Wow, what a night!

Last night something kept both Holly and Sarah, both in different rooms, awake through the night.

Holly told me this morning as I was getting ready for work that something like the sound of a plastic grocery bag was made in her ear and woke her up. She couldn't go back to sleep so read for a while.

Sarah called me while I was driving into work and told me that, even though she did not have her cat in her room last night, something kept knocking things over in her room, and she heard footsteps on carpet walking around her room.

Come to think of it, I did hear something get knocked over in her room during the night, but lately I've been attributing it to her cat.

I told her that next time things are going on like that, turn on the recorder on her phone, and I'll figure a way to get it off her phone and into my analysis software so I can have a listen.

In fact, I might just keep a recorder in her room tonight anyway.

A flurry of activity after a long hiatus

The past week has had a lot of stuff happening. It started early in the week of the girls complaining that they are seeing lots of shadows out of the corner of their eyes. They've been used to this stuff for so long now it no longer scares them - it just bothers them. So when they see this stuff they report it to me. I've not seen any shadows though.

Sarah has seen the girl outside, peeking at her from the porch as she is swinging on the swing.

Then three nights ago, it was late and Holly and I were retired to our bedroom for the night. The girls had watched just finished watching a movie in one of their bedrooms and were getting ready for bed, going in and out of various bedrooms and the bathroom. At one point, there was silence in the hall outside Holly and my bedroom - all the girls must have been in their own rooms.

There was a knock on the door - three distinct raps.

"Yes?" I asked, thinking it was one of the girls.

No reply.

"Yes??" I asked again, a little annoyed now.

No answer.

I realized that it wasn't the girls that had knocked, but something else. Holly was already asleep so didn't hear it.

The next night (two nights ago), the knock happened again. This time, Holly was a awake and asked the same question I did the previous night. "Yes?" thinking it was one of the girls knocking.

I told her don't bother, no one was there.

This got her a little upset. "This stuff is not supposed to be happening any more." She was referring to the fact that the house had been blessed. I didn't know what to tell her.

And finally, this morning something new happened. Ok, some background: we have a chihuahua, who, we discovered, likes to howl if prodded. So on many occasion one of us will hold him, and howl into the air. It only takes a few tries of this to get him to start howling. It's very cute. Shelby does it the most often - to the point where I have to say, "Ok, enough!"

This morning, I was downstairs in the basement, looking something up on the computer. Holly was upstairs in the kitchen.

I heard someone howl - a child. It came from above my head in the living room where the dogs were. It was a howl in the exact same way that Shelby howls to get Ignacio (the chihuahua) to howl.

I heard Holly say, "What was that?" from above. I went upstairs and told her that I heard it too. I asked where the girls were, and she said that all the girls were on the top floor in their bedrooms.

So we sort of looked at each other and realized that it had to be the child, girl spirit that we see most often. We had just heard her howl at 'Nacio, playing with him and trying to get him to start howling.

*That* is weird.

Strange things wake both Holly and Sarah

Sarah (my oldest daughter) told me this morning she was up for several hours last night, listening to footsteps go up and down the stairs, walk around the landing outside our bedroom doors, and walk around her room.

I asked her how long this went on, and she told me off and on for several hours.

I mentioned this to Holly (my wife) while we were drinking coffee outside on the deck, and Holly told me that a woman's voice woke her up last night. It was sharp, and loud, and said "Go to your room!" It was like a woman scolding children, she said.

I asked Holly if she heard any footsteps. She didn't.

I then asked Sarah later on today if she heard a anyone talking loudly. She didn't.

I'm going to record every night this week and see if I can catch either phenomenon on the recording.

Just got touched

I'm doing the dishes in the kitchen, and I feel someone touch my left shoulder blade, almost as if picking off a piece of lint from my shirt. I fully expected Sarah, my oldest, to be behind me, even felt her presence behind me, but when I turned around there was no one in the kitchen with me.

EVP Session: The Farmer's Walk

This is the the second EVP session I have conducted in an area outside my house I have called "The Farmer's Walk".

This session was performed at 9:30 March 18th (contrary to what I state in the session).

There is a loud whine the first 10 seconds of the recording. I will try to remember to let the recorder go for 10 seconds before beginning so I can cut this out next time.

I think I did a better job this time asking questions. When the session starts, I accidentally fall back to my old ways with an unfriendly tone, then quickly recover by starting over and stating my name with a friendlier tone. I still ask questions too brusquely - it's hard not to be self-conscious basically talking to yourself.

I also need to stand still after I ask a question. The rustling of my movement is obscuring any possible answer I could be picking up.

3:06 something taps the recorder. It wasn't me. I was holding it in one hand, and keeping a tight grip on it.

3:35 In response to my question "What did you do for a living?" there is something imprinted on the recording. I tried reducing the background noise in audacity, but it's intelligible. I also tried reversing the audio, but that turned up nothing I could understand either.

4:08 the recorder is tapped again, harder this time.

5:03 noise from the recording software

5:21 noise from the recording software

I see something peek it's head over the bed at me

Yesterday morning I was on the bed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a white flash of movement. It looked distinctly like a small head that peeked up over the side of the bed and quickly ducked back down.

EVPs and Bumps-in-the-Night: Recordings from January 5th, 2009

Here are more recordings that have been stored on my digital recorder, this time from early 2009.

Clip #1, 3:00 am, 0'13''
Noise Reduction: 10db
0:05: Me breathing
0:06: Something is being banged or taped around. The taps start quick, then slow down.

Clip #2, 4:21 am, 0'10''
Noise Reduction: 10db
0:06: A small voice humming.

Clip #3, 5:34 am, 0'13''
Noise Reduction: 10db
0:05: A loud bang, which is enough to wake one of us up.
0:09: Holly making a sound as she is half-woken from her sleep either by the sound, or me turning over.
0:13: A little girl's voice - not Holly's.
0:21: As we are still getting comfortable to fall back asleep, you hear a little girl's voice say "Hi".