|
HOME | ARTICLES |
CUNNING
LINGUIST | LINGUISTICS
| SKEPTICISM
ABOUT
ME | EMAIL
Ghost
Mining
Karen Stollznow - B@D
LANGUAGE
Investigating a Haunted
Hotel
State Route 49 wends its way through the historic
mining towns of the California Gold Rush. Like the San Francisco football team, this highway takes
its name from the Forty-Niners, the influx of some 90 000 gold
seekers who travelled to California
during 1849¹. Infected with ‘gold fever’, these prospectors braved
the seas, or the treacherous California Trail, in the hopes of
finding their fortune in gold in the Wild West.
During the Gold Rush, the town of Jackson was a popular mining camp and pit stop
on the road to more prosperous areas, such as Sacramento.
Today, Jackson is classified as a
‘semi-Ghost town’. Enroute to Lake Tahoe and a nearby casino, the sleepy
town is still a tourist pit stop, with a not-so-sleepy pub. Keeping
the West Wild, many of the locals and those passing through can be
found at the National Hotel on a Saturday night. Could this ghost
town have any ghosts?
Built in 1862, some seven years after the Gold
Rush ended, the National Hotel is reputedly rich in ghosts. Along
with many pub and hotel patrons, the owner and staff have witnessed
some strange occurrences. Is there a rational explanation for these
phenomena, or is this proof of the paranormal? A group of
self-proclaimed ‘paranormal investigators’ planned to go ghost
mining at the National Hotel, and I had the opportunity to observe
the investigation. Would the investigators strike it rich with a
sighting, or would this ghost rush only unearth fool’s ghost?
Is a paranormal investigator a skeptic or a
believer? With dual connotations, both ‘sides’ can stake claim to
this title. The difference is in the investigative approach. In this
case, we have a claim: the National Hotel is haunted. What evidence
do we have to support this claim? As is usual with alleged hauntings, all that exists is anecdotal
‘evidence’. Therefore, the evidence is also the claim. Therefore,
there is no evidence. This investigation was an attempt to gather
evidence. However, for the paranormal investigator (believer), the
evidence is usually in the eye of the beholder.
Apparently this is not the first group to
investigate the hotel. A bartender at the pub confirmed that several
other groups have previously explored the hotel, their findings
proving that it is “certifiably” haunted. As the only skeptic
amongst a group of self-proclaimed psychics, mediums and intuitives, I looked forward to assessing what
or who was certifiable.
Prior to the investigation, members of the
paranormal group buzzed that the hotel is home to between 20 to 30
ghostly guests. I did a preliminary online search for reports of
hauntings at the hotel, and only came up
with a single entry. Quite simply, the National Hotel was listed as
“haunted”, with no details whatsoever. The hotel stands on the site
where another building previously stood, the Louisiana Hotel and
Store. This building burnt to the ground in 1862, and many of the
group members attribute the hauntings to
this significant event. So far, all the group had to work with were
the following few anecdotes:
- A guest
found the covers of the bed pulled back and an indent, as though
someone had sat on the bed.
- In one
room, a maid was “held down on the bed when she was trying to make
it”.
- A guest
reported that a “spirit” followed her down a staircase. (N.b. this claim was made by a medium).
It is easy to think of some simple, rational
explanations for each of these events. In scenario 1, did the guest
or someone else with access to the room create the indent on the
bed? In scenario 2, did the maid somehow fall onto the bed? In
scenario 3, was there another guest using the staircase? (We also
have to question the medium’s reliability, as the purpose of her
visit was to write an entry for a book). Furthermore, these accounts
have probably been embellished with each retelling.
This was to be an overnight investigation.
Planning weeks ahead, I called to arrange my accommodation,
requesting the “most haunted room in the hotel”. I was informed,
“there isn’t one. There’s lots of activity everywhere”. Yet
strangely, later that week, the event organiser claimed that she had secured for
herself the “most haunted room in the hotel”. When I arrived on the
day and started to meet the group members, this was a claim shared
by a further two parties. Overall, the second floor of the three
storeys is reputedly the mother lode of
paranormal activity. We were all allocated rooms on this floor. At
any rate, I was allocated the John Wayne suite, and to prove this,
there was an enormous cardboard cut-out of Wayne in the
room.
I was immediately cornered by a few members of
the group. A not-so-intuitive intuitive mistook me for an intuitive.
“I can tell that you’re an intuitive. What are your skills?” Always
the paranormal wowser, I explained that I am a skeptic, and my
skills are analysis and critical thinking. “But your aura is blue”,
came the incongruous reply. Well, my coat was anyway.
Herein began an impromptu reading. Did I have a
daughter? (No). Then I will have a daughter. Did I grow up near a
large space? (Yes, near a suburban park. This is not an uncommon
thing. Was this reflecting a stereotype that all Australians live in
wide open spaces in the country?). The reader suddenly paused. Lost
in her own world, she began pacing the hallway. “There’s a Blue Lady
here. She’s wearing a blue dress and she’s walking back and forth.
She’s very upset”. As suddenly as it started, she snapped out of her
reverie and the reading resumed. I was told that I like to travel
(What a giveaway my accent is!). I am a seeker in life. (I’d just
explained that I’m an open-minded skeptic).
The intuitive occasionally gesticulated as she
spoke. I realised that her gestures
contained some sign language. Wow, I thought…what a powerful cold
reading I could perform on you! The reading ended when she
announced, “You know…I’m a skeptic too. I’m skeptical of myself”.
Not skeptical enough, I mused.
The hotel was littered with copies of the
National Enquirer, revealing the owner’s inclination. As I was
flicking through these, a woman approached me and introduced herself
as an intuitive, claiming “I used to see dead people when I was a
kid.” I countered that many children create imaginary friends. She
insisted, “Well, my parents were worried because I spoke about being
friends with old men”.
It was still early afternoon and the
investigation was not due to commence until 1.30 am. We had to wait
until the band finished, the pub closed and the patrons had left.
The group wiled away the hours, exploring the hotel and doing tarot
and psychometry readings for each other.
Some checked out the town and the casino. What is a paranormal
investigator to do, with hours to kill and a pub downstairs? Adding
to the uncontrolled environment, some of the group
were to be found in the pub, enjoying the live band and a
drink, or two. This was fast becoming an evening of ghosts, drugs
and rock ‘n’ roll.
In the bar downstairs I chatted with a long-term
staff member. I found out that I’m not the only Australian to have
ever graced the hotel. Aussies will find the bars, wherever they
are. I asked about the stories connected with the hotel and was
informed that most of the locals believe that it is haunted.
Skeptical himself, he still values these stories as part of the
folkloric history of the hotel. Over the years he has heard stories
of the phantom sounds of people gambling, singing and laughing. Most
recently, the owners heard an extremely loud crashing noise, as
though a piece of furniture had fallen over. Curiously, a different
version was relayed to me by another staff member. In this second
iteration, the owners heard the sound of broken glass or broken wood
(although these two sounds are very distinct). In both tales, the
owner and staff searched the premises, but couldn’t find the source
of the noise. In a 3-storey, 33-room hotel full of guests and with a
busy pub downstairs, how could the staff be everywhere at once to
determine the source? Furthermore, the hotel is located at the
intersection of two major freeways, and with the busy backdrop of
the downtown area, the noise may have originated outside. The lack
of an immediate explanation is not proof of the paranormal.
At around 1.30 am a group of about 30 people
assembled in the hall of the second floor. Everyone had some sort of
investigative ‘tool’, from video cameras and hand-held recorders, to
Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) readers and ‘tempguns’ (temperature gauges). These gadgets
attempt to give a scientific basis to the investigation. They detect
normally occurring phenomena that are misconstrued as ‘proof’ of
paranormal activity.
We were split into three teams to investigate the
three floors. At this stage we couldn’t view the pub area as the
police were there, following up on a brawl. I was allocated a group
that was to monitor the third floor. The group leader gave us a
pre-hunt pep talk, “Remember guys, about 90% of what happens can be
explained and only about 10% is paranormal”. As we were about to
start, she asked, “where is the skeptic?” Someone had dobbed on me! I raised my hand and she assured
me, “I’m on your side”.
The intuitive that provided me with a reading was
in my team. She was the focal point in the group, providing a
running commentary of all that she ‘saw’. The ‘Blue Lady’ had
returned. “I’m seeing a blue lady. She’s dressed in old fashioned
clothing. She’s very aggressive. She’s saying, “Go away!” She’s very
angry that we’re here”. I asked where the ‘Blue Lady’ was and
curiously, the intuitive crouched down, pointing low towards the
corner of a door.
She ‘saw’ lots of apparitions that none of the
rest of us could see. Apparently, we were also in the company of a
shy “Pink Lady”. There was also an “Orange Lady”. There was a
barking dog, possibly a poodle. There were two wayward children,
screaming and arguing. There was another lone, quiet little girl.
There was an indigenous American, in full tribal regalia (perhaps
this was motivated by the ‘Indian’ statue on display in the pub).
There was a man smelling of beer and wearing a cowboy hat and boots.
Like an episode of Romper Room, the intuitive could ‘see’ Veronica,
Jeffrey, Cindy, Scott and Peter. The living
were clearly outnumbered by the dead.
The intuitive was very open to suggestion. I
joked that one of the rooms looked like a brothel, draped in red
velvet and with tacky faux ‘opulence’. Later on, she claimed that
one of the female spirits was a prostitute and had taken her clients
to this room. There was proof too. A fellow sat down on a chaise
lounge in the room and claimed that he felt a sudden pressure on his
thighs, as though someone sat down on his lap. Then he felt as
though he was being groped by invisible hands. In the name of
empirical research, another fellow tested the chair with great
determination for at least 20 minutes…to no avail. These two men got
off lightly. In this same room, a few females claimed to feel their
hair pulled or their face “poked”. It turns out that this room is
named The Bordello Room, honouring the
‘red light’ district that was once near the hotel. This is a theme
only. It’s not as though John Wayne had ever stayed in my room (but
apparently, he once lost a poker game in the bar!).
In another example of suggestion, the intuitive
was accosted by a man who also claimed to be intuitive. He reported
seeing an “angry man”, a troubled spirit who mumbled incoherently as
he marched up and down the hallway. However, it was this ‘intuitive’
patron who was incoherent, and extremely intoxicated. In a cringe
worthy gaffe, the intuitive took this suggestion and embellished it.
“Yes, I can see him too. He is smoking a cigar and telling us to
“Get out!””. Unable to intuit that the patron was drunk, despite the
fact that he stumbled and clutched at his head, another intuitive
asked him, “What’s wrong?” The fellow complained that he suffers
from headaches when there are too many ghosts around.
It wasn’t just the patrons who had had ‘a few’.
Clearly, some of the investigators were mixing spirits with spirits.
It was almost 4am, and some were still snapping photographs of empty
rooms and ‘enticing’ the spirits, demanding that they “reveal”
themselves to the group. Others were falling asleep on barstools in
the pub and on chairs in the hallways. The investigation was over.
What were the results of the investigation? Of
the hundreds of photographs taken, none revealed any ghosts. Several
investigators reported ‘orbs’ (circular patterns of light that
commonly appear on photographs), but no self-respecting ghost hunter
perceives these as ‘evidence’ anymore. Orbs are so passé! Orbs
appeared in many of the photographs that I took, and no surprises
there…the hotel was dusty, stale and dark. Some took multiple images
of the same scene, to “avoid misinterpretation”, and wondered why
the orbs were not fixed in every shot. This was cited as ‘proof’
that the orbs were spirits, but is clearly due to the movement of
dust particles.
The various cameras didn’t detect anything
unusual, only revealing mundane images of bedrooms, hallways and
furniture. The only person who ‘saw’ anything was the intuitive, who
professed to see an exhaustive array of ‘spirits’. However, her
claims are unreliable, as suggested by her corroboration of the
inebriated patron’s prank, a ‘vision’ of an “angry man”. A few
people claimed to feel ‘cold spots’, ‘hot spots’, ‘sad spots’ and
reported feeling an inexplicable “thickness” in the air. The
possible explanations are unexciting. The investigation took place
between 1.30-4.30 am, on a cold night, in a warm hotel, with 30
investigators who were tired, drinking coffee, energy drinks, and
some, alcohol.
However, there was some exciting news. According
to the group leader, the investigation had elicited “2 pretty concrete EVP’s (sic) so far!” Electronic Voice Phenomena
are recorded sounds that are interpreted as speech and reputed to be
paranormal in origin. Taking a snippet of a recording, listeners
attempt to recognise isolated words and
phrases that are often believed to be alien contact or messages from
the dead. Gibberish is often conveniently perceived as an alien or
foreign language. Usually, there are many external influences and
the hearer has to sort any unusual sounds from conversations and
background noise. Often, the sounds aren’t audible during the actual
recording. EVPs are in the ear of the
behearer, they are subjective
interpretations. This is the audio version of pareidolia (i.e.,
seeing faces on places other than heads). Other examples can be
explained away as radio interference, or simply, human voices.
What EVP ‘proof’ did the investigators have?
There were two alleged EVPs, recorded by
two different investigators. I was not present during either taping.
The first EVP was a twelve-second snippet of interaction between the
intuitive and a ‘spirit’ (the actual EVP can be heard on my website,
at: www.bad-language.com/evp).
Spirit:
‘Chill, chill’…
Intuitive:
(overlapped slightly) Okay.
Hello. We need to
know…um…what’s your name?
Can
you tell us?
Spirit:
(Two fast, short breaths)
Intuitive:
(overlapping slightly) Okay.
So…do you like any of
us?
Clearly, the spirit didn’t like any of them, as
the spirit’s conversation ended here. The initial ‘utterance’
sounded like the gravelly, cancerous throat-like strains of Sylvia
Browne. While this sounded like the repetition
of the English word chill, this made no sense as
any kind of message, or in the context. Interpreted as speech, this
was just a meaningless sound. The two staccato-like breaths sounded
feminine. There was a slight overlapping between the dialogue of the
‘spirit’ and the intuitive, so that eliminated the intuitive as the
source. However, I learnt that there were at least two other people
present in the room, a female, and the male recording the episode.
The door to the room was also open, allowing for outside
interference. All around, there were groups holding conversations,
and a live band playing downstairs. This is proof (not so) positive.
The second EVP was even less convincing. This
featured a human voice asking the ‘spirit’, “Hey, how ya doing?”
with no reply, and a clear conversation held in the background. A
few of the investigators claimed that they could hear a mumble on
the recording. Throughout the investigation, others claimed to hear
strange whispers, laughing or cries, but no one produced any
recordings of these. One investigator initially claimed to have
recorded the sounds of an “an old time piano playing”. In a pleasing
display of skepticism, the owner of this ‘EVP’ eventually deduced
that it was the not a piano, but the sound made by another member’s
video camera as it was switched on.
This was a highly biased, uncontrolled
investigation that did not produce any proof. The ‘results’ were not
analysed using critical thinking skills.
The participants should have entered into the investigation asking
the question, ‘is there anything paranormal here?’ Instead, many of
the investigators started with the premise, ‘there is something paranormal
here’, and went into the investigation, determined to prove this
belief. As an example of confirmation bias, many believed that
something was there, and, sure enough, they ‘found’ it. Every
occurrence was rationalised as a
paranormal event, but there was no actual analysis. Where science
would normally begin, this investigation ended.
The conclusions of this extremely superficial
investigation were that the National Hotel is haunted, on the basis
of the two examples of Electronic Voice Phenomena, the ‘visual
evidence’ provided by the intuitive, and
any other anecdotal evidence. The group plans to take their
‘findings’ to the owners of the hotel, to confirm the mutual belief
that it is haunted. There is a popular stereotypical saying that,
‘For the believer, no proof is needed. For the skeptic, no proof is
enough’. However, for some of these paranormal investigators, it
seems that ‘everything is proof’.
¹ Starr, Kevin and
Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) 2000.
Rooted in barbarous soil: people,
culture, and community in Gold Rush
California. Berkeley and Los
Angeles: Univ. of California Press. pp.57-61.
Stollznow, Karen. 2007. Ghost Mining. The Skeptic. Vol. 27, No. 1.
pp.20-24. |
#$%@!
and Welcome to Bad
Language
I'm Karen Stollznow
...(Cunning) Linguist,
Author, Skeptic and Investigator of
the
paranormal and
pseudo-scientific.
The Psychic Skeptic…
Chain Letters: Break The Chain!…
|
