Author: Fiona Broome

Ghost Hunting… or Trespassing?

video camera warning to ghost hunters
graphic courtesy of Jason Antony and FreeImages.com

In the past, ghost hunters could discreetly slip into haunted sites that weren’t clearly open to the public. If it was public property – or abandoned – and it wasn’t posted, some investigators thought, “Why not?”

I’ve always advised against investigating sites that aren’t clearly open to the public for ghost research.

For example, in New England, Danvers (MA) State Hospital site has been notorious for trespassing, vandalism, and arrests of well-meaning ghost enthusiasts.

It’s one of many locations with eerie reputations, and vigilant security or police patrols.

Like many other locations in isolated spots, it’s easy for police to observe trespassers from a distance. Ghost hunters are at risk as soon as they drive up the road or driveway, or turn on their flashlights. Quite literally, they shed light on their own crimes.

Modern equipment and the police

Today, surveillance cameras and other devices – similar to the tools we use in our research – make trespassing even more risky.

The following December 2015 story –  from KUTV (Utah, USA) – is a good example of what can happen if you break the law.

‘Haunted’ Property Owner Asks Trespassers to Keep Out

By Amy Nay Sunday, December 13th 2015

(KUTV)In Northern Utah, authorities are looking to the public in help finding a few people they want to talk to after vandalism was discovered at a former Catholic retreat believed to be haunted. The pictures are clear, taken from surveillance video a new property owner installed in recent weeks… Despite multiple signs posted on the property – “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out”, threatening fines and jail time for violators, individuals are still coming through the area… In some publications and online sites, the area has been described as a good ghost hunting location, a fun place to take a date and get a thrill, but authorities say this is no laughing matter. (Emphasis added.)

That particular location – St. Anne’s, in Logan Canyon – is mentioned at many websites, including credible YouTube videos, as a reliable place to find ghosts. You can even find St. Anne’s ghost story at otherwise-trustworthy websites like the Weird US site.

This is why you must investigate site accessibility, even before you decide if a location might be haunted enough to explore.

If you don’t, or if you choose to risk getting caught, the quality of surveillance footage – day or night – can be good enough to convict you.

Don’t expect to see warning signs.

Don’t waste your time looking for the cameras, either. They can be tiny or well-concealed in hollowed-out tree branches or fence posts.

Modern surveillance equipment has become inexpensive and easy to use. Many locations are using it to detect trespassers, and fine them for vandalism they might be responsible for.

In the case of the Utah ghost hunters, that’s a $10,000 door that someone had kicked in.

(Really, if you’re facing a jury and trying to explain that, yes, you did trespass, but no, you didn’t damage anything, do you expect them to believe you? Is ghost hunting worth that risk?)

More about trespassing and the law

Trespassing can be a felony in some American communities. Jail time can be as much as a year, and fines can be as high as $4,000 per person, at the discretion of the judge.

If you’re an American convicted of a felony, you can be denied your right to vote in the U.S. You can also be denied travel to some other countries, including Canada and parts of Europe. If an employer or landlord runs a background check on you, a felony conviction looks very bad.

Since my earliest articles at Yankee Haunts (mid-1990s) and HollowHill.com, I’ve always focused on haunted locations people can investigate, with permission. Nearly all sites I talk about – at websites, on TV and radio, and in books – are open to the public.

What happened to the kids who were caught in Utah could happen to anyone. Don’t take that chance.

How to stay safe

If you’re not sure whether a location is open to the public for ghost investigations:

  • Visit the location and look for signs, or ask the staff (if any) about restrictions.
  • Ask the reference librarian at the local public library, or check with the regional historical society.
  • Stop at the local visitors’ center or chamber of commerce, and verify the location and the hours it’s open to the public.

Of course, I always recommend visiting each haunted site during the daytime, to evaluate it for research and plan your investigation.

But, if that’s not possible, be sure to confirm when the location is open to the public for ghost hunting, and if any fees, rules, or limits apply.

Or, limit your ghost hunting to daytime hours, as well as ghost tours, public ghost hunting events, and ghost vigils.

If the police show up…

If the police arrive, don’t run. Smile and look innocent, perhaps even stupid. (After all, you probably were stupid or at least didn’t check if the site was safe for ghost hunting.)

Answer all of their questions honestly. It may help to always say “sir” (or “ma’am”) at the end of each sentence.

Don’t smile. Don’t smirk.

If anyone on your team is being a jerk, call them out right away. Don’t just try to signal to them that they’re risking arrest. Say it straight out: “[Name], you’re not helping us here,” or “[Name], show some respect.”

Make it clear that the team member who’s acting like a fool does not represent you or the rest of the team.

Be prepared to empty your backpack and your pockets. If the officer wants to smell what’s in your beverage container, open it right away; after all, you have nothing to hide… right?

Also be prepared for at least one officer to be a ghost hunter as well. More than once, the same officer who’d been questioning us… Well, he’d then show us where the eeriest and most haunted areas are, at that site.

Show respect for the police and they’re more likely to respect you.

And you’ll avoid a citation or even arrest.

The police are not our enemies. Often, they’re among our best resources.

Related articles

ghosts

Learn the best ways to find ghosts, in local (and legal!) places…

Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries - A How-To Guide - Classic Edition by Fiona BroomeGHOST HUNTING IN HAUNTED CEMETERIES – A How-To Guide : CLASSIC EDITION

Step into the eerie realm of haunted cemeteries.

In “Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries – Classic Edition,” you’ll learn to discover haunted cemeteries near you, pinpoint the most active areas, and identify the graves most likely to hold supernatural secrets.

With step-by-step instructions and expert tips, you’ll learn how to conduct thorough investigations that reveal the true nature of haunted cemeteries and graveyards.

This is the classic guide, updated and expanded. It goes far beyond the basics. Whether you’re a seasoned ghost hunter, or someone intrigued by eerie places, this book is your key to unlocking the mysteries that lie within haunted cemeteries.

Available at Amazon and other booksellers.

And this may help you find haunted graves…

Use Dowsing Rods to Find Ghosts – How-to Tips

When you’re ghost hunting, dowsing rods can be very useful, especially at outdoor sites such as haunted cemeteries and battlefields.  Many ghost hunters consider them essential ghost hunting equipment.

With simple, homemade dowsing rods, you can identify potentially “hot” (very active, haunted) areas.

Is that house really haunted? Read this book to find out.You’re looking for the rods to swing to the right or left (pointing to a possibly haunted spot) or to cross (like an X) in front of you, suggesting you shouldn’t step forward.

Rods like these can also help you locate areas with false anomalies, by following energy lines the rods indicate. Those lines might be underground streams, water pipes, or buried electrical cables. (That’s especially true if the line is fairly straight and continues at least a dozen feet.)

If you don’t already own dowsing rods, you can find many different styles for around U.S. $20 at Amazon.com. I like the ones with rounded ends so, in the dark, you won’t accidentally jab someone. Here’s one reasonably priced set, similar to the ones I own: 99.9% Copper Dowsing Rods.

Or, you can make your dowsing rods at home. They’re fast and easy, and can even be free. All you’ll need are a couple of wire coat hangers and some tin snips (heavy wire cutters).

These rods can be a great addition to your ghost hunting gear. (I often bring a few extra sets to events, so other researchers can try using them… and keep them if they like.)

Or, you might consider using a homemade pendulum instead, or to confirm what the dowsing rods suggest.

Ghost Photos… What’s Real? What’s Fake?

I used to say that most “ghost orbs” were dust, insects, humidity, or something else

Then, a long-time friend challenged me. He insisted that all photos of orbs meant the site was haunted.

After that, for over six years, I tried to create convincing fake “ghost photos”  to prove that I was right.

So, I tried to recreate circumstances I’d blamed for photos with orbs, apparent vortices, and so on.

I took all of these pictures in low-light conditions. I always used the flash on my camera to highlight the deceptive object or issue. I wanted to create false anomalies.

Hair in “Ghost Photos”

Ghost photos - false anomaly testsThe first group of photos, below, could look paranormal if you didn’t know what was in the picture.

Half of the photos show a single piece of hair or a few strands of it.

That could happen if a photographer has long hair (as I do) and doesn’t pin it back.

The other photos in this first group show camera straps.

I used to think pictures of camera straps always showed both ends of the strap exiting the frame of the photo.

Not true.

Now I know camera straps can look weird. And, it can “vanish” from one side of the image.

Sometimes, both ends of the camera strap seem to disappear, so, the “vortex” seems suspended in front of the photographer.

Also, my camera strap is almost black. The reason it looks white is because the camera’s flash is very bright, and it highlights the camera strap.

About 90% of the “vortex” pictures I’ve seen were probably camera straps, or something like them. If you use a camera strap (recommended, especially in dark settings), be sure to loop it around your wrist or — if it’s a very long strap — over your arm or shoulder.

(I lost my original photos when this site moved to new hosting. I’m still looking for those photos among my backups.  Until then, the following thumbnail illustrations show the kinds of pictures I’ve featured.)

Photos of hair and camera straps

The Fake Orbs Problem

The second group of photos shows how difficult it is to create convincing, fake “ghost orbs.”

The first few pictures are flash photos taken on a densely foggy morning. Even the one with the white lines (a spiderweb) doesn’t show convincing-looking orbs.

Next, you’ll see smoke photos. Unless your camera is sensitive to smoke, you’d need to be surrounded by smokers for smoke to be a significant issue.  Regular cigarette smoke barely showed up. When we tested clove cigarettes (a different density of smoke), that was slightly more convincing.

Incense looked anomalous in my photos. However, unless your team is using a sage smudge, or the client burns lots of incense at home, I’m not certain we need to worry about smoke.

I could not get chimney smoke to show up in photos. Unless the weather is “just so,” hot air — and wood smoke — rise into the atmosphere. Smoke is not likely to descend and remain thick enough to be an issue.  However, smoke from a nearby campfire could be an issue.

The remaining photos show random samples of test photos, trying to create lens flares and fake orbs. Insects, house lights, and even sparkly, reflective jewelry produced nothing noteworthy.

 

Attempts to create false orbs and anomalies

After years of study, using film and digital cameras, I finally had to admit that I’d been mistaken about false, ghostly anomalies.

True Confessions about Ghost Photos

For nearly 10 years, I was a hardcore skeptic about orbs in ghost photos, and I said so in my articles.

So, I need to make a few points very clear.

  • Orbs are much harder to fake than I’d expected. Moisture, reflective surfaces, and even house lights rarely create convincing orbs. Most lens flares are too obvious to confuse with unexplained orbs, and lens flares are far more difficult to create in typical ghost-hunting circumstances.
  • Camera straps can cause “vortex” images, even if one or two ends of the strap seem to vanish in the photo. Keep your camera strap wound around your wrist or arm.
  • Hair can cause weird-looking lines and swirls, some of them dotted with an orb at the end. They can look like vortex images, too. Wear a scarf if you’re taking ghost photos.
  • Cigarette smoke is very difficult to capture in a photo. We tried traditional cigarettes (it’s nearly invisible) and clove cigarettes (before the ban). Cloves gave better results but still aren’t enough to worry about.
  • Smoke from the right incense can appear ghostly. However, unless you’re using sage smudges at a site, I don’t think that’s an issue. Cone incense and incense on charcoal dispersed too quickly to photograph. Stick incense produced the best results, but someone had to wave it right in front of the lens, even on a still night.
  • Fog causes faint, repeating orbs. In hundreds of foggy photos, I saw nothing I’d confuse with a ghostly orb.
  • Jewelry, house lights, and spider webs don’t seem to create confusing images in photos.

Don’t take my word for it.

Run tests with your own phones and cameras. That’s important. Know how they respond to these kinds of issues. No two cameras have the same sensitivities.

Then, you’ll know if you’ve taken an actual ghost photo… or something else.

Haunted Cemetery Tour – Otterbein, Ohio

This video – “Haunted Cemetery – Ghastly Sounds…” – isn’t a “ghost” video, but a tour and history of an Ohio cemetery that’s worth investigating.

We need more videos like that, to help ghost hunters find worthwhile sites.

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.However, I didn’t see or hear anything especially scary in this video.  Most of the night video quality is poor – weak sound and blurry camerawork – but that’s not what I was watching for.  In general, this video provided some good history and ghost stories, and I’m confident this is an active (ghostly) cemetery.

There’s a certain mix of sounds and silences, images and shadows… it adds up to a “gut feeling” about some locations.  Almost invariably, they turn out to be haunted.  I’m pretty sure this is one of those sites.  If I were in Ohio, near this cemetery, I’d visit it regularly for research.

In the video, the woman mentions some spooky sounds.  Maybe I missed them; the soundtrack isn’t great.

What I did hear – between normal, rural night noises – sounded like footsteps.  If the woman filming the video was alone, or her companions weren’t moving around while she was standing still… yes, those sounds are kind of spooky.

The mausoleum is creepy.  It has that sterile/tragic combination that often marks a site that seems to attract shadow people.  I have no idea why.  It’s as if they need to fill in the void with their forms… but maybe I’m putting the cart before the horse.

All in all, this video got me interested in this cemetery, enough to compile some useful links if you’re investigating that site.  And then, I discovered another haunted cemetery with the same name, also in Ohio.

Resources if you’re investigating Otterbein Cemetery in Franklin Co.

Another haunted Otterbein Cemetery, in Perry County, OH

There’s also an Otterbein Cemetery in Darke County and one in Marion County, Ohio.

Originality – The person who filmed this didn’t let her video skills hold her back. Though the quality isn’t great, the information and the impressions I got from this video made it intriguing.  It’s also thought-provoking because I’m trying to understand why I feel so certain that the site is haunted… and has shadow people.

3-stars

Credibility (Doesn’t apply. This is mostly a “this is the cemetery and what’s known about its ghosts” video.)

3-half-stars

Haunted Brown Springs Cemetery, Oklahoma

Brown Springs Cemetery in Oklahoma caught my attention.  This location looks so good – if you take proper precautions – it’s worth investigating

First, check the description and links on this Oklahoma history webpage:  Brown Springs, Thackerville, Oklahoma.

Then, watch this “Panic Attack Videos” presentation, which includes language – audio and captions – that is not safe for the office. (Ignore the cheesy graphic in the video screenshot. It’s a good video.)

  • The on-site portion of the video gives a hint of why this could be a powerful location for research.
  • Then, it shows why you shouldn’t bother going there unless you have a large research team… including big guys with stakes (or at least baseball bats).

(As of Jan 2016, the following link will take you to that video’s location at YouTube, but you’ll need the channel owner’s permission to see it.)

https://youtu.be/jicCxgPihPs

This could be a highly dangerous location, due to the living, not the dead.  And, I wouldn’t want to see threatening violence escalate.  That could be a tragedy waiting to happen… again, because of the living, not the dead.

However, with enough bouncer-type team members – and some good maps of the area, so you know which dirt roads are dead ends – a site that is active at night should be worth investigating during somewhat safer daytime hours.  (Here’s a link to one map with a general overview: http://www.oklahomahistory.net/brownspr/bsprmap.jpg )

Mostly, I like this video because the guys seem very normal and they don’t leap to paranormal explanations for what could be ordinary things.

Yes, the video could have been staged.  (Their YouTube description says that they enjoy “pranks,” and some of their videos seem like fake, staged silliness.)

That’s not the point. 

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.Fake or not, I liked the first video, because it shows one good reason never to ghost hunt by yourself. That kind of real-life scare can happen anywhere.

Okay, Brown Springs Cemetery is known for trouble, but that trouble started at some time in the past.  You should never put yourself at risk by ghost hunting alone or unprepared.  You do not want to be at a haunted site on the night when trouble begins at that location.

In the next video, “World’s scariest ghost hunt that never happened,” the guys explain that Brown Springs isn’t one of their “prank” locations.  (Like the others, this video contains not-safe-for-the-office language.)

In the next video (linked below), you’ll see why you’ll want a good 4WD vehicle, leg covering (in case of snakes), and good hiking shoes.

Early in that video, one of the guys talks about hearing gunfire nearby, confirming the risks of visiting Brown Springs Cemetery, even in broad daylight.  And then… they get lost.  So, have GPS and a good hiking map and compass.

This is another video with not-safe-for-the-office language.  You’ll be tempted to stop after the 10-minute mark since that’s when they leave the cemetery area.

However, if you’re planning a trip to the site, watch to the 12-minute mark.  You’ll get some useful tips about road hazards in and out of the Brown Springs Cemetery location: Specifically, place logs in the deepest ruts in the road.  (At the end of the video, they go to the nearby casino.)

Here’s the link to that video, but (as of Jan 2016) — like the first one I linked to — you’ll need the channel owner’s permission to view it:

https://youtu.be/4IS_uFJ3IYs

Additional Brown Springs references

In A walk through the vineyards: Ishmael and his descendants, by Judy Vinyard Beebe, I found a reference to one person in the cemetery.  Augustus “Gus” R. Vineyard, b. 1840, Mississippi (to Corder Vineyard and Debbie Bowen), d. ca. 1900, Gainesville, TX.  Married Mary Phillips, b. 1842 in TN, d. 1880, Gainesville.  At Ancestry.com, I found that they had five children including a daughter, Elizabeth Phillips Vineyard, b. 1870, death date unknown.  (Other children:

  • Mealer Phillips Vineyard
  • John Wesley Vineyard
  • William Phillips Vineyard
  • Robert Lee VineyardThe fact that this one family leaps out of the records… that’s a paragenealogy line I’d follow.
  • I’d also research the Love family members buried there since the cemetery is in the middle of nowhere, it’s neglected, and the county is Love County.  That’s significant.
  • And, in case Brown Springs is related to the Brown family – which seems likely – I’d start with the Love/Brown/Crockett Bible Records.
  • I’m also seeing references to the Chickasaw Nation in connection with that cemetery.  Will all of this lead back to the proverbial “Indian burial grounds” where hauntings are often reported?

Note: Browns Spring Cemetery – with an S – is a different location.  It’s in Georgia.