They ain't afraid of no ghosts

By MARK COWLING, Staff Writer

Paranormal group spends the night hoping to meet courthouse's spooks

FLORENCE -Angie Smith walked calmly, confidently down the dim hallway to a dark open doorway. When she spoke, her voice was pleasant and unafraid:

"Can you please show yourself to us? ... Is there anybody here who would like to communicate with us?" She sounded as if she truly expected an answer, which was enough to give chills to at least one of the two grown male observers tagging along.

Smith waited a moment, but there was no response. An electromagnetic field meter she was carrying gave a positive reading just inside the doorway, but she concluded that was most likely due to normal office electrical sources.

A county employee once reported feeling a push from an invisible force in this corner of the former County Assessor's Office. These and other unexplained sights and sounds over the years are what drew Smith and eight other members of the East Valley Paranormal Society to spend the night of April 19 in Florence's best-known historic landmark, the Second Pinal County Courthouse.

They came with night vision cameras, audio recorders and other gear in hopes one or more of the building's spirits would favor them with some evidence worthy of further study. The group split into five teams - one in the basement, one in the attic and clock tower, one on the second floor and two on the main floor. Group members never work alone, for safety reasons and for verification of evidence.

Kim Mann, founder and director of the group, was still sorting through all the data late last week but said the group did collect a few interesting photos and some EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). EVPs often sound like faint human voices and were the subject of the 2005 movie "White Noise" with Michael Keaton. The group has examples of EVPs it has recorded in other places on its Web site, eastvalleyparanormalsociety.com.

A rather strange noise

She also reported that the entire group at the old Florence courthouse heard a "rather strange noise that we were unable to figure out or find the source to." All teams heard what sounded like metal being thrown on the main floor by the front doors shortly before 11 p.m. Three teams tried to find the source of the noise but couldn't.

On this evening, each team was also joined by one or two chaperones from Pinal County government. Eight in all volunteered, which was a lot more than what the EVPS expected.

Having that many extra people in the building is "a huge drawback," Kim's husband, Rodney, said as the group was preparing to haul equipment through the courthouse's front door. "We weren't expecting anywhere near that number."

A lot of non-group members along for an investigation often results in "a lot of evidence we have to discount that may not mean anything," EVPS member Eric Wenzel added.

As everyone prepared to go inside, Kim asked the volunteers to never whisper and to report all their inadvertent noises. "Let us know ... 'I sneezed, I coughed, that was my stomach growling.'"

Ernie Feliz, Pinal County grants coordinator, said that when he recruited volunteer chaperones he thought they'd show up for two-hour shifts. When the day came, all eight wanted to stay the whole night, and five actually did.

But the extra people in the building didn't stop the group from collecting some evidence it finds quite interesting. Kim reported last week, "We had a really great evening and are hoping to be able to do a follow-up investigation with a smaller team."

When the last county offices moved out of the building in late 2005, it was the only county building that was cleaned by custodians during regular working hours, rather than at night; no one wanted to work there alone at night.

Second-floor employees used to report hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, only to find no one there; screaming and yelling coming from other rooms; and seeing hanging lights swing as if they'd been pushed like a playground swing.

Skeptics say it's only the natural creaking of an old building, or bats, pigeons or other squatters being a nuisance.

If there are ghosts, why would they still be hanging around the building? Over the 114 years the building held county government offices, there was a lot of history made there, but no hangings or other deaths.

The courthouse was, however, built on what was once the town cemetery. There was a sincere effort to move all the graves, but not all graves were marked. Locals have speculated there were at least a few souls who were never moved to a proper resting place.

Gathering evidence

Kim Mann of Queen Creek formed the EVPS in January 2006. Along with her husband, Rodney, their sons Russ, 21, and Sean, 18, are active in the group. Middle son Cody was actually the first family member to record an electronic voice phenomenon in 2004.

Kim said the group has collected "some good evidence we can't explain," particularly at the old Gila County jail, Pinal Cemetery in Superior and the Vulture Mine near Wickenburg.

The group does these investigations to build a body of knowledge to prove the existence of ghosts. The group includes believers, skeptics and some who are undecided but open to the possibility of ghosts.

The group doesn't offer to rid a place of ghosts - "we're not 'ghostbusters,'" Rodney said. EVPS has, however, had some success with "sageing," a Native American ritual in which members burn sage and ask the negative energy to leave and only the good remain.

The EVPS doesn't generally believe in a need to help spirits "move on," as suggested in TV shows like "Ghost Whisperer." "We feel it's an energy form" that can decide to stay or leave, just as a living person can, Kim said.

So what do they want to do with the spirits they find?

"We'd like to communicate," Rodney said.

Member Angie Smith believes she does communicate with an electronic voice phenomenon in her home in Goodyear. "She responds to my questions," she said. It's not a historic home, so "I think it's the land." Others in the neighborhood also have had experiences, all in new houses.

She first noticed something amiss when she saw what looked like smoke floating across her patio. A pen holder on her computer desk tipped over on two different occasions for no reason.

Then she was cleaning jewelry one evening and left two rings on the counter, one on top of the other. The next morning they were 8 inches apart. She decided to start recording the room noise, and has so far collected about 350 electronic voice phenomena.

Smith heard about the EVPS and invited members to investigate her home. She was so impressed with the group's work, she decided to join. She said the group has a good balance of "skeptics and people like me. I'm eating it all up; I want to know more."

Saving history

Ernie Feliz also disclosed the EVPS made a generous donation to help preserve the old courthouse. Some of the most critical projects to saving the building have been done: The clock tower was stabilized and new shingles were installed in 2005 at a cost of nearly $270,000, and a comprehensive roofing project was begun last year worth $650,000. Funds to do these contracts came from state and federal grants, private gifts, Pinal County and the town of Florence.

The public's tax-deductible donations are still welcome.

For information on buying a commemorative brick to help repair and preserve the old courthouse, contact Feliz at 866-7221.