A season on the hunt: Ghosts of the Mid West.

As much as I enjoy a good story of the paranormal, especially a first hand account, I still believe it’s important for everyone, at some point, to try to find the truth for them selves. I set out this summer to do just that. Loaded with a digital camera, digital voice recorder and a mini DVD camcorder, I set out to find the truth.

The hunt began on June 21st, just across the border in Joplin Missouri. I suppose I should have taken my foray into the Peace Church Cemetery as a sign of things to come. Though the trip turned into a complete disaster, it wasn’t enough to sway me from my quest. There were ghosts to be hunted and I’d leave no tombstone unturned until I found one.

After searching the web for a few weeks, looking for like-minded individuals, I met Clint who lived just up the road in Pea Ridge. Soon we were hunting together and a new group was born. I chronicled the beginnings in Birth of a Paranormal Research Group. It was my second hunt in just a few weeks and though I personally hadn’t experienced anything paranormal, I was still excited.

One week later on July 22nd I was once again in an allegedly haunted cemetery.

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Clint, His son Brandon and myself arrived just as the sun was setting, together we were going to find the ghosts of this sad little church and the cemetery that lay behind it. Hours later, with my camera card full and the DVD running out of power we decided to call it a night.

A review of the evidence the next day revealed one lousy orb.


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Now some of the other members had claimed to be touched and there was actually evidence to support that. Others were getting EVP’s on the recorders, though I couldn’t hear them. That’s probably on me though; I’ve had severe tinnitus since the day they took out my wisdom teeth. A ghost would have to be dressed up like Al Jolson and singing “My Dear old Mammy’ for me to read it’s lips.

I’d been ghost hunting for over a month now and had yet to find so much as smudge in a picture. I was beginning to suspect the spirit world didn’t like me.

I wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet, and on July 31st I was once again on the hunt. This time a friend, Craig, and myself headed out to The Old Spanish Treasure Cave. Once again I came up empty handed.

Depression was setting in.

Regardless of the stories others told, I could find no sign of the paranormal. The doubts were weighing down on me like the old hag during sleep paralysis. If something didn’t show itself soon, there would simply be no point in going on.

On August 26th my spirits had lifted and I was once again ready to give it another shot. Clint, myself and several other members of what was now known as Pea Ridge Paranormal had gathered for a night of ghost hunting at the old Gentry Mortuary.

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It had long since ceased to be an actual mortuary and was now more of a storage facility for a band. The place was pretty cool to hang out in and for the first time the group had electricity at our disposal. We could run cameras from the next-door staging area into the facility and watch as the action unfolded. My DVD camera was set up to cover the old bleed out room.

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We learned a valuable lesson that night. With the bright IR cameras at the front of the mortuary, anyone walking inside would cast shadows, even though it was pitch black to the human eye. Those shadows were being picked up by my camera, which rendered everything it recorded moot.

I had struck out again.

I was quickly running out of summer and still had nothing to prove or disprove the existence of the paranormal.

By now Pea Ridge Paranormal had met another group, Paranormal Research of the Ozarks, and the two groups had decided to become one. Our first hunt together was quickly approaching.

On September 17th we met at the Metfield Grill in Bella Vista Arkansas. There were plenty of ghost stories about the place, including people’s ashes being spread in the pond out back. Glasses moved on their own, apparitions were seen and noises heard. That still didn’t prepare me for the grill itself. This wasn’t a grill; it was a Swiss Chalet! The place was huge.

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The group itself was showing signs of really coming together as well. Working together to set up the equipment and prepare for the hunt was almost as fun and entertaining as the hunt itself. It was starting to look quite impressive.

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I’d love to sit here and tell you that I finally found the ghosts or spirit energy that I had spent the summer searching for, but that’s not to be. The last hunt of the season found me sitting in a pitch-black room, talking to myself.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Along the way I met many wonderful people, learned things I had not even imagined and lost all fear I ever had of the dark. I wouldn’t exchange the adventures I lived through this summer for anything.

I think for me though, this journey is coming to an end. My curiosity for the time being is sated. I’ve learned that if the paranormal does exist, it wants nothing to do with me. I can live with that.

Should you ever get the chance to team up with a paranormal research group and go out on a ghost hunt, I would highly advise that you take the road of adventure. Life is too short to do otherwise.

All too soon you will be on the side they are trying to contact.

Great efforts. Glad you are not discouraged by no results.

I still think I'm going to take a break from hunting ghosts for awhile. It was interesting and I enjoyed the heck out of it, but maybe if I step back and think on it a bit I'll find I have better luck when I take it up again.

Then again, with Halloween right around the corner, ya never know.

A delightful account of adventures, but I don't like the way it ended.

But if you have chosen to let it come to an end, (I shall think of it as a temporary discontinuance,) then so be it.

Sigh. It was great while it lasted. I loved reading all your stories. Every one. Ghost or no. (You take great photos as well).

Originally posted by ladyinwaiting

Sigh. It was great while it lasted. I loved reading all your stories. Every one. Ghost or no. (You take great photos as well).

Well thank you. I do what i can with what I've got. I truly appreciate it when someone lets me know they enjoyed the story.

i've done what you did MrWupy, but came to the same results, until i moved into a place with spirits. It was kind of cool at first but really lost its appeal after thinking while trying to go to bed, "I wonder if the spirit is just staring at me right now?" - lol, no sleep to say the least. I think the best way to get results is to find a haunted place close to you, and keep going there to investigate. Build a relationship with the spirit(s). I know it sounds crazy but they will show more of themselves to you that way (atleast in my experience). Dont give up for long MrWupy!!! It seems like you're doing proper investigations and the field needs that!!

I would love to find a place near me that was truly haunted. I'd be there every day. Until I find such a place though, I think my quest will remain hit and miss. I'll go if the opportunity is right, I'll not make an agenda of it though.

Excellent thread, very interesting thanks!

good thread


Im going ghost hunting in october as a late birthday present, cant wait we have a few choices to choose from

castle keep in newcastle
secunda manor in wales
michelham priory

it is usually a waiting game but very much worth while imo.