ROB CONOVER

            On May 30th the team and I were called to a home in Princeville, Il.  A woman had just bought a home built in the 1880s and moved in with her daughter and granddaughter. Right away, the woman began renovating the house. And right away, she began having strange experiences.

            It started with noises and strange shadows playing on the walls and in the hallway. During the night, the woman heard a lot of strange noises that kept her awake. It all culminated in an experience that left the woman terrified: she awoke one night to large black shadow standing right next to her bed!

            We arrived at the house early in the evening and met with the owner. She was a very nice lady who was more worried she might be going crazy than she was about having a ghost. I walked through the house and told the team where to set up the equipment. I didn’t feel any energy as I walked through this first time.

            The team set up the equipment and settled in for some EVP work. I sat in the living and discussed the experiences with the woman and her granddaughter. I found out almost all of the experiences were happening to the grandmother, and the granddaughter felt nothing but comfortable in her new house. During all of this time, I still did not feel any energy in the house.

After awhile, I called the team up. Most of them had seen shadows and heard noises that were similar to what the woman had described, but all of them were very explainable. Passing cars had created many shadows and the old house creaking in the wind and settling as the sun faded had created all of the seemingly paranormal events. And none of the handheld equipment, the EMF meters, ambient thermometers, and cameras, had hit on anything unusual. Just to be sure, I did one final walk through the entire house. The house was spiritless.

As I broke the news to the woman, she was at first happy but then lamented that she must be going crazy then. I explained to her that many people have similar experiences when they move into a new house, especially one as old as that one. And once she learned the causes of each experience, how they had actually happened but just weren’t paranormal, she began to see the light, so to speak. I told her she was now free to enjoy her new home without worrying about what is lurking in the shadows, because I knew there was nothing in them.

Finding out that your house is not haunted is a good thing, and rarely does it mean you are going crazy. Every event has an explanation, whether normal or paranormal, so it is always a good idea to check things thoroughly. That is why, even though I didn’t feel any energy, I still had the team conduct an investigation. That way we were able to give the woman peace of mind.