Greetings from beyond…my first paranormal investigation

Lots of orbs, but then again, could be dust!

Knocks. Voices. Slamming door. Sand flung at me. Crashes. Orbs.

All of the above experiences were experienced by me in my first paranormal investigation with a local investigating team. We investigated a more than century-old building that has two floors, a basement and so much space we didn’t even get to it all.
The night started around 6 p.m. Saturday as we set up mass amounts of equipment in “hot spots” in the building. The staff breakroom served as command central. A computer was set up on the second floor of the building and in a room where an old car sits (we used it as a trigger object).
We investigated until approximately 4 a.m. And there so wasn’t enough time in one night to properly investigate, so another investigation is planned when the boilers are shut off for the season.
Speaking of the boiler. It’s difficult to conduct a paranormal investigation in a basement with a boiler. But, it did make for some scary good startles when it hissed, knocked, and even threw sand up from the sump pump. (at least I assume it came from the sump pump. Either that or I ticked off the ghost who hangs out in the basement)

Me alone in the old car

Our official investigation began in the basement and it wasn’t long before we saw shadows (no, they weren’t our own) and then there was the sand incident. I was standing at the bottom of some wooden stairs and we heard rushing water. Soon after that, sand hit me in my hand, which was holding the video camera. At first, I figured it was the sump pump, BUT the experience never happened again and it kicked on several times through the night. I returned to the place multiple times, even asked for sand to be thrown at me, but it never happened again. So who knows. You be the judge!
I spent a lot of time alone in the basement, with only my recorder (to capture EVPs) and my flashlight with a red and blue filter on it. I got some knocking responses, but again, with the boiler going, it’s tough to be able to say “yes, a spirit knocked at me.” So, I remain a skeptic on this one.

one of the investigators in the museum

We also did some investigating on the former sight of the production room. We had what is known as a Px device. The Px device allows spirits to communicate through the box and it translates it into words. Some of what was said made sense, some didn’t. We stood next to an old pick-up that is used by staff sometimes and the box said several things that could have pertained to the pick-up. We called the pick-up a death trap and the box said “killer.” One guy sat in the pick-up and it said “property.” Another guy who was sitting in the pick-up said something grabbed his leg from under the pick-up and the box said “under.” So you be the judge.

The old car

The box also eventually told us to leave. And when we said bye it said “bye” and “hurry” and “later.” Shortly after that the box started repeating jibberish and we changed the batteries.
We had lots and lots of experiences with the Px box, but there’s not nearly enough time to go into all of them.
Upstairs, a couple of the guys reported feeling hostile with each other and in general felt they were exposed to a hostile environment up there. I, however, did not feel any hostility and neither did one other guy.
I did feel some hostility and felt someone breathing behind my back in one of the old darkrooms. The more I sat there the worse I felt and with paranormal investigations you have to know your limits and not push them. So I stayed away from that portion of the building. Earlier that evening, we did get some responsive knocks in another old darkroom — one behind the other investigator and one behind me. Boiler? This one likely not. But another investigation is definitely needed.

Creepy basement!

Around 2 a.m. two of us were sitting in the front office area. We had the door to the main office propped open. As we were addressing a former employee, the door closed on its own followed by a huge crash that was heard by the team upstairs as well. That was pretty freaky.
Shortly after that I stood on a table and shot photos into an office that was locked (it has a 3/4 wall). I did catch lots and lots of orbs, but the top of the wall was very dusty. So, I cannot really attribute that to anything paranormal.  The first responsibility of a paranormal team is to rule out any “false” evidence. A credible team does not embellish or make up evidence and you seek to “debunk” any evidence you do get. If it cannot be debunked, then you potentially have something. So yeah, the orbs are likely from dust. But, it’s kind of cool!
We did not get any apparitions on any of our still cameras (to my knowledge). The digital recorders have not been analyzed, nor has the videos we took.
As the night wore on, we all started become tired and weary. Activity seemed to stop. So when 4 a.m. rolled around, we packed up and decided to pick up the investigation at a later date.

The team taking a break. The photo itself is pretty cool.

More investigation is needed — maybe more than one. The building is huge and you could easily spend one night in just one portion of it.
And so, my first investigation. I AM HOOKED! I cannot wait to investigate something else. It is every bit as cool as it seems on TV.
As for my beliefs, yes, I do believe in the paranormal. I’ve had two solid experiences that cannot be explained with reason (both involve seeing spirits).