Ghostrider Paranormal Investigations

Elizabeth Eagan-Cox interview with Jon Almada of Ghost Rider Investigations

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:38:45 -0800

Elizabeth Eagan-Cox interviewed Jon Almada, founder of Ghost-Rider-Investigations recently and we are reprinting the interview here at her authorization. Elizabeth is an accomplished paranormal fiction writer and has become a real friend of GRI. We will be having her on at least twice a year on our show.

The Interview:

Elizabeth: What prompted you to become involved in paranormal investigation? Did you have a paranormal experience or involvement in a paranormal event?

Jon: I encountered one too many apparitions in my life to explain these experiences away easily and decided to do something about it. My ability to see shadows and occasionally hear spirits talking had a lot to do with it. I suppose the most stunning event was my encounter with a woman who materialized in my home many years back at three o'clock in the morning and which was my first truly shocking personal event that convinced me of the reality of the other side beyond simple “fleeting” experiences that I'd had all of my life.

I had heard spirits and had seen black and grey shadows for years, but it was always just on the edge of being “real” and I could always find a rational way to explain them away while knowing in my heart that these were truly spiritual and paranormal events.

Shortly after my father had a stroke in 2007, there was a huge increase in paranormal activity here at our property and I decided then and there to really jump head-first into the field whereas I had only been dabbling before. I've never looked back nor regretted the choice to take my life in this direction. I've made countless contacts and friends and this has become a life of meaning and excitement that I would never leave after having had such wonderful experiences living it all first-hand.

Elizabeth: Please explain your definition of what is “Paranormal.” And does it differ from what is “Supernatural”? Do you remember using one definition instead of the other? Why?

Jon: Paranormal events are such that they defy rational explanation and yet which lie in the realm of physical laws of nature that exist in spite of our seeming command and understanding of the natural world. We are not yet mature enough as a species to truly understand these phenomena but will soon gain the understanding and ability to explain and even predict and work with such phenomena as our understanding grows and the science catches up with what we are witnessing and experiencing.

Supernatural events are those happenings that have a more “mystical” sense to them and which overlap and nearly coincide with paranormal events. The supernatural operates beyond physics and therefore outside of normal laws of the universe because of some outside agency, force or entity manipulating or bending these immutable laws to create spectacular effects and happenings.

I tend to use the paranormal term more because I believe that most events we encounter in this field are simply natural interactions with spiritual and physical phenomena and which will eventually find scientific explanation.

I do, however, believe in the existence of God and thus subscribe to the idea that there are supernatural events that do occur as a result of interactions with this force or deity who plays a key role in our very existence and whose interventions one may describe as “supernatural”. Mystical and miraculous occurrences in which lives are saved or changed as a result of such phenomena are good examples in point.

Elizabeth: Have you found that particular environments are more inclined to paranormal activity? If so, please explain, maybe give examples.

Jon: Any place may be given towards paranormal activity, but those where lots of people congregate and where lots of emotional stress and distress have occurred tend to have more. Prisons, mental hospitals, hospitals and disaster zones as well as war zones are the natural first thoughts that come to mind. There are also graveyards, freeways where many accidents have occurred and historical sites where key events in the history of humanity have taken place and where paranormal events take place regularly.

In my own experiences, I find most of the gold country of El Dorado county and surrounding (where I live) to have activity in the oldest buildings and in areas where hangings, robberies and murders occurred. Because of the sheer mass of humanity that descended on California during the 1849 gold rush days, there was a lot of this kind of thing throughout California and the Sierra Nevada.

To top that off, we even have Confederate and Union civil war sites here (yes, even in California) where a lot of inflamed passions left imprints that we pick up to this day. I have one EVP telling me “Burn Yankee” from a bar over in Georgetown that made me laugh until I found it was a Confederate morgue. I wear a distinctive fighter pilot jacket that must have made the guy think I was a Union soldier and now I'd love to go back wearing a Union officer's clothing and then a Confederate officer's clothing to test the reaction to each.

Because of this, I believe we have a unique distinction as having some of the most haunted sites in the U.S.A. because of the passions and death that surrounded the area I now reside and hunt spirits in.

Elizabeth: Jon, I know you have a keen interest and experience in capturing and analyzing EVPs, so I’d like to focus a few questions on the EVP experience, But, first, please give a brief explanation of what an EVP is.

Jon: EVPs are “Electronic Voice Phenomena” and constitute the capture of voices or sounds on electronic recording devices that were not heard by the people present during the time of the recording. EVP voices often contain signatures that distinguish them from normal voices with a characteristic “pop” along with musical sounding voices that are commonly encountered.

Additionally, we run into what we call “Site Signatures” that are unique to the given site we hunt at. In some sites here, we've encountered EVPs that are preceded by the sounds of cards shuffling or poker chips being moved around or by the sounds of laughter or groans. Each site is unique and we've come to believe these are tied to the unique personalities we encounter time and again as we investigate sites repeatedly.

That brings up another point. We run into the same spirits again and again on cases. That is why is makes sense to keep good records and really know the place you are investigating. In some cases, these entities seem to recognize us and even know our names and speak them in the recordings we capture. Other paranormal teams have reported similar findings of this nature.

Elizabeth: What tools/devices/programs do you use for EVP investigation? It’s okay to be specific, name brands, if you like.

Jon: I'm partial to using Sony ICD-series recorders. They are easy to operate, lightweight and easy on batteries. And I only use PC-capable recorders that let me download recordings quickly to our archival system for permanent storage. I also use rechargeable NIMH batteries with a lot of my gear, but always take alkaline batteries and have my portable recharger just in case we run into battery drain (it has happened) in the field. I also use a Zoom H2 recorder but am still learning how to use it. It is a very sophisticated studio-quality recorder and we're still figuring out just where to apply this sort of device in field work.

I have a background in file storage and document management systems (I've written complete document management systems myself) and so I used these skills to write my own unique system for management of EVP evidence and maintain pristine copies of my evidence so that any EVP that is eventually challenged will find me being able to reproduce the unaltered original recording from the master archive.

We use a free paranormal case reporting package too. It brings all of our casework into one place, online. It's called ParaDB and I'm pretty experienced at installing it for those who might be interested in getting it running on one of their computers. It's web-based and pretty darned good. We recommend it highly for those who need a means of doing a quality and high-class report for their field work and summaries.

I use Audacity for most of my EVP analysis but am saving up to get Adobe Audition. And I use cupped, high quality studio-headphones to listen to EVPs in very quiet surroundings when doing my evidence analysis. Never listen to EVPs while in a noisy environment. It's just too easy to lose track of things in a distracting environment.

I have just about everything else you can name... Temperature recorders, Mel Meter for combination temperature and EMF detection, custom EMF detection gear and a lot of video recorders. One 4-channel Hitachi DVR with 3 IR night-vision cameras for the home and business cases where we need that capability.

I use a Sony 60gb hard drive camcorder for night work and have custom IR light sources that I've built myself to handle the video work we are getting into.

I'm also experimenting with various electronic detection systems. Geophones, EMF data recorders and am looking hard at exotic sensing technologies that might be adapted to paranormal research. We also just acquired a “big ear” parabolic microphone and are developing the protocols and testing procedures to finally use that device in the field and to gauge it's effectiveness. Another item in test is the use of Tesla coil and lightning globes to see about providing direct current energy to spirits to see if we can get them to react more with the equivalent of a “free meal”. Those tests are now underway and will go on for the duration of 2010 until we find the best fit for these devices and which types work best in various types of cases.

On a side note, we're going into theoretical discussions and talks with other groups we've partnered with that then find field application and which will let us probe and examine phenomena in new ways. It is an exciting time to be a researcher and to be trying out new ideas and to be willing to fail as well as pioneer a new line of thought in this business. Linking up with other groups and using combined strengths and a many-eyes approach to investigation is a wise way to maximize our strengths and get even better evidence from our investigations together.

I think the action in this field will be in the use of time linked software that can automatically correlate all the events in a case to all of the researchers and devices in use. If we get into the use of GPS to mark the exact location when this or that phenomena happened (a lot of devices have that built into them now and it makes sense to start using it in a coordinated way), then we can begin getting very sophisticated global views of a location we are investigating and begin to get the big-picture in a way we can only now dream of having.

Elizabeth: When using a voice/sound recorder in hope of capturing an EVP do you prefer to leave the recorder in a location and then walk away? OR Do you keep the recorder with you and prompt an interaction through a series of questions? If you ask questions, can you give a few examples of the type of questions you might ask and the ambiance you seek to create via phrasing/language and/or tone of voice?

Jon: I do both. We have found it essential to leave “drop recorders” in place for static recording sessions as checks and balances for our dynamic in-person recordings. Static recorders also offer the chance to catch someone faking and to provide zoned coverage while investigators move throughout a site.

We also break up recorders for dynamic sessions with “all-investigation” recordings that are long-time series recordings to catch everything that happened to an investigator and also to use short-burst recordings to gauge where things are occurring and direct the investigation accordingly in real-time.

I try to research the site before I get there and then always take a very complimentary tone with spirits. We want to be friendly and to provide them with a chance to be treated like family or friends. Our successes (and we have had many) are because of this willingness to use good manners and etiquette when interacting with these departed souls.

If I do not get the chance to research the site, then I use my best skills to guess what they may wish to talk about. If I know something of the case and time in which these people lived, then I do try to talk about things they cared about. We also play music from different eras and see what the responses might be (and it has been something that was spectacular to see on occasion when we get spirits who recognize music from their time!).

I also “play act” and ask spirits to interact with me. During a case aboard U.S.S. Hornet this year, I was getting Ovilus (a talking EMF meter coupled to a voice dictionary) responses indicating a sick sailor in the sickbay was needing help. I then became a “doctor” and announced that I was going to need supplies to help the sailor. Within seconds, the seven investigators present at this event began smelling the old smell of Chloroseptic, an old-fashioned antiseptic that was common over 20 to 30 years ago and beyond. We all smelled it. It then disappeared as soon as it had arrived. We had EVP recorders running and picked up a lot of interesting responses in direct response to our “acting” job.

Elizabeth: It seems that some EVPs are recorded that are not heard by the human ear, while other recorded EVPs were clearly heard at the time of the recording. Is there a theory as to why this happens?

Jon: If it is an auditory event that a human can hear, it's no longer an EVP but a spirit speaking out loud and in the frequency and range of human hearing. Sometimes, as in a recent case of ours at the Truckee Hotel, we can get the digital recorder to pick up the voice as well as our responses to hearing the voice in question.

As for theory, I suppose that it is a function of whether a spirit can slow it's vibrational frequency down enough to interact directly with us in our world and with our limited senses. I believe it is far, far easier for them to affect electronic gear since that does the job of picking them up easier and costs them less energy to speak with us.

Elizabeth: As an animal lover, I have wondered, do animals, especially pets, ever leave EVPs?

Jon: I did a test case in August of this year where we tested that and found that we had inadvertently picked up what we believe to be residual sounds of farm animals being loaded on a truck at a spot in the lower foothills where cattle and sheep were rounded up and carted off to market. So yes, I do believe we get EVP evidence from animals.

I have yet to get a recording of a dog or cat, for example, where I know there was no physical presence to be heard, but I can relate that a number of our pets here where I live have passed and then returned to make their presence known to my family. I do plan to try to contact them directly when my family members let me know that the animals have been spotted or felt nearby.

Elizabeth: I know you utilize different techniques and tools/devices in paranormal investigation. Do you have a favorite?

Jon: I think that the best technique is to be informed about where and whom you are hunting and to be consistent and kind to the spirits. It just gets you so much farther than running in like a cowboy and demanding things from them.

I always carry a digital recorder and small camera with me everywhere as well as a simple notepad and pen. I'm never without the ability to conduct an investigation and have often found myself on “guerrilla investigations” when I run into a historical site or place I feel to be haunted in my travels. If any technique is useful, it's to be prepared to investigate on a moment's notice and to be inventive and an out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to investigation of sites that unexpectedly come your way.

Also, I keep a huge list of sites and places I'd love to hunt and it's amazing how these places suddenly find their way into your life in the most unexpected ways. Having already researched them and knowing something about them gives you an edge when the chance arises to hunt a spot. I often think my guides arrange these little “coincidences” to just keep me on my toes, so it pays to be prepared!

I love just popping into likely spots and asking folks if they have a haunt. Stores and historic sites are always likely spots, but don't forget new buildings and the odd place like an old gas station or perhaps an old building with lots of charm that you just can't shake the feeling about when you drive by it. Have the guts to go in and ask and you will be surprised at how often you succeed in getting asked to investigate the place.

Finally, I think that using psychic skills to sense and interact with spirits while using evidence capture gear is essential to success. We humans are far more capable of sensing spirits and energies than we understand and if you just trust yourself and listen to the small voice saying “Go here and try recording this or that”, you get a lot farther in this field in my opinion. And the evidence captured is much better and more frequent in being quality stuff.

Elizabeth: What is the singular most memorable experience you’ve had while involved in a paranormal investigation?

Jon: May 2009. I ran face to face with a 3 and ½ foot ghost in a haunted bookstore in Placerville, California. It surprised me as much as I surprised it and we both jumped backwards. The entire encounter was picked up on a digital recorder and we heard laughing at us afterwards as we tried to debunk what I had seen. I was really shook up by it. This thing was gray in color and had no facial or human features beyond a roughly human shape.

I will cheat on this question and state that in June, 2009, I witnessed an apparition run from the haunted Yellow Jacket Mine in Virginia City. The disturbing part was that I only saw a pair of legs in jeans and the lower part of the torso running around the old miner's cabin. Ten minutes later, two of my team members saw a blue orb follow the same exact course my half-ghost followed just prior to that. We felt it was a residual playback that was using energy available to play itself and was low on energy for the second playback, hence the blue orb rather than a manifestation like I had seen.

Elizabeth: Do you have a dream assignment? A particular place you’d love to investigate? Why?

Jon: I'd love to hunt Pearl Harbor. One of my family members was killed in action there during the Pearl Harbor attack (took a direct hit from a Japanese Zero that strafed him) and I'd like to see what kind of EVPs I'd get there.

One other spot would be to do an overnight investigation of a haunted lighthouse. I'm fascinated with these places and would love to hunt one on the West Coast if the opportunity came my way.

There are a couple of other places that come to mind. I'd love to hunt any of the places where Ben Franklin lived (He is childhood hero of mine) and to also do a paranormal investigation of Independence Hall to see what we might encounter. One final spot – There is a haunted insane asylum in New York state I'm looking at for 2010 and I may just hit that place later in the year.

Elizabeth: How would a Paranormal Investigator enthusiast, looking to break in, go about networking with experienced P.I.s?

Jon: Just ask to come along with us. That is the key to life. We are a small team but are willing to teach and to share ideas and technologies with other groups and people who want to learn.

We would be happy to bring other investigators on board to train and certify them and then turn them loose to do our brand of compassionate investigation.

We are not a “pay” group, so it's really about friendship and courtesy and rewards of helping someone new break into this field. We do not subscribe to ranking systems beyond necessity and are more interested in developing good investigators who can then go out and start their own teams and run good quality investigations. The big thing is to have professionalism, passion and a deep interest in the field and to be ready to ask quality questions and be prepared to make mistakes and then learn from them. If you can hack that, then we're interested in you!

Elizabeth: If a child or young person were to ask… How would you explain to them what you do as a paranormal investigator?

Jon: It's happened and we are honest and tell them the truth of what we do. We're careful about what we say and are very sensitive to how they handle the response. Some of the more mature children can handle the truth of things and listen to some of the more disturbing material we get, but thats rare. We make sure that the parents are present during such interactions and are sensitive to their inputs and feelings when talking with children about such matters.

Elizabeth: I have to ask… Do you believe in ghosts?

Jon: You bet. I've run into too many of them and it's clear they are a normal and active part of the world we live in. It's time to recognize that humanity shares space with departed souls as well as other non-human intelligences and to get over the notion we are all there is in the world.

One final note... Many of these spirits ask for our help. And when we find them asking to be crossed over, we help them with that. It has become something rather amazing to have happen when you find these folks needing your help and to get past the fact that a haunt is technically interesting. It comes down to having sensitivity and a heart with compassion for another being in pain who needs help. We do what we can and hope it helps. And, to date, I've had a number of cases we felt we did help. It's the best feeling in the world to help them move on and all the work pays off when we can bring relief to them and to living people who are living with a ghost that may be seeking such help but not knowing quite how to go about it until we arrive.

Elizabeth: Jon, please tell a little about your radio show and about your paranormal investigations.

Jon: I operate Ghost Rider Paranormal Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ghostrider and generally do the show on Sundays at 8:00pm Pacific until 9:30pm Pacific. We love having all sorts of guests on and are a friendly place to share a smile and learn new things while laughing at ourselves a lot!

The concept of the show is, of course, paranormal topics and we interview book authors such as yourself on all manner of topics from ghosts to ufos and even paranormal fiction and comic book authors. We're big on science and spiritual guests and love having psychics and other similar people on who share expanded views of reality and are willing to push the boundaries a bit to learn something new.

As for Ghost Rider Investigations, our investigation area ranges over the whole of California and Nevada. We focus on outdoor cases for about 60 percent of our work (usually day investigation work), but have increasingly been doing indoor and home investigations. We have people on staff who do clearings and help transition lost or tired spirits to the other side and tend to do one to two investigations monthly, except for December when we rest and recharge our batteries as well as finalize our case files and ready for the new ghost-hunting season to come.

We love having the public along for some of our day hunts and post these on our site when we have them. And please feel free to write me at jon.almada@gmail.com if you want to test your mettle in the field and we'll be glad to talk about having you join us on a case as an investigator-prospect for the team to see how you do. We also do the occasional presentation to various groups and are willing to speak to the public at large as an educational service. Again, there is no charge for these activities and the only expense is your time and willingness to learn and travel to where we'll be investigating or presenting.

Jon's bio:

Jon is the founder of Ghost-Rider-Investigations, a paranormal research team operating in Northern California. He grew up in that part of the state and has lived a life in and around the rocket propulsion industry and has worked in the field for 25 years doing computer application design, document management system design and web architecture design and diagnostic work.

Jon also grew up with family with intuitive gifts and shares some of these abilities himself, specifically the ability to see and hear spirits as well as to sense their presence. Having grown up with such gifts, the paranormal was truly “normal” in the household and it was only natural that he developed an interest in the field over the years as he encountered spiritual energies in the field and in his travels.

In 2006, Jon began formal work doing paranormal investigation work and has performed over 100 individual investigations to date. His specialty is EVP work in the field and he and his team now travel through California and Nevada researching new cases and never-before hunted sites as a regular part of the GRI mission.

Jon is in the process of completing a science-fiction novel and a book about the GRI cases he and his team have investigated.

In memorium, Deborah Caruso...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:25:39 -0800

Deborah Caruso, founder of the New York paranormal team "T.H.E.M." passed away on January 22, 2010 from complications from cancer. She was an extraordinary human being who helped a lot of people with her EVP research and I wanted to talk a moment and relate that we had a wonderful EVP session with her this evening that hopefully will help clarify a few things with her family and friends. Although I never met her in person, I was aware of her work and I felt, that after this evening's session, I had met one of the greats in this field.

Debbie was active in the paranormal world for many years and was well known in the field and appeared in television and radio frequently to share her knowledge and techniques with many people. She was and does remain a force in the business.

One might consider her to be gone, but after my session tonight, her forceful personality made it clear she had much to say and she continues to work in the field of EVP, if only from the other side!

Her daughter, Alexa, has recently finished a book that was nearly complete by Debbie prior to her death. Such an act is truly the basis of real love and a desire to see a project that details a life lived to it's completion. We will be certain to share this link to this book here on the GRI site.

Her web sites contain many useful techniques, stories and EVPs for you to listen to. Please do me and yourself a favor and look at the wonderful work this beautiful spirit gave to the world:

We are preserving what we could of Debbie's memorial guest book here as a tribute from all who knew her:

February 09, 2010

I never had the privilege of meeting Debbie in person but chatted with her through posts on EVP forums. She was a beautiful and delightful person! Her research and accomplishments in the field of after-death communication still amazes me, and I will always regret my missed opportunity in getting to work with and learn from her on this side of the veil. To her family and loved ones: I am deeply sorry for your loss, and I hope you are comforted in knowing she is with her beloved son again. My mother passed away 10 years ago today, and I'm remembering both of them with love and happiness.
~
Robin Henson,
Springfield, Oregon

February 08, 2010

Alexa and family, there are no words to express my sadness for your loss. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of Debbie. I met Debbie in 2005 she was a great help to me after the passing of my sister, she was there for me even though she had her own sadness with the passing of Joey. We worked together many times recording for our loved ones with great success! She always made me laugh... I will never forget her smile and sense of humor =)

Love you Debbie!
PS: Call me... I'll be listening.
~
Christine Griffith,
Texas

February 02, 2010

To Debbie's family, especially her beloved daughter Alexa, her mom & dad and brothers, and partner Dennis, my sincere condolences. I know you will deeply miss this beautiful, kind and loving soul that you were gifted to share your lives with. I knew Debbie as a fellow AAEVP member, and more closely a year ago last December when she received a message from my brother who had passed just three days before. We did a phone taping together and Debbie was able to bring through several messages which brought great comfort. As I told her at the time and in subsequent emails, I will be forever grateful to her for sharing her gift and her time.

Debbie passed on my birthday. She was a year older than me. My beloved brother was 46 when he left us. I know the heartache of losing a sibling and I see the pain in my parent's eyes at the loss of a child. But Debbie helped to show us that our loved ones do indeed survive. Please be comforted in the knowledge that Debbie is alive and well. And be assured she will find ways to let you know that. Your ability to continue with your lives and even be happy again will ensure her happiness on the Other Side with her dear Joey. Thank you for being the wonderful light that you are Debbie,

Lorelei McMorrow
~
Lorelei McMorrow,
Las Cruces, New Mexico

January 31, 2010

For Our VFIF,
Thank you for everything.
LOL
YVFFFs
~
guy ely

January 28, 2010

Dear Alexa and Family,

I am so saddened and shocked to hear this news, Debbie and I go way back to high school years and i can't find the words to tell you how sorry i am to hear of your loss.The world has lost an angel, her infectious smile and personality will always be a memory and never forgotten she was a wonderful caring and fun person to be around always, i know she got the party started up in heaven ! and i know she was so happy to reunited with Joey. Alexa you were her world and I know she will be there watching over you every step of the way . Stay strong and always know that she was an beautiful amazing women who you can always look up to.

Warm regards,
Hope Wasserman Laudato

GRI Broadcast Studio Evolution: Early 2010 report

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:50:54 -0800

The GRI broadcast studios continue to evolve. I write these articles to help benefit others who do podcasting or, as I do, use BlogTalkRadio with Skype to host their shows.

In the last article, I described how I was using a cell phone to dial into the show and then dialed into the show via Skype on the broadcast computer as a call-in. That Skype computer is specially tuned to handle broadcast of Skype from the lessons learned from a great tutorial on the subject:

http://www.digitalpodcast.com/podcastnews/2007/12/25/how-to-record-a-podcast-using-skype/

This single article made it possible for us to change the entire way we did broadcast on BlogTalkRadio. Between that and the acquisition of a Belkin Desktop Skype phone, we experienced a complete revolution in the way we do our shows.

We recently made some changes in our dial in process as our lessons learned have gone forward. The current process for dialing in and setting up the show is as follows:

Dial in on the Belkin Desktop phone. Mute the phone and turn down the volume. Place the handset on a towel to muffle any noise.
On Blogtalkradio, mute the host mic for good measure (via the switchboard).
Dial in from the broadcast computer.
Answer the call in via the switchboard.
Showtime T-1 minute, turn down the mixer input for mic and go into audio isolation and let the show start.
Away we go!

The Studios

Our two-studio setup is very mature now and we alternate studios depending on what we want to do. I refer to the studios as "A" and "B".

Studio "A" is used for our primary show studio and is set up for in-studio guest interviews and podcasting work. It is soundproofed fairly well and has a very custom setup for our microphone work. We use a Shure SM7B studio grade microphone tied into a Behringer 1002 mixer and USB connection to the broadcast computer to tie the entire system together.

Studio "A" has the following compliment of gear:

Behringer 1002 Xenyx Premium 10-Input 2-Bus Mixer with Xenyx Mic Preamps And British Eqs
Shure SM7B Dynamic Vocal Microphone (primary)
Behringer XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid Microphone (alternate for guests)
Belkin F1PP010EN-SK Desktop Internet Phone for Skype
Behringer UCA202 U-Control Audio Interface
ART Tube MP Studio V3 Microphone Preamp and Limiter with Presets
Windows based broadcast computer

The ART tube MP preamp does a great job boosting the SM7B audio levels to a point where we can really drive the inputs properly. I've had to engineer this solution over time and was nearly ready to give up on the ART preamp until the purchase of the Behringer 1002 which balanced things out nicely. It is now a very acceptable setup and very enjoyable to do shows with!

Studio "B" is used as the EVP-live-broadcast system with our paranormal research work done from here on Thursdays. It also doubles as the emergency studio in case we have issues with Studio "A". As we have a lot of trees over studio "A" at the moment, I'm not too eager to be in "A" during storms, so "B" is the better place to be when we need to do shows during serious snow or rain storms.

Studio "B" has the following compliment of gear:

Behringer 502 5-Input Mixer
Radio Shack #32-2057 3 input mixer w/equalizer(for alternate mic input)
Behringer XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid Microphone (primary)
Behringer XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid Microphone (alternate for guests)
Belkin F1PP010EN-SK Desktop Internet Phone for Skype
Behringer UCA202 U-Control Audio Interface
Windows based broadcast computer

Support systems

Netbook computer for call management in studio B
Laptop computer for call management in studio A

Software

Audacity (latest version)
Sony Acid Music Studio 7
Winamp

Books

Broadcast voice techniques are best learned by practice practice and practice. I am often complimented on my "radio voice" and believe me, I've practiced to get that. One book that helped a lot was the following:

Broadcast Voice Handbook, 4th Edition: How to Polish Your On-Air Delivery (Hardcover)

It is expensive, but a good reference on HOW to use your voice and develop it for broadcast work. I'm still no professional, but am getting there! There are many good books on voiceover work and voice acting that I also have picked up along the way and it makes sense to study them often and keep listening to other experienced voice actors and learn from them. You are never too old to quit learning.

Final thoughts

It's been a journey! I'll never be done with the studio, but I'm enjoying it very much and will keep you up to date with how we are doing as things evolve.

The lessons we've learned to date revolve around the fact that dual-Skype dial-in on a single high-speed network line is possible. This realization has saved us having to use the cell phone to dial in and we've experienced no dropped calls yet when using the Belkin Skype dedicated desktop phone to host the call.

The other item is to never quit searching for improved broadcast quality. By doing the needed work to improve studio quality you will really get to know your gear and be able to configure it on a moment's notice when special requirements rear their head unexpectedly.

Finally, learning to use the Skype metrics reports to track what is happening with your broadcast computer is essential for success. Learn to watch what your network is doing and make sure to tune it as needed to insure you can get the most out of your Skype dial-in connection(s).

Feel free to write in to share your stories or ideas about broadcasting over the internet!

The Blue Dot controversy

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:41:29 -0800

On May 31st, 2009 GRI visited the Gold Hill Hotel to investigate that reputedly haunted location along with downtown Virginia City and the surrounding area. We were not disappointed at the EVPs we picked up and odd personal experiences.

One of the reports we got from our investigators surrounded a sighting of a blue orb that came out of the Yellow Jacket Mine and which traveled around the Miner's Cabin and towards the Gold Hill Hotel we were guests of.

Only ten minutes before that point in the investigation, I had seen a half-torso apparition follow the same exact course as the two investigators who had seen the blue orb. It was a very fast sighting and it moved with unearthly speed. It was disturbing to see half a body running with no top half, but this does seem to be a fairly constant thing in paranormal investigations and sightings of ghosts. Sometimes these spirits may not have enough energy to fully manifest and thus appear only in pieces to us.

Switch to 2010. I was busy today, finalizing some uploads and was looking at some of the photos from the May 2009 trip and noticed something odd in one of the pictures. In a zoomed image, I spotted what appeared to be a blue light in one of the images, where one should not be. The image above is the root picture from which that photo came from. This was interesting, because I began to remember the incidents of that night and wondered if they might be related to this image. But the inner skeptic in me also said this might be pixelation or some artifact on the photo not related to the earlier sighting.

So, I decided to put it out to you, our readers. Take a look and tell me how an image like this might occur. I'm still at a loss to explain it and would appreciate any ideas you might offer. Look above at the blue round image. It is more than a pixel in size, given that the camera used was a Nikon D80 with a nice quality and fast F1.8 lens if memory serves me. I have the original image at this link. The flash DID fire, but I'm skeptical of that being some sort of reflection coming back.

To summarize possible explanations so far:

Reflection from some surface that is reflecting enough blue light to look like an "orb".
Unknown light source, independently lit or self-illuminating.
Some sort of living thing - animal?
Possible pixel issue in the camera?
Possible "noise" on the CCD chip?
And finally, it's the blue orb our team reported minutes earlier.
Something else.

There we have it. I'll recommend this story be checked out on my radio shows and see if we can get some expert opinions as to what this might be!

The Truckee Hotel Investigations of October and November 2009

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:04:01 -0800

In late 2009, GRI took on one of our largest challenges to date with double investigation of what has become our standard training location for investigators; The Truckee Hotel.

Tim Tonachella, the Manager of the Truckee Hotel, invited GRI to come out and do a full-scale investigation of the Truckee Hotel over the course of two investigations in October and November of 2009.

So, we loaded up the GRI Mustang and our investigators, Jon Almada and Renee Martine for the first set of investigative work and then with Jon once again along with Spencer Hughes and Kevin Gilligan for the second investigation.

Our first arrival brought us to a very beautiful structure with quaint rooms that have atmosphere that is undeniable. And we found the hotel staff to be friendly and willing to talk now and again about their haunt.

Over the course of the two investigations, we found that the hotel had an amazing amount of residual EVP activity as well as what we believe to be intelligent haunts (responses to questions in a fashion only attributable to an intelligent entity). Reported Phenomena

The Truckee Hotel reports the following as paranormal phenomena seen by patrons and staff:

A small girl (reportedly kidnapped and murdered in the Hotel) is felt/seen/heard on the 4'th floor of the Hotel. We experienced EVPs and audible (taped) responses by her in our evidence.
Voices are heard and odd feelings in room 401.
Doorknobs turning themselves.
Cold spots.
Floating orbs in and around the bar.
Shootings in and around the hotel in a number of spots including the death of one woman by shotgun blast.
Shooting of a shirttail relative of Jon's (yes!) who survived the shooting in the late 20'th century!
Odd sensations and negative feelings around the hotel and lower boiler-room.
Ghosts are sometimes seen and noises of walking can be heard now and again by patrons/staff.

Findings

We caught a large number of EVPs. These are uploaded along with photo and video evidence in the case gallery. A number of references to "Heaven Help Me" seem to originate near or at room 215 where a reputed murder is reported to have taken place. Search the site for this term and you will see these files and can listen to the EVPs for yourself.

Spencer took a unique photograph of the back of the hotel which is shown near the top of this article. We cannot explain it. We tried to debunk the photo using our breath to fog the air and duplicate the image, but could not make it work. Our feeling is that the photo is strong evidence of paranormal activity as we have photos seconds prior to and just after which show no such mists.

We caught EVPs in the boiler room that were pretty compelling. The "Heaven, Help Me" EVPs we were capturing inside found us capturing one of these utterances outside in the back of the hotel. Inside the boiler room, we caught all manner of odd EVPs and are still mystified at why a spirit would spend time in such an inhospitable place. One EVP says "Kept me in here" that may explain some of the reason for this.

In rooms, 401, 402 and 403, we experienced odd happenings as follows:

Room 401 - Jon hears an audible "Get out" twice in rapid succession and catches the voice on tape. (loaded on this site for you to hear).
Room 402 - Spencer, Jon and assorted family of Spencer's hear a little girl calling out and when we go to check, no one is near (caught this on tape - Spencer's recorder).
Room 401 - Spencer caught odd banging noises occurring in 401 after 2:45am when no one was in the room on an EVP recorder. This EVP is remarkable. No one was in the room when the RCA recorder auto-started!
Room 401 - Video of K-II responses to our queries was taken using a Sony Webbie with Jon and Spencer conducting vocal exchanges in the room while questioning the male entity reputed to stay there (soon to be uploaded).

Room 218 had us catching a voice that said "He was a brutal brute" in a very clear class-A EVP. Another capture indicated a woman saying "Mommy he's guilty of shooting me". Several other EVPs were captured issuing commands to leave and a couple of more "colorful" EVPs were captured in this same room.
We also caught what we feel to be residual EVPs in profusion and with some racial epitaphs and anguished emotions on tape such as the aforementioned "Heaven help me" EVPs.

We also investigated the small cemetery just up the road as well as other surrounding structures and will provide additional commentary as these EVPs and photos are added to the gallery. The Cemetery EVPs we have to date are quite interesting as we have some that indicate that entities there are asking to be crossed over.

Conclusion

The hotel is, indeed quite haunted both in the intelligent and residual sense. We intend to make the hotel our standard training ground due to it's accessibility and quality and quantity of EVPs that can be recorded here.

This article will be adjusted as more evidence comes in from our investigations. Our formal reveal will occur soon along with a video of the evidence and audio to provide a better feel for the evidence and feelings experienced by our investigators.

We want to thank Tim Tonachella and the entire staff of the Truckee Hotel for their hospitality and help in allowing us to visit and investigate their beautiful structure. We most certainly will be returning again and again to this amazing location in the near and distant future!