FSB Author Article
Paranormal Plus
By Deborah LeBlanc,
Author of Water Witch
When
I started delving into paranormal investigation years ago, my
adventures were done alone and with little more than a disposable
camera, compass, flashlight, and a set of brass balls. Over time, I
collected more sophisticated tools of the trade, like an EMF detector,
infrared cameras, etc. The set of brass balls remained a constant.
Eventually, I joined professional paranormal investigation teams, began
traveling to purported haunted locations throughout the country, and
even did some scouting for MTV's Fear program.
Over
the years, I've visited hundreds of cemeteries, and my camera's caught
flying orbs near Poe's grave in Baltimore, squiggly strings of white
light that wove through tombs in old family plots in Nebraska, and
child-size shadows perched atop two headstones in Atlanta, Georgia.
Oddly enough, the cemetery known as the most haunted in America, Big
Woods Cemetery, offered nothing but hungry mosquitoes.
The most fascinating experience I've had in a cemetery came from a
small town in Mire, La., where my maternal grandfather is buried. One
evening I took my youngest daughter (who was fourteen at the time) and
two of her friends out for burgers. While we're eating, my daughter
decides to tell her friends about the weird things her mom does for
fun . . . like ghost hunting. They grow wide-eyed, of course, and ask a
million questions, their last one being, "Can you take us to a cemetery
and show us how to hunt for ghosts . . . like now?"
My daughter then gives me that, "You've gotta, Mom, 'cause they'll
think I'm so cool!" look. Geez . . .
Before long I had three fourteen year-olds (2 girls, 1 boy)
begging -- loudly -- to ghost hunt. Although I envisioned angry parents
pounding on my front door later that night, insisting I be taken away
to a mental ward, I couldn't resist those cherub faces. That, and the
fact that they pooled their money and bribed me with a slice of
chocolate cake did me in.
Wanting to minimize any risks, I thought of the most benign cemetery I
knew -- St. Theresa's in Mire, La. The cemetery sits on a corner lot in
the
middle of town. Beside it is a church and across the street is a gas
station and Mire City Hall. Streetlights line both sides of the street,
so in truth, the spookiest thing about the place is the creak of the
cemetery gate when you open it.
So, armed with a digital camera and a flashlight, both of which are
always in my car, we head for the cemetery. Once there, the kids stay
glued to my side, whispering to each other, looking over their shoulder
every few minutes as we walked amongst the graves. A car backfired in
the distance, and the boy gasped so loudly, I thought he'd swallowed
his tongue. We had a good laugh over that, which helped the kids to
relax and eventually wonder off on their own to different tombs. All
the while I'm snapping pictures, hoping for an orb or two, but getting
absolutely nothing -- note the picture below.
It wasn't long before I spotted my grandfather's grave, (below). I
was
three when he passed away, so my daughters never knew him.
As I drew closer to the tomb, I got a sudden, overwhelming urge to
'introduce' my grandfather to my youngest. So I called my daughter
over, showed her the tomb, then said aloud, "Pop-pop, (which is what
everyone called him) this is your great-granddaughter, Sarah." No
sooner did the words leave my mouth than another urge hit. Take a
picture . . .
now! So I did.
And this is what showed up.
This image, which stood at the foot of my grandfather's tomb,
wasn't physically seen by any of us. Had it not been for the camera, we would
have never known it was there. Is this my grandfather stopping by to
say hello? I don't know. But it sure is cool to consider the
possibility!
In my many travels, and with the aid of better equipment, I've managed to capture oddities, like the one, as well as strange, disjointed voices on digital recorders. But after fifteen years of investigating, I still can't lay claim to having seen a full-bodied apparition. Maybe I'm too much of a Doubting Thomas for spirits to bother materializing when I'm around. I did learn the hard way, though, that you don't have to see a ghost to make it angry.
©2009 Deborah LeBlanc,
author
of Water Witch
Author
Bio
Deborah LeBlanc, author of Water
Witch, is an award-winning author from Lafayette,
Louisiana. She is also a business owner, a licensed death scene
investigator, and an active member of two national paranormal
investigation teams. Deborah's unique experiences, enthusiasm, and
high-energy level make her a much sought-after speaker at writer's
conferences across the nation. She also takes her passion for literacy
and a powerful ability to motivate to high schools around the country.
She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, the Writers'
Guild of Acadiana, Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter, and
an active member of Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Women
Writers, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, Deborah
created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual national campaign
designed to encourage more people to read, and soon after founded
Literacy Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting
illiteracy in America.
For more information please visit http://www.theleblancchallenge.com/