Posts Tagged ‘Haunted Southern California’

Jennifer Storey

Kimberly Demmary

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We (Jennifer Storey, Kirsten Thorne and Kimberly Demmary) have visited King Camp Gillette before, usually invited by our very generous and dear friend Rob Wlodarski. What I find interesting about this site is the element of the unexpected. Mr. Gillette’s main office is almost always active, setting off various devices and allowing us to collect some wonderful EVP; however, on this last visit, it was–pardon the pun–dead quiet. I’m pleased when this happens, because it means that our expectations and desires are not controlling or even influencing the outcome of the investigation. When what we want to happen is contradicted by what actually happens, it validates the notion that paranormal phenomena are independent of us, even if at times there is interaction.

Mr. Gillette’s bedroom is an unusual area with mixed feelings. Since he passed away there, one would expect lingering activity or impressions, and that is indeed what we sense–however, on this particular occasion, it appeared that we had picked up on family secrets, as suggested by various ‘ghost hunting’ applications that were all pointing in the same direction. I don’t take these applications terribly seriously unless they are consistent in their message or general theme; this time, they were indicating that dark events played themselves out in that room. I don’t wish to be more specific, since we did not receive any corroborating EVP or psychic impressions.

And then . . . there’s the basement. The basement contains strange rooms used for storage, heating and cooling equipment, rooms with cement floors and giant drains, and entrances/exits that seem to lead nowhere. The effect is disorienting and disquieting for me. The very long, very dark hallway intensifies the sensation that someone is following you or just ahead of you. This is usually the area where we collect the most data. We were hearing whispers, footsteps and odd noises which we assumed must be coming from other investigators. I searched the basement and the upstairs rooms, and nobody was above us. The other teams were outside when we captured the following audio:

In the above clip (Jennifer’s), ‘someone’ is joining our conversation. At four seconds and at fourteen seconds, a whispered voice is chiming in as we discuss our interest in another site. Notice that I pick up on this voice a few seconds after we capture it on audio.

Kimberly caught this audio. This is a male voice in an area where there were no men at all. Remember, I had already ‘cleared’ the area when Kimberly caught this. It’s difficult to make out what he is saying, and of course, why he is saying it.

Also during this time, we are hearing walking up and down the hallway. This was an active area, it appears, in the past; I don’t know who would have been using the area besides kitchen or cleaning staff. We are probably picking up on the typical sounds of a busy day back when the Ranch was home to many parties and events. In that case, we are most likely hearing a ‘stone tape’ replay of the past.

As always, these investigations into the life an old building remind me that everything we do, everything we think, everything we are, remains in the world we leave behind. It also makes me think that perhaps we never leave anything behind, we simply move to the dimension next door, where perhaps we have no idea why three women are asking probing questions in the dark with strange, little devices.

Thank you to Rob and Jerry for allowing such experiences to occur, and for supporting the PHW–and so many other teams–in our quest to unravel life’s biggest mysteries.

–Kirsten A. Thorne, PHW/PhD

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I was thrilled to get the opportunity to investigate the Pasadena Playhouse. I grew up near the landmark theater and being myself a performer, theaters in general are like ‘home’ to me. 

 The place was extraordinary!  It’s beautiful and has a fascinating history. We were lucky enough to have many places we were allowed to investigate. We decided that night to concentrate on the Big Theater’s balcony, the little theater, the library, the woman’s shower room and the sewing/wardrobe room.

In the little theater , we had a couple of personal experiences & caught a few EVP, the same in the other areas, but it was the sewing/wardrobe room that affected me. I have heard & seen people get sick on investigations, but it never happened to me personally.

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I should say first that all the girls have their own ways to ‘protect’ themselves from dark entities or spirits attaching themselves and following them home.  Marsha usually leads a prayer, Kirsten carries all sorts of religious relics and Erin does her own personal ‘shield’.  I haven’t figured out my ritual yet, so I’ve relied on Marsha’s prayers for protection. Well, Marsha could not make the investigation that night and I completely forgot about doing anything. I was totally ‘open’……

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I have experienced feeling teary and emotional when I walk into a room, and this usually tells me that it’s a hot spot for activity. The girls have told me that I may have empathic abilities (the ability to feel a person’s or spirit’s emotion). I was feeling completely fine in the little theater and even the woman’s shower room,  but everything changed when I walked into the sewing/wardrobe room at the theater.

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I suddenly experienced this extreme feeling of nausea, and it hit me like a ton of bricks! I sat down and drank water hoping it would pass. I decided not to turn on my audio recorder, and I just sat in the dark quietly while the girls led their EVP session. As time went by, I felt sicker and sicker. I looked around for a trash can or something to throw up in. I could feel my throat closing, and I doubled over in my chair – hoping with all my might that I would NOT throw up on this beautiful theater floor (I wanted to be invited back)! I kept drinking my water and didn’t want to say anything to distract the rest of our group. At the same time, Erin was touched by something. She said that she felt something like a needle brushing up against her back. She flew up out of her chair, and when we lifted her shirt, we could see a few scratches.  I tried to sit back down, but then decided instead to go out to the hallway. I felt a lot better out there. Erin said she’s never seen me look so bad, and she’s seen me look really bad! I then went outside to get air and in about 10 minutes I was no longer nauseous.

The next day I woke up with a terrible ‘hangover,’ even  though I had nothing alcoholic to drink that night. Now, It’s been a couple of days since our investigation, but my face feels puffy and I have dark circles under my eyes.  It’s been a strange recovery.

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Now, I sit here and think of these questions: Did I have a mental or psychosomatic response? Was the EMF (electromagnetic field) in the room too heavy? Was I having a serious allergic reaction to the costume area (there were no costumes out)?

Did I have a fast version of the flu? Had I left myself open and unconsciously gave the spirits an antenna with which to communicate? I guess that’s why I became a paranormal investigator in the first place: to explain the unexplained. Of course, I can’t wait to go back to investigate the other rooms and finish our investigation!  I have learned my lesson and will definitely put my personal, protection ritual in place! Just in case……

Jenn Pasadena Playhouse 1
 –Jen Storey