of the night. The friend who'd been in the other room was able to convince police that Tina had indeed been there, and helped them determine that there had been two assailants and put together sketches of the pair. The killers were never caught. Some think the neighbors who'd invited Susan Sharp to a bar that night (she declined) were involved—the list of accusers at one time included one of the men's own wife. Other locals whisper about Satanic worship; yet others suggest there was a drug connection, either through the two young men or in a case of mistaken identity. In a gruesome coda, Tina's head was found three years later near a waterfall fifty miles down the hill. The case has never been solved. The once-welcoming Keddie Cabins would subsequently fall into disrepair. Longtime owner, Gary Mollath, tried to sell the place and renovated it, but the tragedy made the once-beautiful place unattractive. After a period of decay and infestation by squatters, he again rented some of the cabins, but Cabin 28 remained empty, becoming the object of rumors of hauntings. Locals say they've heard moans and the sound of slamming doors from the abandoned building and seen shadowy figures. Mollath's stepdaughter recounts once seeing the word "no" scrawled on the house's door, with a pitchfork propped beside it—the next day, both the writing and the tool were gone. In 2004, Mollath razed Cabin 28. Annette Martin, a psychic in nearby Campbell, warns that victims of violent, unsolved crimes may stick around because their traumatized spirits don't understand that they're dead. She maintains that this mysterious "no" was the victims' continuing cry against their assailants—and that simply razing a building won't quiet its ghosts.

ARE THERE REALLY GHOST 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. Blue Lady 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." 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. © 2009 Annette Martin, All rights reserved.