Alabama's, "Lady in Black" - Prattville, Alabama

The old Pratt Cotton Gin is located on the banks of the outer lining regions of the Alabama River in Prattville, Alabama. This skeletal wonder of brick and stone is hauntingly silent. Now free from the machinery that ran the mill for more than one hundred years, only the spirits remain. In its years of operation, a young boy named, Willie Youngblood fell to his death in an elevator shaft. His mother spent the next year in a silent depression and distraught state. She eventually prevailed in joining her son in the afterlife when she flung herself off the Pratt Mill dam and drown to death.


Today the spirits of Willie and his mother are the most prominent and infamous of Prattville. Former security personnel from the mill and even mayor, Bill Gillespie are familiar with the stories and sightings of these legendary ghosts. For years people would see the spirit of the, "Lady in Black" wandering through the machine floor. As many as fifty workers have reported to see her at once, always wearing a black dress, no doubt reflective of her mourning for her son, she searches endlessly for him in a purgatory of sadness.


Recently, paranormal investigators, Benny Reed, Jonathan Hodges, Hart Fortenbery, Keith Ramsey, Kevin Betzer and Randy and Kali Hardy, also known as, "Deep South Paranormal" took on the grueling task of investigating this mammoth abandoned mill. The evidence they gathered was indicative of the stories regarding the Lady in Black and her son. While investigating the upper floors of the mill, a black apparition was filmed moving across a section of land near the dam. Today plans to renovate and turn the mill into a residential area are underway, but does Prattville’s Lady in Black sleep? Or will she continue to search the location for her son?

You can read more about the history of the Pratt Cotton Gin and of the investigation conducted by Deep South Paranormal in, “Haunted Montgomery Alabama” by paranormal author, Faith Serafin.

School Spirit - The Legend of Sydney Grimlett Auburn, Alabama

Here’s a story that’s been written about a few times but with a twist of paranormal fact. The legend of Sydney Grimlett is an old one at Auburn University and one that students and most locals know very well. The first time I read the legend of Sydney Grimlett, I was about 7 years old. The school library carried several copies of the 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffery series by Kathryn Tucker Windham which was originally published in 1969 but the story of Sydney Grimlett has been a staple in the history of Auburn University since its infancy.

In 1864, the location of Auburn University wasn’t the beautiful campus setting it is today. In the later part of the Civil War, the rural south was largely intact but suffering greatly as a result of the war. Many homes, churches and warehouse were being transformed into make-shift prisons and hospitals. The University Chapel, during that time, was a Presbyterian Church and was used to tend wounded, sick and dying soldiers. Among the Confederate soldiers, who were present at this hospital, was an English born soldier named Sydney Grimlett. Grimlett was allegedly part of a Calvary Division from Virginia. Other sources mention he was part of General Hood’s army and he died at the Texas hospital from either infection or blood loss during an amputation of his leg and is presumably buried with the ninety of more soldiers at Pine Hill cemetery. Historical elements regarding his actual identity and cause of death are sketchy at best, but his legacy continues through the verbal traditions at Auburn.

After 1927 the tale of Sydney Grimlett and his ghostly antics were an established story in Auburn. The theater students used the old Chapel as a play house and preformed countless plays and acts here until the late 1960’s when the Telfair Peet Theater was built and opened to students. During plays, some guests attending the event would see glowing balls of light hovering over the actors and players on stage. Other antics began to present on opening nights when props would go missing and electrical problems halted the performance. Most often Sydney’s ghost was to blame for the problem and one student jokingly suggested leaving a gift out for the spirit to keep him quiet and calm, so the tradition of leaving chocolates in the rafters of the Chapel began. Later, the students asked the ghost to come with them when they moved into the Telfait Peet Theater several blocks away.

Today the theater still carries on the tradition of leaving out candy for Sydney. A small pink bucket sits in the cat walks, high in the rafters, over the stage. M&M’s are the most common gift left in the bucket and some staff are so superstitious about leaving out Sydney’s candy that they flat-out refuse to take stage or even begin an evening play without making sure the candy is left. Fear of the supernatural stage phantom was prompted many to be very careful and not anger this peculiar spirit.

In 2011 the book; Haunted Auburn and Opelika featured the story of Sydney Grimlett as did the book; Hidden History of Auburn. Both books made mention of a team of ghost hunters who stayed the night at the Chapel in 2008. Since then, the team of paranormal researchers have also investigated the Telfair Peet Theater (in 2011 and 2012) in an effort to find the ghost of the legendary Sydney Grimlett. The investigation at the Chapel turned up a few odd occurrences. A few strange sounds encouraged the investigators from the Alabama Paranormal Research Team to look closer at the Chapel’s lady’s room. Shortly after midnight, the team had not experienced much activity and so they began to pack up their equipment to go home. A dripping sound came from the bathroom and when the investigators went to check it out, the water from the sink facet was running wide open. The team chalked it up to faulty plumbing, the building is old but they activity was documented and labeled “inconclusive” in regards to it being classified as a supernatural occurrence.  

The following year (in 2011) the staff at the Telfair Peet Theater contacted the Alabama Paranormal Research Team regarding unusual things that were happening. For some time the activity level in the theater had been quiet and peaceful but according to the theater staff, something had stirred up the ghost of Sydney Grimlett and the Alabama Paranormal Research Team was determined to figure out if the paranormal activity was contributed to him or not.

 

Upon the first interview with the staff director; Paul, I was informed that the activity was unusually disturbing and that countless people who worked and volunteered there were having experiences. The costume room was the most prominent and often shoes would come up missing. Months later a box full of the same right or left footed shoe would turn up in an odd location. Sometimes the staff would see a dark figure dart around corners and disappear into hall ways from the projection room. Others could hear the sounds of someone talking in parts of the building where no one was at.

Once the investigation started, APRT covered every room open to investigate and found that the stage seemed to be the most active location. Strange electrical anomalies registered on the electric magnetic detectors. No source could be found to determine if the field was in the wiring or walls and it appeared to be a moving field that would register on the meter, causing it to light up, when we asked “yes or no” questions.

The second investigation of the Telfair Peet Theater turned up the most conclusive evidence of possible paranormal activity. Team members sat on the stage and asked a series of questions in the hopes that we could capture electronic voice recordings of Sydney on our digital voice recorders. We used the same Electronic Field Detector to determine if communication could be made using the magnetic fields inside theater. I used a bag of peanut M&Ms to coax the spirit out. It seemed appropriate since the spirit (according to legend) was partial to chocolate. While going through the bag of candy, I asked, per color if Sydney preferred one color over another and watched for the magnetic field detector to light up in reference to yes or no as an answer. I addressed the colors in no particular order and asked; “Sydney, do you like the blue ones?” to my surprise the meter lit up twice when investigator Tonya Campos asked the same question again to verify. I waited a few seconds and asked “Do you like the red ones?” a few seconds went by and there was no response from the meter. We went through two more questions, asking if Sydney liked the green or yellow ones, still no response came from the meter. On the last question I asked “Do you like the orange ones?” and in a split second the meter lit up in response to YES!

As a paranormal investigator we always look for intelligent answers. We could only assume we were speaking with the legendary spirit of Sydney Grimlett at the theater that night in Auburn. We may not be able to determine who or what it was that lit up our meters but one thing was very certain. The entity we were encountering was aware that the university's team colors are orange and blue and they are obviously the favorite of a chocolate loving ghost, I’d say that makes him worthy of the title: “School Spirit”.

View video evidence of this activity on youtube: http://youtu.be/MhBoE9KiB68

Apocalypse 2012 - Beginning to end.

December 21, 2012. The impending doomsday of the Mayan prophecies is upon us. On the eve of this supposed “end of days”, I felt it appropriate to write on the theories and other worldly aspects of such ideas and concepts revolving around “The End”.

Starting as early as ancient times many cultures have developed or had an idea of an “end of time” scenario. The ancient Greeks believed in a theory known as; Eschatology, which translates to “end time” and is frequently referred to today as a study of time and the ages of man. These theories of life, death, and judgment via Greek Gods where transplanted into the Christian bible and is often used to refer to the “study” of life in general.

Other ancient civilizations like that of Egypt also refer to the end of time in the stories of the gods; Osiris, Isis, and Horus. They struggled to regain a strong hold for man over the destructive god Set. Another is the creation story of Ra, the sun god, who was the entity said to have created a world, inhabitable by men once he destroyed the evils of the universe.

Ancient Sumerians in Babylon (today the Middle East) foretold of the coming of a 12^th planet called Nibiru that would collide with the earth causing the destruction of the human race. The planet today is not more than a frequent myth according to NASA but there is a planet that revolves around the sun every 3,600 years that many believe to be the mythical Nibiru planet.

French born chemist; Michael de Nostredame also known as Nostradamus in today’s academic and literary terms, was a well known “prophet” who predicted many world events during his life from the early to mid 1500’s. Contrary to popular belief, he was not ostracized by the church (unlike his astrological counterpart; Galileo) and in fact, worked closely with the bishops in the catholic community in Italy until the later years of his life.

Nostradamus used several unconventional methods that would induce a trance like state in order for him to foretell coming prophecies. Standing erect, against a brass pole, enabled him to produce a bio electric charge to help stimulate his brain into a more focused state. He also used a steaming bowl of water, filled with fragrant oils and herbs which allegedly helped promote the senses to further enhance his physic abilities. Some scholars speculate that Nostradamus may have even used mild hallucinogens, such as Nutmeg, to promote the visions he felt related to futuristic events, some of which where apocalyptic in nature.

Regardless of method or culture, societies have always been obsessed with an end of time event, typically under apocalyptic circumstances. Scientific facts show us the evidence of natural phenomenon such as earth quakes, floods, tsumani and volcanic eruptions that happened in the earliest development of the human societies. This could make some cultures believe heavily in the idea that a natural disaster could consume the entire planet, or even that of the human race.

Historical facts also point to the possibilities of an impending destruction of life as we know it and the human element involved in that idea is possibly the majority of the image portrayal in modern ideas of ancient prophecies. The majority of concepts today are heavily relied upon by Christian and Jewish based religious following from the text of the Hebrew and Christian Bible. Zoroastrianism, in Judaic teachings, refers to the resurrection of the dead during the end of days and a purification of the earth which involves the bringing of newness to our planet and the species that inhabit it. Also, the Christian bible offers its own explanation in the book of Revelations. The end of days, in Revelations, tells of a more apocalyptic scenario regarding the four horseman of the Apocalypse; Pestilence, famine, war and death and are followed by the second coming of Christ.

A modern  interpretation of the four horseman of the Apocalypse, according to the Christian bible. 

Most of what we believe today is fueled by social media and the twisted ideas and portrayals of these once structured understandings. Evolved with human beings, is the concept of whether or not it is reasonable to think that an entire group or civilization could be lost to such an event? And the answer is YES! Civilizations from the beginning of time have been struggling to keep their social and economic structures afloat. Leaving legacies; genetically, socially, and historically has been our way of not repeating events and mistakes that may harm us as a species. Though the brother hood of man seems to contradict that statement, the historical element in humanity has shown us that a broader range of survival has and always will be the ultimate goal in humans.

History repeats itself, or so they say; essentially leading us to know that with the knowledge and education of those before us we are armed, to a degree, against some apocalyptic events that may threaten us. Tomorrow’s “Doom’s Day” is the beginning of a new era. If nothing more than a metaphor for starting over, a new beginning is sometimes better than the insanity of chasing old ideas and understandings that leave us wondering what, where, when, why and how. If we can take anything from the idea that it may be our last day on earth, it would be wise to spend it with the ones you love. But what if you could not predict or foresee an apocalyptic event?

Prophets and psychics will always be an intriguing part of human history. Believers in the bible and Faith’s from all around the world have the universal understanding that something “greater” than human’s is out there. But in the face of an apocalypse would it really matter to the human species, what they believed? The idea that it all must end, no matter what your beliefs, ideas, or imaginations might bring forth, is irrefutable. If it lives, it must, at some point, die. 

The History and Horror of Zombies

The History and Horror of Zombies

Since the beginning of time, the human race has had a genuine fear of the dead. The idea of zombies, monsters, ghosts and other idealistic theories stem from our need to carry on some kind of relationship with our beloved deceased. The common idea is the soul is extinguished at death, and a inner life force is wisped away to another dimension. Is the stuff of ghost stories and legends, or is there some other reason why we go through the ritualistic processes of death?

Humans have long understood that death is the eternal rest of the soul and the end of a human being’s natural form of flesh and blood. The idea that the human consciousness can somehow stay attached to its former body may seem vague but not impossible. With that notion, there is a question of some aspect of immortality, whether through the spiritual concept of heaven and hell or, the living consciousness dwelling in another realm. However, there are stories that are littered throughout culture and history that suggest the flesh and blood of a once dead being, can reanimate.  This idea of a living consciousness, clinging to a dead body has long been a part of the emotional turmoil that helps fuel the fear regarding death and the unknown realms of a spiritual body.  

Many cultures, throughout time have rendered numerous tales and documented history of zombie like creatures. To differentiate the stories of evil spirits vs. humanoid-like zombie’s we will address them both here. The examples of evil spirits, and how they seem attached to human bodies can be found in the world’s oldest written manuscripts from ancient Samaria. The Sumerian story, “Epic of Gilgamesh” mentions flesh eating undead as does the ancient Chinese cultures that refer to angry flesh eating spirits that come to life known as the, "Jiang Chi". Similar spiritual possession is also documented in the ancient Greek myths of Cronus, who was the father of Zeus and ate his first five children.

Native American cultures believed that an evil spirit would need to posses a person in order to make them into a zombie. The "Wendigo", is a well known Native American spirit in the Northern United States and Canada. The Wendigo spirit was said to have the ability to posses a person and give them an insatiable hunger for human flesh. A documented case of this form of cannibalism took place in Alberta Canada in 1878 when an Indian Trapper known as “Swift Runner” was executed for butchering his family and eating them, later becoming an official diagnosis for a mental disease known a “Wendigo psychosis”. Another case took place during the days of the American frontier. Eighty Seven people, in what was known as the Donner party, moved from Missouri to California. They where essentially trapped in the bitter winter without resources (much like Swift Runner) and resulted to cannibalism of their dead. 

A depiction of the Wendigo Spirit

A few ancient text of actual humanoid type zombies are well documented in Nordic myths and speak of the furious and unrelenting nature of the Draugr which roughly translates to “after-walker”. The Draugr was said to be the walking corpse of someone who had died. Great warriors and men who held great political attributes in Norse societies gained a potential favor in becoming such monsters do to their responsibilities and obligations. However, the idea of the Draugr was frightful to say the least. A few identifying traits of the Draugr were its undeniable decaying stench, supreme strength and relentless appetite for the flesh of the living. The idea that one had become a Draugr, meant that the monster would need to be coaxed back into a grave or water from which it came. Land and sea Draugr’s where of course characterized by the location in which they where buried or perished.

The word zombie comes from the Haitian language and its literal translation means “animated corpse”. It's believed in VooDoo cultures, that a spell or concoction would give one the ability to control or deliberately consume another human being. West African cultures that practice VooDoo still practice this ancient magic today that is said to create zombies. These are known mostly in America, due to the documentation of slave narratives and the stories told in these African American cultures still alive in many parts of the world. The Voodoo and Haitian stories known today are all derived from the same idea that the dead do and will reanimate.

Whether by choice, charm, or some strange psychosis the idea of humans eating other humans can be a scary and, for lack of a better term, "consuming reality". In the new age of biological warfare and scientific understanding of pathogens, the reality of a biological outbreak regarding a zombie-like virus pandemic is not just a theory, it is already happening. Starting in the middle ages, plagues and outbreaks of illness and disease have long been a staple in human history. Documentations of such outbreaks have been recorded. The Black Plague wiped out more than half of the population of Europe and due to the lack of knowledge and education, most people associated the plague with that of a biblical punishment. In many parts of England, Scotland and Ireland during the middle ages, people buried their dead with stones in their mouths, stakes in their hearts and locked tightly in crypts to ensure that a re-animated corpse did not have a means to escape and reach the living. Many victims of plague and other diseases were in fact, buried alive. Sometimes those unconscious victims would wake in the grave and dig their way out. Exhausted and sick, you could imagine what it was like to have seen the walking corpse of a dead relative. This was so common in the middle ages that a name was given to those zombie-like beings. The “Revenant” was the flesh eating corpse or the spirit of one, that came back from death to torment the living. Though more closely associated with middle age Vampire legends, William of Newburgh documented many cases in the 1190’s in England.

Regarding pandemic, the more recent Spanish Flu or H1N1 strain, SARS, and Bovine Spongiform Encephlopathy (Mad Cow) disease are what we recognize today as global strains of virus and disease that seem to continually come about on the nightly news. These pathogens are a regular threat to human kind and an enemy we have no real way to fight. In the event of a pandemic or global outbreak, with the modernization of technology and study of biological diseases, it’s recognized that with any given number of infectious agents available to infect the human and animal species, the catalyst for such an event is already in favor of an outbreak on an apocalyptic scale. Take for instance the Kuru outbreak in Papua New Guinea in 1950’s. The Fore tribe was a virtually untouched tribe of indigenous people living in the eastern, mountains of Papua New Guinea. They had practiced cannibalism and sorcery for hundreds of years. When Australian administrators where exploring the outlining provinces of Indonesia, they discovered the Fore tribe and they were suffering from minor to extreme cases of  “Kuru” or “Shiver” disease, which was later discovered to be directly linked to cannibalism.

Cannibal tribes in the outer lining regions of Indonesia.

(it's estimated 70 million cannibalistic tribes are undocumented world wide) 

This prion (bacterial) based illness was found to make holes in the spongy material in the brain. Once it reached the brain through the blood stream, the disease causes a number of neurological issues from poor motors skills, jerking, tremors, facial twitches and depression to sudden outburst of laughter which led the Fore tribe to call it “laughing sickness”. Similar prions can be found in pathogens that cause Mad Cow disease, which essentially is the same type of illness, only in animals. Mad Cow disease was discovered in American cattle in 1989, but was proved no risk to humans until 1996 when one hundred and sixty six people died from the illness. The common source in spreading the disease comes from eating infected meats or bi-products used from the meats made from infected brain tissue. This is the same with the Fore tribe since eating the brains of their dead was common for hundreds of years.

With the understanding that our government regulates FDA approved food products, you could only hope that your Sunday roast isn't infected with the pathogen agents that cause such illnesses. However, with the lack of resources in many under developed countries and the lax in official documentation of such disease, even in the most developed countries, an outbreak of a zombie-like virus could be possible and spread rapidly on a global scale resulting in a pandemic. 

Given the nature of the human body, it doesn’t seem logical that a corpse-like zombie would be feasible. Without the proper muscular, skeletal, nervous and circulatory systems to drive it, the human body is not capable of sustaining itself for very long. However, if the body is in working order and the brain, under the right conditions of a virus cause a zombie-like state in a person or even animal, we could be looking at the possibility of some sort of reality to the conspiracy regarding the undead and zombies.

Technology and history has shown us that nothing improvable is compulsory. Still it would be in the best interest of everyone to have a general understanding of epidemics and pandemics and preparedness of a zombie/viral apocalypse. It may be closer than you think……

Springvilla Specters

Springvilla Specters

Opelika, Alabama

September 22, 2012 was supposed to be a typical camping event put together by the Alabama Paranormal Research Team and Creepy Mountain Research. Team director, Faith Serafin of the Alabama Paranormal Research Team and Creepy Mountain Research, discussed the many unusual aspects and history of a location in Opelika, Alabama called Springvilla. Most of the paranormal research done here by the Alabama Paranormal Research Team has been ghostly in nature. But, recently some unusual sightings and happenings led our team to seek out other paranormal researchers, specializing in crypto-zoology after two separate incidences prompted the ghost hunters to seek out other explanations for the phenomenon. 

The first experience came in the early winter of 2011, when the Alabama Paranormal Research Team was working on a training exercise at the historic plantation. The spirits inside the 18^th century mansion where buzzing with activity. K2 meters lit up on high electrical frequencies and the MEL meters picked up endless amounts of energy as we conducted numerous EVP sessions and recordings in real time. We picked up several voices that were responding to our questions. Shadows moved from room to room and the footsteps of an unseen entity traveled up and down the spiral staircase. After several hours of investigating the team stepped outside for some fresh air. We gathered around the front lawn, talking excitedly about the night’s events.

To our backs, the dark and foreboding night cloaked the surrounding forest in pitch blackness and a heavy, lingering fog began to roll in quickly. We watched over our shoulders as a mist appeared and took the shape of an oddly shaped carriage being pulled by ghostly horses. The team watched in amazement as it slowly disappeared into a vaporous cloud. This was a typical paranormal investigation at Springvilla, but, a very untypical event was about to happen that would add to the numerous paranormal experiences we've witnessed here over the years. 

As the night’s conversation progressed on, we must have stood on the lawn for about forty five minutes or so. We were in a deep conversation about the odd mist and the EVP’s inside the house. Suddenly an enormous crash bellowed from inside the forest, just fifty yards behind us. The sound was extremely loud and several thumping sounds occurred simultaneously. It was as if someone had pushed over a massive tree and was then running through the forest. Whatever it was, it was large and solid. All the team members present that night jumped at the sound and a few even ran from it. We all agreed that most likely this was nothing more than a fallen tree and went on with our investigation leaving the location in the early morning hours with no further experiences from the forest.

Some months later, another exercise was being conducted at the location. Again, the house seemed to be turning up great evidence in the form of EVP’s and a few unusual photos. But like before, the activity outside of the mansion would prove, once and for all, that either someone or something was indeed on the property. Team members sat inside the breezeway connecting the two sections of the house, as we watched for nocturnal animals (which are common here) we turned our attention toward the front of the park, where the main entrance is located. As we started toward the front part of the property something, of an enormous size, fell from a large Oak in the front. It sounded like a limb was falling, hitting other limbs on the way down, and shaking the tree entirely. We stood looking at the tree, waiting a few seconds and expecting a limb to come crashing down. But there was nothing there. We could see the tree rattling from something moving in it, and we could hear the enormous sounds of cracking and falling but saw nothing. As we approached the tree there was no indication of a fallen limb - whatsoever. No limbs sizable enough were on the ground that would cause the crashing or shaking. The dirt was scattered beneath the tree as if something had landed on the ground but we could not identify anything that had done so. Either a large and stealthy animal had jumped from the tree and disappeared, or some strange paranormal phenomenon was happening that we were not prepared for.

This final experience prompted the Alabama Paranormal Research Team’s director to contact friends at Creepy Mountain Research. Creepy Mountain Research (CMR) is an organization that studies cryptid phenomenon and sighting. Though no official sightings have ever been recorded in Opelika to our knowledge, we did learn from locals that this type of phenomenon is common in the Springvilla area. Determined to find out what kind of potential paranormal aspects pertained to these events, the Alabama Paranormal Research Team and Creepy Mountain Research set up a camping excursion and teamed up for a night of investigating the area for possible answers.

At 3:30 pm CST, I  met with CMR members and discussed the experiences my team and I had witnessed. We showed them the two locations where they occurred. They discussed the situation regarding the details but both agreed that in no way were we trying to imply or give some suggestion that would portray that a actual Sasquatch was in the area. However, we both had an understanding that the potential for one to be there was high, given the terrain, remoteness, and environmental contributions that could indeed sustain a small family of Sasquatch. We decided to set up camp in a hollow, just on the tree line, where the first experience happened in the winter of 2011. A few team members were apprehensive about staying in the location, but according to our Bigfoot researchers, this was a good place to set up. CMR took several photos inside the forest off a remote trail and found some possible signs that are common among areas inhabited by Sasquatch. Some sapling trees were bent over that allegedly mark boundaries by Sasquatch. Still, this wasn't enough to prove any existence of a cryptid creature in the area.  We settled in around the camp fire and were encouraged by the researchers to carry on with chatting and cooking, since this kind of activity apparently attracts Sasquatch.

As the night grew later we broke up into groups and set for the heavily wooded trails. CMR brought in gear commonly used by Bigfoot hunters such as a parabolic ear and recorder mounted on a tri-pod, a digital camera, headphones for high frequency listening, and a FLIR imaging camera designed to detect hot and cold temperatures. Armed with these devices, the first group traveled deep into the murky wilderness. They stayed gone for nearly an hour and when they returned, they discussed with the others that they had experienced a few very unusual things in the woods.

First they made a few calls to attract any potential Sasquatch in the area and found that something answered them back, still not convinced, they also tried “wood-knocking”, which is a form of communication between the creatures. Several sounds were reported to have been heard but no definitive proof was collaborated by the CMR team. However, an image was captured on the thermal camera that was promising and a sense of higher anticipation that some thing, characteristic of Sasquatch, was in the area, seemed to drive the CMR team to investigate further. An illuminated eye appeared near a tree on the camera. “Eye shine”, in Bigfoot hunting terms, is simply reflection of a creatures eyes that typically appear at night. Mark of Creepy Mountain informed us that these creatures have different colored eyes, much like humans do, and therefore eye shine can come in different colors as well. Green, blue, yellow and red are most common.

We were also informed at this time that the creatures have evolved into different species of Sasquatch. Whether by environment or genetics is only speculation but the common species found in the South and South-East parts of Alabama are known as the “long snout” or “long nosed" Bigfoot. Frequently, reports state that these creatures have “werewolf” like characteristics regarding appearance. I asked if the creatures could possibly be aggressive like the stereotypical werewolf. Mark told me that some species have been reported to be aggressive but they had never encountered any that were.

This lingered with my team and an uneasy feeling seemed to take over the entire camp since recently a story and a personal experiences from Talbotton County, Georgia, just a few hours from Opelika, Alabama, turned up a hundred year old werewolf legend. The team pressed on and set for the neighboring property across the road from the plantation. An open parking lot filled with small pea size gravel gave a good view under the quarter moon and open clear night sky. It was getting late, close to 3 AM, and at this point a few of the team stayed behind at the camp. We walked toward the wood line in the hopes of capturing more thermal evidence with the FLIR. CMR members noted more eye shine on the thermal viewer and made several calls and whistles, hoping to get a response. Only a few audible sounds came back as substantial. We noticed that an open trail was clear enough to walk down and so CMR and three members of the APRT walked down the trail while the rest of us stayed behind and scouted the field in case anything ventured through while they were on the trail.

We could plainly see where they were located on the trail by the flashing of the flashlights, some ninety yards in front of us. The mouth of the trail was open and the street light from the lodge illuminated the outline of the tree line while the denser part indicated the opening to the trail. Feeling confident that no living being could come into the location without us seeing it, we watched as the five of them set out down the dark trail. Several minutes went by and some movement and possible ghostly phenomenon seem to be happening inside the woods closest to those of us still in the open field. We sat quietly and listened and noted we could no longer hear our teammates on the trail. A shadowy figure began walking up the trail back to the opening and we agreed that the figure was most likely one of the team members since he appeared to be wearing the same grey shirt as one of them on the trail.

His behavior was odd in the sense that he walked up the trail and appeared to squat down in a crouched position, then stood back up and walked back down the trail. We could clearly make out his legs against the dark silhouetted opening of the trail and whoever it was didn't seem to mind when we flashed our flashlight on him. Clearly we could see that this was a man of some sort, a human being from what we all could gather.  Everyone in the field agreed that it was a team member. A few more minutes went by and we approached the trail when we saw the flashlights reemerge from the darkness. We met them on the trail and asked who had walked up earlier?

No one answered directly and so I asked them all individually. One by one they all denied being at the opening of the trail. CMR had been the furthest down the road, and APRT members, Tony and Shane were with them, another team member stood the closest to the opening but never came off the road and saw no one pass him either.

Perplexed and shocked we all stood, pondering and questioning the situation, trying to make sense of it all. We also noted at that time the five of them entered the trail, something appeared to be on all fours entering the trail with them but thought it was a large dog of some kind. Since they did not react to the animal we didn't see that any of them were in danger. We also noted there was no sound that we could hear when the four legged creature appeared or when the human figure appeared afterward. The group in the wooded area on the trail also reported seeing several sightings of red glowing eyes and the sound of a little girl talking. Strange indeed since neither of the circumstances seemed to fit a particular criteria and neither the Alabama Paranormal Research Team or Creepy Mountain could determine exactly what was going on.

Later we regrouped at the camp site and discussed the possibilities of the things we had witnessed. Everything from Skin Walkers to Sasquatch and ghostly theories were tossed around between all of us regarding the sighting. The unusual aspects of this experience seem to come with the fact that all of us in the field had seen this “being”. We did note that none of us could see facial features and it did appear to be the same size as the average man. We could not see any hair, suggesting a possible Bigfoot sighting, the figure was grey in color and extremely quiet. If this being was an apparition of some sort, it was truly the most elaborate and solid form of one anyone of us have ever seen. Second to that, with some potential evidence of a possible Sasquatch in the area, we could not rule that out either. The one thing we did agree on was that this being was so real and so obvious, that four of us would not go to sleep in the camp. If “someone” was there and they were stealthy enough to walk past five of our teammates in such close quarters, it might try to sneak up on us while we all slept. So, staying up and watching over the camp became the idol task of Faith Serafin, Robin “Bones” Rodriguez, and the CMR team.

As day broke I sat wondering what the possibilities were regarding what I had seen the night before, it was enough to perk my curiosity and also enough to rattle my fears that something other than spirits inhabit Springvilla. The Native Americans that lived at the location prior to Penn Yonge had a spiritual connection to the land. Its high quartz and limestone content made it a religious gathering spot and they buried their dead just a few hundred yards from where the plantation was built. Sasquatch is a spiritual being in Native American folklore and this lends some credibility to the sighting but it also is far from the typical sighting of Bigfoot. Since nothing like what we experienced has ever been reported in the area, if some cryptid creature does exist on the property, they are indeed masters of camouflage and hiding.

Speculation is the common awkwardness of whom or what this was.The experiences was an emotional one. Neither Creepy Mountain Research nor my team expected to witness what we did that night. We did not capture video or photo evidence of the being that night. Until we asked, we assumed it was a team mate. A lesson learned in these types of circumstances is that you can never rule out anything involving the paranormal; ghosts and spirits, cryptids, UFO’s and alien beings. And never - ever, be without a camera or other device capable of capturing potential evidence. We were not prepared for what we saw that night and, more than likely, we will never witness it again. I feel lucky to have seen it myself and shared it with many of my team mates. I can only share the experience with you through story. I understand the paranormal to a great degree but the experiences we have keep us understanding that we are forever in a learning circle of educating ourselves about what else exist in the world and what we consider to be “our” world as humans. We're supposed to be the supreme beings of the universe, at the top of the food chain, but I’m just not so sure that is the case anymore.  

The Most Reliable Specter

The Most Reliable Specter
A personal thought....

A plain and logical site turns to into a dark and unimaginable fright. You suffer through a temporary blindness that thickens with every brush of your hand. You stand motionless in the hopes that the darkness and gore around you will move on as if you are shielded from it by this thick, dense mist. Your heart pounds and you hold your breathe in every effort to not be seen, heard or felt. Your mind races over reasonable and rational explanations but you are locked away from logic and understanding. You are vulnerable both mentally and physically to beings not of an earthly realm. Fear turns into irrational emotion and you know that “THEY” already understand you are within their grasp.

You ask yourself: is it more important to make sense of this or try to understand that some medical condition is afflicting me? Do you dare tell of the angry, frustrated, and melancholy faces you see? Would you shun those children who are lost and hurt? Overlook the elderly who are still struggling to understand their potential destination? Do I ask if anyone else see’s the family pet who resolved from life ten years ago? What do I say to the man on the battlefield whose clothes are poorly sorted and stained with blood or the wild haired woman who has no understanding that she can not be seen in public in her naked state? Where do they come from? And where do they go?

It’s more than deplorable to know that you can not reach the dead without overcoming and understanding a fear that holds no boundaries and no limits over the living, an eternal struggle that is only bestowed upon a few worthy or unworthy souls. Barriers are lifted in communication with the dead but so must the living consider that they are far from living themselves. A mere shell of human flesh that grows and ages until the soul emerges upon its death. The parasite of life consists of few things to sustain itself but the soul of death lingers without a shred of dignity or moral, with no condition to warrant itself in any code of conduct.

Life creates fundamentalist hosts that carry the seeds of structured learning and understanding based on the human brain and the minds of great thinkers, but death is expelled from the that host and thrust into a world it once knew but is now ignored and eventually forgotten. Is death the extermination of the human soul?  If so, why do the dead linger in such states? Why does the structure of life leave the explanation of the dead so vague and obtuse? Answers and justifications are one in the same and the purpose of communication between the living and the dead is already broken but bridged by those passed on and still mending from beyond the world of the structurally accepted.

Locked away in the darkness and recesses of the mind is the awakening of a being not of flesh and blood but of pure energy. Without the physical, mental and emotional appendages of a human being, souls and spirits of beings who once were; the most reliable specter. 

Unbreakable Bonds - Ryan's Story

Unbreakable Bonds

Ryan’s Story
Lagrange, Georgia

This story is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Ryan Noles and to his mother Kathy Weathers. 

Ryan struggled for many years to overcome addiction. Addictions that would eventually take his life at the young age of twenty eight. His struggles have impacted his family both spiritually and physically and by writing his story, I hope to reach those who are also struggling to overcome addiction and or those trying to understand the spiritual aspect of losing a loved one. I hope that by identifying with this family’s loss, you may find some answers.

Ryan Noles was born on February 8, 1983. His mother, Kathy, was over joyed with the arrival of her baby son. As he grew from an infant into a toddler Ryan was always very close to his mom and even after he got older, throughout his middle and high school years he always had a very special relationship with her. Kathy always kept a close eye on Ryan and he was often the apple of that watchful eye. Ryan was always a bit of a clown and enjoyed making people laugh. His smile was absolutely contagious and as he grew into a young man, Ryan would have many girlfriends and was very much a lady’s man. 

Ryan started using marijuana in his late teenage years, while still in high school. Though he maintained a close relationship with his mother he constantly reassured her he was OK. Kathy and Ryan’s relationship would change dramatically over the next few years and the loyal son she once knew had distanced himself from her. She knew that Ryan was developing a real problem and by the time he was twenty, her worst fears had come true. Ryan was battling a severe addiction to many drugs and though Kathy was determined to help her son, he would not accept her help in his addicted state.

Kathy woke one morning at 3 AM to Ryan screaming. He was begging her not to let him die. He had been vomiting blood after a stomach ulcer ruptured. When Kathy found him she was terrified. The bathroom was covered in blood. She gathered him up and rushed him to the hospital where he spent two days in an intensive care unit. Ryan had lost a lot of weight and was very ill. His addiction was now taking over every aspect of his life and he knew he needed help but didn’t know who to turn to. Ryan found comfort in his family. Especially his young nephew Hunter who brought new meaning to Ryan’s life. Hunter often called Ryan his “BFF” and once Ryan made advances in getting sober, Hunter was the one constant reminder of how important it was to be a better man.

Ryan was determined to get sober. He struggled to get into drug treatment programs due to financial difficulties but Kathy and Ryan both knew without the proper intervention, Ryan might not be able to overcome his addictions. Ryan was able to get some help. However, while getting sober was his first priority, Ryan still battled many health complications. Chronic stomach pain from years of drug abuse had worn his body into a fragile state. Depression was often a side effect of trying to manage the pain and stay sober at the same time. One night Ryan came to Kathy and told her he felt as if he was being spiritually attacked in the home he was living in at the time. Kathy contacted a friend who brought Ryan a crucifix that had been blessed by a preacher in the hopes that it could some how help him fight the demons he felt oppressed him. She hoped that maybe through God, Ryan could find some spiritual strength and Ryan felt very strongly in his heart that he needed to be a better example for his BFF-Hunter and to show his mother he could get better. 

Throughout Ryan’s recovery phase, Kathy noted several unnatural things happening in her home and around her. Kathy was not a skeptical person when it came to believing in supernatural forces but she wasn’t hard-pressed to believe any old ghost story either. Things were changing around her and Ryan and she felt that Ryan may have been dealing with a negative supernatural influence. This was clear to her when she and Ryan had met with the friend, who gave Ryan the blessed crucifix. Kathy was sitting at her desk in her home when suddenly, without warning, everything on her desk was knocked over. It was if someone had taken their hand and pushed everything off her desk. It happened with such force Kathy could feel the presence of something close by. So much that it scared her to even move.

While under treatment Ryan was prescribed several different drugs to help him with depression and pain. However, this would prove to be a volatile mixture and on June 9, 2011, Ryan passed away due to complications from his addiction and a combination of drugs prescribed to him during his recovery. Ryan’s body had lost the fight to survive and no one suffered as much as his mother. Kathy silently knew that Ryan would not overcome his war with addiction but she would never reveal that to him. Her grandson Hunter was also devastated at the loss of his BFF and for many months the family suffered tremendously to grasp the loss of Ryan.

Not long after Ryan’s death, more strange and unusual things started to happen in Kathy’s home. Frequently she would notice things out of order and often she would hear and see things that she hadn’t experienced before. Items like cigarette lighters would go missing from a certain locations and then reappear in the same place later on. Kathy and visiting friends would hear conversations in the house when no one was home. Glowing balls of light would manifest over her head board at night and haunting sounds of her son’s ringtone would come over the television. 

All these circumstances lead Kathy to believe that her deceased son was trying to make contact with her in any way possible. Kathy was still struggling to come to grips with Ryan’s death and so was the entire family but she could no longer ignore the obvious occurrences that were happening around her. Kathy looked into many paranormal investigative teams and remembered that she had contacted a group some years before while researching ghost hunters in the area. Kathy contacted the Alabama Ghost Hunters in an effort to find some answers regarding her situation.

In January of 2012, my team investigated Kathy’s home after an extensive interview regarding her case. All information regarding the events in the case were kept confidential between Kathy and I until the completion of the investigation. This helps avoid any power of suggestion that may occur and allows team members to function without seeking out any one particular phenomenon based on reports. During the first investigation, almost immediately, audio recorders were picking up voices not heard with the naked ear but with specialized, enhanced, audio equipment. The audio specialist from the team was hearing human voices answering the team’s questions throughout the investigation. 

Other audible voices came over the recorders which distinctly say “Ryan” and another that said “tell them”. Audio recordings of this nature are classified by paranormal investigators as EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which in theory works by allowing a low frequency sound to be picked up by an audio recorder or device. The idea is that not all sounds can be heard or determined through casual listening and by using the technique of recording sounds and playing it back, gives one the ability to determine if any sound or voice was there, that wasn’t heard audibly at the time.

These recordings and a few full spectrum photo’s of a shadow figure captured in Ryan’s bedroom were all collected as evidence in Kathy’s case and while the Alabama Ghost Hunters have concluded that her home has some paranormal activity, the team can only speculate as to who or what is actually causing the phenomenon. Working with Kathy and keeping an open line of communication with established clients is critical in the field of paranormal investigation. The activity is still very much a part of Kathy’s life now and has continued since her initial reports of activity.

It’s possible Ryan is responsible for the activity since his name was heard over the audio recordings collected during investigations. Kathy still struggles to let go of her emotions and the loss of Ryan which may also contribute to the haunting. A gentle understanding between a mother and the spirit of a child has shed some light on the subject to a great degree. Kathy made great sacrifices as a mother and to be there for her children. She fought, cried, hurt and suffered all the years Ryan struggled. She stood by him as any good mother would and made it her personal battle, though it was not her burden to bear. She laid out her heart in a selfless act to defend her son against an enemy neither of them could see. Ryan and Kathy both knew the overwhelming obstacles they would face but they stood fast, together, with the odds stacked against them. They had something that most people in that situation don’t. They had love and they had each other and an unbreakable bond between mother and child that no words can describe.

That bond, forged in love, is endured worlds over by people who believe they have the power to stand together against the worst evils in the world. This is still true for Kathy and Ryan. Although Ryan is no longer with us, his spirit, (alongside so many others) are only reachable through death or other spiritual connection. Mothers connect to their children on a level that is not understood by science or faith. It simply exists and is there. This is why Ryan is still with Kathy today. His spirit stays with her in an effort to do all the things for her that she did for him. Once again reminding her that she will forever be the rock he will reside on. Keeping her close to him so that she knows she will never truly be without him. All while he keeps a watchful eye on her and keeping the promise that he was not able to fulfill in life. He no longer suffers from the demons that plagued him through drugs and addiction. He is no longer burdened by the everyday battles he fought. He can rest easy knowing there is no obstacle he can’t overcome. Along with Kathy, they understand that one day they will see each other again and until that time comes she and Ryan are Ok and can still find peace in knowing that the spirit world really isn’t that far and that the love they have for each other is unbreakable, unbreachable, and undeniably profound. 

Kathy Weathers and her son, Ryan Noles