Haunted America: Inker, Taylor

Over the past several months, LHPS headquarters had pretty much become Lex and Jay's place on Main Street. Once it had been Millie's, out on the edge of town, but this was better. We were downtown, meeting in a nice apartment in a historic building. 

It was the first time I'd been there at eight AM, though.

"I wanted to stop by and see you," I said to Jay. "I know today's a rough day for you, so I thought I'd stop by before work."

Jay nodded. "I'm doing okay. I've been thinking about my dad, but I'm doing okay with it. I've talked to Lex, and we're excited about the investigation this weekend."

"I am, too." I smiled. "Thanks for setting us up at your tattoo parlor. I've been looking into the history of the place."

"I can't wait. You can meet us here beforehand, and we'll have tacos."

"That sounds good. I think I'm going to make homemade tortilla chips and corn salsa."

"Can't wait to try it."

"Hey." I reached out and touched Jay's face. "Something I wanted to say for a while. I sometimes get the feeling you don't talk much about your tarot cards and your crystals and stuff because you're afraid of how I might react. I want you to be you. Don't you ever dim your light for me."

She smiled. "I just don't talk about it too much. But okay." She hugged me.

"I just want you to know, I love you for you, okay?"

"Okay. I'm not psychic, though, I promise."

"I know."

It was the day before the investigation when I got around to doing the historic research.

Most of this, fortunately, was doable right form my office. I started with the city directories. These are like reverse phone books, showing who lived in any given building during a certain year. I had them back to the 1920s, and I sat down and compiled a list of owners without finding anyone who stood out as a major candidate to be haunting the place. 

Once upon a time, I'd have been dependent on the library for this stuff. But I'd been accumulating my own files for quite a while. I was preparing to leave the library for a couple of years before it actually happened, so I had most of what I needed right at home.

I went to the Historic Resource Survey Forms. If a building is old enough, it may have had one of these filled out, and that's nice, because it means someone's done much of the research for me. This one was 035-LH-245, and I dug it out in a minute.

The building had been built be a Doctor Charles Taylor, who'd died a couple of years after. At age forty. Score. I checked the cemetery indexes for Taylor, and found out that he'd been buried in the old Great Island Cemetery from the 1700s. When the cemetery was moved in 1919, it seemed his body was one of the missing ones.

There it was. Doctor Taylor.

"Doctor Charles Taylor," I told Lex and Jay. "He built the place, and he died a few years later. He was only forty, which makes him the best candidate for haunting."

"I don't know how you do that," said Lex.

I handed her copies of the cemetery index and the HRSF. "Usually these. File them with the paperwork,"

We'd declared it taco night at the Clinton Trust Building. Jay and Lex had cooked tacos, and I'd brought homemade tortilla chips with corn salsa. Lately. we'd started having dinner before each investigation, talking things over, and doing some team bonding.

"What's tonight's number, by the way?" asked Jay.

"Pretty sure it's 2026.08.01," I said. "I knew this was going to be a busy year, with the 250th celebration."

She wrote it on the form. I said,"I think I'm going to have to drop the hood from my outfit."

Jay looked almost disappointed. "Why?"

"You see all those white supremacists that marched on Washington for the Fourth of July? Every damn one of those bastards had a similar hood. I think I need to lose it."

"Every time you come up with a new outfit, the Nazis steal your ideas," commented Lex.

"Yeah, been thinking about that."

"Are you going to see the fireworks later tonight?" Jay asked.

"Michelle and Paul are at a Crosscutters game in Williamsport," I said. "Thought I'd hang out and watch with you two if that's okay."

"Of course," she said. "We can walk down to the pavliion."

"That's a good place for it."

"You're missing family time, though," she said.

I shrugged. "I'm not a sports guy. I'd have gone, but I'd kinda rather look for ghosts than go to a baseball game anyway."

"What time should we leave here?" asked Jay.

I looked at my watch. "We have about an hour. The investigation's not until seven, and it's right down the street."

We got to the tattoo parlor just before closing, which is about right for the average business investigation. The two women at the counter let us in.

"Where do we start?" one of them asked.

"Let's do a little walk-through," I said. "Show us the place, and let us know where any hotspots are. Then we'll get photos and a baseline on EMFs and temperature."

"The hot spot is the bathroom," she said. "Down this way."

Past the lobby, there was a long hallway with a couple of rooms off to the right, and the bathroom at the very end. Lex was checking temperature with her thermal imager, Jay was checking EMFs, and I snapped photos, which would usually be Chloe's job, but she was in Florida tonight.

"Ah, dammit," I said. "Camera battery going dead. I should have charged it before I left; I never thought to check."

"What kind does it take?" asked Lex. "We got plenty of extra batteries---"

"Nah, it's a specialty type made for the camera. Maybe I packed the spare." I dug through my pouch for a moment before coming up with it. "Here it is! I was hoping I'd left this one in here."

"Remember to charge the other one when you get home," commented Lex. I changed out the battery and dropped the old one in my pouch.

"Up to red," Jay said. "I'm getting high readings in here."

I got out my own detector from my pouch. I was wearing the shoulder bag and the fingerless gloves---Not the hood tonight. I turned it on, and the lights immediately shot up to orange. I switched to the all-in-one model and tried again, and it skyrocketed up, beeping.

"I've never heard it do that before," said Lex.

"High EMFs here," I said. "You guys know the concept of a fear cage?"

They glanced at each other. "No," said Lex.

"An enclosed space that has extremely high EMFs can cause anxiety. It can make a non-haunted place seem haunted, and a hundred place seem worse than it is. This would be one. Last time I saw a fear cage was years ago, on the bottom floor of Sloan Hall." I turned to the employees. "Is there a break box around here?"

"Two. One for this floor, around the corner. One in the back for the whole building."

I checked the closer one. It read higher than average. "Can I see the other one?"

She walked me to the back of the building. The other breaker box was bigger, and my detector shot up the second I got even close to it. When I went back out to the others, I said,"High EMFs in this building, guys. Normally I get around a five or six reading. This one was three hundred and nine."

"Wow," said Lex. "I got a two-degree drop in the bathroom."

"That should be more consistent," I said. "Get your recorders. Let's do an EVP session."

We all gathered in the restroom, and settled in. Lex had her recorder on before I did, so I just clicked mine on and let her lead.

"Thirty East Main Street, it's seven-twenty," she said. "Lex."

We all went around and announced our names, and then began to ask questions and try to get a response. Sometimes you get lucky. Jay said,"My EMF detector is already flashing red."

Lex said,"Hey, he was a doctor, right? I just remembered, we have something he can check. I still have my surgery scars."

"Forgot about that," I said. 

She held out her hand where she'd had her carpal tunnel surgery. "Doctor, take a look at this. How did the surgeon do? Did he do okay?"

"Getting a reading," said Jay.

"Mine, too," I said. "I'm getting steady yellow, pulsing to orange."

"Yours isn't al that sensitive," said Lex. "It never does that."

"No," I agreed. "Looks like Dr. Taylor is active. I was able to find his grave up in the old Great Island Cemetery, and I could pick out the building on the old maps. It was listed under his wife's name on the 1857 map---"

Another spike on both the detectors. Lex said,"Whoa, he really reacted at the mention of the 1857 map."

"Getting a lot of EMF activity tonight," commented Jay. "This is awesome."

"Paging Doctor Taylor," I said.

We sat in the dark under the pavilion, looking out over the Susquehanna River.

"It's beautiful," said Jay. "Look at the mountains over there. I love this."

"I love Lock Haven," I said. "There's so much here. When I'm giving my tours, it's....Well, that's really the closest you get to seeing the real, unfiltered me."

Lex nodded. "When I lived in Avis, it was a really quiet place. I thought I'd hate it here, but the apartment we found was the only one we could get. I love it. Living in Lock Haven is wonderful."

"Plus, you're in a historic building," I said.

She grinned. "And I get to hunt ghosts."

"Plus that. Yes."

The fireworks started----Big explosions downriver of white, yellow, blue, and green. Jay said,"Ooooh."

"There it is, guys," I said. "Happy July."

Haunted America: Private Investigation

I walked along the stone wall with my laser thermometer, checking the temperature. Behind me trailed several children.

"This is where the old Great Island Cemetery used to be," I explained. "It dated back to the 1700s. It was here until 1919, when they moved it, but they left a lot of bodies behind. They didn't get them all; there are still bodies buried under there. So the place is probably pretty haunted."

Paul had brought a couple of his dance friends, Tall Addie and Juliet. I loved these kids; they were very intrigued by the idea of ghost hunting. I'd been meaning to get to the old cemetery blocks for a while; it was down the street from my house.

"This wall was probably here when the cemetery still stood," I continued. "The cemetery was the burial place for a lot of the early settlers. Jennie Reed was buried here; she lived on Fort Reed two hundred and fifty years ago."
"So during the Revolutionary War?" Tall Addie asked.

"Exactly. So I'm probably going to be checking throughout the summer."

Tall Addie was holding the EMF detector, and it beeped and spiked to red. I said,"Now, look, no power lines very near, so that's something."

"Cool," said Juliet with some enthusiasm.

I entered the Clinton Trust Building and went up to the third floor. Chloe ran to give me a hug when I came in. I always greet Chloe with a hug.

Lex was on the couch, a bandage wrapped around her hand. I leaned over and gave her a gentle hug, too. "Hey, pal," I said. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said. "The doctors say I should be getting feeling back in my hand today. Jay was worried about the Carpal Tunnel surgery, but it went fine."

"Yeah, we were trying to make her feel better messaging her this morning," I said. "The kid and I will hang out some while she's at work. You need anything?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm doing okay."

One of the cats jumped up on my lap.

"Not sure I'll make your first tour tonight," said Lex.

"That's okay; I understand. You get some rest. I'll let you know how it goes."

"I'll be there," said Chloe. Chloe has been coming on my tours since she was ten.

"I'm excited about the tours for the 250th....I remember the Bicentennial in 1976. My family was in the parade. My mom made us little Colonial costumes, and my dad pulled my brothers in a wagon. At the time, it never occurred to me that I'd still be around for two hundred and fifty, but here we are. I've had this coming for half a century, and I'm going to enjoy it."

Chloe walked to the kitchen for a soda. I said,"It's two years since I died in the ER and got CPR."

"And nobody ever said 'stat'," commented Lex.

"No problems since then," I said. "But I think about it, around the anniversary. I could have died."

"Glad you didn't."

"Me, too."

"You walk down the dark passageway and find three kobolds," I said.

"I knew it was gonna be kobolds," said Lex. "There's always kobolds."

"I want to cast fireball," said Chloe. 

"You always want to cast freaking fireball," said Lex. "You wanted to cast fireball to get through the door when I coulda just picked the lock."

"I like fireball. I'm gonna cast fireball on you."

"No fireballs in the house," I said.

"I'm using my magic sword."

"You guys excited about the investigation tonight?" asked Jay.

"Hell yeah," said Lex. "Based on the interview, this is going to be a good one."

"The deeds were kind of a mess for a while," I said. "Based on what I found, the house seems to have been built in 1858, partially burned in the fire of 1918, and then rebuilt from what was left. The most likely candidate for a haunting is Larry Barner, a private in Vietnam. He was missing in action, and declared dead in 1966."

"You think he's the one?" asked Jay.

"He's the best fit I found. The place also bears a distinct resemblance to a Shoemaker legend, where a woman flirted with another man while her fiancé was fighting the Civil War. She felt so guilty that she haunted the place, moving furniture around when nobody was there."

"Cool," said Chloe.

"On the way, I'd like to stop and show you guys Sulphur Spring," I said. "There's a Shoemaker legend there, too, about the Sulphur Serpent, a lizard creature that roams the area. It was believed to be a healing spring, but I'll never know as I can't get the water down because of the sulphur scent. And on the way home, maybe we take the Pine-Loganton Road, Clinton County's most haunted road."

"Awesome," said Chloe.

"I'm rolling to hit," said Lex.

We pulled up by Sulphur Spring, where a small pavilion stood over the actual spring. All of us got out of the vehicle, and walked over to the pavilion.

"My god, I can smell the sulphur from here," said Lex.

I nodded. "There's a very heavy sulphur content in this water."

"Who's gonna try it?" asked Chloe.

Lex shook her head. "Sure as hell not me."

"I've tried," I said. "I can't do it. I don't mind you drinking from a healing spring, though."

Chloe took a taste. "Perfectly normal water, aside from the smell."
"We gonna take a sample?" asked Lex.

"Hell, we can test it right here," I said. "I have the litmus strips." I went and got the kit from the car, tore off a strip, and handed it to Lex. "Just stick that in the water."

She dipped it in the water, and it immediately turned a dull green. I held it against the little chart and said,"See, that means it's acidic. Drinkable, but fish couldn't live in it."

"How much are those litmus kits?"

"About $3.50." I turned to the creek behind the pavilion. "Think I saw jewelweed down here---I want to show you guys this."

I walked down and picked a leaf. "Yep, this is jewelweed, alright. It grows in wet areas usually. If you crush up these leaves, it relieves the itch of poison ivy."I handed the leaf to Chloe. "Stick it underwater. It turns silver."

Chloe doubtfully submerged the leaf. She smiled as it took on a shiny, silvery sheen. "That's so cool!"

"That's how you know you got the right plant. Come on, let's get to the house."

Parts of the house looked old, with the rest showing newer parts. It checked out with my estimation that it had been built twice, essentially, again after the fire. Jay immediately settled in at the table with her spirit box picking up frequencies, so I went upstairs with the others.

"They've been getting things moving around in the attic," said Lex. "Do we want to go up there?"

"For a few minutes," I said. "That tallies up with the legend, but I don't want tus spending too much time in the heat."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad out," agreed Chloe.

We walked up the stairs to the old attic. Ashlin took up a position by the stairs. I said,"Everyone be careful---There's nails sticking out of the beams. Don't hit any."

"Yeah, I've learned that," said Chloe.

I turned to her in a brief panic. "You hit a nail?!"

"Not now. Years ago, when I was little."

I breathed a sigh of relief. My worst nightmare is something bad happening to Chloe on an investigation.
Lex and I set up our recorders and turned them on. I checked around the the laser thermometer. "It's up to a hundred and two up there on the beams."

Lex turned with her thermal imager, aiming it at me. "Lou, this is surprising, but you are the coolest thing up here."

"I tend to be the coolest thing in any room."

"This mirror creeps me out," said Chloe. There was the frame of a standing mirror, with no mirror installed in the middle, standing along one wall. "Like it's a portal to another dimension or something. Like I'm afraid to stick my hand in it."

"Another dimension would be cool," I commented, and reached for the mirror.

"Don't stick your hand---"

"It's okay," I said as my hand went through the frame harmlessly. "I mean, I had to try."

We walked back down to the bedroom and met Jay, carrying her equipment. She said,"Do we want to do a session up here?"

"They reported that the kid has been experiencing shadow figures," I said. "Let's do it. Who has their recorders?"

We got everything set up. Everyone sat down and got comfortable; you have to sit pretty still for EVP sessions, so it's important to find someplace you want to sit for a while. Lex and I wound up on the floor, against the wall, with Ashlin, Chloe, and Jay sitting on the bed. Lex had her recorder on. I turned mine on and said,"June thirteenth, eight-fourteen PM. Loganton house. Lou."

"Jay."

"Chloe."

"Ashlin."

"Lex."

I try to always start the same way. "Is there anyone here?"

We went around the room randomly for a while, watching the EMF detectors. Chloe said,"Something's happening. I'm getting spikes to orange."

"Me too," I said. "And mine usually doesn't do that."
"Yours is like you," she said. "It's not as sensitive and doesn't jump to conclusions."

Lex took some photos. "You guys all have resting bitch face. It's amazing."

"Every time I take a photo of Lou, he's standing there all dramatically like he's in a movie or something," said Chloe. "I don't know how he does it."

"All the photos I see of myself on investigations, I look like an action figure," I commented.

We sat in companionable silence for a while.

"Did you fight in a war?" I asked the ghost. "Or know someone who did?"

The EMFs all jumped. Jay said,"Did you see---"

"Yeah. That's something. Was it Vietnam?"

The bell went off. Ding. Everyone turned to stare at it.

"There we go," I said.

"Chills, guys," said Lex.

"Can you do that again?" asked Jay.

"Are you Larry?" asked Chloe.

Ding.

"Oh my god," said Jay.

"Did you play cards? Did you gamble?" asked Lex.

The EMF detectors immediately spiked. I said,"You know, a lot of the time, they did do some gambling in Vietnam. It was a way to fill their down time. I've still got my D&D dice...."

I got out my glow in the dark dice and rolled them across the floor. Lex began playing with them. The detectors spiked again.

"Larry? Can you communicate with us?" Chloe asked.

Ding.

"Can anyone grab their phone and play something by the Doors?" I said. "They played a lot of Doors music in Vietnam; it's in like every movie you see."

Ashlin picked up her phone and started playing, and "Riders On The Storm" came on. Suddenly, we were all sitting around in our uniforms, listening to the Doors and rolling dice, and it recreated as best we could under the circumstances, a scene from Vietnam. Immediately, the EMF detectors shot to orange.

Ding.

"Oh my god, this is incredible," said Jay.

"I'd have to rate this place a three, three-point-five," said Lex.

"We have a lot of activity here," I said.

"Chills," said Lex.

It was dark as we drove up the Pine-Loganton Road, Ashlin at the wheel.

"This is the most haunted road in Clinton County, guys," I said. "A haunted cemetery on each end, a ghostly dancing cupboard along the way, a whole bunch of ghost stories here, and Bigfoot sightings."

Lex was up front, bedside Ashlin. Jay, in the back, was already reviewing some of her videos from the night. Chloe had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

"There's a raccoon," said Lex.

"That's something."

"What a great investigation, guys," said Jay. 

I'm glad I lived.

Two years ago, my heart stopped and I was rushed to the hospital. I'm glad I made it through. I would not have wanted to miss this.

I love these people, the best friends I've got. And I'm glad I got to experience this moment.

"Is she asleep?" Lex asked me, looking at Chloe.

I smiled. 

"The kid's all tuckered out."

Haunted America: Afterlife, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

The area along Highland Street was a nice residential neighborhood, except for all the dead bodies.

To be fair, I was probably the only one who knew they were there. The neighborhood, a couple of blocks from my home, was the site of the old Great Island Cemetery, once the oldest cemetery in the county. It had been moved in 1919, and houses built there, but the move had been done by the lowest bidder, and a lot had been left behind. It was safer to say they'd moved the top half.

I had my EMF detector out.

I walked the streets, taking readings. The cemetery had been created back in the 1700s, and it had some Revolutionary War soldiers buried there. Some of them still were. With the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of America happening this summer, I was expecting a surge in activity.

I got some spikes along the way, the readings going up and down as I passed some of the houses. 

Pleasant night.

My name is Lou. I live in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. You might know it as halfway between Penn State and Williamsport, or the home of Piper Aviation. If you're really good, you might know it as the birthplace of James Bacon, or Jimmy Carter's favorite town.

I know it as one of the most haunted, adventure-filled places in the state. I'm a paranormal investigator and the field leader of the Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers, and it was shaping up to be a fairly busy summer. With the 250th anniversary of the country coming up, there was a lot more paranormal activity happening recently.

When your life ends, my workday begins.

Chloe and I arrived at the same time, heading up the stairs to Jay and Lex's place in the Clinton Trust Building. I dropped by jacket on the floor for the purpose of the cats lounging on it, which they always do, and dug in my backpack.

"Jay, I got the cemetery book from Chapman Township for you. And here's a copy of my Wayne Township book. We saw the Shadle family from the fire when we were in Saint John's Cemetery the other day."

"Oooh, thank you," said Jay.

"Chloe, got you a copy of the Worst-Case Survival Handbook. My mother gave me one years ago, I think because she was resigned to the fact that I was going to get into these situations."

Chloe paged through it. "This stuff has actually happened to you?"

"About half of it."

"How to wrestle an alligator."
"You never know."
"Well, I do go to Florida. How to jump off a bridge into a river."

"In my younger days."

"How to escape from killer bees."

"Could happen."

"How to jump out of a moving vehicle."

"Twice."

"How to escape from a bear."

"A few times. So I want you to learn all this stuff, and then never get into situations where you might need it."

"What time do we want to leave for the investigation?" asked Jay.

"I figure half an hour early or so. I'd like to stop out at Dunnstown Cemetery with you guys. Dunnstown is the oldest community in Clinton County, and I wanted to show you a few graves. The oldest marked grave in the county is out there."

"That sounds good," said Jay. "Is it time to eat yet?"

You have to wonder what's gone wrong with your life when you spend half your time running around cemeteries. I walked through the Dunnstown Cemetery with the team following, Chloe clicking photos with her camera.

"Here it is," I said. "William Baird. The oldest marked grave in Clinton County. September of 1792."

"Wow," said Jay. The stone was so old it had had to be encased in an extra layer of concrete to hold it up. 

"Dunnstown was only recently founded during that time. William Dunn bought all the property from the Susquehannocks for some whiskey, beads, and a rifle. Over here is Peter Grove, a Revolutionary War soldier. Grove Street is named after him."

I stood by a stone, looking it over, touching it. Behind me, Lex and Chloe were whispering something about how I don't get any older, or something---I don't know. They do that sometimes. Jay stood next to me, looking at the stone.

"Oh my god, you guys," I said. "You know what I just realized? It's not called this anymore, but very near here was a village called Liberty back in the 1800s. At the beginning of the America 250 summer, we're starting off with an investigation near Liberty."

"Yes!" said Lex. "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of the paranormal."

"Give me Liberty and give me death."

The client was an old friend of Chloe's family, a nice lady in a wheelchair. We sat in the living room as Lex filled out some of the paperwork for the investigation.

"We hear things," said the client. "There was one time when we thought we saw someone in the hall, and they left a trail of footprints through the hallway. When I went to sweep them up, it was a sort of very fine black dust. I never did figure out what that was."

"That's interesting," I said. "I wonder where that could have come from."

"One more thing," said Lex. "Confidentiality."

"We can keep everything to ourselves if---" I said, but she waved her hand dismissively.

"I don't care. Tell whoever."

Lex checked off the box and had her sign, and handed the form to me. I said,"Since there's no real hot spots, let's start here. Chloe, get lots of photos. Check EMFs everywhere. The temperature baseline seems to be about seventy."

I put on the full outfit---shoulder bag, fingerless gloves, hood. The clientg looked at me curiously. "Are you gonna stay covered up the whole time?"

"No, this is just part of the outfit. I'm prepared for a couple of things."

We spread out through the room. I walked around, taking EMF readings. I didn't have to pay too much attention to the others; they know what they're doing.

"Do you have a lot of activity on investigations?" asked the client.

"Some more than others," said Lex. "Our first one this year was an abandoned funeral home, and that was really active. I got to lie down on an autopsy table."

"Oh, that's neat," said the client. "I want to see an abandoned ffuneral home."

"It was my first time," said Chloe. "I was scared to death."

I looked over at her. "I didn't know you were scared."

"Well, I wasn't going to admit it to you."

"I have a spike over here," said Jay, in the kitchen. "Spiking to red."

Chloe walked in. "Mine, too."

"The cat balls are going off."

"Okay, since we're getting activity here, let's start an EVP session," I said. "We have our recorders?"
'Got mine," said Lex.

"Turning on," I said. "Let's get started."

"If you like, you can go in the basement," said the client.

"There's a basement?" I asked.

"Right over there."

"Let's split up," I said. "Lex and I will take the basement, and Jay and Chloe can handle things up here."
"Sounds good," agreed Lex.

We walked down the stairs. The basement was finished, mostly, a nice little living space. We walked around and took a few readings, and spotted the hole in the wall.

The hole was a square cut out of the wall for the purpose of getting at the pipes and electricity. I glanced at Lex.
"So you know we gotta do this."

"Hell, yeah, we do."

I climbed into the hole. Lex followed a moment later. We walked behind the wall, all the way to the back of the house. I got high EMFs at the fuse box, which was expected. There wasn't too much to explore within the hole, and we climbed back out a moment later and went upstairs.

"You guys mind if we take a turn in the basement?" asked Jay.

"Sure," I said. "Go ahead. We'll hold the fort up here."

Chloe and Jay went down the stairs. I sat at the table with Lex. She said,"You think they're gonna go in the hole?"

"If I had to put money on it, I'd bet no."

"Yeah, I don't think so."
Jay and Chloe came back up a moment later. Lex asked,"Did you go in the hole?"

"No," said Jay. "Of course not."

"There was a hole?" asked Chloe.

"Called it," I said, and Lex and I high-fived.

"Why would you go in a hole?" asked Jay.

"Why wouldn't you go in a hole?" Lex said just before I could.

There's two kinds of people.

"You know," said Chloe as we packed up,"If we hurry, we have time to work in another cemetery visit."

"I've always wanted to show you guys Highland," I said.

She lit up. "We can go to Henry Shoemaker's grave!"

The EMF detector spiked to red suddenly. Jay said,"Did you see that?"

"I guess we're on for Highland," I said. "The ghosts want us to visit Shoemaker."

I still can't believe I get to experience moments like this.

Jay and Lex had never been up to Highland Cemetery. They hadn't spent a whole lot of time exploring cemeteries until I'd shown up. I directed Lex to the top of the hill, where we parked and got out to look around. Chloe was wearing my jacket; it was getting a little cold out.

"Up here, guys," I said. "Over near Soldiers' Circle. Here's Henry Shoemaker."

I'd been to the grave so many times I didn't even need to look. Henry Wharton Shoemaker, the writer and historic figure, was buried at the top of Highland Cemetery with his wife. 

I knelt down by the stone.

"This is it, guys. This is him."

The team gathered around me in the moonlight.

"Chills all around," said Lex.

Shirley You Can't Be Serious

"Kelli, has anyone stopped in asking for me?" I asked when I got into the office of the Hecht Building.

Kelli shook her head. "Not yet. Were you expecting someone?"

"Two of the team. Since we've had a lot of activity lately, we thought we might stop by and take a few readings if that's okay."

"Oh, sure. Did I tell you about the bag full of stuff that fell over?"

"Yeah, while the store was closed. Nobody was even here."
I walked across the street to the Dollar Store---Also haunted---And picked up a Pepsi, and by the time I got back, Lex and Jay were arriving at the print shop.

I gave them a hug. "Hi, guys. Thanks for coming. I figure since we're getting a spike in activity, might as well..."
"Might as well check it out," said Lex. "Hell yeah. Let's go."

"Do we need the recorders?" asked Jay. We set our packs on the table.

"I figure this will be a quick one. Maybe we'll depend mostly on the EMFs for this. Come on, I'll show you where some stuff fell off the shelf in the back room."

"Did anyone die in here?" asked Jay.

"We had a murder in the basement in 1962," I said. "Back when this place was a department store, a guy robbing the place shot a clerk named Shirley down in my basement."

"Oh my god. Really?"

"Really. Got all the newspaper articles about it at home. I'll show them to you later. There, that shelf---That's where something fell off for no reason. And it's not like anyone was over here; this stuff sits on the shelf for months at a time."

Jay held up her EMF detector. "I'm getting a reading. Is that...."

"There's a wire behind it," said Lex.

I tried with my detector. "Yeah, that's definitely hot."

The boss came down and walked to the color printer. I said,"Hey, boss. Since it's slow, I thought I'd show my friend around and we'd take a few readings if that's okay."

He grinned. "Sure, that's fine."

"Come on, I'll show you guys my haunted basement."

"We get to see your cave?" said Lex with some delight.

"Sure, nobody goes down there but me. Come on."

On the way down the steps, Jay's detector spiked all the way to red. I said,"Now, that's weird. I practice down here a lot, and I don't get too many readings."

"Nice detector," said Jay.

"I like this one. It's the all in one model; it does EMFs and temperature, and even has a little flashlight on the back."

"Where did Shirley die?" Jay asked.

"Right about there-ish. This is all one building, and it used to be a department store. This wall wasn't here, and her body was found right on the other side of it. See, that hole there is where, if I wanted to crawl through the ducts like Die Hard, I could get over into the furniture store."

We walked back through the big basement---I'm so used to the place by now, sometimes I forget just how much space is down there. "That's where we keep the holidays decorations. Up here is where I work; I made that table out of an old palette. This area up here is all this open space, so sometimes I come down and play with some of the sports equipment that the boss's sons left back in the Nineties."

Jay glanced at the pink string lights through the small window. "What's in there?"
"That's my office."

I opened the door and flicked on the lights. Jay looked inside and said,"Oooh."

Lex saw the signs on the door. "Warning, High Ghost Area. Raystown Ray Not Allowed. Do Not Feed The Jersey Devil."

"I make those sometimes while I'm warming up the laminator."

Sometimes I forget that my office was just a little storage space before I'd moved in. I'd cleaned some stuff out, left a recliner, brought in a chair, constructed myself a desk from two small tables, and added a computer. And now I had a quiet, cozy little office space all my own.

"This is actually nice," commented Lex. Chloe and Paul had both visited me in my secret underground hideout, but very few other people even realized it was there. It was a little like having Green Lanterns in the Batcave.

"I spent a lot of time down here unwinding. You know how in a lot of workplaces, you have that spot you go to cry? I don't really need that because this is a pretty good job, but I do have this little place all my own down here."

"Getting another reading," said Jay. "Does Shirley ever come in here?"

"I think so. I've told her she's going to be my secretary. If you hire a ghost, you don't have to worry about cost of living raises."

"Did you find anything?" Kelli asked when we got back up.

"We got some readings on the detectors," I said. 

"Are you going to stop next door and check it out? You said there had been some stuff happening there, too."

"You know, that's not a bad idea. I bumped into Misty in the alley, and she told me the TVs had been turning on by themselves."

"We got time," Lex pointed out.

The woman at the counter smiled at me when I walked in. "Hi! Got another poster for us to hang up?"

I grinned. "Not this time, no. We're doing a little paranormal investigation, and I was wondering if you'd mind if we checked things out in your basement a bit."
"We haven't had much happen...."

"Well, the TVs have been turning on by themselves," said the man next to her.

"We should check with Will," she said. "Go get him."

The man took off. I said,"We don't want to be a problem---"

"Don't worry. I think he'll like this."

A moment later, a Hispanic guy came from the back room; I'd chatted with him in the alley before. "Come on down," he said. "I kind of want to watch this."

We walked downstairs and unloaded our backpacks. Jay was showing some of the equipment to Will, and Lex elbowed me. "Look at her, teaching him everything."

"She's come a long way." Just a couple of months ago, Jay had been very hesitant about any kind of public appearance.

I pointed the laser thermometer around the room. "Temp steady at mid-sixties."

"Look at these beds," said Jay.

"If I were haunting this place, I'd spend all day lounging around on these mattresses," I commented.

"Well, now I won't want to come down here anymore," added Will. "Let me turn the lights on for you back here."

We walked into one of the back rooms, taking readings. I said,"This place is way bigger than I realized."

Lex had her thermal imager out. I like the thermal imagers, and hers is even nicer than mine. She said,"Jay, just stand there where you are a minute."

"Something interesting?" I asked.

"Yeah. This concrete floor is so reflective that I'm seeing the heat reflecting on it." Lex showed me the screen, and I could see the red and orange of Jay's body, and, yes, there was a blue reflection in the floor underneath.

"Huh. I've never seen that before."

"Right?!"

"So what's the scariest thing you guys have ever seen on an investigation?" asked Will. "I mean, what scares even you?"

"Some of the clients," I said immediately.

"There was a house in Gettysburg," said Jay. "The Farnsworth House. Lex won't go in that one anymore."

"Oh, yeah, that one," said Lex.

When we got back upstairs, Jay immediately said,"Babe, look at this couch." She sat down on it. "Isn't this nice? We should buy it."

"Jay, we just got a couch."

"But we didn't get this couch."

Lex rolled her eyes. Will said,"If you two need a couch, I'll make you a great deal. You can come in anytime."

"Babe," said Jay. It was her strongest argument.

"You know, if you guys aren't doing anything, we could always see if we can find Shirley's grave," I said.

"Could we?" asked Jay.

"I don't see why not. I just need to stop back at the print shop a minute before we leave."

I walked to the shelves in the print shop, by Tom's desk. He said,"You're back!"

"Yeah, we're going to go find Shirley's grave. I figured I'd just stop in here for the records instead of running all the way home, because we printed them."

I flipped through the box; I'd used the cemetery records so many times it was easy. A moment later, I was back out in the office, where Jay and Lex were waiting.

"She's in Rest Haven," I said. "Let's go."

It was a pleasant day, and we sat in the grass around the small gravestone. Shirley's stone.

"I've been working at the print shop for almost two years now, and this is the first time I've ever been out here," I said. "I never saw this one before."

"Now you're here," said Jay.

"I got you a photo," Lex said.

"All this time, I never got to the grave. I've worked where she worked, where she died....but this is the first time."

I looked down at the grave, mounted in the grass.

"We've had a pretty good day," I said.

Over My Dead Body

"I know what I wanted to ask you, Lou," said my boss. "There's a small cemetery out in Woolrich, near Crestmont. I saw it the other night. You know the one?"

"Sounds like the Rich Family Cemetery," I said. "I'll double-check that, but that's probably it. It's where the whole Rich Family is buried, the ones who founded Woolrich clothing."

"I was wondering," he said, and went up to his office.

I stood up from where I'd been laminating some menus. Slow day. I walked over to our file archive---We have our old files going back years along one wall. I'd been put in charge of keeping them organized and clearing out the old ones, so I'd arranged them to my satisfaction, which meant all the historic ones in one easily reachable place.

I pulled the file for CCGS, Dunnstable Township. The compiled cemetery indexes. I paged through and found the one---It was only two pages. I made a copy, refiled the original, and took the copy upstairs to the boss.

"Here you go," I said. "This is the cemetery you asked about."

He looked it over and smiled. "This is the one," he said. "My gosh. How did you find this?"

"All the cemeteries are indexed," I said. "I have them all at home, but why wait? We printed them all."

It was the most excitement I'd had in a while.

Since getting home from Utica, I'd been kind of at loose ends. I had no new adventures planned, and nothing had yet come out of the woodwork to interest me. Sooner or later something would, but in the meantime, I was mostly just going through the days, being bored.

The problem with trying to make an adventure happen is that you can't. No amount of trying to force it will really get something exciting to happen. So all I could do was wait, and talk to Chloe, and hope for something good to come along.

"Well, I got a message this morning," I said. "A woman in Mill Hall wanted to know if we do house cleansings."

"Cleansings?" asked Jay. "You mean like...."

"Yeah, like you walk around and try to exterminate the ghosts," I said. "I told her we didn't, that we're researchers who handle things scientifically. And, it turns out, she's interested in an investigation."

I was sitting with Lex and Jay in their living room. They have an apartment downtown, and between thirty and forty cats. We each had a cat on our respective laps. I had a cute little stripey one. There was a small fat yellow one I hadn't seen before---That one had been too shy to come out from under the bed before, but was now coming out to make friends with me.

"Well, good," said Lex. "I can use an investigation."

"Me, too, to be honest," I admitted. "And Chloe's back from Florida, and she said she's looking forward to one, as well. The client is in an apartment complex in Mill Hall; I'm going to see what I can find out about the property. She says she's experienced sounds, items moving, and full-bodied apparitions. She has lost two brothers recently, so I want to handle her gently."

"When can we plan this one?" asked Lex. The cat jumped off my lap, and was immediately replaced by a bigger, stripier cat with a patch of white covering half its face.

"We do have the sixteenth available. We all talked about that. I think I'm going to see if I can set it up then. Jay, I'll get you her number, and you can start the paperwork."

I love researching in the courthouse annex. I actively despise having to get into the courthouse annex. I chained my bike in the parking lot, pulled out the spare pocketknife I carry at these times, and left it with the bike. I really miss the pre-2001 days when you could get into these places without being treated like a potential terrorist.

I signed in and put everything from my pockets into the little bin. "What can I help you with?" asked the security guard.

"Coming in," I said.

"Where?" he asked me.

Into a public building funded by my tax dollars, where I will look up legally public information. "Register and Recorder." Asshole.

I went upstairs and started going through the deeds. This one was much easier than many of them; the deeds went back in time in big jumps, and mostly seemed to be within the same family. They had spent a total of about six dollars on this property over the past century. I wound up with the information the Michael Jobson, Civil War veteran, had bought it with his wife in 1886 and started a farm there. They'd given it to their daughter Jennie when she'd married Thomas McLean, who'd died in 1937. That was something. Then their kids had inherited it, and mostly kept it between them, eventually buying the others out until T. Scott McLean had sold it to the current rental company in 1983.

I copied all this down into a little notebook I'd made myself at work, then stole a few paper clips before I left. Might as well get some of that tax money back.

I could find out the rest of what I needed without ever leaving my office. First I checked the owners against the cemetery records, and found most of them buried in Dunnstown. I found out that Thomas had died of an ulcer at age sixty-four. Okay, that's old to be going off to college, but young to die. I marked him as a candidate.

Using the cemetery records, which I keep on a shelf by the wall, I checked every member of the family. It turned out there were two granddaughters, as well, who'd died at very young ages. Okay. There was always something. I added them to the list.

If you got it, haunt it.

"Lou!" Chloe leaped up and ran down the hallway to give me a hug as I got into Lex and Jay's place. "I've missed you!"

"Missed you, too, kid," I said. "Happy sixteenth. I have some presents for you."

Jay was getting her team shirt on. "Ow," she said. "Ow ow ow. This is rubbing on my new tattoo, and it hurts."

"Jay, you're not required to wear the uniform. Just pick something with short sleeves."

"I can't. There might be selfies. Is the food done yet?"

"Be patient," said Lex.

"Chloe, I'm gonna let you direct Jay to drive to the investigation tonight," I said. "It's basically your territory, you know Mill Hall. You know the easiest way to get there."

"Okay," said Chloe.

I sat down on the couch and opened up the black pack I'd brought. "Some of this, kid, is stuff I've wanted to give you for a while. Some of it's birthday stuff. You can even keep the pack." I pulled out a couple of bandannas.

"Yes! Bandannas!"

"You told me you only had the black one. I have some extra colored ones for you. And....Here's a couple of Henry Shoemaker books. I had doubles."

"Oh, yes."
"And here's the last seven of the cemetery indexes. You can now look up any marked grave in the county. Up until 2008, and anyway, we don't really deal in anyone that recent."

"Check that out," commented Lex.

"My goal is to give Chloe all my resources," I said. "I'm not gonna last forever, and someone will need to take over." I pulled a stuffed Bigfoot out of the bag.

"That's adorable!" Chloe said.

"Someone gave me this who, it turns out, wasn't a very good friend. Make good memories with him. Give him a good home. Now, my grandmother died in 2007, and I inherited her teddy bear collection. Like three hundred of them. Every now and again, I meet someone worthy of owning one. Here you go." I handed her a small teddy bear, with a hat and a little bag. 

"I love it!" said Chloe. "Thank you!"
"Happy birthday, kid."

"Is it time to eat yet?" asked Jay.

"We should turn up here," said Chloe, in the back of the car with me.

I looked out the window. "Before 1983, this was all farmland. It was in the same family for almost a hundred years."
"Careful where you park," Lex told Jay. "I think they're really touchy about parking here."

Jay pulled in, and the client, Patty, came to the door and met us.

"Thank you for coming," she said.

"Thanks for having us," I said, and we went in.

Chloe had her camera out, which, of course. Lex and Jay were moving around the living room with their EMF detectors. Jay said to Patty,"I just need to finish a little paperwork, and have you sign the confidentiality form. Are there any hot spots here?"

"Well, mostly down here. It's where I spend the most time."

"What's the move, Lou?" asked Lex. "You're in charge. What's the first step?"
They'd actually already been doing it, without being told to---Photos and an EMF baseline. I said,"Well, this is a democracy."

"Great. We elect you. What's your orders?"

"Once we're done checking the EMFs, let's sit down for an EVP session. Who has a recorder?"
"Got mine," said Lex. "Ashlin couldn't make it, and she usually has the other one."

"I have one." I said.

Chloe smiled. "Of course you do."

We sat down on the floor and turned on the digital recorders, and started the session. Dates and times, locations, everyone goes around and says their name. Procedure. Lex said,"I'm showing a weird temperature drop on the stairs."

"Check it out. Get photos."
Lex and Chloe moved for the stairs. I stayed with Jay and the client in the living room, continuing the EVP session for a few minutes.

"Lou?" Lex called. "Do you have some painkillers? Chloe's not feeling well."

I pulled them out of my pack and gave Chloe two of them. "Are you okay, kid?"

"Just....Something affecting me," she said. "I'm not feeling goog, all of a sudden. I don't know why."

"Do you need to get outside, get some air?" Lex asked.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. That'd be good."

We walked outside to the backyard, which was pretty nice for an apartment complex. The land dropped on a slope, and we had a pretty nice view. Chloe took the painkillers with a can of soda Lex got her from the car.

I looked at her. "You okay, Chloe?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."

We went back in, and took up positions on the stairs. Everyone sat down; Lex and I were at the top, Jay and Chloe midway down on the landing. Lex said,"I'm feeling something here, too. The air is....I don't know, heavy. Something's affecting us."

"I'm getting no EMFs." I said. "This place is well wired. So that's good news/bad news. It's good that any EMFs we get aren't immediately explainable, but bad that I can't write off your feelings to high EMFs."
"Does that affect people?"

"Some people. EMFs can cause mild illness in some people, headaches and nausea. I had an investigation a few years ago where the place wasn't haunted, the family was just affected by very high EMFs."

"I'm starting to feel it again," commented Chloe.

I walked down the stairs to her and took her hand. I've always felt intensely protective of Chloe, and for a moment, there was no investigation, no apartment---Just me and the kid. 

"Hey. You don't have to do this. Nobody's gonna force you to push through it."

She squeezed my hand. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We can fold right now."

"Do you trust my judgement?"

"I do."

"Okay, then. I'm good."

"Okay."

I got back into position.

"I can't believe you don't feel that, Lou," said Lex. "I'm about to go all autopsy table again."

"I'm not very sensitive to these things," I said. "I'm pretty impervious."

"Got a weird photo in that room over there," reported Lex.

"Temp drop right over here," said Jay.

"I'm getting that on the thermal," Lex said.

I looked at it. "Oh, that is strange."

The sun was going down when we left. Jay and Lex were standing in the doorway, and I was standing by the car, talking to Chloe.

"You okay? How you feeling?"

"I'm fine now. Something in there was setting me off. I don't know....I didn't want to act like I'm psychic...."

"You were definitely feeling bad," I said. "That's not in question. As long as we don't jump to conclusions about it, it's fine. Something was causing it."

"But I'm okay now," she assured me.

I nodded. "You know, Chloe, you're one of the things that makes me glad I lost my job at the library. I think if I were still working there, you and I wouldn't have reached out to each other, and we wouldn't have gotten this close. You'd still be just the kid who comes on my tours. And I wouldn't want to miss out on knowing you."

She smiled. "Me, either. I'm glad you got fired."

I grinned. "Yeah. Me too."

Dance The Night Away: To Haunt A Home

I grabbed my bag and carried it out to the jeep. Shoved it into the back with Paul's costumes and Michelle's luggage, I went back inside, turned off lights, and locked the doors. Then I petted the dogs and went out to the vehicle, where my family was waiting. 

I got into the jeep.

And then we headed off for Utica.

This is a different kind of story.

"There's supposed to be a ghost around here," I said, turning on my EMF detector. "Town of Owega, New York. A Native American singer named Sa-sa-na Loft was killed by a train, and they say she still sings some nights." I glanced at the detector. I wasn't getting any readings yet.

"Did you hear about the theater we're in, Dad?" Paul asked.

"I checked it out. Why, you look it up?"

"Emma did. There's a cold spot trying to push people out of their seats in the front row, backstage and stage haunted, and the ladies' room is haunted."
"I hadn't heard about the ladies' room. Rylan, you can check that out."

Rylan, Paul's little friend, grinned and nodded at me from the back seat.

"We're going to check that all out," I said. "The Stanley Theater is almost a hundred years old, and it's said to be very haunted. If I get a chance, there's also a haunted high school near where we're staying. It was built on top of a Colonial cemetery."

"You know you can't go in the high school, right, Dad?"

"I know. The last time I went into a high school at one of these things, security was all over me. But I can check outside, which is where the ghosts are likely to be anyway." I looked down at my detector. It had flickered up to a 1.7 for no explainable reason, which was a good start to the weekend.

"Emma texted me," Paul said. "She wanted to know if we can come to the theater when we get there, and look for ghosts."

"I brought your equipment, too. We can."

The Stanley Theater, in downtown Utica, turned out to be a huge, beautiful place, very elaborate. The security guard stopped Michelle on the way in, and searched her bag. He asked,"Is there any outside food in here?"

"No," said Michelle.

I pulled off my shoulder bag and reluctantly handed it over. At least I didn't carry any food in it.

He started looking through it. His partner looked me over and said,"You're an investigator? I thought that there was some sort of communicator."

"You're close. EMF detector."

"Ah, cool." He glanced at the other guy. "He's okay." The guard handed me my bag back, and I slung it over my shoulder. "You looking for anything specific?"

"Well, whatever I can find. I'm sure you know there's stories about this place."

"Yeah, we get custodians overnight who say they see stuff. Haven't seen anything myself, but I don't work nights. Hope you find something."

"Thanks. You're a lot cooler than the last security guard I met at one of these things."

At least nobody had mistaken me for an ICE agent this time.

I walked inside. Paul and Rylan had already linked up with the Emma, and they were exploring the lobby. I got out the EMF detector and started looking around.

"Anything?" asked Rylan.

"Not yet. Place seems to have real good wiring. Which, good news and bad news. The bad news is, no readings yet. The good news is that if I do get something, I know it's probably paranormal."

Paul and the girls went upstairs to get something to eat. A woman asked them to slow down and walk carefully on the stairs, and I continued walking around with the detector for a while. Then I walked over to the woman.

"So I assume you work here?"

"Oh, yes, I have for eight years," she said pleasantly. "You're looking for ghosts?"

"I mean, I'm here because my son is in the competition, but yes,"

"My granddaughter is in the competition," she said. "It's why I agreed to have it here. And, yes, the place is almost a hundred years old, and people say it's haunted."

"Have you ever seen anything?"

"No, but some people have. We've had volunteers say they saw something up on the balcony."

"It's a beautiful old theater."

"Did you know the stairs over there are modeled on the Titanic's?"

"I didn't, but now that you tell me that, I can see it. That's really cool."

I found Paul and the girls upstairs. Paul had ordered a Caesar salad. I asked him,"You see anything?"

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Well, we just got here. You excited for tomorrow?"

He nodded with a mouthful of salad. "I need to be here by seven, so we should get up at six."

"About my plan, too, yeah."

"And we'll need to steam my outfit for tomorrow."

"We will. I mean, your mom will. Gonna be a good day, buddy."

The place Michelle had gotten us was a nice little apartment with two bedrooms. One had three beds, and the other had one. Paul wanted to have his sleepover with Rylan, and Michelle agreed to take the third bed, leaving me to have the other room to myself, on the other side of the apartment. I didn't tell anyone, but I felt that was preferable.

It was, technically, in New Hartford, a small suburb of Utica. I'd checked the maps, and discovered that not only was it right on the New Hartford town limits, but the entire house wasn't even inside the line. The corner that had my room extended over the line and out of the municipality, so while everyone else was staying in New Hartford, I was sleeping in Oneida County.

I woke up in the morning before everyone else, which was about right. I got out of bed in my Bigfoot pajamas, and started making coffee. I took a mug and sat down by the window, looking out at the sunrise. It was going to be a busy morning.

Paul and I walked into the theater, and he immediately veered off to find his team. I found some of the prop dads talking with a few other parents in the lobby, and joined them.

"Any ghosts yet?" asked Jason, the leader of the prop dads.

"A few flickers on the EMF detector," I said. "Nothing too conclusive yet, but I got all my stuff. I'll be checking today."

"Do ghosts really hang out in cemeteries?"
"Some, it seems. Probably not as may as people think, but some."

One of the balloons decorating the lobby popped. Everyone jumped, and then a couple of the moms turned to me. "Lou!"

"I know. Probably just a balloon, but I'll check it out." I got out the EMF detector and walked over to the balloons. The place was well-wired, so nothing at first. Then I got a little bit of a jump, and said,"Yeah, maybe something here."

I walked upstairs and found Paul sitting at the table with Lilli. He said,"Dad, can you get me something to eat?"

"They're doing breakfast right now. They have bagels."

"A bagel, please. Butter."

"You got it."

As I walked across the upper level, some of the girls were practicing. There are always kids doing their dance moves all over the place at these events; I've learned to get good at dodging them. A few of them said,"Lou! Are there ghosts in here?"

"That's what they say," I said. "There's supposed to be some onstage, and backstage. So I need you guys to be my eyes and ears. If you see anything, you let me know."

"Cool," said Tall Addie.

Juliet looked over at the balcony. "I'm a little afraid of heights," she told me. "I get nervous up here."

"Well, it's a good thing you're so short."

I got Paul his bagel and walked back to the table with it. He took a bite from the edge. I pulled a chair over and sat down; I enjoy these moments I get with my kid. He said,"I hate these body tights."
"You're offstage in less than an hour," I said. "Hang in there."
The EMF detector went off. Spiking to red, it went to 2.0 for five solid seconds. Paul and I both looked at it. Lilli asked,"Was that....?"
"Yeah," I said. "Might have been a ghost."

"Don't forget to check for wires and outlets, Dad," advised Paul.

They grow up so fast.

"There is a house....Built out of stone...."

I stood backstage wth the prop dads, watching the kids dance on stage. It really was amazing. In between shows, I sometimes started to forget just how talented and professional these kids were. Watching them, it always came back to me just how incredible this whole thing was.

The EMF detector beeped. Red light. I looked at it, then turned it off and put it in my pouch. The ghosts, for a change, could wait five minutes. They were all dead and not going anywhere. I wanted to watch my son.

"Cause I built....A home....For you....For me....."

The routine was really cool; they started with some furniture onstage, and danced around it, assembling it as they went into an entire living room. I'd helped get the furniture out there, but I was really unneccessary. It was about them, the kids.

 The kids came off into the wings. Paul ran straight to me and threw his arms around me. He was crying. I hugged him back, tight. Pain? Stress? I didn't know, and it didn't matter. My son needed me.

"You're doing great," I whispered. "It's okay. I love you. You're doing great."

He held on for a moment. I asked,"Do you want to talk later?"

He shook his head, and I hugged him. "I love you, buddy. Proud of you. You're doing great."

After a moment, he released me and rejoined the team. The girls all gathered around and hugged Paul. They'd all been through backstage breakdowns before. He dried his tears, and then a moment later, was back out on stage with the others, all of them dancing their hearts out. Everything feels better when you're with your team; I understand that. It was beautiful. For the rest of my life, I'll cry every time I think of it.

I'm crying now.

This is a different kind of story. It's the story of my son, how he's still growing, becoming the person he will one day be. How in some ways, he'll be like his father, and in other ways, he'll be his own person. And that's a good thing.

Last year, this story ended with Paul and I sharing a moment on the lobby floor of a hotel in Lancaster, sitting peaceably together. 

This year, it ended with my morning coffee. I woke up earlier than everyone else again, and I walked across the county line to get a shower and get started. There are advantages to not sleeping well. I got dressed and made a pot of coffee, and sat down to begin the final day in Utica.

I walked around, got everything packed up, The temperatures had dropped and, unbelievably, it was snowing outside. I sat down and read a book for a while.

Paul emerged from the bedroom. Paul is not exactly famous for waking up in the morning. I looked up at him as he stumbled through the room, bleary-eyed, on his way to the bathroom.

"Love you, buddy," I said.

Sometimes it's all I really want to say.

"Love you, too," he said.

Sometimes, it's all I really need to hear.

Happy Birthday, Jay

"So you're a paranormal investigator," said the cashier at the grocery store.

"I am," I said. "I write about this stuff a lot."

"Have you ever investigated the Conjuring House?"

"Well, no," I said,"Because it's bullshit."
She frowned. "Really? How is it bullshit?"

"The Cojuring House and everything in that movie universe comes from Ed and Lorraine Warren." I explained. "And the Warrens were child molestors who pretended to be psychic so they could get famous. And that is the kindest way I can manage to put that."

"Oh, wow. I never knew. Is there anything you've investigated? Like, anything famous?"

"Well, the more famous it is, the less likely it is to be accurate."

"How about the Blair Witch?"

"No, that one is fictional."

"Really?"

"I thought everyone knew that. Yeah, that's a fictional movie."

"Have you ever investigated that hill with the railroad tracks in McElhattan?"

"Ah, Lizze, you're killing me here. Tha's an old urban legend, and I've explained to a lot of people that this isn't real. Gravity hills aren't."

"But they say there was a bus load of kids that got killed by a train there."
"They say a lot of things. Look, every place in McElhattan where the train tracks run across the road is on top of a hill. If you don't realize your car will roll downhill, I can't help you."

"I've heard there's a monument with the names of the dead kids there...."

"I'll give you a thousand dollars if you can bring me a picture of it."

"Wow. I'm learning a lot here. So what stories are real?"

"Well, anything I write about, I can tell you that." I picked up my bags. "Have a good day, Lizze."

When I got home from work, there were several children bouncing on the trampoline.

"Dad!" Paul said. "Did you bring me anything?"

"Brought you that Sprite you asked for."

"Can we have Sprite?" asked little Mia.

"Maybe. If it's okay with your mom."

"Do you still have your investigation tonight?" Paul asked me,

"Yeah, Ashlin's picking me up in two hours."

"Can we come?" asked Sekiyah.

"Not on this one, honey. It's a professional investigation with the LHPS team."

"I want to come!" said Mia.

"You'd be scared," Love told her.

"I wouldn't!"

"This one's just for the adults, anyway," I said, "I'll find a good investigation for you guys sometime soon."

It's procedure to meet at a neutral point, and all go to the investigation together. It looks more professional than everyone arriving at different times. When Ashlin and I got out of the car, I gave Jay a hug. 

"Happy birthday," I told her.

She smiled. "Thanks. Twenty-five now."

"I'll give you and Lex a birthday tour tomorrow," I said. "Pull out all the stops."

"I'm looking forward to that."

"Look, I know tonight is a little rough for you," I said. "I know we're investigating the RV where your father died. If you need anything---If you need to take a break, extra support---Let me know, okay? We're all here for you."

"I think I'll be allright," she said. "But thanks. I appreciate that."

"Everyone ready?"

The ride out to Crawford Township was about twenty minutes. Jay likes to drive, so we usually just let her drive us out. Ashlin and I sat in the back.

"I'm twenty-five today," said Jay. "It feels weird. Assuming I live to be a hundred, my life is a quarter over."

"You get used to that," I said. "I'm pretty far past the halfway point, myself."

"Yeah, it just feels weird. I'm twenty-five."

"Hey, I just turned thirty-four last week," pointed out Lex.

"I'll be fifty-seven this summer," I added. "I'm more than twice your age."

"There it is," said Jay. "The RV."

We turned into a yard with a small house and an RV sitting in the driveway. Jay said,"My step-mom is selling it. We should buy it, Lex. I don't know where we'd keep it, but...."

"No," said Lex.

"But it'd be cool! We could own and RV!"

"Jay, no."

"Well, now, don't decide too quick, Lex," I said. "Wouldn't it be cool to have our own mobile headquarters? A haunted RV, at that. Keep our equipment in it, and take it to investigations...."

Jay added,"We could go to Gettysburg in it."

"Damn it," admitted Lex. "That would be cool."

Jay's stepmother came out to meet us, and Jay gave her a hug. "I see you're selling the RV," she said.

"No," said Lex.

A small, furry, roly-poly little puppy ran out and began sniffing our feet. Jay's step-mom smiled and said,"That's Diva."

I knelt down to pet the puppy. "I love Diva and she is my new best friend."

"You guys want to start in the RV?" Jay asked.

I nodded. "Let's get in there, and see what we can find. Bring the equipment."

The inside of the RV was tight, like most of them. I could immediately see that we weren't going to need the comlinks I'd brought---There was no way for us to be more than the feet from each other the whole time. There was a small kitchen area with a couple of seats, and a small bedroom in the back. We spread out as far as we could. Ashlin sat down by the table, and Jay said,"That was my dad's favorite seat. He used to like to sit there. He died back on the bed."

"We'll check both places," I said. "Let's start with the EMFs."

We all had our EMF detectors. It's like the first thing you buy when you become a paranormal investigator. Jay went back and put one on the bed with a couple of cat balls. I got out my all-in-one model and did a sweep of the main area.

"Does this thing run on battery power?" I asked.

"There's a battery, yeah," said Jay's step-mom. "It's up in the engine. Most of this stuff is off right now."

I nodded. "I'm going to do a sweep of the outside, just to check on things."

I went down the steps and out into the lawn. I walked around the RV, checking with the EMF detector, and found a surge up front, where the battery was, and another toward the back passenger side, where I could see an outlet for connecting cables. There was a ladder to the roof on the back, and I started climbing up it, discovering that the bottom part was disconnected. 

Jay came outside. "Are you cimbing that ladder?"
"Oh. Yeah. Thought I'd see how it worked. You know this bottom part is loose? If someone tried climbing up this for no reason at all, say, they could get hurt." I climbed to the bottom and jump down to the grass. "How are you doing? How you holding up?"

She nodded toward the inside of the RV, where her step-mom was. "I hope this helps. I hope it brings her closure."

And that was typical Jay. i'd been working with her for months now, and I'd never once heard her ask for anything for herself. It was typical of her to be more concerned with someone else.

We walked back inside. Ashlin asked,"Should we start an EVP session?"
"Yeah, let's do it. Who's got their recorders?"

We turned them on, and Lex ran through the standard introduction monologue. Jay asked,"Are you mad that Ashlin's in your spot?"

The bell went off. Ashlin grinned. "I can move."

"Are you glad we're here?" asked Jay.

"Are you upset that Lou looks like a cop?" Lex asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I've been trying to change that lately. Chloe suggested I add some color to the uniform, which is why the purple shoulder pad and blue gloves."

"It works," said Jay. "You look better."

"We just got a flicker on the EMF detector in the bedroom," Lex said. "I saw it go to yellow."
"I'll try back there." Jay moved back to the bed and lay down, setting off the cat balls for a moment. "Dad? Are you here?"

A flicker to yellow. I walked back beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at me.

"How you doing?" Lex called back.

"Starting to get a little bit of a headache," she said. "Using up a lot of energy here."
"I got some painkillers in my pack," I told her. "It's in the car, Give me a minute."

"Oh, Lou, you don't have to---I'm"

"It's no problem; it's why I carry them. Back in a minute."
"I'll come along," said Lex.

We walked outside. It was beginning to rain a little. Lex and I walked companionably over to the car together.

"How do you think she's holding up?" I asked her.

Lex nodded toward the RV. "I think she needed this. It'll be good for her to check this out, maybe feel better about things."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too."

I got the painkillers out of my first aid kit and walked them back in to Jay. She smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime. How's it going?"

"Some activity. More on the bell. A lot of activity at the table, less back here on the bed."

I nodded. "That might suggest that he's happy. He's more active in the place he liked being, as opposed to the place where he died. It makes sense."
Jay smiled.

"Good."

"You're driving home," Jay informed Lex.

We got in the car and started off. I said,"Good investigation. I never checked out a haunted RV before."
"What do you think?" Jay asked. "Class Five haunted place?"

"It only goes up to four," Lex told her.

"Oh, right. Class Four then?"
"Based on tonight, that sounds about right. Wouldn't mind going back for another round sometime."

"I had fun," said Jay. "And I think it helped. I had a good birthday."

I reached up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Jay. We love you."

Dance The Night Away: Undead Emily

This is a different kind of story. There are ghosts and adventures, but it's not really my story. It's my son's. And that's why it's also got kids, and dancing, and when he tells it in the future, hopefully, a caring father who is proud of him.

The Lancaster hotel was just off Route 30, a pleasant little place with an Amish feel to it. I dropped my bag on the floor by the bed. Paul was on the phone with his friend, who was staying in the same hotel.

"I'm going to go find Emma," he announced.

There are like fifteen girls in his class named Emma. I'd pretty much considered them interchangeable, and begun referring to them that way. ("Paul's on the phone with an Emma.") I said,"Think I'll check for ghosts. Don't stray far."

"I won't," he assured me, and went off.

I was wearing my "paranormal investigator" sweatshirt and a green bandanna---Green is the color of Paul's dance studio. I dug in my pack and got out my travel pouch, a smaller version of the ghost-hunting bandolier. I slung it over my shoulder and walked out into the hallway.

When I'm staying somewhere, I always try to familiarize myself with the place. I also try to talk to locals if I can, and see what they can tell me. It doesn't always pay off---The week before, in Scranton, nobody knew nothing---But sometimes you find a prize.

OUr room was near the end of a long hallway that turned the corner into another long hallway, and led down to he lobby. I walked down, checking around with my EMF detector. When I got to the lobby, I poured myself a cup of free hotel coffee and looked around.

They'd tried to make it look as quaint and homey as they possibly could, playing up the Amish theme. It was Amish in the same way Star Trek conventions are in space, but it was a nice place. Two guys were on the desk, and I walked over.

One of the employees was white, and one was Asian. I leaned on the counter and said,"Okay, weird question. You guys know of any interesting haunted places around here? Ghost stories, old legends?"
Was a time I'd felt stupid saying things like that, but that was long in my past. I'd gotten used to it by now.

The white guy shook his head. "I don't really know any....Maybe down in Strasburg."

"Well, I haven't seen anything myself, but they say this place was built on top of a graveyard," said the Asian guy. "It was from the 1800s, I think."

"Really? Now, that's interesting," I said. Sometimes you hit pay dirt. "I'm going to look into that."

I topped off my coffee and wandered over to the little nook with the hotel computer in it. Usually you can trust a hungry wendigo more than you can trust a hotel computer, but I could get away with a little research. I searched up some old maps of Lancaster and found a good one from 1854. I looked it over---It can be tricky to work out where the current roads would have led on some of these old maps, but this one was easy enough. I found it---On the site of the hotel now, there was a small graveyard listed there back then.

My part in the dance competition had just gotten a lot more interesting.

I was sitting in the room reading a book when Paul walked back in from hanging around with the Emma. I said,"Been waiting up for you, kiddo. We should get some sleep now. Big day tomorrow."

I changed into my new Bigfoot pajamas and climbed into bed. Paul never had seen much difference between regular clothes and pajamas, and he just laid down in his sweatsuit, looking at his phone, on the other bed. He said,"Dad? Can we get me a soda tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

"Hey, kid, I found out something neat tonight. You want to hear it?"

"Sure."

"This hotel was built on top of an old graveyard."
"Oh. Cool. Did you check that out?"

"Yeah, it's on an old map. It's accurate."

"Cool."
"Get some sleep, little man. See you tomorrow."
"Okay."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

Most of the time, when we stay in hotels, I'm the first one up. There are very few things that will wake up Paul and Michelle if they don't want to get up. I got a shower and got dressed, debated a moment, then pulled my travel bandolier back on, and walked down to the loby for breakfast.

The hotel had what is called a "continental breakfast." The word "continental" in this context means "probably not enough, but better than nothing." I got a bagel and some coffee, and sat down at one of the small tables.

I turned on my EMF detector and set it on the table while I ate my bagel. I saw it rise---Not a quick flicker, but a weird rise to red, hold for a moment, and then back again. I picked it up and moved it around a bit, held it up against the wall, looking for some reason for the activity.

Nothing came up. I couldn't replicate it. Then I looked over---There was a small refrigerator on the counter, in the corner, holding some milk and fruit. Nobody was near it. For no reason, I saw the door open a few inches, and then swing closed again.

I had some more coffee. Things were looking up.

"You got everything, buddy?" I asked as we walked into the big hotel.

"I have it under control, Dad," said Paul, and jetted off to the dressing room.

Studio policy is to have the dancers at the venue two hours before the dance. That way they can get into costume, do their makeup, and everything else. And it gave me time to walk around and look for ghosts or whatever.

I roamed the hotel a bit---Same hotel the competition had been in last year, when I'd looked into the Augusta Bitner grave. I found Tall Addie and her mom, Carrie, in the lobby.

"Hi, guys," I said. "How's it going?"

"Addie's having a rough day," said Carrie. "We accidentally hurt her ear getting her hair right."
"I'm still mad at you for that," said Addie.

"You're gonna do great, kiddo," I said. "Can I give you a hug?"

She smiled and hugged me. I said,"This will cheer you up. I found out last night that the hotel we're staying in is built on top of a graveyard. I'm checking it for ghosts."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep. And the theater we're in next month, the Stanley in Utica, is said to be highly haunted. So I'm putting you guys to work. I need you to keep an eye open for ghosts, and I'll have my equipment with me the whole time."
She smiled and held up one thumb. I said,"Knew I could count on you."

"First things first....Start the scene in reverse...."

I stood in the back of the auditorium, watching the kids. Paul was up there dancing with Juliet, Tall Addie, Short Addie, Georgie, Lilly, Eloise, and all the others I can never remember. And they were a team. I loved that.

"If I could take us back....If I could just do that...."

I have my team. My son has his. The way I work with Ashlin, Chloe, Jay, and Lex, that's the way he works with these girls. I'd seen them together, and I loved watching how supportive they all were to each other. The way they all came together....I never got tired of seeing it.

I was in the hotel bar with some of the other dance dads when Michelle found me. She said,"Paul just won a scholarship."

"What?"

"And he wants to know if you can get his costume."
I left the beer and went backstage, where Paul was with his teachers and some of the kids, holding up a  certificate and grinning. I hugged him, and whispered,"I'm so proud of you, little man."

"He won it for showmanship on the stage," said Rachel, the owner of the dance studio. "We're all so proud of him."

"Me, too," I said. "I love you, buddy."

"Do you want a picture together?" Rachel asked.

"Yes."
I stood with my son, and we got a photo, holding his award.

I found Amanda, little Juliet's mom, in the lobby. She said,"Congratulations for Paul! We're all so happy for him!"

"I can't say enough how proud I am of him," I said. 

"This morning was a rough morning," she said. "Addie hurt her ear getting her hair together, Juliet forgot her shoes....Everyone was stressed....But now, everyone is happy and things are going well. Paul fixed everything."

"I'm going to the pool with Emma," announced Paul, gathering his towel and heading for the door.

"Allright, kiddo," I said. "Have fun. Think I might go check the hotel for ghosts again."

I put on my bandolier---The real one this time---And walked down the hotel, checking around with the EMF detector. I got a couple of flashes. There was a young woman working the desk when I reached the lobby.

"So," I said,"Working night shift?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It pays for college."

"What're you studying?"

"Graphic design."

"I work with a couple of graphic designers," I said. "My day job is in a small print shop."

"And your night job?..."

"Paranormal investigator."

She smiled. "And do you have one of those meter things?"

I held up the EMF detector. "Funny you should ask. My name is Lou."

"Emily."
"You ever encounter anything in here, Emily?"

"Occasionally weird things happen. Usually late at night. Things occasionally appear on the security cameras."

"I've found out the hotel was built on top of a graveyard."

"I'd heard that."

"I was able to verify it with some old maps. It's true."

"That's pretty cool.....Hey, look! There!"

I leaned over the counter. "What?"

"Do you see that, on the camera? There's a sort of misty shape by the pool. See it?"

I looked at the screen, and I could make out a moving, swirling sort of smoky shape in the room that I couldn't immediately identify. I said,"I see it. I'll be back."

Ans I turned and bolted down the hall.

The pool room was all the way on the other side of the hotel. I ran down the hall, turning the corner into the next hallway, and continued racing. Nobody was out in the hall, which made it easier. I slammed my way through the doors and into the pool room, waving around the EMF detector.

I didn't see the shape now---But the EMF detector went off. All the way to red for a moment, and then dropped back down to green.

As I stood and watched the detector, Paul looked up from the pool, where he was splashing around with the Emma. "Oh, hi, Dad," he said.

"Hi, buiddy," I said. "You having fun?"

"Mhmm. You find any ghosts?"

"I may have."

"You want to hang out and watch us swim?"

I sat down in a pool chair. "Yeah, kiddo. Yeah, I want to spend some time with you."

Dance The Night Away: Mister Electric Boo

This is a different kind of story. It's more Paul's story than mine. I'm with him doing the paranormal investigation, and I suppose parenting. But I wouldn't be there if it weren't for him, Paul and his dance class, supporting his little friends. 

"Can we go look for ghosts?"
I looked up at the kids. Paul and some of his little dance friends were standing there, during the fundraising Bingo game on the third floor of the Piper Museum. Lilly, Kendra, Tall Addie, Short Addie, Georgie, all wanting me to go and distract them.

Well, hell. It's better than Bingo.

"Let me bring my stuff," I said. I grabbed my small travel bag from my backpack and hung it over my shoulder. "Come on, let's go check out the west side of the building."
We walked across the hall and into the big meeting room. Lilly said,"What if we get caught in here?"

"Just play innocent. They can't be too uptight about it; they didn't even lock the door. Who wants to hold the EMF detector?"

Several hands went up. I handed it to Short Addie and said,"Everyone take turns."

They began taking readings with the detector. Kendra said,"Hey! There's candy on this desk over here!"

"Can we steal some?" asked Tall Addie.

"I should be a good example, but there's peanut butter cups. One each."

We ate someone else's candy. I said,"Wait until the competitions, guys. We're gonna be in Scranton, Lancaster, and Utica, and I've already got some of the good ghost stories researched out. In fact, the theater we'll be in up in Utica is said to be haunted."

"Can we help investigate?" asked Lilly.

"Of course you can," I said. "I'll bring extra equipment."

I watched the numbers tick down on my GPS, and said,"Coming up on the overpass, kiddo. That's the one just outside of Scranton where the Suscon Screamer is said to haunt. Oh, and there are Squonk sightings, too, so keep your eyes open."

"Bet that," said Paul, in the back of the jeep.

I'd bought the GPS from Chris, and programmed in the coordinates for the overpass. As we approached, I got out my camera and turned on the EMF detector. It showed nothing as we passed under the overpass, and I didn't see anything worth noting.

Michelle glanced over from the driver's seat. "How's it going?"

"Well, that was anticlimactic."

"That didn't look too hard."

"That's what she said. Of course, the Suscon Screamer may just be an urban legend anyway. There's still stuff to check out in Scranton. There's a UFO sighting near there, a UFO that was said to have crashed in Carbondale back in 1974. It landed in a pond, and people said they saw a green light for days afterward."

"How much longer until Scranton?" asked Paul.

"About ten minutes or so. We're almost there now, buddy. Did you know that Scranton had the first electric cable cars? That's why it's called the Electric City."
"Nope, didn't know that," said Paul, texting someone.

"So you guys will be dancing Mister Electric Blue in the Electric City."

"Cool. Can we stop at Dave's Hot Chicken?"

"Are you really a paranormal investigator?" asked the guy at the hotel desk.

I'd forgotten I was wearing the shirt that said that. "Funny you should ask. I really am."

"What's the scariest thing you've ever encountered?"

"That'd be my sister-in-law. You aware of any interesting ghost stories or old legends around here?"

He thought it over. "Not really. My stepsister thinks her dad is still haunting her."

I usually ask around a little, and try to talk to some locals. Sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn't. This was looking like it was going to be that second one.

"Bigfoot, UFO sightings?"

"No, but we have a woman who works breakfast in the morning. She might know something."
"Okay, thanks." I carried the luggage up to the room.

Paul was practicing one of the dance routines in the bedroom. I said,"You make sure you get sleep tonight, little man. You're not on until Sunday, but we can go tomorrow and you can support your friends, if you like."

"Yeah," he said. "I want to."

I was standing at the breakfast counter, getting some more coffee. The woman working asked me,"Are you really a paranormal investigator?"

I was still wearing the same shirt from the night before. I said,"I am. Are you familiar with any interesting haunted places around here?"

"No, not really," she said. "I'm a spiritualist, but I don't know of anything too close."

Some days it be like that. I said,"Do you know of the Carbondale sighting? A UFO crashed into a pond in 1974?"

"No, I've never heard of that one. I'd believe it, though."

I walked outside and strolled around the hotel property. I walked past the Triple-A office next door, making a note to come back when it was open and check for maps. I walked down the hill to the Sam's Club parking lot, and checked around with the EMF detector. Nothing. The strip of forest land between the hotel and the highway was covered with litter, and therefore not likely to be any sort of a harbor for the local Bigfoot sightings. Scranton, so far, was turning out to be a bust, paranormal-wise.

I looked up the hill at the hotel, through the strip of trees. If I hiked up the hill, I could use it as a shortcut to get back. I walked up, and found a stone wall with a fence atop it blocking my way.

I stopped and calculated a bit. I could climb the wall easily enough. Then maybe I could make my way along the fence until it ended, and be back on hotel lawn in a moment. I grabbed a handhold and began climbing.

There were plenty of handholds, and I got to the top and found myself standing on a very thin strip of grass on top of a ten-foot drop. With branches and obstacles in the way. It occurred to me how easily this could go wrong, and how badly hurt I could be if it did.

I grabbed the fence and braced myself, and began carefully working my way along the top of the wall. I wouldn't have thought twice about all this when I was sixteen. Of course, I got injured a lot more often back then.

In a few minutes, I'd made it to the edge of the fence, and with some relief I stepped onto the safe grass. Already risked a serious injury once today, and it was just now ten AM.

I made my way back to the Triple-A office. They wound up light on local maps, though apparently if I wanted one of Ontario I could have my pick. I did find an interesting catalogue about Lackawanna County, and took that. I walked back to the hotel, sat down in the lobby area, and began paging through.

Now, this was worth it. Pages on Bigfoot and Squonks, haunted spots, UFOs. There was a full page on the Carbondale sighting. And I found a photo that looked awfully familiar.

I got out my cell phone and called my friend Dani. Dani is a performer who does acrobatics and stilts; I'd known her for thirteen years.

"Dani, it's Lou."

"Hey! How are you doing? How's your family?"

"We're all good! Paul is in a dance competition in Scranton. Butters is doing good; he needs a haircut." We'd gotten our dog from Dani. "Dani, have you ever performed up in Lackawanna County?"

"Quite a bit!"

"I think your photo appears in a local catalogue up here. You're wearing a fedora with feathers, holding up two hoops, and standing about four feet taller than everyone else."

"That would be me, alright."

"I'll send you a copy."
"Thanks! I keep a scrapbook."

Over the years I've met some interesting people.

I went back to the hotel and sat down on the stairs, taking a moment to text Chloe and let her know how thing were going. I barely text, but Chloe is one of my few exceptions. I'd gotten used to having her as my lifeline when I was away, and she was reporting back to the rest of the team.

I took the catalogue back to the hotel room. Paul was on the bed, watching his cell phone. He looked up at me. "Can we have Dave's Hot Chicken for lunch?"

"Maybe," I said,"Hey, little man, check this out."

I showed him the picture of the Squonk. He said,"Awwww."

We walked up to the Scranton High School together, the whole family. Until Paul saw the first friend of the afternoon, said."I'm good now, Dad," and peeled off.

"Well, we used to have a kid," I commented.

Michelle and I walked through the door, and there was a line going through security. They were scanning people with metal detectors. I swear, it's easier to get into the goddamned Pentagon than your average school. The security guard stopped me and said,"Do you have anything in your pockets, sir?"

I sighed. "I have a pocketknife."

"You can't bring that in here," he said. "You'll have to leave that in your car."

I held my hand out to Michelle. "Gimmie the keys. I'll meet you."

I walked back out to the car, dropped off my knife, and started walking back. Jason, the studio owner's husband, caught me and said,"Lou! If I bring the truck around, can you help me unload that window for the act and wheel it in?"

"Oh, sure, absolutely. I'll wait here for you."

Five minutes later, he was back with his big panel truck and we unloaded one of the set pieces. It was a big window on wheels; I'd helped paint it. I wheeled it into the door, where I encountered the same security guard.

"You didn't have that before," he commented.

"I figured," I said,"If I have anything else I shouldn't, I'll just throw it out the window."

To give him credit, he laughed pretty hard at that.

I rolled the window across the floor and turned it over to Miss Nikki, one of the teachers. I walked around the lobby for a while, and spotted Paul with a whole gaggle of his little teammates, gathered in their costumes.

Miss Rachel, the studio owner, joined me. "I'm glad you guys made it," she said. "The girls didn't want to get ready without Paul. They demanded to come out here and wait for him."

I smiled. "I love what a cohesive team they are. I have my team, and Paul has his. It's always nice to see what a great group they make."

With Paul secured and everything done for the moment, I walked around the lobby a while more. I wound up back near the door, and nodded at the security guard.

"You really a paranormal investigator?" he asked.

"I'm getting a lot of that this weekend," I said. "I really am. Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers, out in Clinton County."
"That's really cool, man. Have any good stories?"

"We just recently had a pretty active investigation at an abandoned funeral home."

"Cool."

"Been looking into the UFO crash landing in Carbondale. You happen to know anything about that?"

"Oh, sure, I worked the festival once," he said. "They have a big thing up there. There's one guy who says he caused it all, though---Threw a lantern into the pond as a teenager, and then just never said anything when everyone thought it was a UFO."
"I'd heard that," I said.

"I actually talked to the guy," he told me. "He sounded pretty convincing."

I knew how that went. I'd spoken to some people who have given me the real story on paranormal events over the years. I'd also seen how something simple, like a lantern thrown into a pond, could fly completely off the rails and become a huge legend.

"I suppose I can cross that one off my list," I said. "Every once in a while, I find something like that. I had a field day with Raystown Ray a couple of years ago."

I circulated some more, watching the kids. They were sitting by one wall, and they'd get up and practice for a while, three or four of them. They'd take some photos, and laugh together, and it wasn't the first time I'd thought of it....What an amazing team they'd all become. I had Jay, Lex, Chloe, and Ashlin. Paul had Team Edge and all the other dancers.

"He was a stranger....He walked in looking for danger...."

I stood backstage, watching Paul and his team dance. Mister Electric Blue. I was always amazed at how professional they looked, in their costumes, doing their thing on stage.

"And I said, oooh! Mister Electric Blue....I believe in you....."

I ended up in the audience, with Michelle, as they brought all the kids out to sit on the stage for the awards. The announcer came out and said,"Okay, before we start, we're going to need a couple of volunteers. We need some of the dads to come up here. We're going to have a dad dance-off."

The girls all called out. From the stage, Paul glanced at me.

I stood up.

"We have our first volunteer! Come on up! What dance studio do you represent?"

"Rachel's Dance Unlimited," I said.

Three other dads joined me on the stage. The music began to play. I haven't danced since I was seventeen. I wasn't all that good at it then, and being middle-aged hasn't helped that any. But I did a little of what I remembered, and incorporated a high kick, which I knew from karate.

The kids all cheered. Paul's friends were delighted. One of the other dads won the contest, but they gave me a pair of sunglasses for my kid.

I handed them to Paul. He grinned.

"You came in second, Dad!" he said. "Can we get Dave's Hot Chicken?"