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.
On July 30th and 31st, GRI will be undertaking it's second mission for July at the Bodie State Historic Park as well as staying in an as-yet undisclosed location to conduct an evening investigation.
I'm writing about some old connections from WAY back when and hoping this article puts me in touch with old friends should the stars line up. ;>)
Those of us who visited the Black Chasm caves in May are now engaged in analyzing and readying the case report for that case. We will be presenting the results of that case in the next couple of weeks and will visit the cave complex again to potentially investigate it further as well as a potential campout in the vicinity of the complex. 
I usually publish paranormal articles here, but today, I'm posting a recipe I use for great burgers. 
The Spooky Tesla Radio is a project I've seen off and on at the "Instructables" web site at 
Calling in Spirits
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.
