PARANORMAL CAFE VOL III

Paranormal Café The 3rd addition. ************************************* Hello again everyone. All 5, or so, of you loyal readers. It's time for another edition of Paranormal Café. I was having kind of a hard time deciding on a topic for this months Café, so, what I have decided to do is share some thoughts and insights with you this month. *************************************** First off, I would like to say I love you to my Mom. She passed away on Oct 4th, 2008, as her body could no longer fight the cancer that was ravaging it over the last two years. Mom, your fight was courageous and you are my hero. It's unbelievably hard to say goodbye to the ones that you hold dearest. To watch their life slip away and not be able to do a thing about it is one of the hardest trials that I have ever faced. My Mom had suffered greatly over the last two years, as the cancer slowly and methodically crept through her body. Even as she slipped closer and closer towards the night, she never stopped worrying about those she cared about . Her children and grand children's well being was always of greater concern to her then was her own well being. She leaves behind a legacy of love and kindness. With my Mom's passing came great sadness, but, we also found comfort in the knowledge that she was no longer in pain and was finally able to rest. I don't know whether or not there is a God or a place called Heaven that awaits us once we die, but, I do believe that we are spiritual beings that are temporarily housed in a corporeal body of flesh and bone. Once the body reaches the limit of it's life, it releases our spirit, our soul if you will, back into the Universe. I believe that we all belong to a soul group that we are spiritually connected to throughout time, and that our life does not end when the body dies. On that note, Mom, enjoy all that the Universe has to offer. I'll see you again when my time comes and we'll catch up then. Until that day comes, I'll try to honor you through love and memories and stories. Goodbye Mom…I love you. **************************************** OK, winter is on it's way and that means we will most likely have some chilly ghost hunts coming up. Brrr. I remember back in January when we did an all night investigation at the Lobby Bar / Davenport Hotel. It was so cold that night. The temperature outside was -20 deg. The temperature inside was about 30 degrees warmer, but , still a quite invigorating +10 to +15 deg. Despite the brutal cold that night, we had an awesome investigation. We got some good EVP's and a few cool (no pun intended) pictures of odd lights and shadows. A few weeks later upon anther visit, I got a picture of a vaporous mist moving across the ceiling in the restaurant.( And before you ask, No, it was not breath. It was quite warm in this section of the building and I was the only one in this area at the time I snapped the picture. Also, there was no cigarette smoking taking place in the room, so it was not that either.) I believe that what I witnessed was a former, or maybe a current resident, of the establishment just moving from one place to another. This is very exciting stuff for us ghost hunters, Seeing an apparition with the naked eye just doesn't seem to happen a lot. Read about joining us at the Lobby/Davenport on Halloween below. It's going to be a lot of fun and you never know what you might see. **************************************** Now, moving along. This past summer has been a time of growth and learning for all of us in MAPS. We have done several investigations around Great Falls and a few around the state. With each investigation comes new knowledge and new experiences. We have been to some locations that we believe to be actively haunted. We have obtained some great evidence and had some awesome personal experiences. With the permission of the sites proprietors, I hope to write in detail, in some future editions of the Café, about these locations. We have also done a number of investigations where the most exciting thing that happened was the announcement that we were packing up and heading home to bed. The reality of being a ghost hunter is a lot like fishing. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't. But, with each trip out you'll learn new things. Every time we go on a ghost hunt we gain more knowledge in the field and refine our methods. With each investigation we undertake, we become a little more in tune with the subtleties of what may or what may not be paranormal. This has been an enlightening and educational summer and I look forward to sharing details of it with you as soon as I am able to do so. **************************************** On another front, I've been watching a lot of Sun sets lately. As the Sun sets and the numerous shades of blue start to creep across the horizon, I find myself often lost in thought. This is the most magical time of the day. To sit and gaze longingly at the sky as it starts to shift from blue to black, and the thousands of suns blossom to life across the horizon, gives one a true sense of what an incredible world we live in. Take a few minutes today and watch the Sun set. Let yourself feel young again for a little while. You will be glad that you did. **************************************** Now, for my last thoughts for this month's Cafe. The following is not really of a paranormal nature, but, I just thought I would interject it anyway. With the recent passing of my Mom, I have been giving a lot of thought to life in general. If we are lucky, we may get eighty or ninety healthy trips around the Sun. You know, that's not really very much time. The things we do while we are alive, such as how we treat others, how we conduct our affairs and how we live our daily lives, is probably one of the most important things that we can do. Showing mutual respect and consideration to others is something that probably everyone could stand to do a little better. It seems silly to hold grudges and harbor anger towards others. What we should be doing is moving on with our own lives and learning to enjoy the here and now. Once it passes, it's over, and all the wishing in the world will not bring your youth back, or , the lost years that you allowed yourself to be consumed with anger. I had a wonderful relationship with my Mom, and I still have regrets. I spoke to her almost everyday since I left home. Sometimes on the phone, sometimes in person over dinner. (She was a great cook) I can't imagine the guilt or pain that I would be suffering now had we not gotten along so well. I'm sure it would be quite distressing. What I'm getting at is, it's important to take care of your own business and to enjoy your life. Don't let anger or hatred own and consume you. Don't be self destructive. Enjoy life and the people and things around you. If everyone were to do this, imagine what a glorious world we would have. **************************************** Well, that's a wrap on yet another Paranormal Café. I hope you have enjoyed it and that that you will keep reading it in the future. Remember, if you have any ideas or suggestions for a future edition of the Café, please email us at this web site, and we will take a good look at it and you may see your idea pop up right here. If you have any personal stories of paranormal activity, ghostly encounters or sightings of the strange and unusual, please drop us a line so that we can get together and do an interview. I'd love to write about some of your encounters in a future issue. Also, remember, we are going to be at the Lobby Bar and Davenport Hotel on Halloween. We will be conducting tours and doing a late night investigation. Come join us for what looks to be shaping up to be a great night. I look forward to seeing you there. Remember, life is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the journey. And, as you go through your life, remember to "look for what lies just beyond your perception". **************************************** Thanks for reading. Kenny G. Oct 2008.

PARANORMAL CAFE VOL II

VOLUME II GHOST AND SPIRITS Hello again and welcome to the second installment of the Pulitzer Prize winning Paranormal Café. OK, so maybe it's not Pulitzer Prize winning, but it sure sounds nice. As promised, this months installment is all about ghosts and spirits. What are they and why are they here It is often thought that the reason a location is haunted is that a former resident or occupant is so attached to it that they will not leave, even in death. The question being is, I think, what could cause this sort of devotion and attachment? Perhaps love, despair, fear or commitment. But I digress. Lets get to the topic of what is a ghost or a spirit, and we will get back to why they are here later in the article. A ghost , by definition, is the spiritual remains of a person or animal that is deceased and no longer among the living. It is thought to be the soul, detached from the corporeal body, that continues on as energy just out of phase with our plane of existence. In essence, the soul, spirit and memories of someone who is no longer among the living. Basically, it is thought that ghosts are composed of some type of energy that we obviously do not understand. Ghosts have been reported to manifest as vaporous mists, shadows or balls of light. It is also not uncommon for a spirit to manifest as they appeared when they were alive. Nobody knows what factors are at work which contribute to how a ghost will appear to the living. We as paranormal investigators, through research and investigation, hope to someday answer that question. Ghosts do not exist by the same standards as we do. There doesn't appear to be time as we know it in the plane of spirits. An encounter with a ghost can happen at any time, day or night, light or dark. In my personal experience however, I have noticed a tendency for activity to increase in an area at a time when human activity is at a low point. Such as when the staff of a facility leaves for the day. Why this happens, or how often, I do not know. I make this statement purely from personal experience. I've often though about why this may occur. Perhaps living creatures moving through an environment where paranormal phenomenon is occurring is actually disruptive to any entities that may be present? We always conduct our investigations in small quiet teams as to not disturb the area of the investigation. We at MAPS have witnessed a quiet, calm room suddenly become quite active to our senses and instruments . An example being…while in a room at the fantastic and very historic Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton Montana, Myself and another investigator, Michelle, were conducting EVP's and taking digital and thermal images when suddenly, in what we were told was one of the very active rooms in the hotel, the environment dramatically changed. It was a very hot summer night and the air conditioning was not yet turned on in the building. The room we were checking out is on the third floor, which was averaging an ambient temperature of ninety degrees. It was very hot. We walked into the room to do our work, and found it quite cool in comparison to the hall that we had just stepped out of. A quick check of our equipment showed a temperature of several degrees cooler in this room . As we took up positions in the room, we noticed the smell of a sweet pipe tobacco. Mind you, this is a non smoking building, and no one had been skirting the rules and smoking. Next we smelled a lilac type perfume fragrance in the air, then as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. Once again, no one on our crew was wearing any type of fragrance as to not corrupt our investigation. As we continued on in this room we trained our thermal camera on the bathroom and watched what appeared to be a human form begin to manifest. The more substance it gained, the cooler the room became. It is our belief, and the opinion of many paranormal researchers, that spirits draw energy from the surrounding environment to gain strength in their effort to manifest. Upon evidence review, in addition to the very cool thermal pictures that we took, we found that we had gotten a couple of very spooky EVP's. You can look at the pictures and listen to the EVP's right here on our web site. Check it out. OK, now back to why. Why do ghosts or spirits haunt a particular location? Why don't they move on to the other side? I have to wonder if some stay on this side of deaths doorway because they are afraid of what fate awaits them when they move on. Perhaps in life they did something so bad that they fear that their final destination will be anything but Heaven and a meeting with God. Perhaps by staying behind they feel as though they can evade final retribution. Maybe they just don't feel worthy of being in Gods presence. We at MAPS have had countless discussions as to why a spirit may linger behind and haunt a location. One of the things we agree on is they might stay behind out of attachment to the place they were most comfortable in while alive. Some ghosts may not even realize that they are dead, so they go on about their business as if they were still alive. I have to wonder if they are even aware of our presence. Perhaps to an entity in this situation, our presence appears to them to be of a paranormal nature. In addition to an abrupt temperature change, another indication that a ghost may be attempting to manifest is a spike in the electromagnetic field. In order to determine this, you need to establish a base line reading of the EMF in the area that you are working in. By doing this, if there is a sudden change in the field that shouldn't be there, you will be able to log and track it. I mention this because it is a common belief among paranormal investigators that when an entity begins to attempt a manifestation it draws energy from the surrounding area. As mentioned earlier when I discussed temperature changes. In addition to the temperature changing, as energy is drawn towards a single point, electromagnetic energy begins to build in that spot as well. This will cause a sharp increase in the established readings. When this happens it is a good idea to start asking questions and taking pictures. You just might be in the presence of a ghost or spirit. I think that one of the most important things to remember when it comes to ghost and spirits is that they were once like us. They were once alive. They were walking, talking, breathing living beings. I believe that as in life, you have good people and bad people. Such it is with ghosts, you probably have good ghosts and bad ghost. If you decide to give ghost hunting and investigating a try, remember to treat each situation with respect and dignity. Be careful and keep yourself protected from the ones that may mean you harm. Just because someone is dead doesn't mean that they don't have feelings that could be hurt. If you approach your investigations this way, you may be surprised at the results that you get. A pissed off ghost may not interact with you at all, or worse, try and hurt you. Where as a curious ghost who has not been threatened or angered may decide to touch you or move objects for you while leaving messages on your digital recorder. Be responsible. You never know who or what you are dealing with until you get into an investigation and start working it. Well, this is it for this installment of the second edition of the Paranormal Café. Thanks for reading. I hope that I have helped you to understand a little bit more about ghosts and spirits and why they might be among us. Remember, if you have any questions or comments or suggestions for a future issue, please email us at http://M.A.P.S-2007@hotmail.com or at http://goshring@gmail.com We will be glad to give your questions or suggestions serious consideration. Remember to check out the MAPS website regularly at http://http://montanaparanormal.com/contact.html Don't forget to check back next month for another fun and informative edition of the Paranormal Café. Until then remember. 'Look for what lies just beyond your perception.' Kenny G. 09-2008

August 2008 First Edition

Paranormal Café Hello to all and welcome to the inaugural edition of Paranormal Café. In the coming months, both I , Kenny Gebhardt, and my daughter Shandi, will be using the Café to discuss various topics such as haunted locations, various types of hauntings and all sorts of interesting information relating to the paranormal. We hope to be able to find the time to make this a monthly article. In some editions we may even branch out into subjects such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. In other editions I may discuss one of my other fascinations...UFO's and the possibility of alien visitation to our planet. The universe is a marvelous and incredible place that holds secrets beyond any mere mortals ability to comprehend. Through scientific investigation, and open, thoughtful dialog, it my hope that we as inquisitive beings, can begin to learn, and subsequently understand, some of these mysteries and secrets that exist all around us. We will draw heavily on the research that is being conducted by the Montana Association of Paranormal Studies, or MAPS. We will also depend on our own experiences and knowledge gained from our journey into the realm of the unknown. We hope to provide you, the reader, with thought provoking ideas as well as the inspiration to ask questions that we will do our best to answer in future segments. We very much want this to be an enjoyable, educational and interactive experience for anyone wanting to journey along with us. So, without further delay, lets get the first edition rolling. In today's very first edition of Paranormal Café, We would like to discuss who MAPS is, and what it is we do, and, how we do it. MAPS is a group of individuals who share a common interest in the world of the paranormal. Our mission at MAPS is to ask and follow all leads presented to us concerning supernatural and paranormal occurrences. We conduct research through several methods. First, we meet with the proprietors of the property that we will be investigating. During this meeting, we will ask questions about the history of the location and examine the layout in order to create a strategy map that will be used when we return to conduct the onsite investigation. We will ask questions of those who frequent the location , gathering knowledge of their personal experiences. Finally, we will do research by accessing any historical documentation that is available to us. We will then have a strategy meeting, prior to the investigation, in order to determine the best way to maximize our efforts and obtain as much information as we possibly can. Once we show up on sight, for the investigation, the team springs into action. The first thing we do is set up the Infrared cameras that are connected to a computer black box DVR system. Currently we have four cameras that we use with the DVR. Second, we locate the points where we plan to set up our independent camcorders. We use these in areas that are hard to, or out of, reach of our DVR system. Next, we split into teams of two or three people and head out on our predetermined assignments. Each team carries a digital camera, a digital recorder and flashlights. Other equipment that you may find with a MAPS team is digital thermometers, electromagnetic field meters, or EMF, or a FLIR camera. FLIR stands for forward looking infrared. This incredible piece of equipment gives us real time thermal images of any environment that we are in. If we have a sudden change in temperature in an area that should be consistent, the FLIR camera will not only show us the temperature changes as they happen, but it will also show us any images that may appear in the area of temperature change. As we proceed with our investigation, we move into an area and begin to do EVP work. EVP stands for electronic voice phenomenon. EVP is a method of recording sounds that may not be audible to the normal human ear. You start by turning on your recorder and begin to ask questions, such as, is anyone hear with us? Can you tell us your name? Why are you here? Upon review at a later date, if an EVP was recorded in an active area, you may hear sounds such as disembodied voices, whistles, or the sound of unseen objects moving. This is very cool stuff. While doing EVP work, we commonly take pictures with digital cameras. You never know what kind of images your camera may pick up that your eyes can't see. We have taken numerous pictures of shadowy images, translucent ,self luminescent balls of light sixteen inches in diameter, misty clouds of vapor in various colors, and silhouette's of human figures in doors and windows. Once again, we go back at a later date and review all of the evidence we gather on sight. At the end of the night, once we are satisfied that we have covered everything we had wanted to, we meet at control central (control central is where a team monitors the DVR black box) and begin the break down. This involves unhooking our cameras and winding our cables, and boxing up the DVR black box computer. We also gather up any loose equipment that we have deposited around the sight. Once we have everything packed up securely, we head home and make plans to review the information we have gathered. After all evidence is reviewed and compiled, a team will go and visit the client that we have been doing the investigation for. We show them the evidence that we have gathered and explain to them why we believe that their location is haunted or, as the case may be, not haunted. If the client is uncomfortable with what we find, we work with them to find solutions that will help them deal with the situation. The members of MAPS pride ourselves on how we conduct our business. We enter every case with a scientific approach and a desire to find answers through logical, comprehensive study, research, and, investigation. Our goal is to look at every situation as if there is a perfectly normal explanation for it, then, we set out to find that explanation. Only when we are unable to explain the cause of an occurrence, do we start looking for supernatural or paranormal explanations. The Montana Association of Paranormal Studies is a non profit organization. Our members are not doing this to get rich or famous. We do it because we all share a fascination with the paranormal. We all have the same driving motivation to learn all we can about spirits, ghosts and haunted locations. We all share a desire to pass on the information that we gather back into the community, so that those of you who have interest in this may learn along with us. We all incur expenses out of our own pockets to do what we do. We do not charge for our services, or for the expenses that sometimes pile up on out of town investigations. All of our equipment is paid for by team members of MAPS, and this can also be crazy expensive. If you would like to contribute a donation to MAPS, please see the Pay Pal link on this website. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, and, as always, the money goes right back into the organization for expenses and equipment. Also, if you have any used video or audio equipment that you would like to donate, that also would be appreciated. For this, you can send an email to us to make arrangements for the transfer of the donation. Of course, you are not obligated to make a donation to enjoy our site, or to learn about the paranormal from us. This does it for the introductory edition of Paranormal Café. This will be the only time that I mention the donation issue. In future issues, now that you know a little bit about who we are, we will focus solely on the subject of the month. Next time, we will talk about ghosts and spirits. What are they, and why are they here? Remember, we want this to be a fun, educational, interactive experience for anyone wanting to take the journey. Email us with your questions or your ideas for future editions. We are very excited to be undertaking this new step in sharing our views and findings with the public, and we hope that you are as excited as us. Just remember as you go about your daily lives that the Universe is filled with mysteries, so keep your eyes open . You never know what you might find if you look hard enough. Until next time, "Look for what lies just beyond our perception". Thanks for reading the Paranormal Café. (Aug, 2008) Sincerely. Kenny Gebhardt Shandi Gebhardt