Have I Been Scared? Short Answer: Yes, But…

A couple weeks ago I was participating in a career talk at the local high school. I’m a Rotarian and love, love, love my club. I also like talking—I am a lawyer after all. So, basically the Rotarian sits in a circle with 8-10 students. We share how we got to where we are. For me, that’s difficult. Professionally, I am taking time off. I am enjoying my hobby—ghost hunting. And that’s what I told them: Everyone needs a hobby.

The question came up if I’ve ever been scared. I have. But there is more to the story. I’ve previously blogged about a cemetery not far from me that is supposed to be pure evil. Urban legend has it that satanic ceremonies were held there back in the 80s. Maybe even longer. Visitors are warned not to wear anything religious. No crosses or crucifixes. If you do, beware: You may be burned! This location is so evil that no one will disclose the locations for fear of injury.

I’m a former librarian. Further, I’m a researcher. And I’m nosy. It didn’t take me long, but I found the cemetery. Our team API scheduled an investigation. Our cameraman grew up in the area. He had heard the stories and he wasn’t going to risk bodily harm or anything else. He backed out. Jenn and I went.

We were so amped up from the stories, and there are plenty of them in print, that we were extra diligent in our protection. Our plan was to scout out the location. No attempted communication. Observation was the goal. We were going to walk around and to record anything that occurred.

Immediately upon entering, the orbs were everywhere. I have never seen so many orbs. Nearly every picture had something. Our Ghost Radar was running and very busy. It was identifying lots of energy blips, and quite a few were “red.” DEREK, our digital voice recorder, was recording. All was good. Jenn and I walked 20-30 feet in and then Jenn stopped. (Here is where I point out that Jenn is by far more experienced in exploration and she knows a lot about demons and the like.) My heart is racing. Remember, my mind is overrunning with tales of devil worship and human sacrifice. Jenn has stopped and she hears something. I don’t know this at the time, but the band with my cross that she is wearing is heating up. I about catch up to her when she asks: “I’m good. How about you?” (Hell, to the yes.) I reply: “Yep. I could leave.” I turn around and hustle to the road.

At the road, Jenn shows me her wrist. I feel it. Yep, it was warm. However, I think all of the outside influences—the stories and mystery—made me more afraid then the actual event. I was already pumped up to be scared. And scared I was. Reflecting back, I realized what happened. I talked myself into it. Ultimately we went back and did a daytime investigation. Our conclusion: Urban Legend. Life Lesson: Mind really is over matter.