Sunday, November 7, 2021

Bonus - St. Augustine Lighthouse Investigation 2021

We arrive at the lighthouse and check in, do the bug spray thing and prepare our equipment. There were 25 of us - the largest ghost hunt we have ever hosted. We not only had our co-hosts Jerry and Tracy Paulley of Hillbilly Horror Stories, but Nick McGirr who hosts tours and investigations in Charleston also joined us and he had some nice equipment with him. We also had our hunt regular Dolly with us and she brought her new SLS camera with her. Many of the listeners also had equipment and we think everybody not only had a good time, but also had some unexplained things happen.

Everyone was invited to climb the lighthouse. The view from the top is so amazing, especially at night. Our host Amber and Diane talk about being locked in the lighthouse by something unseen. (Lighthouse 1) And Amber shares about being touched by a ghost at the lighthouse. (Lighthouse 2) Then we did a formal intro (Lighthouse Intro)

And we were off to investigate in the lighthouse. All the stories about the children who died here, do not give a specific date for their accident. The closest we've come is to a year, 1873. We never thought much about it until investigating this time and this came up on the Ghost Radar App. (Lighthouse 3) We got "summer," "real" and "research." Also the name "Adam." We also later got the name "Ellen" and the word "Florida."

Kathy Thomas was our spirit magnet in the lighthouse. She told us about hearing the little girls giggle when she was here before. (Lighthouse 4) Kathy felt the spirits more than once when we were at the base of the stairs in the tower and then we were able to verify her experience with equipment. (Lighthouse 5) So you hear there Kathy saying she feels cold spots, and then Kelly is using the temp gun and getting readings of colder temperatures near Kathy, especially her hand hanging by her side. Nick is capturing readings on his devices too. Then whatever this was leaves. Diane wanders down to the display cases and talks with one of the listeners about what she is experiencing. (Lighthouse 6) So she was feeling a cold area from her kneecap down and that's exactly the area that Kathy was getting her feelings of cold. Then whatever was around Kathy comes back and Diane is able to verify what Kathy is feeling not only with the EMF, but her own body. When you hear Diane talking about this, she has walked over to Kathy and crouched down with the EMF held up to Kathy's dangling hand. (Lighthouse 7) So Diane felt the same prickly feeling as Kathy and the EMF went off when we asked, pinging to orange and then red when asked. To Diane, this was the coolest experience of the evening. 

Next, we headed over to the Keeper's House and we started down in the basement where the most activity is usually reported. The creepiest thing down here was a mannequin in scuba gear. Dolly sat down next to it with her SLS and she captured something that was not the mannequin. (Lighthouse 8)

Then we started a series of Estes Method/Spirit Box sessions. Diane conducted the first one and unbeknownst to her, when she responded to questions or said something, other pieces of equipment started going off. (Lighthouse 9) What I liked on this was that I was getting nothing at the same time as the equipment stopped registering anything. And then the conversation picked back up with Nick asking questions. And Kelly felt something cold on her hand. Nick's equipment seems to support that. Kelly also described a spider web feeling and Kathy said she had that too. Then Diane blurts out Cornell. Diane did a little investigating about Keepers and wonders if this was Cardell, rather than Cornell. Second Assistant Cardell D. Daniels (1911-1914) Head Keeper: (1935 – 1943) Cardell had two kids, a boy named Cardell Jr. everyone called Cracker and a daugther named Wilma. In a previous St. Augustine episode we shared how Cracker launched his sister's cat Smokey out of the tower with a parachute, but the cat survived and showed back up a few weeks later. This was in the 1930s. In 1941, the Coast Guard took over the lighthouses and Cardell was given the option of retiring or putting on a Coast Guard uniform and he gladly accepted. The lighthouse also moved to being electrified during his time there. Wilma returned to the lighthouse for a visit in July 2021 at the age of 90 and climbed all the way to the top. She said of her father, "He'd sit on the railing with his butt. He was a real tall, thin fella. … He'd sit there and hold his feet up and slide all the way down." Cardell's wife Grace planted the yellow lilies that still grow at the lighthouse.

Kathy took over the Estes Method. (Lighthouse 10) She said "Rick" three times and this is after calling for help. We focused on a name, but that changed later when we went upstairs. Shantel pulled Diane aside and asked, "Do you think Rick could actually be wreck?" Then she pointed up and at the top of a display were these giant letters spelling WRECKED. We didn't stop to think of why the lighthouse was there. Because of shipwrecks. I don't know if we caught an EVP here, but I'll play it to see what you think. (Lighthouse EVP 1) Sounds like "job" to me. 

Nick takes over the Estes Method and things take a mean turn. (Lighthouse 11) Nick was firing off answers. He got Rick too. And we loved the "count to 3" and "smart." We went upstairs and did some work with the dowsing rods and Kelly got touched again. The REM pod also went off. Then our two hours was up. It went really fast and we had a great time! We really enjoyed Nick. He had a respectful investigation technique and he asked unique questions that were more personal.


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