The Pampa News Story of my house!

[Dan]

staff photo/J. Thompson Two teams of paranormal investigators visited Dan Guthrie’s house recently. From left are LPPIS team manager Billy Ryan, LPPS founder Paul Stewart, LPPIS co-founder Kenneth Hogan, LPPIS member Tamara Hogan, Texpart founder J.J. Rice and homeowner Dan Guthrie. The white, sphere-shaped ball of light to the left of Rice’s head is believed to be an orb, or collection of energy. Some investigators believe that orbs are signs of spirit activity.

It's a quiet Saturday evening on a nice residential street. A pair of joggers trot down the sidewalk and somewhere a dog barks. But for one residence, excitement is in the air.

It's a perfect night for hunting ghosts.

"I got started in this because of my house being haunted," said Dan Guthrie of Pampa Texas Paranormal Research Society. "I've had two paranormal groups here to investigate. One from Lubbock and one from Dallas which is a sister group of TAPS."

TAPS, or the Trans Atlantic Paranormal Society, is the subject of the Sci-Fi Channel series "Ghost Hunters." They have set the mold for paranormal investigation groups across the country by approaching the field from a scientific point of view. They first try to disprove any evidence of the paranormal they collect (recorded through thermal and infrared cameras, tape recorders or in photographs). It's this "debunking" process that has earned TAPS national recognition.




Once again, it is Guthrie's house that is being examined under a paranromal microscope in a collaboration between both groups that have investigated the residence previously: Lubbock Panhandle Paranormal Investigation Society (LPPIS) and the Texas Paranormal Advanced Research Team (Texpart).

"Dan had been contacting everybody under the sun trying to get help with his house, he was freaked out, and nobody would listen to him. We decided we'd come check it out," said Paul Stewart, founder of LPPIS. "The first investigation we realized we were in some pretty deep stuff."

That "stuff" started almost seven months ago for Guthrie, when he claims he was attacked by a violent entity at work. Guthrie believes that entity then followed him home and has since been attracting others. Among the entities he believes are in his house is a young girl named Jessica.

The girl's name was given to her after a child's voice was recorded through electronic voice phenomena (EVP). EVPs are disembodied voices picked up on digital or tape recorders that were not heard with the human ear at the time of the recording. It is only when these tapes are played back that the voices can be heard. When an investigator recently asked for a name in Guthrie's house, the voice responded with "Jessica."

"Jessie, I think, is still waiting for her own parents," Guthrie said. "She seems to have attached herself to my wife and has taken her on as a sort of surrogate mother."

On the night of the investigation, cameras are set up to record all of the rooms which are reported to have the most paranormal activity. One member of the group is constantly watching these rooms from a command station of monitors set up in Guthrie's kitchen. The investigators also bring with them EMF detectors, used to measure electromagnetic fields in the house. Some investigators believe that a spike in EMF is a sign of an entity trying to manifest itself by drawing energy from the air around it. Another sign is a sudden drop in temperature in a certain area of the room, or cold spots.

The investigators always go in pairs. It's safer that way.

"We have been attacked before," Stewart said. "We've had people, big guys too, that have been hit, thrown, slapped ... our clothes have been pulled. Anything can happen. That's why we make guest investigators sign a paper that says we're not responsible for anything that happens to you on an investigation."

There is a general consensus among the investigators that the activity in Guthrie's house is a classic poltergeist haunting. Activity recorded on previous investigations include voices and whistling noises, dark shadows moving through the hallways and a swing in the yard reportedly moving by itself on cue. On one occasion, a man's voice was clearly recorded demanding that the group "get out."

Guthrie and his family are desperate to see this activity end. Guthrie claims that he and his wife have been losing sleep and that his grandchildren are often afraid to spend the night.

"Helping people is the number one goal," J.J. Rice, founder of Texpart, said. "We're here to get answers to unanswered questions."

Each investigation is kept strictly confidential. Guthrie has agreed to talk about his experiences on the condition that his address is not divulged. However, it will be a long wait before the evidence comes in.

"There is a lot of science involved in this and hours and hours of analysis," Kenneth Hogan, co-founder of LPPIS, said. "We're running a number of cameras with eight hours of footage recorded per camera. Then you've got your recorders to listen to. It's a lot of work."

At the end of the day, or rather the night, the group has a message for skeptics and believers alike: don't be afraid.

"I'm apostolic and they're pretty hard on their people. I went to my pastor when I was having problems in my own house, very timidly, I thought he would think I was crazy. But to anyone out there who thinks they're nuts, I have to say this: If you believe in God then you believe in spirits," Rice said. "Don't be afraid. There are people out there, like us, who are willing to listen."

Email this story Printer friendly version
















On-line publication, Copyright © 2008, The Pampa News.
The Pampa News / P.O. Box 2198 / Pampa, TX 79066 / 806-669-2525