Articles and Interviews

 This page will display articles and interviews that focus on my ghost hunting and paranormal investigations. I will also include articles about other ghost hunters, haunted locations, and events for paranormal investigations as I learn about them. If you are involved in an upcoming meeting, event, or program that other ghost hunters might find interesting, e-mail the information to me and I'll post it here.

Napa Register, October 29, 2008; article

 http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/10/29/arts/doc4907dbf818d73876289279.txt

Interesting Letter that offers verfication of Jeff Dwyer's report of paranormal activity at the Gig Harbor (WA) Grange:  

Date:Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:27:59 -0600 (MDT)
Subject:Gig harbor Grange
From:tech@paranormalwashington.com
To:Ghosthunter@jeffdwyer.com

Hi Jeff,

My name is Scott Power and I am the tech manager for Paranormal  Washington (PARAWA). We are a paranormal group for the general Kitsap/Tacoma area. I am contacting you because of experiences we recieved at the Gig Harbor Grange. The are consistent with what you experienced while there. The only difference is that we got photo and audio evidence from the location. Photo evidence is from two different apparations. The first one is of an older gentleman who is balding and has a fluffy beard. He appeared during our preliminary investigation where we take a series of reference pictures to place against anything we recieve that is different during the investigation.

The other apparation confers with your experience. It is  of a dark figure (shadow person) coming out of the ground grabbing hold of one of the chairs. It appears that it is reach towards us but is hard  to tell due to a shadow of one of the other chairs. You can clearly see  the hand grabbing the chair (all five fingers and thumb). We did a special technique using a camera that absorbs light to make a picture. We had other personable experiences as well.

Audio evidence we have answers to questions and other general EVPs. We would like to converse with you on your experience and share what evidence we have. We would also like to get your input on future investigations, if possible. For instance, we will be doing Manresa
 Castle in November. We will have a professional film crew with us. I have
 cited your book on our web page along with our evidence from the Grange.

Our website is paranormalwashington.com

I can be contacted at: dh_mtnracer@yahoo.com, tech@paranormalwashington.com

The Gig Harbor investigation will be in the local paper in the next  couple
of weeks. We are being interviewed there on October 16th. We look forward to talking with you and want to thank you for your work in the field of Paranormal Investigations.

Sincerely,

Scott Power
Tech Manager PARAWA 

         Check out this great organization at  http://www.paranormalwashington.com/

             Wine Country's Spookiest Spots 

                 Santa Rosa Press Democrat Newspaper, October 8, 2008. 

   Ever feel a shiver down your spine at the Sebastiani Theatre or feel a rush of air while walking the halls of the Hotel La Rose? Does Santa Rosa's Rural Cemetery give you the creeps? If not, maybe you just aren't paying close enough attention to the ghostly activity that some say surrounds Wine Country.

   Leading the spirit brigade is author and paranormal investigator Jeff Dwyer. His recently published Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Wine Country (Pelican Publishing Co., $14.95)is an exhaustive look at dozens of hotels, cemeteries, restaurants and homes in Napa, Mendocino and Sonoma rumored to be haunted. Apparently we're a spectral hot-spot with plenty of places for the undead to roam.

   With a colorful history of rogues, bandits, murders and general mayhem in our Wild West past, it's not a stretch to believe that ghosts still inhabit everything from secret tunnels in Sonoma to stately Victorians in Santa Rosa. One place that gets even Dwyer's hair on end is the crumbling Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery he calls "one of the spookiest graveyards in America." The author recounts a walk through the overgrown graves with a spirit (as in apparition) guide named Wanda. Though your spirit guide may vary (if they show at all), Dwyer recounts the more important graves to seek out: Santa Rosa's founding family, the Carrillos; victims of the 1906 earthquake and the former site of the "hanging tree" which sometimes appears as a faint shadow despite being cut down years ago. Creeeeepy.

   There's also the story of a child who disappeared into concealed Chinese tunnels beneath the town of Sonoma (and still haunts them, though the existence of such tunnels is denied). And if you're planning on wine tasting, just be sure to bring your spectrometer because wineries from Schramsberg and and Buena Vista
Carneros to Hop Kiln are rumored to have spirits of their own.
At the Gables Wine Country Inn in Santa Rosa, there's a rumor that ghosts of previous owners can be seen in the tall Victorian windows if you look just right. They could also be guests, depending on your level of imagination.

   Dwyer takes his ghost hunting deadly serious. Filled with fascinating historical details that few locals even know, the book is eerily convincing in its convictions. The first chapter includes a how-to guide to conducting your own ghostly hunts, including when and where you're most likely to find them. Dwyer adds anecdotes about his own sightings and feelings of dread at various locations adding to the creep-out factor.

Questions by David Markland

Answers by Jeff Dwyer

1. How did you end up becoming an expert, or “go to guy” on ghosts?

I have the innate sensitivity to see or otherwise perceive disembodied spirits and I have the guts to write about it under my real name. I developed a method of enhancing sensitivity to spirits, hauntings, and other paranormal phenomena that works extremely well for me and for others. People come to me not only to learn where ghosts have been spotted but also to enhance their chances of experiencing ghostly activity.My passion for history and some skill as a writer and researcher culminated in my 8-book series of ghost hunter’s guides. A guide for San Francisco has been published (May 2005). The Los Angeles guide was due September 2006 but my publisher is in New Orleans and Katrina still limits their productivity. Books on New Orleans and Seattle are completed and scheduled for publication in 2007. I am currently working on a guide to California’s wine country.

2. Do you believe in ghosts? And if so, what’s your theory behind the “science” of how they work?

 Of course I believe in the existence of ghosts, and many other paranormal phenomena. I’ve had so many experiences that I am I absolutely certain that something remains after bodily death. As for the science, that’s not something I have studied in depth largely because I do not use “scientific” methods of ghost hunting. I use psychic methods which do not produce data or evidence, but are far more productive in terms of experiences.

I can tell you that people who use expensive technical equipment (like those guys in SciFi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters” series) are not really examining the scientific nature of a ghost or haunting.

People who study the science of ghosts tell us that these beings exist at a higher vibrational frequency than we flesh-and-blood humans. This makes them invisible to us except at times when their energy level, and frequency, changes. This very scientific explanation prompts a lot of skepticism and well-deserved derision from hard-line scientists.

3. Have you ever seen a ghost?   

I’ve seen hundreds. I first saw a ghost when I was about 10 years old. It was an old sailor walking along a street in Alameda, an island community on San Francisco Bay. He walked bent over, carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder. Without pausing, he turned and looked directly at me. I saw a troubled look on his face then he vanished. I’ve experienced this kind of thing on a fairly regular basis for years. I saw a ghost in a Sonoma cemetery two days ago. I watched this fellow walk 50 feet then disappear into a mausoleum wall. I’ve seen ghosts that appear entirely life-like and others who are transparent, showing only a hand, pair of legs, or a head. 

4. Now to Los Angeles….what surprised you the most, if anything, while doing your research in Los Angeles area ghosts? Any particularly unusual stories or older stories debunked?

I was most surprised by the preservation of several historic places from the Spanish and Mexican colonial periods that I thought would have been gobbled up by the LA megalopolis. Some examples are… 

Leonis Family Adobe in Calabasas, once of the home of the most hated man in California.

The Avila adobe on Olvera Street. The ghost of Francisco Avila’s widow still walks the floorboards.

Dominquez Rancho Adobe in Carson was once the anchor of a 75,000 acre land grant issued by King Carlos III of Spain in 1784.

Civil War-era Drum Barrack in Wilmington has been investigated by a team of ghost hunters from England and featured on a Travel Channel program called “Most Haunted.”

Rancho Los Cerritos Adobe in Long Beach once sat on a 300,000 acre land grant. The evil ghost of a ranch foreman still walks the ground.

I didn’t encounter any ghost stories or legends that I debunked. I found many stories and so-called ghost reports that were far from credible and, thus, deleted them from consideration for my book.

5.  As a kid, I was disappointed by hearing stories of “friendly” ghosts as I would have  been if I heard someone telling me they didn’t exist. Can you share with me a couple of the more evil spirits that still haunt LA?

At the Rancho Los Cerritos Adobe in Long Beach, the evil ghost of a ranch foreman has been sensed by psychics and experienced by visitors. This man ruled the ranch hands—including many Indians pressed into service as slaves—with an iron fist. His spirit became more active when part of the old rancho was crossed by a freeway. If he dislikes visitors, he will create foul odors (his breath?) and stand so close they feel his unwelcoming energy.

An evil presence has been discovered in the basement of The Comedy Store (8433 Sunset) in Hollywood. This may be the ghost of a man whose legs were broken by mobsters in the 1940’s. The ghost growls and appears as a tall black-shrouded form. The ghost of a hit man may also roam the Comedy Store causing the lights to flicker and creating a thick, sickening atmosphere.

6.     Can you share with me a couple, of LA haunting stories that might be new to our LA-based readers?

It is hard to be certain that a “new” ghost story isn’t one that simply seeped through a crack in the doors of history, having been long forgotten. There are reports of strange sensations at the Nicole Brown-Simpson / Ron Goldman murder site and in the alley behind the building. Sensitive people pick-up on fear, rage, and great sadness.

Nearly a century ago, the Rose Garden in Exposition used to attract high-society who strolled the paths on Sunday afternoons. Images of these finely dressed people have been seen with greater frequency. This may have been triggered by changes in the flow of underground water or other environmental factors that affect local energy.

The Stadium Tavern (305 N. Harbor Blvd) in Fullerton often hosts ghosts who also wander through other businesses housed in the Villa del Sol. The ghost of Chuck, once a frequent customer, creates cold spots at the bar. Sometimes manager Tom Dow takes customers downstairs to his office, turns off the lights, and reads stories about the ghost of this historic building complex.

7.      In your research, did you come across any great haunted restaurants in LA that residents here might find appropriate for a lunch sometime before Halloween?

There are several places in the greater LA area to experience a great meal and ghostly activity.

In the Malibu area, try Moonshadows (20356 Pacific Coast Highway). The foggy image of a ghost appears in the mirror in the men’s restroom.   

Father up the coast, the Paradise Cove Café, north of Malibu (28128 West PCH) a ghost waitress thickens the atmosphere and creates cold spots.

The Four Oaks Restaurant in Bell Air (2181 N Beverly Glen Blvd) was once a stage coach stop that attracted gamblers, prostitutes, and other unsavory characters. Some of them remain as ghosts.

La Golondrina Restaurant on Olvera Street harbors ghosts on the upper floor.

Sweet Lady Jane’s Bakery (8360 Melrose Ave.) in Los Angles was a hangout for Orson Wells. The odor of his cigars is sometimes detected here.

El Compadre Restaurant (7408 Sunset) in Hollywood harbors the ghosts of three people shot in a robbery attempt.

The Brownstone Restaurant at the Villa del Sol (305 N. Harbor Blvd) in Fullerton is the haunt of a murder victim from the roaring twenties.

A murdered waitress is still on duty at JJ Live Oak Steak House in Corona.

Cordelia Knott still over-sees business as patrons dine on the famous Knott’s Berry Farm chicken dinner.

 The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica (1415 Ocean Ave.) is a good place for a drink, and a chance to see the 1933 art-deco hotel’s original owner, Rosamond Borde.

8. When the inevitable happens, how would you like to spend your time as a ghost?

First, I want to visit as many family members as I can to let them know that I made the crossing and I am feeling great. Then, I want to latch onto anyone I can find who has the sensitivity to communicate with spirits so I can convey as much information as I can about the nature of the “other side.” Then I’m going to hang-out at a Starbucks.

9.  What’s the biggest myth about ghosts that people should know?

I think the biggest myth is that ghosts are responsible for anything we experience that is weird, paranormal, or supernatural. We need to consider the possibility that what we think is ghostly activity may be created by living beings. Apparitions, odors, sounds, movements of objects, etc., may be attributed to living people to who can perform astral projection, split their spirits and travel as a doppelganger, or create environmental disturbances with strong, negatively-charged emotions.  

The appearance of apparitions and perception of sounds or odors may be a haunting, not the manifestation of the spirit of a dead person. A haunting is an environmental imprint made before death. It replays, like a video loop, when triggered by emotional or physical factors. Sensitive people can perceive these environmental imprints and think they are seeing their dead grandmother’s ghost lying in a bed. In fact, they are seeing a residual environmental imprint created before death.  

Hauntings are usually the result of repetitive activity, performed at a specific place, associated with intense emotions linked, somehow, to the death of the individual. Imagine a prisoner, chained to a wall and tortured everyday at noon. After thirty days of this, he dies. He leaves behind an environmental imprint that may be perceived decades or even centuries after the event that created it. Lucky, sensitive people visiting Alcatraz or other prisons may perceive imprints such as this, sometimes with great ease.

10. Where do ghosts spend their time when they’re not out haunting?

I don’t know. Maybe I’ll tell you when I pass over to the other side. I can tell you that time, as we know it, might not exist on the other side. The passage of a century may seem like a blink of an eye to a ghost.    

Special Events

October 18, Bartholomew Park Winery in Sonoma, CA; annual Sips and Spirirts, 7-10 PM.

May 16-18, Haunted and Paranormal Investigations of Northern California is hosting another great conference at the most haunted Brookdale Lodge in the glorioius Santa Cruz Mountains.  Contact www.HPIparanormal.net for information and registration.