ArtRojasDesign

For this episode, the intrepid trio heads out to San Pedro California to the Fort McArthur Museum that was established in 1914 at the start of World War I. As with anything associated with the military during war time, this Fort has it’s share of accidents and deaths, but there are a couple of events that stand out. First, there is the recent event where a man walked up from his car with a shotgun in his hand just to kill himself inside the walls of the fort. Secondly, this is the location of the Battle of Los Angeles, which occurred in 1942. Without warning, the command was given to open fire on what the troops thought was an enemy air attack. Thousands of shells were launched, but no aircraft of any kind were shot down. In fact, no wreckage about the enemy was discovered at all. The troops were literally shooting at nothing. Some believe they were shooting at weather balloons, while others believe they were shooting at UFOs. No confirmation either way has ever been given.

As they tour the facility they speak with a couple different people who claim to have seen figures walking around. One claims to see a man in a small brimmed hat, while another claims to see men disappearing into some dark portal in the middle of a solid brick wall. We have another guest appearance from Marti and Mike Parry who also believe there is some portal to the other side and Marti tries to walk down the darkened corridor before realizing it’s solid. Mike believes he makes contact with two different men, one of which tells him to go to the supply room where the military uniforms are kept. This is clearly mysterious because no one knows this part of the tour exists, except of course Zak and now everyone else who watched the episode. Since tour guides never take people back there, clearly it’s a hush hush secret. And of course talking about men with small brimmed hats and in uniform is quite unusual when visiting a military barracks. You pretty much have a 50-50 shot of getting that right. They also believe they have made contact with an Ashley Radcliffe who was enlisted as a private in the apparently easily obtained service man list.

So with the investigation underway they believe they make contact with one of the spirits, Jason. He only gives his first name then disappears until the very end when they think they hear the same voice say, "Lisa". During the course of the night they hear quite a few noises, bangs and dragging sounds – perhaps even the sound of someone coughing. Zak reveals that he’s been told a lot of things "off camera" so there is no way the psychics or other guests would know the history of the fort so it confirms all the events they’re experiencing.

Not much evidence is coming through so Zak fires up the full spectrum camera and believes he captures a full bodied apparition. Once he zooms in all the way and moves the point of view around he believes he can make out the head, shoulders, torso and even the legs of a soldier at the very far end of the hall. Shockingly, it’s not in the next photo. He feels this is compelling evidence of confirmation that one of the spirits manifested itself. I suppose that’s one answer, or it could be matrixing and the sincere desire to capture something down there. But I wasn’t there so who knows.

For the last few minutes of the investigation, Zak once again works with the spirit box to try and talk to the man who committed suicide there in 2009. He gets the words "pain" and then what he thinks is "quiero" – Spanish for want. Interesting replies, but I’m not sure how that ties in with anything.

When all is said and done I think Fort McArthur is more interesting because of the events in 1942 where thousands of rounds were shot into the sky in an attempt to hit an oncoming enemy, yet when the sun came up, they didn’t hit a damn thing. People can say there is some sort of dark portal to the other side down in the basement of the fort, but considering the extremely low level of evidence, I think we should just take this as a regular war museum and just pay tribute to the men and women who have served and sacrificed for protecting this country.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Silent Movie Theater – S14E05
• Ghost Adventures – Fort Chaffee – S04E10
• Ghost Adventures – Lizzie Borden House – S05E05
• Ghost Asylum – Castillo de San Marcos – S03E05
• Ghost Adventures – Heritage Junction – S09E06
• Ghost Adventures – The Star of India – S12E06
• Ghost Adventures – USS Hornet – S04E08
• Haunted History – Ghosts of Gettysburg – S01E02
• What happened to that Ghost Hunters Live DVD?
• Ghost Stalkers – Holmesburg Prison – S01E04

For this episodes our intrepid trio is just north of Los Angeles in the Santa Clarita valley at Heritage Junction to investigate claims of the paranormal. It’s town full of preserved buildings from the bygone era of steam railways. When those buildings began to crumble, they were brought here. But apart from being a museum, it’s claimed there are some sinister stories to go with the buildings. First, there is the death of a trainman, who unfortunately was killed when the train he was on top of went into a tunnel. There is also the story of a woman who died in one of the homes when she was shot through the heart. It is believed her husband was behind the shooting. Either way, this is looking like a cold blooded murder or a tragic suicide. But they did unravel the true story of what happened.

As they gather background stories about the place they come across a man who claims to have seen a figure in the window not more than a few hours ago and an investigator who had a negative experience when she was scratched by something. She ventures back into the house and once again feels a negative energy and feels like she’s been scratched. Both she and Zak compare notes to say they felt angry and aggressive after their time in the house.

Additionally, they get in touch with Marti and Michael Parry who have investigated the location previously. For this go round they feel they make contact with spirits that are associated with Nick. They pick up on the name Helen, which Nick believes is Eleanor which is his grandmother’s name. There is also the suggestion that other family members who have recently passed are in this location with them. How strange that they make the jump from Helen to Ellen to Eleanor and that it’s associated with Nick as well as spirit energy just tripping around the country with him.

As they start the investigation they get the usual sounds of bangs, bumps, footsteps and mumbling. That’s pretty consistent across all of their investigations no matter where they end up. Zak feels he hears the sound of a pipe dragging across the floor when he asks for the spirits to make a noise for him. When they leave the spirit box running they feel they get the words, "Please… Aaron… It’s him." It’s also in this same room where they leave the spirit box running after they leave that all sort of voices can be heard, voices they think say "Betty… Stop."

Later on Zak feels he’s pushed by an entity when he tries to walk up the stairs. This is the same force that Billy feels when he walks around the location earlier that same night. I’m sure there is no way it could be an off kilter stair or a staircase that simply leans to one side that throws them off balance.

We also have the old orb in the back of the head trick. Aaron makes a comment about how he feels then grabs the back of his head. Right after there is a ball of light that mysteriously floats up and disappears into his noggin. To be blunt, I’m sick to damn death of these stupid orbs and how they go into the back of people’s head and manipulate them. I just can’t behind that and it such a worn out idea. Is Aaron really puppet for every ball of light that comes dancing along in an old building?

So in the end they have all the sounds you would expect to hear from an old building. There are creaks, bumps and footsteps. However, this one comes with voices that murmur when no one else is around. That is sort of interesting, but seriously, there are plenty of explanations for that sort of thing not the least of which is air, boards settling and animals moving around.

While the stories of this place are neat, it seems that’s all we’ve got, stories. The psychics can draw whatever pictures they want and claim you’re relatives are standing behind you all day long. In the end not a whole lot happens on this investigation and no matter how dramatic Zak tries to act, sometimes and old building is just an old building.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Snug Harbor Sailors – S07E19
• Ghost Adventures – Jerome Grand Hotel – S04E20
• Ghost Adventures – Washoe Club and Chollar Mine
• Paranormal Lockdown – Kreischer Mansion – S01E06
• Ghost Adventures – Mizpah Hotel – S05E02
• Ghost Adventures – Bannack Ghost Town – S09E04
• Ghost Adventures – Return to Linda Vista Hospital – S06E05
• Ghost Adventures – Amargosa Opera House – S04E11
• Paranormal Lockdown – Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – S01E01
• Ghost Adventures – Lechtworth Village – S05E06

Zak, Nick and Aaron head out to Bannack Montana to investigate an old mining town with a checkered past and tales of the paranormal. The mining town was established in 1862 and hundreds of millions of dollars were pulled from the ground. As with so many gold rush towns it was lawless, harsh and riddled with disease. The claims of the paranormal extend from small children afflicted with scarlet fever to a sheriff that caused more chaos than he came to solve. So much in fact that he was hanged by an angry mob.

The death toll in the area is quite high with many children being boarded up in the Crying Baby House to quarantine their disease and the Sheriff is rumored to have killed over 100 men in 8 months. There is also the story of Dorothy who lost her life while swimming in a dredge pond. This has lead many to feel they’ve had experiences of crying children, the sound of footsteps, being pushed or touched and seeing figures moving around.

Things start off with Zak getting very excited at the idea of capturing a shadow forming out of the wall.

Our trio investigate multiple buildings and gets the usual bangs, knocks and footsteps. A lot of this should be attributed to the wood popping as it expands and contracts, although the sounds of someone walking outside on the boardwalk outside the saloon is pretty interesting. It’s quite loud and sounds like a set of heavy boots on wood.

Other evidence they gather includes a couple of voices coming through the Spirit Box. They get the words "hate" and "hurt" right at the same time Zak feels a sense of paralysis at the top of the stairs. This is apparently the same spot where Franciso says he felt someone pushing at his back as though trying to shove him down the stairs. Zak feels this is a demonic energy and feels it may be the corrupt Sheriff, Henry Plummer.

The group brings in a couple of triggers objects – an old style crank phone and very old radio. When Billy cranks up the phone he feels he’s seeing balls of light and energy around him. When Zak and Nick use the radio they feel they get the sound of a little girl saying, "momma".

They also capture the sound of what might be a piano playing in the saloon.

When they split up to check different buildings Aaron gets a couple of words on the Ovilus – Six, Men, Apart. Is this once again referring to them and the sprit of Sheriff Plummer?

While I don’t think they nailed anything solid – I discount the bangs, pops and orbs, they did get some voices that are worth investigating. The footsteps outside, while completely explainable as someone walking or just boards cooling, makes for an interesting sound outside the saloon.

However, there was the sound of piano and the voice. Is this proof positive they captured something? Not really. To me it means there is something worth investigating. I don’t really jump on board with these orbs and streaks of light. Zak can discount lens flare and dust particles all he wants, but that doesn’t make it spirit energy. And while I think the footsteps are neat, I hear those same sounds all the time in my house as the wood handles the heat and cold. It sounds like someone moving around all the time and I know damn well and good there aren’t any spirits lurking in here. Perhaps it is ethereal footsteps, but there are real world explanations too.

So, an interesting investigation with a couple of neat events. Plus, the place is wonderfully scenic with mountains, steams and deer. That makes the visit worthwhile.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – The Copper Queen Hotel and The Oliver House – S06E03
• Ghost Adventures – Goldfield Hotel – S04E16
• Ghost Adventures – Battle of Perryville Field Hospital – S08E11
• Ghost Adventures – Palace Saloon – S13E03
• Paranormal Cops – Stirring Up The Dead – S01E03
• Paranormal Lockdown – Franklin Castle – S01E03
• Ghost Adventures – Thornhaven Manor – S08E10
• Ghost Adventures – The Pioneer Saloon – S08E01
• Ghost Adventures – Virginia City – S05E07
• Killer Contact – Mayan Empire – S01E05