Rio Grande

Ghosthunging - Rio Grande

I apologize for bad grammar and spell check errors. I do not see spell check on this!

So most of you probably know that I've enrolled in a night-time course with Brandon and my friend, Brittany. We are looking for paranormal activity - ghosthunting. I believe in this and this note is also for the skeptics. However, I am not willing to "debate" with you on this subject so please keep critisism, negativity and debunking to yourself! Thank you. Moving on!

Last Thursday was our first ghosthunting experience. We went to the Rio Grand, downtown. It's the old train station! They warned us that we wouldn't really have experiences like you see on all the ghost shows - like Most Haunted, but after we review our materials (tape recorded session, photographs, etc...) we would most likely find at least one EVP. An EVP is an electronic voice phenomenon. Entities use engergy that is produced and affect sound waves to try to communicate with the living. This is why sometimes it sounds very robotic or electronic.

It started out with excitement very high. We first had dinner at the Rio Grande cafe and asked our waiter to share experiences with us in regards to hauntings. He said he didn't know of much and had been there since 1984 but he closes the Cafe and sometimes in the morning when they would open all the pictures will be tilted to the sides. So he has his suspicions.

So the first place we went to was the basement. Not much was happening in the hallway and we had a lot of people there. We all tried to be quiet and respectful but Brittany and Brandon and I decided to go in to the bathroom in the basement. We conducted an EVP session in there. While standing by the lockers I felt like someone was standing right behind me and felt my left arm was really cool. The rest of my body temp was fine it was just my arm. We snapped pictures like crazy and though it looks like I can see a mist of some sort on the lockers I cannot say for sure if that is it. I'll have to compare my pictures with Brandon and Brittany. I'll try to post that one later.

After this we meandered upstairs on the main floor for a bit. I didn't really get much of anything but possibly a few ORB pictures. Orbs are considered light phenomena's and possible entities or spirts. These can usually be debunked pretty quickly and so I need to do that. However Brittany and I both got Orbs in the basement. See the first picture. This courtesy of Brittany's camera. I have yet to go through all of mine. They say the way you can generally distinguish Orbs from dust is that it's a really bright light and if it's circular it has a nucleus in it. You can clearly see one in her picture. The Orb is on the lower left part of the man's back in front of us. It's probably one of the more clear ones I have seen in all of our pictures.

From the main floor Brandon said he also got chills by the southwest set of double doors. Sure he said it could just be that it was colder over there but they were strong enough to give him the willies.

We moved upstairs to the top floor where there is a railing around the floor because the center is carved out and leads to the main floor (don't want anyone falling over). Brandon said he got the strongest chills in a hallway that we met up with him later on - where we both noticed a temperature change. He snapped pictures here and he got a picture where it looked like an aparition of a little boy. This is more of like a shadow that when you zoom in looks like a person. Clear as day was the outline of a little boy. At the end of the night our instructor asked about experiences. I was telling him about my experience of feeling sick in the bathroom (see further below) and he stopped me to ask if I was pregnant. I told him no I was not and there is no chance that I am, and he said he felt a child's presence at my side. Brandon was standing next to me. I actually think the child was attaching to him, and not to me.

Anyway once we were upstairs we all kind of did our own thing but would meet up with each other. The whole time our tape recorders are on to try to catch any EVP's. We all would ask questions like "do you know you're dead? Why are you still here? Are you able to leave? Are you alone?" You pause for 20-30 seconds in between questions to allow any entities a chance to answer (again we have yet to go through all of our audio). So I was just casually walking South on the west side of upstairs and about 10 feet before I came to the portion where I'd have to turn left and head East, I leaned up against the railing. I felt a sudden case of vertigo hit me - so strong I stepped away from the railing. I then felt immediately clammy, and then dizzy and nauseous. It was intense and strong and I felt the urge to move. I rounded the corner, holding on the to the rail and it was immediately gone. I felt completely fine. I wasn't scared by this but I was intrigued. So I tried it again and went back to the spot. Bingo. Instantly I started getting clammy again. I called for Brittany to come meet me. Without divuldging what I felt she noted it felt cooler there (which is interesting because I was clammy/sweaty and warmer). Then I explained how I felt. She snapped more pictures. She thinks she found something but she is going to look harder and get back with me. We left that area and she saw that the clammy forehead was instantly better and both of us were a bit surprised. We "played" around in that area a bit - me walking back and forth and reporting what I feel. Me "running" through it - and getting so dizzy I started veering to the left - to which she cracked up laughing at. Brandon said he saw me do this and wondered what I was doing and that is what prompted him to come back to where we were.

From there we decided to finish walking around up stairs. The east side of the building was noticeably colder than the west side and Brittany kept getting chills - strong ones. I don't think we've found evidence yet on that side but that took us to the hallway to meet up with Brandon where he got the picture of the little boy. Unfortunately he went to change the batteries in his camera and erased all his pictures. Part of me wonders if "someone" didn't want him to have those pictures. It's just a theory. He kinda thought the same thing when I mentioned it.

Last but not least - Brittany and I found the bathroom that is said to be the most haunted place in the building. The Purple Lady is said to roam that bathroom - turn faucets on, bang on things, and sometimes appear in the mirror. Naturally we didn't see or hear any of that. The Purple Lady was a lady that was engaged and her fiance broke up with her. She was wearing a purple dress the day she was wondering in the train station. She was so distraught by the break up she threw her ring onto the tracks. After realizing what she had done she jumped down to retrieve her ring and was killed by a train. So that's her story.

We were in the bathroom a good 30 minutes I'd say just the two of us conducting an EVP session. When we first got in there I felt a wave of nausea hit me but I dismissed it quickly thinking it was left over from just coming through that spot in the main area. We both snapped pictures. The second picture below is from Brittany's camera. She snapped this picture and if you look closely there appears to be 2 Orbs. Which makes the 3rd picture even more fascinating to me.

We were in there for 30 minutes or so before Brandon tapped on the door and came in. He was in there about a minute or so and we were all casually talking. I turned around to talk to him and a huge wave of vertigo hit me so hard that I thought I was going to fall straight on my face to the marble floor. I think I may have been mid sentence even (the recorder will tell us when we review it). I started grabbing for the sink before I fell and Brittany noticed and reached for me right as I was falling. My recorder almost fell but I have cat like reflexes (ha!) and caught it. I immediately felt a bead of sweat on my forehead form and fall down my face. I wasn't hot. I felt a bit disoriented and at that moment I wasn't feeling sick but I was feeling dizzy. She sat me down on a chair. She started asking questions directed at The Purple Lady asking "Are you upset there is a man here?" As soon as she finished that question I felt like I was going to toss cookies right then and there. I started having tunnel vision. All I could see was the sink and I was wondering if I could make it in enough time, but I was afraid to stand the vertigo was so overwhelming. She asked a few more questions that I don't even remember. I was starting to be in my own little world almost. Brandon noted that I seemed "out of it" and he asked me if I was ok. I mumbled something but was afraid to talk because I didn't want to get sick. I don't think I've ever felt this way before in my life. Not like this where it's hard to describe exactly what I was feeling. Whatever it was, it was terrible. Brittany snapped a few pictures and then got me up and walked me out. I wasn't feeling better right out of the bathroom but I walked to the water fountain and it was instantly gone. I felt completely fine. I did not toy with going back in. That feeling was too strong. I did not like it.

So then Brittany emails me these photos. It's as if the two Orbs from the one picture combined and is seen over my left shoulder in the 3rd picture. That was the time I was most sick and she had just asked her series of questions revolving around Brandon being in the bathroom. This is strong evidence because we have the tape recorded session proving how sick I was feeling - I mean I know you can't prove that - you just have my word. But a coincidence? I think not.

I've always thought I was sensitive to it - but now I just need to figure out how to tap into it more and not feel so sick. Thoughts around this are that I am more "open" about the experience and entities need energy. They may have used mine. We got home and I felt like a Mack truck had plowed me down. It was a mixture of feeling drained, sore, bones aching, low blood sugar, and my eyes stung. It was a powerful experience.

I am looking forward to this Thursday. We are going to the old Tooele Hospital. :) There's gotta be a lot of activity there! More to come!

Thanks for reading!