In a way, I’m glad I attended the “ghost hunt” at the Red Mill Museum and Village in Clinton recently. In another way, I’m not.
I'm glad because it was a truly fascinating experience. I’m not, because when my future grandchildren are shivering beneath the covers after seeing some dumb television show or movie, I can’t honestly sooth them by saying, “There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
I am now a believer. I just hope there’s no headless horseman. That figure haunted me for years.
CC Carole of the paranormal Internet show, “CC the Huntress,” is very down-to-earth and matter of fact about the life she leads hunting for ghosts. She led a ghost hunt at the Red Mill on Saturday, Sept. 28.
She has a following. People came from New Hampshire to Clinton to hunt in the mill.
Her husband, Bob Carole, host of the television and Internet series “The Next Step,” was on hand to assist.
It was a big group. About 50 people. No one wanted to go home disappointed. I doubt that anyone did.
About a quarter of the evening was spent taking a course, “Ghost Hunting Level One.” It covered safety rules, terminology, a little history, a little science, the paraphernalia needed for a successful ghost hunt, intuition… and what to do with a ghost once you’ve found one.
We found several in the Red Mill.
It was a very dark night, and except for a few flashlights, which really made the old mill kind of creepy, no other lights were on when the class ventured into the building.
I’ll be honest. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I was scared at first, but nothing appeared to happen.
Then, the experienced hunters among us, and there were many, pulled out small tape recorders and began asking the spirits living in the mill questions. Answers were not evident immediately, until the tapes were rewound and played back. Then, doggonit, the spirits answered.
They said how many of them there were in the room (6, 8 and 10), told us their age when they passed (10), and told us to get out.
We didn’t, although at that point, I was good and ready to leave.
CC said, “Mean ghost, why do you want us to leave?” Silence. She repeated her question several times and played back the tape.
The ghost wanted to “cross over.” I thought this was a stretch, but I went along with it, joined hands with the people in the room, and listened as CC told the ghost to “go to the light.”
I began to sweat profusely. I was HOT; then, when the spirit had successfully “crossed,” the room became downright cold.
Folks who had been wandering around the mill by themselves came into the room with their digital cameras. They had been snapping away at nothing and also making recordings of what I perceived to be nothing, too.
Several of these seemingly normal people were excited. Although “orbs” could not be seen with the naked eye, many were captured in digital photos. People had just clicked away in the dark and somehow the camera picked them up.
According to CC, when a person or animal dies, that creature’s energy remains. The orbs are visible signs of the energy.
There were other signs. CC brought dowsing rods with her. Several people in the class stood holding two of the rods. CC would tell them who she thought from that person’s past was present in the room (I guess she is just able to perceive that), and my classmate would then ask the spirit to move the rods from a parallel position to cross.
The rods did more than cross. Each time, one rod would journey to the person’s face or neck, as if to give them a kiss or a hug. Once, the “hug” lasted a long time and the holder was unable to move the rod until the spirit chose to move it back to a parallel position. Everyone swore they were not moving the rods themselves.
I wasn’t ready to try that.
I now believe in ghosts,… and I probably WON’T go back to the haunted village at the mill promoted on page three. I don’t care how great a cause it is.
