What’s New with OKPRI?

First off, we had a couple of really cool investigations come about.  Also, the Eskridge Hotel documentary was completed in July.  The investigations we did were residential and the results were fascinating.  More details to follow on these as data is finalized.  We also had another successful group event at the stone lion inn.  It was a lot of fun as all the pasts events have been.  It was great putting a face to the many names we see on our website and message board!  So if you are looking for a haunted evening and just good old fashioned fun in the paranormal world we invite you to come out to on of our future events.  Future events might even include an overnight stay!  Details are posted at www.okpri.com and you can also contact us on the message board.

We also conducted an investigation at a historical museum on July 15^th.  It was a very interesting investigation, although the results are still pending.  The museum has had decades of reports of unusual and possibly paranormal activity, reported by both employees and visitors alike.  As this location is made public, we will have more information and possible even pictures for you!

We would also like to encourage you to check out some updates to our member bio pages on our website, www.okpri.com.  We have added two new member bios for our newest members, Jamie Glazier and Chris Edwards.  Once again join us in welcoming our newest members to our group!

Ok, the next thing we want to discuss is the online store front, it is located at www.okpri.com. We are sure you all know how to get to our site. but would still like to welcome you to visit the store and check out some of the neat stuff that we have to offer there. We will write more about this as we have more items added to the store inventory.

Back to our Haunted Evening event at the Stone Lion Inn, we would like to share some pictures of that evening with you:

OKPRI Case Manager Kristen Perkins, left, discusses equipment with guests in the

kitchen of the Stone Lion Inn on July 27^th.

OKPRI Founder Christy Selfridge, left, takes guests of “A Haunted Evening at the Stone Lion Inn” on a

tour of the second floor of the 1907 era home, which has been converted to a Bed and Breakfast

OKPRI Case Manager Kristen Perkins, left, takes guests on a tour of the infamously

active attic of the historical Guthrie home.

Reader’s Realm

For those of you who have been following our newsletter for quite a while now, you know that this is the section where we post questions that we have been emailed by different people along with our responses.

A very good question was asked to us just last week by another reader interested in the paranormal.:

“I’ve heard this mentioned in the past, and I was curious about it.  Does lightning cause paranormal activity to increase?  Have you had any experiences with this?.”

Gavin

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Thank you Gavin for your interesting question!

As it turns out, we have had some first-hand experience with lighting during an

investigation.  We have investigated the Eskridge Hotel in Wynnewood on several

occasions, but the most active night we encountered there was a night with a lightning

storm came through.  Activity was somewhat quiet before the storm, but as the lightning

approached, we began hearing footsteps, seeing shadows, and picked up some

interesting EVP’s.  Once the storm passed, the activity seemed to diminish once again.

Of course, there is no firm evidence that there is a correlation between the two, but on

theory shared by many people is that spirits require energy to manifest, or interact.  With

the added energy in the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms, this gives them

more “fuel” to work with.  It has been noted by some paranormal investigators that the

electromagnetic field during a thunderstorm changes, and becomes stronger.  This lets

us know that at least the storms do create extra energy that is available; it’s just a matter

of whether or not spirits actually utilize this energy for their own use.

 Once again, thank you for your wonderful questions.  Keep them coming!

Upcoming OKPRI Events

We have several residential investigations in the works, from all around the state.  We are also waiting to hear from our founder on when the next Haunted Evening event is going to be.  We are also working on a second location coming up since we are well on our way to Halloween.  More information on this location will be in future editions.  There have been several investigation requests come up in the last month or two and our team is busy going through the applications to see what we are going to be scheduling next. I can tell you that we have a couple of really cool historical locations already in the works and are busily compiling information on each of these so that we can share this information with all of our loyal readers.  Near the end of this month, we have a large-scale investigation consisting of several locations in an Oklahoma town, which should prove to be very challenging and exciting!  More info on these investigations will be coming soon!

Paranormal Articles, News & Weird Facts

Give Me Some Proof - Part 1
Catching them on Film

Written By: Grant Wilson  

Ghost Hunting/Investigating, as we know it, is an attempt to understand and prove the existence of paranormal beings, powers or intelligence. Understanding it isn't that hard, but providing evidence can be more than difficult.

Photos that claim to have captured the image of a supernatural being are among the most scrutinized evidence out there. (Short of maybe UFO pictures or maybe even photos from the OJ Simpson case) The simple fact is, ghosts tend to appear as mists, orbs or other vaguely distinguishable forms which, unfortunately closely mimic very natural, very earthly circumstances. And so they are easily debunked.

So, how do you get people to believe you? Take some very deliberate precautions.

1. The first and foremost rule a ghost hunter should follow is, "Be Skeptic" Just because you see a shiny orb in the woods through your night vision video camera, don't think you've caught a ghost. Try and think of what earthly item it could be. Ask yourself questions like; "Is it moving or standing still?" "Does it show up in every photo I take?" "Is there ANYTHING that might have caused a reflection?". If you ask these type of questions, you'll catch your own "hoaxes" before they are debunked by someone else hence ruining your credibility.

2. "2 or More Witnesses" Even in the legal systems, two or more witnesses will always outweigh what one person claims to be the truth. If you can say "There were eight of us there and no one saw the figure in this image." chances are people will believe you, especially when they interview the other seven people and get the same story.

3. "Never Smoke" on a case that is. If you can say, with confidence every time, that no one was smoking or had been smoking, you rule out 98% of skeptics' excuses for "mist" type pictures. In the case of cold weather cases, let everyone around you know you are about to take a picture, then have everyone hold their breath for at least five seconds (if not ten) before you snap it. If you make a habit out of this, then you'll know for sure that you didn't catch anyone's breath on film. (It should be said that it is quite easy to distinguish cigarette smoke or human breath from ethereal mists.)

4. "Surprise Them" Take the ghost by surprise. Some ghosts want to be caught on film, some don't care, and others don't want to be caught at all. Because we don't know the ghosts' feelings about this, there is only one way to pretty much guarantee that you'll catch it on film. This is by casually snapping a picture, over your shoulder even, whenever you get the inkling to. It may sound silly but it works. Trust me. There's no need to line up a perfect shot, as long as there is a ghost in it, no one cares if it's not "framed" right.

5. "Trust your Feelings" Learning to trust your feelings can yield astounding results. If you get even the slightest urge to snap a picture somewhere, Do IT! Don't hesitate. Most often pictures taken like this will be the only ones that show results.

6. "Get a Digital Camera" Ok, so this isn't a "rule" but a personal suggestion. Number one, you don't need to worry about film. Number two, you get instant gratification. There's nothing quite like knowing exactly where these things were just a few seconds earlier. Number three, you can instantly email them to TAPS so everyone can see what you've found!

Hopefully, these tips will help increase the amount of specters you catch on film, and therefore increase your desire to continue looking for and learning about the paranormal.

Grant Wilson is the co-founder of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), as well as a main star of the Sci-Fi channel hit show Ghosthunters.  To read more articles from Grant and other TAPS associates, please visit http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/articleshome.html

Ok, this month I have something I would like to share with you, many of you in the paranormal world will know the place that I am about to talk about but I ran across this while surfing the net and thought it was a really fascinating place and wouldn’t mind visiting it someday.  The place is called Bachelors Grove.  This cemetery has been nicknamed the most haunted graveyard in Chicago.  Not a big deal right? Lots of people claim to have the most haunted site in their neck of the woods; grandma’s house, the old house on the corner of any neighborhood in the U.S., etc.  Anyways, after looking into the history of this particular graveyard I am convinced that it could rank up there with any of the stuff that I have ever experienced or seen in a documentary, or even saw on our good friends the TAPS teams show Ghost Hunters!

Well, what I am gonna do next is drop a little history on you about this cemetery, and it is an interesting one.  The cemetery was established in 1864 and was possibly the final resting place of settlers who had came there in the early 1800’s.  The site has been closed since the 60’s and as of this writing has not been used or maintained; it is however watched over by the park services of Chicago.

Incidents of vandalism are frequent here.  As the legend of Bachelors Grove grew so did it’s popularity and brought on such groups as thrill seeker paranormal groups, and even Satanists and cult groups.  Some say that due to the rapid deterioration of this site that it only fuels the belief that it is very haunted because of all the desecration heaped on it.  So it raises the question to all of you, are we truly respectful of the dead?  I would like to think that we are all respectful to a degree and I know that paranormal groups such as OKPRI and others in the community are always respectful and if such care had been taken with this particular site would it have the moniker “the most haunted cemetery in Chicago?” I submit this for your insights or opinions and it can also be discussed on our message board.

I would also like to include this cemetery in the weird facts portion of this article.  I also read that this was one of the original sites where the legend of the phantom car seen on the surrounding country roads could be seen on a dark scary night. Pretty interesting that a legend like this that is so common could have been started in such an unlikely place?  So to conclude I would like to thank www.bachelorsgrove.com for the information and hope that you take a look at their site, some very interesting stuff there.

* Bachelor’s Grove photo courtesy of Dale Kaczmarek

OK this next section is one that is near and dear to me, it is a spotlight article written by one of our team, telling a little about themselves or something they have experienced while on an investigation with the OKPRI team:

Even as a child, I remember feeling a little conflicted about having an interest in the paranormal, yet being expected to fit into certain “molds.”  I grew up in an Air Force family, and moved quite a lot because of that.  I was always starting over in new cities, new countries, and new schools.  The need to “fit in,” was always there, and it became apparent to me at an early age that talking about ghosts and hauntings really wasn’t helping with that at all.  By the time I was in the fifth grade, I had already realized that this interest was something I needed to completely internalize and just forget about sharing it with anyone else.

As with many people, I finally had an experience that forced me to finally speak up and start asking questions.  The drive to find the answers to those questions slowly built momentum, and before I knew it I was driving friends and family crazy, trying to find every little detail about paranormal research that I could possibly find.   However, by this point it was now raising eyebrows that an early-twenties college student with a new baby was interested in paranormal research.  Again, I didn’t quite fit into the mold in which a young mother living in the Bible Belt was supposed to fit.  I finished my degree and entered a career in teaching at the elementary school level.  Now, the perception is that teachers should be completely traditional people who have no vices or interests outside what the mainstream public finds acceptable.  They are somewhat held to higher standards than many, and justifiably so.  After all, we really can’t set standards too high when we are choosing who we trust to teach our children.  So, again, my paranormal interests were internalized and I was left to quietly wonder if I would ever find any of the answers I was seeking.

It wasn’t until I moved to Boston that I found the open-mindedness which would allow me to finally start getting my feet wet in the field of paranormal research.  I joined a local team and tried to learn and experience as much as I could.  My best-friend, Nanci, was also on this team and after our first investigation we were both absolutely hooked!  (In OKPRI, we refer to this as “paranormal craze”..ha!)  When the time to return home to Oklahoma arrived, I was very sad to think that I was leaving such an awesome environment and heading back to a situation that would once again force me to keep my interests private.  The more I thought about it, the more determined I became to prevent that from happening.  I started looking for active research groups and was surprised to find that there was actually a pretty large community of people in our area who actively investigate paranormal activity.  I found OKPRI and, thankfully, was accepted as a member.  As thrilling as this was for me, I knew the biggest hurdle I still needed to clear was integrating this with my career as a teacher.

When I returned to the classroom, I kept my position at OKPRI completely private until the filming with TAPS was planned.  At that point, it became nearly impossible to keep things quiet any longer.  Slowly, the word spread throughout the building that the mild-mannered first-grade teacher on the back hallway was also a paranormal investigator.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not being ostracized, but that many people were actually coming to me privately and asking for information.  Gradually, I relaxed and now am able to comfortably talk about my interests with many of the staff members.  As with the general population, there are those who want to talk and those who don’t, but at least I no longer have to worry about having to keep my interests private.  In an effort to keep this all from the school children, many of the teachers have started referring to my involvement with OKPRI as “goat hunting.” 

I’m sharing all of this with our readers, because I know I’m not alone in sometimes feeling like I have to lower my voice or check around me to survey who might be listening before I begin a discussion about paranormal topics.  Like it or not, there are still times when it might not be the most appropriate topic to discuss.  Minds ARE opening, however.  I think this is partly due to the increased willingness of various types of media to help get the word out: paranormal research is NOT evil!  I also think it is in part because most people, if they are being completely honest with themselves, will admit that they, too, have many of the same questions.  The rest of us just find it worth the risk to look for the answers.

Hello everyone and welcome again to another edition of "The Paranormal Craze"!  This is J.T. the Troll here and I'm glad you could join us again! Well, July was an extremely busy month for us but it was a hell of a lot of fun!  We had another edition of "A Haunted Evening at the Stone Lion Inn" and it was a BLAST!!!!  I would like to personally thank everyone who came out and I hope that ya’ll had as much fun as we did!  That place is amazing!  It was actually the first time I had been there but I guarantee I'm gonna make sure I don't miss another one!  We are still working on getting together an overnight Stone Lion Inn event, and if we can set it up, you DEFINITELY don't wanna miss it!  So check out the message board frequently so you don't miss out!

Another thing OKPRI has been doing lately is teaming up with other local teams to do joint investigations.  It really is neat to get together with other paranormal teams to compare how each of us does our routines.  We enjoy any and all groups who respect this field of study and their own work!  We went on a hunt with a local team recently to an abandoned location (I can't give out details yet) but we got some really weird feelings while we were there.  We haven't gone through all our evidence yet from that night but hopefully we'll be able to finish up soon!

One thing I find amazing is how much of a difference there is between investigations inside and investigations outside.  The inside investigations are so quiet whereas outside you have so many "wild sounds" to deal with. It's definitely easier to listen to audio evidence on an inside investigation, that's for sure!  The big advantage of an outside investigation is I find your photos come out better.  I really haven't decided which one I prefer but we sure get to do a lot of both.

Also, make sure you keep an eye on the message boards to find out about a big investigation coming up soon for us.  I don't have all the details yet but from what I've been told so far, it sounds like we might have some media coverage as well!  That's always cool to be able to share the work we do with so many other people!  So as soon as I have all the details I'll pass it along to all of you!

Well, thanks again for checking out the newsletter this month.  We hope you enjoy it!  I would like to take a minute to personally thank all the OKPRI members who dedicate their free time and effort to getting this thing together each month.  It's not always easy balancing a family life/paranormal investigator/newsletter writer all at the same time.  So, THANKS GUYS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!  If you run into one of these guys make sure you tell them how much you enjoy their work! (By the way, I'm getting $20 from each of them to mention this HA!).  So until next time goodbye everyone and remember keep your eyes open.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask anyone of us!

See ya’ll next month!

 If you would like to reply to this column, you can e-mail J.T. at jt@okpri.com.

Hello everyone!  Believe it or not, yet another month has passed, and it has once again been another successful one for OKPRI.  We spent the past month joining up with other groups for joint investigations, hosting another exciting event at the Stone Lion Inn, and investigating other historical locations.  With each passing month the door seems to open wider to bigger and more intriguing opportunities for us, some of which we will be able to share with you in the near future.

None of these developments would be possible without your support.  Your input on our message boards, your participation in our fundraising efforts, and your continued interest in the paranormal not only fuel the success of our team and the paranormal field as a whole, but it is also a positive influence in our own lives as well.  Knowing that what we do interests and helps those around us gives us the motivation and drive to continue with what we do, and push ourselves a little harder to get the answers that we all strive for.  As always, next month should bring more interesting information for everyone, and we all look forward to sharing it with you.  As always, thank you all for your participation and support.

Sincerely,

Christy Selfridge

Founder/Director of OKPRI