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.
I start this post with an audio clip that demonstrates just how responsive this Orange County haunted house truly is. The three knocks make it clear that this is an intelligent entity or entities.
But first, a little history on the Howe-Waffle house:
“Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle was one of Orange County’s first woman doctors, delivering over 1000 babies during her 38 years of practice. She was known for her kindness and devotion to her patients.
She and her husband, Dr. Alvin Howe came to Orange County in 1878, settling in the Westminster area . She taught at the old Bolsa School in Santa Ana to earn enough to complete her medical education. When she was ready to do so, she took her baby daughter with her to Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago. She graduated in 1886, returned to Santa Ana and began her practice that same year.” (from http://www.santaanahistory.com/articles/willella.html)
Here are, in order, Marsha’s, Erin’s, and Kirsten’s impressions of that night’s investigation:
I had a great time investigating the Waffle House. As soon as I walked inside the front door I was immediately aware of the warm, welcoming energy. The house is beautiful and has been so well preserved over the years; it was a real honor to be able to investigate there.
I would have to say the attic was the most active for me. I can remember feeling as though someone were right there with us wanting to communicate. As a matter of fact, the best EVP clips we recorded were in the attic. It seemed like the activity heightened when we spoke of a little boy. We asked if there were any children present, and we got a tap in response. I almost got the feeling he was playing with us! But I have to ask myself… would God really let a child linger in an empty attic for all eternity? If I’m honest with myself, I don’t think God would allow that. So how or why does this energy remain? Are we beckoning them from the other side when we ask for a spirit to communicate with us? Is it possible the little boy passed away there and that a piece of him will always just BE there?
There are theories that suggest when we pass away we split into two. Our soul goes to heaven and our spirits stay here. I have to say that rings very true to me. I can’t prove that this is what happens, but it makes sense. I’m looking forward to investigating the Waffle House again. I think it’s going to take more than just one session to really figure what is going on there.
Parawife Marsha
The Dr. Howe-Waffle house was a very interesting place to investigate. The
house is fantastically restored. As soon as I walked in, I wanted to live there! I
felt several spirits immediately upon entering. It was like there was a
hustle and bustle in there! Our first stop was the attic. In the attic, I was
very aware of two spirits: A man and a boy. They were associated with each other but not
closely related. I was amazed by the amount of physical I experienced. I
was touched on the feet and ankles, my butt, and I was pushed…not
forcefully, but gently over a longer period of time. I caught several EVP on audio
while up in the attic.
Next, we went to the maids’ room. Although we were only in this room for a
short while, I felt a lot of spiritual energy right at the beginning…then
(of course) it moved out of the room we were in. I heard several things out
in the hall and caught a voice that sounded like it came from the hallway as
well.
We went into the bathroom next, because as we were walking out of the maids’
room, I heard something in the bathroom. We were only in there for a few
moments because again….the energy shifted out of the room. It was like we
were chasing it.
Dr. Waffle’s bedroom and the main hallway was next. We spread out and
set up our equipment. Unfortunately, I caught nothing on audio
even though I was anticipating this area to be very active…and it was for
other people….just not on audio. There were several people that had
personal experiences in this area, but I was not one of them. This was the
least active area for me.
The last area was downstairs in the dining room. This was very active with
audible voices, sounds, thumps, dishes and footsteps. I smelled different
smells and felt moods shift. The man that was in this portion of the house
definitely did not want us there, but we weren’t going to back down. We came
for some answers!
I cannot wait to go back to this wonderful house. It’s very active and I
know that whenever we go back we will catch something else!
Parawife Erin
What I found most interesting about the Howe-Waffle house concerned the shift in mood in the main parlor. I experienced odd noises and impressions in the attic, but nothing I haven’t encountered in other haunted houses. The dining room/parlor was en entirely different reality for me.
We all noticed that the energy in the room was male, and we also felt–about the same time the temperature dropped dramatically–that this male presence was not happy about a loud group of women expressing themselves freely and dressed in a scandalous manner. This was rather amusing, and we were teasing him about it, when suddenly it became serious.
I started to feel very, very sick. I was dizzy, nauseous, faint and having some trouble catching my breath. This occasionally happens on investigations when a spirit is angry or upset, but this was an unusually strong reaction on my part. Right around the time that we were asking Mr. Howe why he left his wife in Santa Ana, in addition to bringing up the sensitive abortion issue, we started noticing dark shadows, cold spots and noises from the parlor and kitchen. On one of our audio clips, you can hear a male voice say a very nasty word in response to our prodding.
There were several EVP clips from that area. We caught a woman’s voice, isolated words, breaths, and one odd sound we can’t identify at all. This was quite an experience for me, since during the time we were recording the EVP, I was physically experiencing the emotions that those voices were conveying to us all. I find it amazing, shocking almost, to what extent all of us were on the same page concerning the spirit activity in the house. To have that activity and those impressions validated on the audio clips proves that what is happening at the Willella Howe-Waffle house is very real, and can be very disturbing.
—-Parawife Kirsten
SAMPLE OF AUDIO CLIPS, PART ONE
Not to overwhelm our readers, but there were quite a few EVP in most areas of the house. I will post them a few at a time in separate posts in the hope that we will hear more feedback that way.
Here is the infamous “dirty word” clip that I mentioned earlier. It’s quite clear, but if you aren’t sure what this angry man is saying, I’m happy to tell you what all of the Para Wives heard!
The “surprise” is clear in this clip:
Here the woman’s voice is clear:
In this clip, we were noticing the odd smell of vomit. During this session, I catch an extremely odd noise. Do any of you know what this could be?
Here is talking all around Erin:
OK, my dear Readers, there will be more audio clips to follow. I hope you have some comments and/or questions for us.
Is the Howe-Waffle house haunted? Hmmmm . . . let me see . . . that would be a definite YES!
The family above were residents of Rancho Los Encinos in the late 1800s; the children belonged to Rita, and Rita’s mother–Eulalia Perez de Ayala. I try to divine something from their pictures, but I only see innocence in the children, hope in Rita, and exhaustion in Eulalia. The Rancho is not in the best of shape these days, due to the extreme budget cuts in the California Parks and Recreation programs over the last several years. It is beautiful and well-kept, but has an air of abandonment and loss about it. I know that feeling. Pierce College feels the same way, after three years of slashing away at public services and education.
The most fabulous Rob Wlodarski and company set up this investigation and were kind enough to invite the PHW to attend, although Erin and I were the only Paranormal Housewives available. At first, she and I had the same feeling: how was ANYTHING going to measure up to the church investigation, where we were like guests at the Spirit Show of the decade? It’s difficult to overcome that feeling of disappointment, when you hang out in historic rooms and nothing remotely odd or strange happens. I think that is due, in part, to the fact that many of the rooms in the original adobe house have been used for teaching the history of the site for so long. There are big posters and photos of the way things used to be in the adobe, with displays and the like. There is nothing terribly atmospheric about that, because the purpose is pedagogical. Those rooms bear little resemblance to the original home.
It wasn’t until Erin and I wandered into the living room at the end of the adobe house (or what certainly appeared to be a perfect recreation of the living room, with the original rug) that something shifted in the environment. The rest of the team was several doors down conducting a solemn and quiet EVP session; we could not hear them. The door to our left opened to an outdoor hallway, and there was a door behind us that led to another ‘teaching room,’ with displays and photos. It was around sunset, which–my dear friends–is the REAL ‘witching hour,’ if you ask the PHW, and Erin and I were alone. My husband was talking to the ranger far away by the offices.
We heard shuffling and muted conversation. Erin assumed, as did I, that people were talking on the other side of the door. Erin checked twice to see who was outside. Turned out, of course, that not a single, solitary soul was near the living room. The conversation stopped when she got up to look, and resumed when she returned and we continued the EVP session. We heard knocks and more rustling, which to me sounded like a woman’s long, crinoline skirts brushing against each other. When we played back my audio, the conversations and rustling were so clear, we again assumed that somehow, we were mistaken and people MUST have been outside (although, they would have had to run and hide when we checked, then return like stealthy thieves while we returned to our seats and start talking in muted tones . . . not likely).
Then Erin played back her audio. She had been recording only a few feet from me. We heard the rustling . . . but not a single, solitary conversation or spoken word of any kind. We played that clip over and over . . . nothing. My recorder picked up entire conversations and responses that simply were not on Erin’s recorder at all, even though her device was so close to mine that there is NO WAY it would not have picked up all that commotion if all that commotion had been . . . from the living.
And then, just like that, the investigation became very, very interesting. Yes, we will post those clips for your listening pleasure; but I am in the process of installing my computer and equipment at a new house (OK, so Ty is the one doing that, I confess) and I need a few more days. In the meantime, I leave you this thought: after you have read all of this, listened to our clips, evaluated our experiences, what else could we possibly do to convince you of the reality of the spirit world? Or the reality of the survival of consciousness? Maybe you need to experience this yourself, if you haven’t already; or maybe, this all makes perfect sense to you. If so, congratulations–I’m still reeling from the shock of it all.
Jennifer Storey had a proposal. She knew of an abandoned property with a dark history. There was, however, a twist to the usual rules: someone close to her knew the real story, but didn’t want to give us any information beforehand. The idea was to test our intuitive, sensitive sides and see just how accurate we might be left to our own devices. Might we be interested in such an investigation? Of course! We set the date, met up with the Source, and headed over to the gutted home to see what we might pick up.
We all walked straight to the same room: the old master bedroom, completely open to the elements now. The focus was square on the area by the closet and the bathroom. We all started writing down the first, few impressions that came to mind. After we had spent some time noting our hypotheses, we compared what we had written: all three of us came up with “older male” as the decedent. We also all had references to “gunshot wound,” with Marsha noting “substance abuse”. Also, all three of us had a strong feeling that this was a suicide. So far, the correspondence was quite impressive. But were we right?
The ghost radar had come up with “German”, “send”, “war”, “Greek”, “top volume” and “age.” In short, nothing that made much sense. I was hanging out on the banister, avoiding the inside of the house. Marsha and Jennifer were inside, running audio, but I felt as if some invisible barrier lay between the master bedroom and me. I felt, for the first time in a long time, genuine fear. There was no good reason for that; the house was so torn up that one would think little would be left for a spirit to attach to, but that’s probably a faulty assumption. Something was clearly creating heavy, negative energy in the interior of the structure, especially in the hallway and garage, a place I couldn’t even look at, much less walk into.
During the investigation, I found it fascinating that we had identified so quickly the “heavy” areas, namely, the closet and the bathroom in the master bedroom and the hallway, but most especially the garage. My impression was of some moving force running through the house, confused, panicked; as I noted on my audio (so I could have a record of my impressions before we heard the facts in this case), I envisioned someone running through the house almost in circles, frantic. I surmised that this person had discovered the body in the back bedroom or bathroom. Marsha mentions in one of the EVP below that she felt the presence of an “older man” and a “young man” in the house, (she told me that she had no sense that they were related) and after she states that, there is a noise down the hallway. Interestingly, Marsha wasn’t picking up on children or a family dynamic in the house; that would be the most obvious choice, given that this house was a 1950s single-family ranch in a suburban area.
Jennifer was experiencing some noteworthy and rather strange emotions: by the closet, she almost cried, but in the living room by the long hallway, she said she felt “a strange excitement” that she had trouble understanding. It wasn’t the typical excitement of investigating, but something of a different quality—almost sexual. This she was picking up as a dynamic in the house, or perhaps she was re-experiencing the emotions that had played out here many times in the past. At this point, I felt nauseous, my head was pounding, and I had to walk outside. My feeling was that something very, very bad had happened in the hallway/bedroom/garage area, and it was still playing itself out.
The investigation did not last long, mostly because I was feeling ill and overwhelmed. The time had come for our source to tell us what she knew about the house and its former occupants. Here are the facts she told us, in addition to what we were able to glean online after the investigation was complete:
A death had occurred in November of 2010 on the property, of an older gentleman (64);
The house had a reputation for drug abuse and possible drug trafficking;
There was a younger man in the house who had discovered the body of the older man, panicked, wrapped him in a blanket and dumped him into the trash. This young man then went to a club (possibly the gay night club down the street) and told various people what had happened, was advised to call the police, which he later did;
The coroner does not state the cause of death, but ruled it ‘accidental’;
The house was sold to the current owners, who originally were intending a cosmetic remodel but ended up tearing out walls, floors, built-ins and appliances. At least one neighbor thinks that this over-kill was due to the negative feeling in the house, and affirms that the new owners have not come anywhere close to rebuilding it, and that the crew working on the site only comes a couple times a week for a short while.
A more recent occupant of the neighborhood claims that much more is known about the home and the former occupants, but none of the long-term neighbors wishes to discuss it. There are German neighbors who have many more details of this case but choose to remain quiet (this might have had something to do with the GR spitting out “German”). There are many, many unanswered questions here. We do not know what happened to the young man who found the older man’s body and threw him in the trash. We also do not know anything about the relationship between the two of them (beyond the fact that they shared the house). It seems very odd to find your roommate’s body, panic, wrap it in a blanket, throw him into a trash bin, and then go to a nightclub. This made us think that the roommate either had something to do with the older man’s death, was high on drugs, or both.
Even though the death was ruled “accidental,” we have no idea about the nature of the accident. Was he cleaning a gun? Was it a drug overdose? Were the man and his roommate engaging in risky sexual behavior that led to his death? (This is Jennifer’s feeling, and I think she’s on to something). There are still trash bins (large ones) in the garage. If the coroner ruled the death accidental, there is no reason that I can think of that those bins would have been removed. In that case, I can understand why we were so reluctant to enter the garage, and I refused even to look in there. Jennifer’s odd emotion of “strange excitement” works with the “risky sex” theory, and Marsha was spot-on with her impression of substance abuse and the “old man, young man” feeling. I was also correct in my impression of someone running about the house in a panic.
The aftermath of this investigation was both depressing and reassuring. It was depressing because the tragedy of the place rubbed off on me and left me asleep and lethargic the entire next day; reassuring, because the Paranormal Housewives were able to confirm that many of our impressions actually have some factual weight behind them. It was a rare opportunity to test ourselves, and we all felt validated and relieved to know that what we think has happened at a site might have (and in this case, did have) some basis in fact.
However, that reality we picked up on is undeniably tragic and terrible. One person lost his life and another is left with the legacy of that death for the rest of his life. This is the question that remains: is there is anything we can do to ease the chaotic emotions that the house relives and replays as if that death were still happening? If we could bring some peace to that place, then perhaps those spirits—one passed on, the other still wandering the streets—might find some rest (EVP will posted separately, so stay tuned!).
The Paranormal Housewives came out to the Los Angeles Supernatural Summit and had the opportunity to meet up with fellow paranormal investigators and friends. Dawn Gomez, Frank Beruecos and Dan Guthrie did an awesome job pulling it together. While we were there, we listened to great speakers, sang our hearts out at Karaoke Night, danced the Harlem Shake, indulged in fabulous food and of course did a little ghost hunting!
We met up with a couple of nice guys (Jim Wingate and Chris Salisbury) who were fascinated by and interested in learning about what we do. We decided to take them along to investigate Kirsten’s room and their room (This is more innocent then it sounds).
While there, we experienced a few knocks here and there, and Erin and Jim saw a shadow moving in the bathroom. I caught the most amazing EVP at this time. Kirsten had already gone back to her room. It was just me (Jen Storey), Erin, Jim and Chris. This is what I hear in the recording:
Erin says, “Is anybody here?” Right away you hear a woman say “no”.
Then Erin asked if there was a Maria. There is a long pause and you hear a man say, “Yes, I missed you”.
Almost immediately you hear the woman say, “Then we’re probably missed too” (there’s a knock).
She then says, “Are we ghosts”?
I thought this was one of the most amazing EVPs ever caught. She asks if she’s a ghost!! That is one of the biggest mysteries of the afterlife. Do we know we are dead, or are we literally in the dark?
The other EVPs consist of knocks and whispers. On the “Response to Erin,” there is an immediate response and then a whispered word near the end of the clip.
Things haven’t been terribly smooth at the new job. I must be deliberately vague; all I can really say on this matter is that Insecurity and a need for power and control can be a toxic combination, one that darkens the halls at the brightest of universities. Not that this university was so bright to begin with . . .
Week Eight at Cam has been darker than normal, and not simply due to my previously stated experiences. I attribute this to the gradual desertion of the students, allowing Cam’s previous energies to resurface and reclaim their territory. Observe the picture below this post.
The hallways are much darker today than normal, even accounting for weather and outdoor lighting conditions. However, I’m not simply referring to the literal sense of dark, but more to the heaviness in the atmosphere here. It’s freezing cold in all the rooms and halls, in spite of the fact that it’s a pleasant 70 degrees outside. The students freeze in our classroom, even though there is no air conditioning and our room faces a sunny courtyard. It’s as if the warmth simply cannot penetrate these walls. I am always wearing jackets indoors, my hands stiff as I attempt to type.
No one is ever going to change the nature of this place. Maybe it’s the Bell Tower in particular, which housed the criminally insane on the East Side (where I enter the building) with the worst psychiatric illnesses, or the fact that the unruly adolescent boys were incarcerated on the West Side of the Bell Tower; these two groups were, unbelievably enough, mixed together in “Recreation Rooms” and group therapy rooms right in the area where I teach. In fact, from the configuration of my downstairs classroom, it looks to be one of those “common area” rooms where patients mingled and were frequently unsupervised. This toxic comingling of boys and insane men is a fact I gleaned from someone I know who spent a year or so in this very building for “anti-social” behavior.
I think I’ve realized something important. You can’t spend hours in a place with dreary energy from a traumatic past and hope to leave with a smile on your face and a sunny disposition. I should know this, of all people, yet I was seduced into thinking I would find this a mysterious and educational experience; it IS that, and will continue to be, but I find myself needing to conserve my energy. I used to spend much time fine-tuning my sensitivity, opening myself up to the energies around me, consciously seeking contact. Now, I find myself doing the exact opposite just to get through the day at Cam. I work on protection, I attempt to ignore my surroundings, and I even pretend that the place was never a hospital for the so-called ‘insane’.
What also assists me in this work of “tuning out” is the fact that Cam is never the same day to day. You can walk all over the buildings one day with no particular feeling one way or the other, and then the next day, or even later in the evening, the air is thick with mystery and menace. Even though one might object that this is pure emotional projection, I have had my experience of this validated so many times by those with whom I work and investigate that I no longer doubt my impressions.
That is probably the greatest gift of Cam: I no longer doubt my instincts and my sensitivity to my surroundings. After several years of investigations and explorations, no one can tell me that what I sense isn’t real. Anyone who tells me that I am “projecting,” “inventing” or fulfilling some fantasy or wish no longer upsets my confidence or causes me to question my abilities. I have become, for wont of a better work, “sensitive” or “a sensitive,” and that is a very real transformation. I have a certain limited and rudimentary ability to see into the past and peer into the future. With time, I expect that skill will increase in power and precision. I only hope that I will find some mentors and guides along the way, so that darkness does not infect me at the deepest level.
The mental hospital wants to grab onto anyone that can feel it. It affects even those who deny its reality as a living memory. I started out wishing for nothing more that to be a witness to the paranormal. Now, I have to protect myself from it.
Paranormal Housewives 
