“Ghost hunting” is rather a silly choice of words when you think about it. A group of highly visible people trying to sneak up on invisible people catch them doing visible things.
It had been over a year since my daughter, Kiani, had told me about her ability to see these invisible people, but up until this point, I hadn’t taken her out to a haunted location.
After our golden retriever passed away, though, I started thinking of ways to get our minds off it. A haunted tour might be just the solution.
I didn’t want anything too creepy or with a violent past. I hoped to find a cute little Victorian house in town somewhere. As it turned out, I was in luck because I found one right when I needed it.
Normally used for weddings and special events, the beautiful 1890s home had just opened to the local paranormal society. For fifteen dollars, you and about twenty others could tour parts of the home in small groups lead by a few members of the paranormal society. They even gave you hands-on access to some of their ghost-hunting equipment, which included K2 meters (EMF detectors) and heat sensors.
Kiani and I packed up our little spirit box and a pair of headphones, and off we went.
The house was adorable. It was a beautifully maintained, white Victorian with gingerbread-sided towers and a welcoming front porch.
We were shown in by one of the home’s coordinators and lead inside to wait.
While waiting, I read through a little flier on the home’s history. It had been built by a doctor who had seen many of his patients inside the front area of the home. It talked a bit about him and his family and a few others who came after. Nothing traumatic had happened to any of its residents other than a kitchen fire in which no one had been hurt. A few people had died in the home of various health problems or old age, including the doctor and his sister.
I set the flier down and looked at Kiani, who stood quietly next to me, listening to the people talking around her. I couldn’t help but feel excited and a little proud. I knew if there was anything to see in this house, she would see it.
When the time came, we were separated into small groups of six to eight people. The first room was a small “sewing room” in the back of the house. Nothing happened in this room except for a man’s voice over the spirit box commenting on the equipment. (I wish I could recall what it said right now. This is one of the reasons I am glad to be getting this down in writing. Memories fade over time.)
After this, we headed into the front parlor, where the doctor was said to have had his office. We hit the ghostly jackpot in this room.
The spirit box came to life with a man’s voice, who responded to the paranormal society guide’s questions in one- or two-word sentences. The K2 meters went nuts as well, and the lights of the devices moved in time with the man speaking.
From the answers he gave, the guide was convinced that it was the doctor. The spirit even spoke about having terrible migraines, which coincided with the way he died.
About this time, Kiani spoke up and said she’d just seen a man in a bowler hat walk past us in solid form.
The group turned to my daughter in surprise.
“She sees dead people,” I told them, cracking a grin.
They seemed quite pleased to hear this and kept watching her carefully throughout the rest of the tour.
Just before we left the doctor’s office, Kiani felt a spirit touch her foot, and we mentioned this as well.
“That felt so weird!” she said, eyes wide. “It felt tingly and kind of cold.”
(This was the first time a spirit had touched her).
After this room came the doctor’s sister’s old room, which was strangely quiet. Even the spirit box was a no-go.
Once outside again, though, Kiani spotted three shadow people walking through the yard and followed them briefly, only to see them vanish at the edges. She also told me later that she’d seen several orbs flying through the house the whole time.
When the tour ended, the guides had everyone stand in a large circle and each take a moment to talk about anything they had seen or heard.
Oh, boy, I thought. Here we go. If the rest didn’t know about Kiani, they would soon.
It went about how I expected. Most people hadn’t seen or heard anything. One mentioned an odd creaking sound, and another said they saw something out of the corner of their eye.
Then came our turn. Kiani and I looked at each other for a second, then I explained what we had experienced. It felt like it took forever to recount, especially to a shy introvert like myself, but the surprised and smiling faces of the people listening made it worth the telling.
What tickled me the most was right when the group started to disperse. We were immediately approached by the paranormal society group members, who didn’t waste a second in questioning Kiani.
“So, you saw a lot tonight, huh?”
“You saw the same ghost I’ve seen a lot of – the man in the bowler hat. Was he wearing a brown vest? Pleasant? Nice-looking face? Ha! That’s the one. How cool!”
“Do you see ghosts a lot?”
“You and your daughter should come to more of our events. We’d love to have you.”
We did our best to answer all the questions and then said our goodbyes.
“Did you have fun?” I asked Kiani, once we were back inside the car.
“Yes!” came the enthusiastic reply. “Can we do that again?”
I grinned at her. “I don’t see why not.”
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