All Burned Up

8/9/2011

 We had just gotten our new spirit box in the mail from Chris Flemming and we were anxious to give it a whirl. We also wanted to check out the area of a recent wild fire so this was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. It had been a brutally hot day so we decided that we would wait until close to dusk to head out in the vain hope it might be cooler.

After surveying the damage and taking some pictures, we set off to explore a new area that Lance had a feeling about. He thought it might be the true “Dead Man’s Cut” since it was an area they had actually cut through the hillside and there were remnants of black powder cans everywhere. We arrived just as the last light of the day was fading and the moon shone brightly in the sky. The area had a different feeling altogether than anywhere else we had been. I did not have that heightened sense of energy. It felt desolate, almost too quiet. As Lance was setting up the trigger objects he had the recorder on his phone running and he got an EVP that sounds like it says, “all burned up.” We thought this was a direct reference to the black powder cans. Some of them do show signs of having been burned and some were blown to pieces and remnants of them are all over of the ground. It occurred to us later that it may have also been a reference to the sizable acreage that was consumed by the wildfire. It is one of the strongest EVPs we have gotten to date. 

We hesitated to start the spirit box because we were both somewhat nervous to go where it might take us. We did a short EVP session with the digital recorder and then mustered the courage to turn on the spirit box. We listened intently as it scanned the frequencies and waited anxiously to hear something. We turned it off for a while to allow for a train to pass just below us. I am getting quite familiar with being near a train as it flies past but the sound and the feeling is a unique experience each time. We were curious to see if the energy generated by the train would be of any benefit to them. We turned the spirit box back on and let it run for a short time and then decided to pack it up and head home. Even the Ghost Speaker was eerily silent. We later discovered that we had gotten a response on the spirit box that our untrained ears had missed in real time. It is what we believe is a direct response and we think it says, “watch your back." 

As we loaded our gear into the mule, Lance decided to give the Ghost Speaker one more go. What we did not realize at the time was that we were going to get more EVPs in this one casual encounter than we could have possibly imagined. The fact that we had more than one device recording was truly serendipitous for us. We happened to catch more of the them on Lance’s phone than on the digital recorder. Makes me wonder how many we have missed because we relied on only one recording device. We have since made a concerted effort to be sure that there are as many opportunities as possible for them to speak to us. To say that you learn as you go when it comes to this is a bold understatement! But I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to do what we are doing. Now on to the good stuff....

Almost immediately after we started the Ghost Speaker again, it said “notice”, so Lance asks “can you tell me your name?” We think the response says “back from the dead (amy or ain’t we?)” The more I listened to this EVP, the more I became convinced we had a smart ass on our hands. The next word from the Ghost Speaker is glass. After we had pondered the meaning of that for a moment, Lance again says, “can you tell me your name?” and it sounds like the response is “I guess he wants me” . It was almost as if the spirit was talking to another spirit. For a short time there is a lull in the conversation as we are snapping some photos and it is during this moment of quiet that two more EVPs are captured. One says “hey there” and the other says “what”. Perhaps they were trying to get us to again interact with them or could we have caught a conversation between two spirits? 

  The next word from the Ghost Speaker was a definitive response to what Lance had just asked. He was inquiring about the location of the cave or mine he has always believed was somewhere on the ranch.... and the next word from the ghost speaker was “mine.” We looked at each other in stunned amazement. I can even be heard gasping. It never ceases to amaze me when they give us a direct response meant to signal that they hear us loud and clear. The next word from the Ghost Speaker is “educate”. Are they offering to educate him about the location? Lance can be heard mentioning he just got a body chill. Perhaps the spirit is just letting him know that he is close and they are willing to help him along the way if only we will listen. After a while on this subject, Lance goes off in the direction of the involvement of the Spanish in this whole thing and he asks “what did the Spanish do?” We think the answer is “took the drama back”. This made me smile when I heard it. It is no secret that I hate the Spanish of that era and I am sure there was always lots of drama wherever they were. 

The next word from the Ghost Speaker says “Beth” . What we discovered when we listened to the recording is that there is an EVP right after Beth that we think says, “what happened to her?” Lance asks, “is there anything I can do for you?” The EVP that follows that question we think says “hurt her”. The next word on the Ghost Speaker is “widow”. Leading us to then believe he was speaking of his beloved. There is an EVP just after that that says “6 months trouble free”. No clue how that ties in honestly... We next caught a great EVP when I was asking him if she was his widow and made the comment that I am sure she missed him very much because I would miss my husband if he died. He apparently appreciated that because he very softly said “ you're an angel”. The next thing I said was that we would love to know what happened. The answer from the Ghost Speaker is “hospitalized”. Is he telling us that she was hospitalized at some point? As always, we asked what year this happened and we still have gotten no response to this question. We so want to know the time frame. Perhaps we can put the pieces of the puzzle together if we only knew the years that the spirits that are sharing information with us were talking about. 

 The next series of words from the Ghost Speaker left us puzzled but I did have to laugh when the Ghost Speaker seemed to convey that the spirit was calling my husband out for being “dollar driven”. Lance can be heard defending himself and saying he is indeed not dollar driven, but he admits that his questioning is as relentless as the inquisitor himself regarding the mining history. My response is typical of a wife, I just say, “Hmm”. I can also be heard asking him again and again if he is sure he is recording all of this. If anything, listening to us interact with each other proves a couple of things, he is a very patient man and I can be really bossy. Now I know what my grandmother was talking about when she used to call me that... alot.

The next EVP we captured was really something incredible in my opinion, Lance had just asked “how many of you were there?” “ How many people did you have?” The spirit responded with an affirmation that he was on the right track because he said “you are asking the perfect questions.” Just as we were winding down and telling them we had to go, Lance said his name and I said mine and before I finished speaking he announced his was “David”. It was as if he was standing there anxious to give his name but being polite and waiting his turn. Our first thoughts were, is this the same David as before? Has he chosen to follow us around? How did he know where we were? Lance immediately acknowledges the fact that this is the second time we have heard that name. This of course made us delay leaving because we had just gotten his name. The next word from the Ghost Speaker, “jade” sent Lance on what I lovingly refer to as a tangent and at one point he asks “what did they do with them?” The EVP answer is “took them back”. 

  After we had been thrown a curve ball with “wig” from the Ghost Speaker, a second name was given. Joseph had apparently decided to announce his presence as well. The next EVP we got was right after I asked if Joseph had been his child and this one almost sounds as if it could have been audible even though we did not hear anything at that time. It has a voice tone rather than a whisper as most of them have. It says “this is”. Was he affirming that this is Joseph? Since we realized we might have some of the same names popping up, Lance asked, “who is William?” There is a faint, yet very poignant EVP that follows this question, we think it says “I miss talking to him”. That one kind of got to both of us. Is David letting us know he misses his friend? You can almost hear the inflection in how he says it that he is upset by the memory. I will say that it becomes intensely personal for me when I feel they trust me enough to reveal their name. The realization that I am participating in an open communication between souls, one on this side, the other beyond the veil is an extraordinary feeling. I hope I never lose that wonder and reverence for how truly amazing that it is.

After we had listened to this recording Lance and I did have a brief conversation about how it must be frustrating for the spirits sometimes when we and others misinterpret what they are saying and then go off in a completely different direction than they intended. I am sure they would love to smack us sometimes and say, “shut up and listen!” I think there is a fine line that we all walk each time we speak to them. It is sometimes hard to leave our own emotions and even our own preconceived notions/desires out of it. Perhaps we should all just shut up and listen more.


Below is the full list of words along with the videos of the EVPs we captured.

**Ghost Speaker**

notice
glass
mine
educate
challenge
hearing (second time this word has been said recently. not really sure it means anything yet)
clover
bank
Beth
widow
hospitalized
government
Ice Land
winter
goat
creek
cold (we found it compelling that this is the third reference to something or somewhere cold)
dollar
driven
writer
Major
sparkle
David
jade
wig (maybe referring to Lance’s baseball cap?) (that is the only connection we could make with that one)
Joseph
chain
Louisiana

Hello David

7/31/11

Lance and I were anxious to return to the spot that had yielded such good results for us and we did want to be true to our word. We had told them that we would be back and we believe we had been told they were expecting it.


We decided to bring along some items that we intended to use as trigger objects to see if they would enhance or otherwise encourage interaction with us. Lance brought a silver coin, a gold coin and piece of raw amethyst he had gotten at a rock and gem show. He also brought his Minelab metal detector in the hope that it would give them additional energy to pull from since it puts out electromagnetic fields.


As soon as we arrived and got out of the truck, I began rolling with the digital recorder. We started walking toward the old cellar and I announced our presence by saying, “hey guys, we’re back, we told you we would come back and we did.” We caught an unbelievable EVP at that moment. We think it says, “we were missing them.” When we heard that, my heart lept. How amazing is that to know that if it can be taken in the context of what I said and that it immediately followed it, they are saying they missed us?! Holy cow!



As we began to set up our gear, we decided to place the recorder and the Ghost Speaker beside the Minelab just to see if that would produce a spike in activity. We left it there for quite a while with absolutely no response on the Ghost Speaker so we decided to move the recorder and Ghost Speaker to another location close by. With the Minelab still running Lance set up the trigger objects on a railroad tie that is near what we think is a cellar entrance and offered to allow them to take them if they wanted them. The EVP we got during this time seems to be a direct response to the offer of the gold coin. We think it says,” keep it.” He also placed his phone next to the trigger objects and the Ghost Speaker response was “telephone”. After we had been there a while with no additional response on the Ghost Speaker we decided to take a short break and just enjoy the night. As we were walking to the area where the old car is, Lance asked whose car it had been and the response on the Ghost Speaker was again “brother.” I only mention this because this is the second time we got this exact word in roughly the same place in response to the exact same question. That brings a whole new dimension to it. If the legend of the car is true and it was a Bonnie and Clyde car abandoned on what then was a county road, then who is speaking to us?? Or if it is someone with ties to his family that had left the car there... who is it? The possibilities are endless.

While over by the car, we were asking questions about what the area had been used for, what the different areas of interest had been in the past and the EVP during this time is a direct response to a question. We had asked why they were still there, and I asked “are you protecting something?” The EVP response was ”such a nice place”. Lance immediately then asks “is this a special place right here?” Had we been able to know the answer we had just been given at the time, I would say that the spirits are stating that it is indeed a special place and they have chosen to be there because they like it just fine, thank you.

The Ghost Speaker was quite active during this time and we got some great responses to some of the questions as well as some that did not seem to tie into anything. One response in particular was quite funny to us. Lance had just said he felt like he had been touched, and the next word was “chicken” His response was “I’m not chicken” Was he being taunted?

As we have learned it is not always how/when we want it, but what really matters is that it happens at all. I have already mentioned some of them but as usual, I will list all of the responses below the blog.

Lance had mentioned the last time we were there that he wanted to do a smudge near the fence since that seemed to be where the most activity centered. His desire is always to make an offering to the spirits there and also to cleanse the area of any negative energy. We are still not gunning for any sort of drama. You can call me a wimp if you like, but as I have stated before, I will leave the down and dirty stuff to the professionals. I don’t fancy a late night visit from a pissed off spirit bent on making their presence known.

Shortly after we did the smudge with white sage, the Ghost Speaker began to blow up. Several of the responses were direct answers to our questions and one exchange in particular left us stunned. I can actually be heard on the tape exclaiming, “holy shit.”


The next part of the recording proved to hold several EVPs. When we were first at the fence, we were asking the spirits our usual questions. Lance says,”something just flew by my head” and I say “it was probably a bug” but the immediate response on the Ghost Speaker is “above”. Lance asked, “are you above me?” and the response is then “front”. Was the spirit just letting him know he had been the recipient of a fly by? As is customary we were pressing them for a name and we get the response, “David”. As we are thanking him for sharing his name, Lance asks, “is David what you want us to call you?” David’s EVP response was “certainly”. We continue asking questions of David and then we get “hearing” immediately followed by “William”. Was the spirit making it known we were not just talking to David and wanted us to know that we were hearing William too? The next few words from the Ghost Speaker were “west” and “sheriff”. That naturally led to the question why they had come west and the next response was “crowd”. We asked who had been a crowd and then the word that led to my emotional outburst...”Spaniards”. (Lance insisted on including it on the video) The reason this is so mind blowing to us is that there is speculation that all of the rock structures on the ranch are remnants of the Spanish, but no concrete evidence exists to date that they were in this area specifically, so to get that word in reference to the area was truly exciting. Probably wouldn’t hold much water if we presented it to academia as proof, “well we think it happened because the spirit told us”, but it would be fun to see their faces.

One final name came from the Ghost Speaker that night, “Fred”. It seems they were all coming over to check out this couple with all the gizmos. After a while the Ghost Speaker fell silent and we decided that it was time we head home.

This had been a very eventful night in our eyes and when Lance and I had time to review the recordings, the EVPs we got that night were amazing. It is hard to convey to anyone the excitement and the awe that we feel every time we realize we have again spoken to the wind and it has answered back. I have many more posts to come, but as I have said before, there are way more things to do than hours in the day. I look forward to sharing all of them with you soon.

**Ghost Speaker**
box
telephone
brother
historic
shelter
expansion
invent
chicken
thread
measure
over
front
David
digestion
reply
hearing
William
west
sheriff
crowd
Spaniards
comb
veteran
Fred
dinosaur
invite

We Just Keep Finding Them

Updates to Previous Blog Entries 

   

It seems like that every time we listen to the recordings again, we find something that warrants a closer review.  As we have progressed, so has our equipment and Lance has developed an extraordinary ear for hearing them.  I think those two factors have enhanced our ability to recover the messages left for us.  I fully expect to have to post additional updates.  What an amazing adventure this has become.

We had been reviewing some of our earlier recordings and lo and behold we had several EVPs we had missed.  Some of which were direct, intelligent responses to questions and others were just what the spirit felt compelled to tell us at the time.  



Update to 6/12/11

I will chalk these missed EVPs up to being complete novices at this time.  We were so excited to have heard something, anything on the recording that we missed the subtlety of these.  They ultimately were some of the best we had gotten to date, but because we lacked the software to truly be able to hear them, we almost didn’t find them at all.  They are both very quickly said and do require being slowed down to half speed to understand them.  We think one says, “go along the fence” and the other one is what we believe to be a name, perhaps with the last name of Parker.  We have included both the real time and the half speed versions so that you can hear the difference.  

Update to 7/2/11

We were at Dead Man’s Cut and Lance had just said “Are you at peace?” and the direct response was “I would like to go back”. I then say, “we want to hear it from you what happened here” and the the response is “train-wreck”.  WOW.  I am so happy we found them!  This night was full of EVPs.  This is when we got the “Joe White” and the “dog and porch” EVPs as well.  We have posted an additional video below with the new discoveries.



As we began to dig deeper into the history of the property, we discovered that there had been a train-wreck with multiple fatalities at the exact place where we got that EVP.  At the time we recorded this, we had no clue of the additional tragedy that this place had seen.  No wonder the activity is so strong there, so much death has been concentrated in this small area.  

We have since investigated the actual train-wreck site and we have an update coming soon with video that I am sure you will find very compelling.

Bonnie and Clyde

7/15/11

Lance and I had decided to make this trip alone since we had yet to do that.  I was curious to see if the spirits would respond more favorably to this dynamic.  We decided to go to yet another new area and see what was waiting for us there.  I was looking forward to some time with him.  Our lives are so hectic that it seems we are either asleep or running 90 to nothing when we are together.  

The area we chose is itself an enigma.  There is a laundry list of random yet equally intriguing things located in this tiny slice of geography. There are remnants of what looks to me to be an old cellar. Several hundred yards away is a small rock structure that was painstakingly built but was constructed with mortar and appears to be much newer than any of the other rock somethings on the ranch. I am guessing it may have been a smoke house.  There is the skeleton of an old car just a few yards away in another direction.  The family lore is that it was an old Bonnie and Clyde car.  No one knows for sure, but it is a cool story to tell the grand kids.  Not unlike much of the ranch, the members of the family alive now don’t know much about the area but it has always been just like it is now, curious and wonderful at the same time.

We decided to start out by snapping some photos and wandering around the area doing an EVP session.  It was a beautiful and calm night.  The sky was clear and the moon was exceptionally bright so once our eyes adjusted, it seemed almost like dusk.   I don’t think either of us was in any hurry to do anything except enjoy the night and each other. Perhaps it was our laid back, easy going approach that got the ball rolling that night.  And boy did it.

For a time we lingered under the stars content to listen to the coyotes express their displeasure at the train whistle in the distance and just be present in the moment.  Nothing more and nothing less.  There is something in all of us that needs that moment of connection to the elements.  I firmly believe it is what made the natives of this land so special.  They had a symbiotic relationship with their environment that we can only dream of.  It was the source of all for them.  They understood Mother Nature and all her many moods.  We have lost that and I think that is tragic.  Not to say that I want to live in the boonies and hunt for dinner (I don’t even like to go camping), but I would like to know some of what they knew.  To have a fundamental knowledge of our home would be great.  My grandmother has always used what she calls “indian signs” to predict the weather.  She learned them from her father in law Lemuel, and 9 times out of 10 she is never far off.  Not be stereotypical, but she is old and she does talk about the weather a lot.  

Before heading home we decided to use the Ghost Speaker just to see if we could get anyone in the mood to chat.  The spirits with us wasted no time in making themselves known.  We got a tepid response near the car and cellar, so we decided to move toward a fence that divides some of the sections.  That proved to be a good plan, because things picked up significantly. I will break it down below beside any of the relevant responses based on our questions or the direction the conversation was going.  One thing of note to us was that immediately after we said we were leaving and would be back soon we began walking toward the truck,  the Ghost Speaker said, “expect”.  Were they telling us they expect us to return?  If so, that is way cool!  

**Ghost Speaker**

brother (this was immediately after we asked whose car it had been)
notice
spoon (this is relevant because Lance had found an old spoon a few yards from this exact spot)
tea
reward (Lance had been telling him he wanted to tell the story of the area and when this was said he asked him if he would reward him if he told the story)
provide (was he offering to provide him the story?)
organization
snail
appreciate
quicksand
sea (we had just asked where they were from)
expect
drink (we left some water in an old mason jar that was lying on the ground nearby)
passenger (had they been a passenger on the sea?)

As we drove home we tried to absorb what we had just been a part of.  It was the first time we felt that the experience was uniquely ours. No distractions, no real plan, just us and them.

Game Changer

7/10/11

Tonight’s adventure proved to be a game changer for my husband.  On an earlier post I mentioned that he had a profound experience and this was it.  In all of our time out with the spirits we had never had a night quite like the one in store of us.  I was excited to go because my youngest son Cameron had agreed to go with us and I wanted to share the experience with him and show him what a wonder it really is.

We began our evening at the cemetery.  It is a wonderful place to allow someone to become familiar with the experience and explore their own way of talking to the wind. The area is remote, quiet and relatively snake free so they can safely venture off and the experience becomes uniquely their own.  We handed him the recorder and sent him off into the darkness.  My husband and I snapped some photos and just relaxed on the bench by the trees and enjoyed the blanket of stars above us.   As I looked off into the distance to where I knew he was, I silently sent a message to the spirits.... be kind, but don’t be silent.  

After a time he re-appeared with that familiar smile on his face.  He had clearly enjoyed the time he spent alone with them.  I decided that he and I should see what we could get together so off we went.  My husband stayed behind to see what the Ghost Speaker might yield.  As I trailed behind Cameron, I said very little and allowed him to lead the EVP session. I was content to snap photos and just enjoy the night. I was so proud of the respect he showed them, the kindness in his voice and he was asking some darn good questions.  A later review of the tape would also show the humor he brought to it as well.  As he began his solo session, he made sure to tell them he meant them no harm and just wanted to talk to them but did clarify that he would appreciate “good spirits only please.”  He did an awesome job!

Our next stop would be Dead Man’s Cut under the bridge. This area had proved prolific for us in that this is the spot where we had gotten the amazing “Joe White” and “dog and porch” EVPs.  In short order they made their presence known.  As we were walking to our usual spot, my husband began reacting to the energy in the air.  He could feel someone close to him and the hair on his arms stood up.  I took that as a good sign, and I could tell that it really got his attention.  He had been saying for some time that he was ready for some undeniable thing to happen to him so that he had hard proof.  What happened next was a good case for the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”

Cameron did a short session by himself and my husband and I took pictures.  My husband decided to use the Ghost Speaker and went and sat on a big rock in the middle under the bridge.  I kept the recorder going and my son and I listened as Lance began to speak to them.  We reminded them that we had heard them before and would love an encore. We spoke directly to Joe White and asked him to tell us more about his dog and porch and invited anyone else around to come and speak to us. As the words began to flow forth, we asked questions, and acknowledged what was being said and on occasion, Cameron and my attention would be drawn to a rustling in the brush off to our right.  What happened next was something none of us was ready for. My husband began to say “whoa whoa whoa” as if trying to stop a horse.  He bolted up and said “someone just wrapped their arms around me!”  As he hurried over to where we were he was clearly shaken.  He would later explain that he had decided to go off away from Cameron and I because he felt that the spirits that particular night were a little more active than we were used to and wanted to draw them away from us to protect us.  He said he had felt something close to him and then he distinctly felt someone envelope him with their arms and press up against him.  While he was not afraid and did feel that he was in control, he was certainly not prepared for that either.  As it was happening he quietly said “that is enough” and it immediately released him. The thoughts that flooded his mind were initially, “is this really happening?” and then that he needed to pay attention and take this seriously. He said that he inexplicably got the feeling that this was something he was meant to do.  He was completely drained of energy but also wholly in awe of what had just transpired. Things would never be the same for him.  That cold hard proof he was wanting had just wrapped it’s arms around him.  He snapped a series of photos immediately following this and he caught something very interesting....it appears to be a spirit.  

Much to my surprise, he went back to do another ghost speaker session after he had recovered somewhat from the experience. That session did lighten the mood a little because as we were trying to figure out why the word bananas had just been said, the next word was bored.  We all got a laugh out of that, because I am sure it is boring for them sometimes.  And perhaps after the excitement of earlier, this was rather anti-climatic.

Our focus was quickly turned to something that was clearly from this realm. The rustling in the brush just beyond the bridge was starting to sound closer and at first I assumed it was a deer or at worst a hog.  Then it became clear that whatever it was, was approaching us in a stalking manner, it would move closer then stop for a while and then inch closer.  Lance had gotten up from his place on the rock and moved between it and us when he could see that I was clearly uneasy.  I can be heard on the recording saying, “There is something over there.”  We had distinctly heard an audible sound that at first we assumed was from whatever was in the brush, but a later review of the tape would prove otherwise.  While Lance was kicking himself for not having brought a weapon, we all made a swift beeline for the safety of the car.  There is a cougar or mountain lion in the area as evidenced by the prints and carcasses he leaves behind but he had never ventured this far over to our knowledge.  I personally don’t care to know what it was that night, because with certainty would have come a face to face meeting.

Below is the list of words from the Ghost Speaker.  We did capture several EVPs but we could not make out what they were saying. We are going to share the clips with you. What we think is a voice with a much higher, more mocking tone says “die”. This is the one we believe was audible. We are not taking it as a bad thing because if we had stayed in that spot we might have had a situation on our hands that lead to death.  Either way that night will be forever in our memory.

** Cemetery**

bushes  (may be relevant because there were bushes just to the right of us when this was said)

**Under Bridge**

interest  (we had told them we were interested in telling the story of what really happened there)

delay (we think he might be reacting to us saying we want him to tell us)

key
bananas
bored          

Shot 1

Shot 2

Shot 3

Shot 2 NEGATIVE