Aug 29 2007
The Basics
2007 Update: As of June 2007, Ghost Expeditions have moved back to New Orleans and are no longer offering public programs in Los Angeles.Ghost Expeditions, from the International Society for Paranormal Research (ISPR), are experiential investigations of properties that have shown evidence of paranormal activity. Participants are divided into teams, given an orientation on how to use the equipment and then let loose in the building to see what they can find. After several hours of investigating, the teams reconvene to report their findings and the Ghost Expeditions leader reveals what is known about the actual history of the building and its occupants. Ghost Expeditions is exploration, rather than science, but if you're curious, you might want to test your psychic skills on some ghosts in Little Tokyo.
My Expedition
I had no idea what to expect from Ghost Expeditions when I signed up, but I thought we might be observing paranormal investigators at work. I pictured it something like the TV show Mysterious Ways, with computers and sensors set up all over the room.I invited my sister Casey to go with me to the first night of Ghost Expeditions in Little Tokyo. In addition to being an actress, artist and accountant, my sister is a psychic. She's been right enough times for me to trust her when she calls and tells me not to drive on the 101. I've had my own experiences with things that go bump in the night, but manage to remain skeptical of others until they prove themselves. I figured Casey would be quick to figure out if there was a hoax. If the place was really haunted, she'd be the first one communing with the spirits.
Our Guide for the evening was psychic investigator, Daena Smoller, who set the scene with an intro to the field of parapsychology and some background on her own initiation into the paranormal. Since it was the first night of this Ghost Expeditions series, parapsychologist Larry Montz, founder of ISPR, joined us for the evening as well.
The Research Tools
The dozen paranormally curious participants gathered around Daena in a small back office for our orientation on the ghost hunting equipment. There were no computers, fancy sensors or infrared cameras. And the professionals weren't going to operate the equipment; we were. Each team was given a magnetometer (EFT meter), digital thermometer and a pair of metal dowsing rods they call L rods. The latter are apparently not everyone's idea of proper ghost hunting equipment, but "some people get a really strong reaction with them, so we use them," Daena told us. We also had a clipboard for recording our results and a couple flashlights.I already felt out of the ordinary and we hadn't gotten started yet. I felt like something was pressing on top of my head. I kept looking at the ceiling high above and thinking it must have been much lower before, because I could feel it pressing down on me.
