I was a believer when I left Lily Dale. A believer in what I’d already known since the not-so-dead newspaper boy led me to his grave.
Months later, my husband and I created our miracle baby—the baby whom no less than five doctors told my husband and me would be impossible to conceive. Sometimes lightning, and whatever else that doesn’t kill you, does make you stronger … and sometimes may even help to get you pregnant. Now we have a wonderful child who fills our hearts and who feels the presence of her long-dead great-grandmothers and her grandfather around her and is quite reassured by their guidance.
After the baby came, I began taking classes in Spiritualism (a belief system that asserts ghosts are among the living 24/7 and that anyone has the means to contact them) for mediumship annually at Lily Dale and at Harmony Grove, a Spiritualist camp community in San Diego; both more than a century old. I finally learned how to decipher all that had come before. I started a paranormal-investigation group on Meetup called Ghosts Happen (meetup.com/ghostshappen). I chose the cream of the crop from the members and created Roadside Paranormal, a group dedicated to investigating locations where disturbing events have taken place and victims still do not rest in peace (such as home and workplace homicides, suicides, and accident scenes). We pass on information from spirits to friends and family that may give entities, and ultimately their friends and family, closure. My group uses state-of-the-art science to document the data we find. We also test new types of equipment to determine whether they’re valid and to help make them standards in the industry if they are.
Having investigated in many other states and around the world, I’ve documented proof of energy beyond the death of the body in places such as the assassination site of John Lennon, Civil War battlefields, and European World War II battle locations, the ancient graveyards of Southeast Asia, and even the underground catacombs of Paris. I’ve concluded that no matter where you go, spirit energy and paranormal activity fall into the same categories—active, imprint, and intelligent. And I bet if you’re reading this book that you’ve had an experience with at least one of these forms of energy—why else would you be so drawn to the topic?
When we feel the energy in a place that’s reportedly haunted, it’s often something we can’t put a finger on, but it’s like a sign planted into the ground that states, Something happened here, and it’s not going away anytime soon. It’s the kind of energy that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and take notice, and causes what I call chicken skin to crawl up your spine and down your arms. You know the feeling—when someone walks over your grave. The mind, body, and our innate senses—our intuition—know when we’ve come across it. Don’t discount intuition: sometimes it’s the only thing keeping you from becoming part of the spirit world.
Normally, people will drive an extra mile to avoid the haunted, abandoned house that’s been for sale since a family was murdered there. The living can just feel someone—or something—watching them through the crack in the dusty curtains if they have to drive by. Not everyone avoids these kinds of energy-pit locations. Some seek them out looking for proof of a life beyond death, whether that be ghosts, demons, inert energy (the soul), or parallel universes in the form of vortexes. My team seeks it out—we feel it, we explore it, we document it, and we compile proof to convince others that energy beyond death exists. A point comes when no further proof is needed to convince ourselves, but rather we are ready present the proof to others and start them on their own journeys.
So, why are people compelled to search for existence of The Beyond? I suppose it’s because we all have one thing in common—one day we will all find the truth. Is it more comforting to find out beforehand? Will it convince us to live in the here and now? Is it fear? Or, are we just curious by nature with our mortality staring us in the face from the moment we learn to reason. Whatever your reason, you’re here now. My job from this moment on is to give you the straight-up accounts of some of the truth I have encountered, narratives that may set you on your own paranormal trek to look for your own truths about what happens in The End. Not the end of this book, but rather the mother of all The Ends—the end of you, of me, of life as we know it. We are creatures of habit. We don’t even like the thought of our daily routine being canceled by inconvenience, let alone death. There’s one question you have to ask yourself before reading this book: Do you really want to know? If your answer is Yes, then this book will end the world as you know it.
So after all that, if you’re still compelled to find out what lies beyond the veil, I can only guess it’s because of a personal experience you’ve had; something you’ve seen or heard but cannot explain even after rolling it over in your mind a couple thousand times. Maybe you’re even losing sleep over it. This book has more than thirty locations where you may be able to find the kind of energy you can work with to pursue your ongoing paranormal learning experiences.
As you read this, a couple of your own places probably come to mind. For many people, their own homes have become rife with the kind of energy prime for investigation, but not necessarily because their homes are truly haunted, but rather because they themselves have begun drawing this type of energy to themselves. Believe me, people can be more haunted than any castle. If you’re looking for locations but can’t get to the ones listed in this book, the case studies contained here can be used as a primer for investigation skills, as they are filled with practical advice on technique, tools, and advice—it’s all here. The rest will come intuitively.
Ghosthunting Southern California was created from the most compelling investigations of publicly accessible locations (some infamous for being haunted, others making their first appearance) I’ve found in Southern California. I’ve gone to these locations with my team and others to find out the history, the characters involved (both past and present), and why on earth someone would leave that wonderful Perfect Sleep that I found when I drowned only to hang out to contact—and sometimes terrify—those left behind. I discuss the equipment used, the evidence found, and the best times to seek places out (it’s not very often in the dead of night)—and provide a detailed description of the investigation with interviews of those involved. Though the firsthand accounts in this book may prompt you to sleep with the night-light on, I hope you instead choose to flip the light switches off and endeavor to find out what lies in the murky darkness beyond.
Take my hand, and free-fall into a place you’ve never wanted to go to but can’t stop thinking about as soon as you hear the tree branches scratching on the window on a still night, when the floorboards bend under weight in a house where only you reside … or so you thought. Push yourself to analyze each chapter and its relevance to your own path, as there are connections all around us. You just need to continue searching for the truth and the dots will begin to connect. Be cautious, be open-minded but skeptical, and above all go into this as a learning experience, and you won’t be disappointed. I wish you luck on your journey to touch the Other Side, and I trust that you’ll find what you’re looking for.
I won’t leave the porch light on for you … it’s for your own good.
Enjoy the journey,
Sally Richards
Los Angeles, July 2012
Old Town San Diego
Old Town San Diego
Four Winds Trading Company (1)
