With the new year, I naturally started thinking about all the changes in the past year.  Puget Sound Ghost Hunters has really grown and we've been given some incredible opportunities.

First off, we officially started working under the Puget Sound Ghost Hunters name in December 2008 so 2009 was our first year.  That, by itself was a big step.  Although we had each worked with other teams, coming together as a cohesive team really brought some a feeling of camaraderie that we weren't expecting.

Then in April, Paranormal Citings fell into our laps.  We were contacted, out of the blue, by the editor of an online newspaper about contributing a monthly blog to their paranormal department.  We jumped at the chance and, along with other groups around the country, have submitted our thoughts on a variety of paranormal topics.  We also were proud to provide them with a report on our investigation of the Walker Ames house in Port Gamble. 

We also began a Paranormal Discussion group that meets on the third Sunday of each month at the Des Moines library.  We've had some lively discussion on topics that run the full range of paranormal topics.  Although the as a team we primarily ghost hunting, we have plans to explore topics like UFO's and trans-dimensional travel.

Then in the late summer we decided to accept new members to our team and were happy to welcome Ken, Kevin and Kimberly.  They are eager to learn and we're excited to take them to some very interesting places.

What do we have on tap for 2010?  Lots!  The topic for our January discussion group is psychic training and testing.  We'll be talking about different aspects of psychic abilities and playing some "psychic games" to test our own abilities.  Join us on January 17th.

Then on January 23rd we're returning to the Walker Ames House in Port Gamble.  We'll have the house for the full night and we'll be testing some new equipment and running some new experiments.

In February, we'll be investigating the Meeker Mansion in Puyallup.  That's a great opportunity for us and we want to thank our new team member Ken for going out of his way to set that up for us.

In June, members of the team will be traveling to Villisca, IA to investigate the Axe Murder House. We're still working on getting a couple of other places lined up to investigate to make the trip cost effective.  Atchison, KS is only 2 hours away and is one of the most haunted towns in America, so we shouldn't have any problems finding locations.

We also have investigations planned for the Fort Casey bunkers, the Ghost Town of Franklin, WA and sites associated with the Green River Killer.  We may even go on a UFO watch.  Watch the website for case & evidence updates.

Members of the Puget Sound Ghost Hunting team recently viewed the movie "Paranormal Activity".  And while we found it to be typical of scary movies, we realized it's much more than that.  Sure it made us jump in our seats and gave us the chills later when we turned out the lights but it also made us think about the way ordinary people react when confronted by the paranormal.

With all the TV shows and movies that show paranormal investigations it can become easy to view it as something anyone can just jump into without any type of training.  Sure, it's possible that someone could run out and purchase a video camera and an audio recorder and start investigating.  It's also possible that they could muddle along for years without any repercussions; however that is a cavalier way to view the paranormal world.  There are things in this world that we don't understand. Things we may never understand.  Things that can be dangerous if approached in our ignorance. 

"Paranormal Activity" is a cautionary tale.  So, please as you watch the movie, take note of how the actions and attitudes of characters put them at risk and don't repeat them.

If you feel that you are experiencing real paranormal activity, call experts who can help you deal with it in a safe manner.

If you want to investigate the paranormal, join an established group and learn the proper techniques that will keep you safe.

We’ve been asked a lot recently why our private client investigation data and evidence are not on the website, so here’s the answer.  While many other groups will post evidence and case reports and just remove the client information that’s not how we operate.  Nor is it what we agree to in our investigation contract.

Client confidentiality is very important to us at PSGH.  When we say that all investigation cases are confidential, that’s exactly what we mean.  We will never post any case reports or evidence obtained at someone’s private home or business to the website. Whatever we find or don’t find is between us and the client.

Unless the client specifically requests that we post their evidence, we won’t be changing our policy anytime soon.  But to tell you the truth, we have yet to have a client ask for their case to be profiled on the website.  If you are a potential client and want your information posted to the website, we’re happy to do that, just as long as clients are aware that removing names and addresses doesn’t guarantee their anonymity.

As a group Puget Sound Ghost Hunters go on enough ghost hunts that we can post sufficient data to the website to keep it fresh and active.  We try to go to at least one cemetery per month in addition to other outings that we schedule as they come up.  We are perfectly willing to share and discuss any of the evidence from ghost hunts.   We hope this is policy will keep our clients and fans happy.

On Saturday, August, 24, 2009, Patricia and Stephanie spent some time at a small Catholic cemetery in Kent, WA.  The cemetery is almost hidden in the trees making it seem like a little oasis on a busy street.  Upon our arrival, we immediately noticed the large monument in the center which was dedicated to the Christian Brothers. 

Usually, our trips to cemeteries are a chance to practice our technique and to take some photos of the beautiful funeral art.  But this cemetery surprised us.  Immediately when approaching a headstone near the back fence, Stephanie heard the sound of footsteps in the dry grass.  The footsteps followed her until she had walked to the next headstone.  She mentioned this to Patricia but did not identify which headstone was the focus of the activity.

Patricia had approached the cemetery from the opposite direction and when she also approached the headstone she felt residual anger wash over her.  She made note of this to Stephanie who confirmed that this was the headstone where she had experienced the footsteps. 

At the end of our ghost hunt, Patricia and Stephanie said goodbye to the spirits and immediately heard the footsteps following them.  We stated firmly that the spirits were not allowed to leave the cemetery and slipped back out the gate. 

We immediately noticed a house tucked into the brambles in a vacant lot across the street and stepped over there to investigate.  Immediately the feelings we experienced were creepy to say the least.  As we rounded a bamboo hedge, we saw that there were two houses instead of one.  The negative feelings seemed to be coming from the large white house.  We took some photos and left.  We'll return when we determine who owns the property and gain permission to investigate.

Please view Stephanie's photos in our photo album.

We held our first Paranormal Discussion Group meeting on Sunday, August 16th.  It's always fun to meet people with differing life experiences and views of the paranormal.  We were able to fill two hours of lively discussion on topics such as what are ghosts, UFO's and aliens, psychic abilities and how personal spiritual beliefs shape our points of view.  We only just skimmed the surface of those topics and I hope we can get into more depth at future meetings.  The only negative point was that due to time restrictions, we had to cut the discussion short.  A very special thanks to everyone who attended and kept the conversation going.

Our next meeting will be on September 20th and again at the Des Moines Library.  Our tentative topic will be energy and how it can be used for healing.  I hope you can attend.

Update, update, update. 

We're in the process of updating the group website to the new format.  The old website was ugly and very clumsy to use.  So, it has been completely disabled and some of the content is in limbo.  We've begun to add our papers and atricles to the new "Articles" page.  Currently you will be able to read a paper from 2005 and one from 2007.  Some of the older ones are being re-worked to include current information and that is taking a while. We're open to suggestions so if anyone has any ideas on what we can post, let us know. 

We're also posting links to our blogs on the Paranormal Citings site when they publish each month.  You'll find the May, June and July blogs available.  We've also had published the account of the joint investigation we did with AGHOST at the Walker-Ames house in Port Gamble, WA.  That link is also there so check it out.

We don't post information about our client based investigations but some of the ghost hunt photos are up there as well and are being updated too.  Clients who have questions about their investigatons can just send us a quick email and we'll get right on a response.

PSGH is growing and active and that's the way we like it.

PSGH has upgraded our website.  The new site is more user friendly and provides additional information about who we are and what we do. Check us out and give us some feedback by emailing us.

We at PSGH are excited to be expanding our little group at this time.  We have lots of opportunities to explore the world of the paranormal and invite the public to come along with us.  Whether you are experiencing the paranormal and want an investigation or just intersted in understaning the wacky world around us, PSGH is a good point of reference for you.

We are currently taking new cases for the winter, so contact us today for a free paranormal investigation.

Happy Haunting