Paranormal Investigation of Cemeteries

My wife and I met nearly ten years ago and very quickly realized we shared an interest in the paranormal. Since I was a teenager I have wondered about the existence of ghosts and all of the things that go bump in the night. My wife has had many experiences throughout her life where she swears she has been able to see people that everyone else could not see. They called her crazy.

Over the past several years we have learned a lot about the paranormal world and about ourselves as well. I think folks tend to be a bit afraid of accepting the fact that there may be something that is very much alive, but cannot be seen by the naked eye. Most of us believe that we do cross over to some type of "other side" after death, but our society tends to look at that world through a negative and tearful lens.

I have been on a quest to try to quell those fears through research, investigations, and communicating with others who share our interests. Blogging has provided a wonderful opportunity to share our thoughts and experiences. We hope that you too will join in the conversation and share your experiences with us.

We are in the pioneering age of the paranormal with all of our new technologies and I know answers will be found because...the truth is out there!!

Shortly after establishing a hidden passion for the paranormal, we began discussing all of the things that led us to our current beliefs. My wife told me a story about a little girl dressed in a 19th century dress who lives in her house. This girl loves to play with children and she told me that not only did she see and play with her, but each of her daughters have as well. The girl is also known for shouting out "hey" very loudly, usually coming from the basement. I have personally experienced this phenomenon and it scared the crap out of me.

I told her a story about when my friend and I were walking in a cemetery in my hometown and as we traveled around a corner we stumbled upon a glowing entity. He radiated a soft bluish haze, had a long beard, and was garbed in a robe. His appearance looked almost medieval. As we gazed at him watching over the cemetery, he finally realized we were there and turned to face us. I'll never forget that look.

We went back home and did a little research and discovered that we may have seen a gatekeeper. These days they are not discussed very much, but over the past centuries they were known as the protectors of cemeteries. Although the information is not prevalent, gatekeepers are mentioned as far back as the ancient Egyptians and possibly even further back to the Assyrians.

It wasn't long before we were searching the television to see if there were any shows on the paranormal. SyFy and The Travel Channel seemed to fill this void for what we were looking for not only to affirm what we already believed, but also to see evidence to support our experiences.

Jason Hawes (left) and Grant Wilson (right, with their producer in the middle) really set the ball in motion for paranormal junkies with the founding and seasonal airing of Ghost Hunters. The show first aired in 2004 with these two Roto-Rooter plumbers by day turned ghost hunters by night. We absolutely love the show and it has taught us so much and certainly has inspired us to become involved in our own investigations.

One of our best encounters happened in the Alton National Cemetery in Illinois. It started out as a simple ghost tour, and turned into so much more!

In 2008, my wife and I, along with several of our friends decided to do a ghost tour in Alton, Illinois. This town is reported to be one of the most haunted places in the country. The tour began in a meeting room of a local Mason's Hall. The place was spooky and it was full of shadow play.

Shortly after our introduction to the tour, we entered the cemetery off of Pearl Street. Here we were able to see even more shadowplay as what looked like soldiers were running from tree to tree.

As we continued along the path we could hear the scuffle of feet behind us as though someone was following us. It has been reported on many occasions by several visitors that the soldiers will walk behind you inn curiosity. They are trapped in the Civil War Era and continuously relive their fighting experience. To them, the war rages on.

On our ghost tour, we brought a digital camera similar to the one shown here. We had heard that these new cameras could catch paranormal activity because they are faster and more sensitive than some of the older styles.

The first picture that you have already seen of what we believe is a Civil War soldier using the power of our batteries in an attempt to manifest itself. We captured this photo by me walking behind my wife and constantly shooting photos while she walked with dowsing rods. The rods were responding to someone in the cemetery and this someone was leading us through the graves by moving the rods either left, right, or straight ahead.

How entities can do this is still quite a mystery, but it may have its roots in quantum physics and the fact that light energy, or photons, are interchangeable particles with basic matter. This simply means invisible energy is fundamentally made of the same quarks or neutrinos as a tree or rock. I hope with further research to be able to elaborate on this subject.

That night we took many photos. Two more had some foggy images to them that may have been more ectoplasm. We also caught many orbs of light scattered throughout the cemetery. Have you ever been on a paranormal investigation? Please share your experiences in the comment box and thank you for doing so!