A Cleansing
In June of 2007 we were contacted about a situation having to do with a piece of property in northern Virginia that had been on the market but hadn't sold. Considering that the housing market in that area was experiencing a downturn, the situation didn't seem to be all that unusual. The owner explained, however, that the property had been on the market for over two years, and it was originally listed when houses were selling within weeks or even days of being offered for sale.
In addition, the property was listed with one of the most experienced and successful realtors in northern Virginia. According to the realtor, the house had always been priced right, and was currently at an asking price that was $10,000 below the latest assessed valuation.
Besides being in excellent overall condition the house had a newly remodeled kitchen, a new heating and air conditioning system, new hardwood floors and carpet, and new appliances. It was also located on a quiet street within walking distance of local schools and close to, but out of sight of several shopping plazas. In short, there was absolutely no reason for it not to have sold. In fact, whenever a realtor's open house had been held, the agents who viewed the property always commented about its immaculate condition and speculated that it would sell quickly; but it didn't.
To add to the mystery, several other neighborhood homes in less pristine condition had sold for similar prices while this home continued to sit on the market. Many people had viewed it, but no offers had been made - not even insulting "lowball" offers.
The owners became so perplexed that they instructed their agent to follow up with each and every realtor who showed the house, and ask why their prospects hadn't made an offer. Surprisingly, there never seemed to be a concrete reason like, "the rooms are too small" or "we don't like the layout". Instead the answers were things like, "It just didn't feel right", or "We don't really know - just something about it".
Finally one of the owners contacted ESP and asked whether there might be a paranormal reason why people were walking away. We questioned whether the owners had ever experienced anything unusual such as doors opening or closing, objects moving, ghostly figures, or strange sounds. They told us that they had not. We agreed to visit the property and conduct at least a basic investigation.
On June 12th we arrived at the home, and immediately felt that it had curb appeal. It appeared to be well maintained, had a manicured front lawn and attractive plantings along the walkways. When we entered the house we stepped into an open foyer that accessed the living room, family room and downstairs master bedroom. The home was tastefully decorated and had an excellent floor plan. Our initial impression was that it was quite a marketable piece of property.
We walked from room to room, saying nothing, checking the condition of the property and the quality of the workmanship, just as if we were prospective buyers. We noted that it was exceptionally neat and clean and in excellent condition. There really were no negatives about the house, and initially we both liked it a lot. As we spent more time there, however, we slowly became aware of a very subtle change. For no apparent reason our positive feelings about this home seemed to be slipping away and were being replaced by what might be described as mild agitation or claustrophobia. Once outside we felt much better.
Clearly, if we'd actually been looking for a house to buy, neither of us would have been inclined to make an offer on this particular property. As we discussed our feelings further, we came to the realization that if somebody had asked either of us what we disliked about the property we wouldn't have been able to give a specific answer. In fact there really wasn't anything that we disliked. We'd probably have said something very similar to what the other prospective buyers had said.
Since we'd lost our positive feelings about the home without understanding why, we felt that further investigation was warranted. Our first step was to review our observations to make sure that there wasn't something negative about the property that we were only subconsciously aware of. We agreed that structurally, visually, and financially this home was extremely appealing, and that we shouldn't be feeling anything negative about it… But we were.
Our next step was to try to pinpoint exactly when our feelings had shifted from positive to negative. In review, we realized that neither of us had experienced a sudden shift from liking to disliking the house. It was a gradual and very subtle process that had gone almost unnoticed. We couldn't match it to a time, a room, an event, an impression or anything tangible. The only unusual thing thing that came out of the conversation was that shortly after entering we both had noticed that our palms were tingling slightly.
Electromagnetic energy has been reported to cause tingly sensations, and also to create feelings of uneasiness in people who had been exposed to it. Our next task therefore would be to sweep the home with EMF meters to check for abnormal electromagnetic fields. We didn't expect to find any because strong EMF emissions normally aren't present in private homes, other than in close proximity to operating TVs or CRTs. As expected, the walk-through with the meters produced no abnormal readings or hot spots. The only thing abnormal was that once again we notices a slight tingling in our palms, and we again became aware of an increasing sense of agitation or uneasiness.
ESP's investigative philosophy has always been to look for "real world" explanations and answers, not for ghosts or entities. In this case, however, there seemed to be no physical or even rational explanation for what we'd experienced, so our focus shifted to the paranormal.
We, like many other investigators, believe that negative energy can be absorbed by physical structures, and this type of energy doesn't register on EMF meters. In this case, however, we couldn't conceive of accumulated negative energy being the cause. This was a private home; not a prison, concentration camp or other site where such energy might abound. Just to be thorough we asked the owners whether they had ever heard about a death or a traumatic event that had occurred at that location, and they replied that they had not.
That left only one other possible explanation. Perhaps we were experiencing the influence of an entity that, for whatever the reason, didn't want the home to change ownership. The problem was that we'd had no indication that such an entity might be present. The owners hadn't reported any unusual occurrences, and our EMF meters had detected nothing unusual. Things simply weren't adding up.
At this point we decided to do an even more thorough electromagnetic investigation. Instead of just sweeping the rooms we slowly checked every square foot of space, beginning at one wall and ending at the opposite wall. When we reached one interior wall the EMF meter suddenly showed some brief, low to mid-level activity. The reading appeared, fluctuated, and then was gone. We re-checked the spot and found nothing. That seemed to rule out any natural source like wiring or electrical equipment, which would have produced a steady and continuing reading.
Moving along the wall we again picked up readings, and these were even stronger than the first ones. Interestingly, the readings appeared to be coming from inside the wall itself, because once we moved the meter six or eight inches from the wall, they dropped off to nothing. The second set of readings was more consistent than the first, and we decided to test for possible physical causes.
As we ran the meter along the wall, we were able to map where the energy began and ended. The pattern wasn't a long thin band as it would be for a wire running through the wall, and it wasn't confined to a small space, as it would have been for an electrical junction box. The "hot" area seemed to be several feet high and about two feet wide. The edges weren't clearly defined, and the readings weren't constant. The active area seemed to be a fluctuating low-level energy field that shifted, changed shape and even moved away slightly when we were scanning it.
Based on these unusual EMF readings we believed that we had located the offending entity, but just to be sure, we asked the owner to cut the electrical power. When the power went off, the readings continued, which conclusively ruled out any type of electrical causes.
At this point we outlined the options to the owners. We could document our findings and close the case, do additional historical or physical research, attempt communication, or employ cleansing or banishing techniques. It was now up to them to decide on the next step. The answer was almost immediate; "Get rid of it if you can".
Without going into unnecessary detail about the techniques utilized, we felt that if the process was to be successful we needed the owners' participation. They agreed, but were understandably somewhat apprehensive, not knowing what might happen. We explained that some apprehension is normal and that we never know for sure what to expect either.
Throughout the process we monitored the EMF readings from the area that we believed the entity occupied. The process was obviously having some effect because the energy patterns began changing and became more active. Finally the energy heightened and began fluctuating wildly, and was readable even a few feet back from the wall. The person holding the meter reported feeling a pressure, as if being pushed against by something that wasn't solid.
At that point we directed one of the owners to open the front door, which was close to where this was occurring. A moment later the meter reading dropped to zero. We then rechecked all of the wall space where we had detected EMF readings and found it to be totally clear.
We spent some time with the owners instructing them in protective techniques and we invited them to contact us if they needed further assistance. When we left, we had a tremendous feeling of exhilaration, and a sincere belief that we had accomplished what we had set out to do. Were we right, or was it wishful thinking? Time would tell.
A few days later we checked back with the owners, and were told that the house seemed to have a different "feel" to it. They described it as being "like a breath of fresh air".
Nine days after our visit, the next prospects to view the home made a full-price offer.
YESSSSS!
In addition, the property was listed with one of the most experienced and successful realtors in northern Virginia. According to the realtor, the house had always been priced right, and was currently at an asking price that was $10,000 below the latest assessed valuation.
Besides being in excellent overall condition the house had a newly remodeled kitchen, a new heating and air conditioning system, new hardwood floors and carpet, and new appliances. It was also located on a quiet street within walking distance of local schools and close to, but out of sight of several shopping plazas. In short, there was absolutely no reason for it not to have sold. In fact, whenever a realtor's open house had been held, the agents who viewed the property always commented about its immaculate condition and speculated that it would sell quickly; but it didn't.
To add to the mystery, several other neighborhood homes in less pristine condition had sold for similar prices while this home continued to sit on the market. Many people had viewed it, but no offers had been made - not even insulting "lowball" offers.
The owners became so perplexed that they instructed their agent to follow up with each and every realtor who showed the house, and ask why their prospects hadn't made an offer. Surprisingly, there never seemed to be a concrete reason like, "the rooms are too small" or "we don't like the layout". Instead the answers were things like, "It just didn't feel right", or "We don't really know - just something about it".
Finally one of the owners contacted ESP and asked whether there might be a paranormal reason why people were walking away. We questioned whether the owners had ever experienced anything unusual such as doors opening or closing, objects moving, ghostly figures, or strange sounds. They told us that they had not. We agreed to visit the property and conduct at least a basic investigation.
On June 12th we arrived at the home, and immediately felt that it had curb appeal. It appeared to be well maintained, had a manicured front lawn and attractive plantings along the walkways. When we entered the house we stepped into an open foyer that accessed the living room, family room and downstairs master bedroom. The home was tastefully decorated and had an excellent floor plan. Our initial impression was that it was quite a marketable piece of property.
We walked from room to room, saying nothing, checking the condition of the property and the quality of the workmanship, just as if we were prospective buyers. We noted that it was exceptionally neat and clean and in excellent condition. There really were no negatives about the house, and initially we both liked it a lot. As we spent more time there, however, we slowly became aware of a very subtle change. For no apparent reason our positive feelings about this home seemed to be slipping away and were being replaced by what might be described as mild agitation or claustrophobia. Once outside we felt much better.
Clearly, if we'd actually been looking for a house to buy, neither of us would have been inclined to make an offer on this particular property. As we discussed our feelings further, we came to the realization that if somebody had asked either of us what we disliked about the property we wouldn't have been able to give a specific answer. In fact there really wasn't anything that we disliked. We'd probably have said something very similar to what the other prospective buyers had said.
Since we'd lost our positive feelings about the home without understanding why, we felt that further investigation was warranted. Our first step was to review our observations to make sure that there wasn't something negative about the property that we were only subconsciously aware of. We agreed that structurally, visually, and financially this home was extremely appealing, and that we shouldn't be feeling anything negative about it… But we were.
Our next step was to try to pinpoint exactly when our feelings had shifted from positive to negative. In review, we realized that neither of us had experienced a sudden shift from liking to disliking the house. It was a gradual and very subtle process that had gone almost unnoticed. We couldn't match it to a time, a room, an event, an impression or anything tangible. The only unusual thing thing that came out of the conversation was that shortly after entering we both had noticed that our palms were tingling slightly.
Electromagnetic energy has been reported to cause tingly sensations, and also to create feelings of uneasiness in people who had been exposed to it. Our next task therefore would be to sweep the home with EMF meters to check for abnormal electromagnetic fields. We didn't expect to find any because strong EMF emissions normally aren't present in private homes, other than in close proximity to operating TVs or CRTs. As expected, the walk-through with the meters produced no abnormal readings or hot spots. The only thing abnormal was that once again we notices a slight tingling in our palms, and we again became aware of an increasing sense of agitation or uneasiness.
ESP's investigative philosophy has always been to look for "real world" explanations and answers, not for ghosts or entities. In this case, however, there seemed to be no physical or even rational explanation for what we'd experienced, so our focus shifted to the paranormal.
We, like many other investigators, believe that negative energy can be absorbed by physical structures, and this type of energy doesn't register on EMF meters. In this case, however, we couldn't conceive of accumulated negative energy being the cause. This was a private home; not a prison, concentration camp or other site where such energy might abound. Just to be thorough we asked the owners whether they had ever heard about a death or a traumatic event that had occurred at that location, and they replied that they had not.
That left only one other possible explanation. Perhaps we were experiencing the influence of an entity that, for whatever the reason, didn't want the home to change ownership. The problem was that we'd had no indication that such an entity might be present. The owners hadn't reported any unusual occurrences, and our EMF meters had detected nothing unusual. Things simply weren't adding up.
At this point we decided to do an even more thorough electromagnetic investigation. Instead of just sweeping the rooms we slowly checked every square foot of space, beginning at one wall and ending at the opposite wall. When we reached one interior wall the EMF meter suddenly showed some brief, low to mid-level activity. The reading appeared, fluctuated, and then was gone. We re-checked the spot and found nothing. That seemed to rule out any natural source like wiring or electrical equipment, which would have produced a steady and continuing reading.
Moving along the wall we again picked up readings, and these were even stronger than the first ones. Interestingly, the readings appeared to be coming from inside the wall itself, because once we moved the meter six or eight inches from the wall, they dropped off to nothing. The second set of readings was more consistent than the first, and we decided to test for possible physical causes.
As we ran the meter along the wall, we were able to map where the energy began and ended. The pattern wasn't a long thin band as it would be for a wire running through the wall, and it wasn't confined to a small space, as it would have been for an electrical junction box. The "hot" area seemed to be several feet high and about two feet wide. The edges weren't clearly defined, and the readings weren't constant. The active area seemed to be a fluctuating low-level energy field that shifted, changed shape and even moved away slightly when we were scanning it.
Based on these unusual EMF readings we believed that we had located the offending entity, but just to be sure, we asked the owner to cut the electrical power. When the power went off, the readings continued, which conclusively ruled out any type of electrical causes.
At this point we outlined the options to the owners. We could document our findings and close the case, do additional historical or physical research, attempt communication, or employ cleansing or banishing techniques. It was now up to them to decide on the next step. The answer was almost immediate; "Get rid of it if you can".
Without going into unnecessary detail about the techniques utilized, we felt that if the process was to be successful we needed the owners' participation. They agreed, but were understandably somewhat apprehensive, not knowing what might happen. We explained that some apprehension is normal and that we never know for sure what to expect either.
Throughout the process we monitored the EMF readings from the area that we believed the entity occupied. The process was obviously having some effect because the energy patterns began changing and became more active. Finally the energy heightened and began fluctuating wildly, and was readable even a few feet back from the wall. The person holding the meter reported feeling a pressure, as if being pushed against by something that wasn't solid.
At that point we directed one of the owners to open the front door, which was close to where this was occurring. A moment later the meter reading dropped to zero. We then rechecked all of the wall space where we had detected EMF readings and found it to be totally clear.
We spent some time with the owners instructing them in protective techniques and we invited them to contact us if they needed further assistance. When we left, we had a tremendous feeling of exhilaration, and a sincere belief that we had accomplished what we had set out to do. Were we right, or was it wishful thinking? Time would tell.
A few days later we checked back with the owners, and were told that the house seemed to have a different "feel" to it. They described it as being "like a breath of fresh air".
Nine days after our visit, the next prospects to view the home made a full-price offer.
YESSSSS!
Copyright © Eastern States Paranormal, Inc. - 2006-2008. All rights reserved.