Before you start reading, I'd like to say that I have always been into watching the ghost shows and reading about the paranormal, but I was about 99% sure that this stuff was all just for fun and in no way real. I just thought that the whole concept of ghosts was very exciting, but at the same time I never saw anything that truly convinced me this stuff was real.
I am a college student at Rutgers University and I major in finance. I even have a summer internship with a very well-known financial group in PA. I'm not the type of person to automatically believe things without properly analyzing all other possibilities first, but I must say I am still very confused about what happened to me.
I went to visit the Gribble House Paranormal Experience in Savannah, Georgia on August 7, 2013. This attraction is literally a real life ghost investigation, with all of the same equipment as the TV shows. The violent history of this sight began in the early 1900's, because it was the scene of a triple murder. Since then, the house itself was demolished, and a large warehouse built during WW2 was built over top of it, but over a much larger area, an entire historic city block in fact. My mom and I were greeted by our guide Willie, who was very nice and explained the equipment in a very basic, but easily comprehensible manner. We received a spirit box, a laser thermometer, a flashlight, an EMF (electromagnetic field) detector, and a digital recorder. I will explain the other occurrences later on, but for now I will jump to the best part of the entire investigation.
In the last few minutes of the investigation, I was by myself in the southeast corner of the warehouse, which was swelteringly hot inside. This was to allow everybody to feel a spirit's presence much more easily, because they emit a very cold type of energy. For some reason, the spirits felt much more comfortable communicating with me at this moment. On the spirit box, I asked "How many soldiers are here with me?" The box replied "3". I asked "Are you all confederate soldiers?" Someone answered "yes". Soon after, my EMF detector began to light up, which indicated the presence of a spirit very close to me, and I remember somewhat feeling the energy from him or her, but I thought this could just be psychological so I ignored it.
I asked, "Were you alive in the 1800s?" The EMF detector blinked once, indicating that they were in fact alive during this time period. I asked if they were alive during the Civil War, and received no response. Then, I began to ask, "Did you die in a major battle during the war?" and as I said the word "die", the spirit immediately left my presence, allowing the EMF detector light to fade away. I asked, "I'm sorry, was that a stupid question?" and received an answer of yes on the spirit box. I then apologized for asking this question, and stated that I did not mean to be disrespectful.
About 10 seconds later, my EMF detector began to light up again, showing that there was in fact a spirit with me again. I asked, "Were you a soldier during the Civil War and the light blinked once. I asked, "Were you a confederate soldier?" and the light blinked again. I said "Are you standing in front of me?" and received no response, but the EMF detector remained illuminated. I asked "Are you standing to the right of me?" and the meter blinked once. I turned to the right, and asked, "Am I facing you now?" and the EMF detector blinked once. I said "Could you move closer to me so I can feel you?", and on cue, this soldier literally walked right up to me and through me. I felt his cold energy all over my body, literally starting right in front of me and ending behind me.
Right after this moment, my mom came to tell me the cab was here, which followed by the honk of the cab's horn outside of the warehouse (I'm not sure why he honked when he knew we were coming; I guess it he was just in a rush or something). I tried to explain to her what had just happened, but I think I only gave a jumbled description because I was so confused with what just happened to me. I told the spirits, "Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, I really appreciate it, but I have to go now". A female voice replied through the spirit box "goodbye".
As I was walking out, my meter began to light up again, and the light remained illuminated in the briefing room. I set it, along with the spirit box, down on the table and received a spirit saying "Enter" through the box. I guess this indicated that he wanted me to come back and talk more, which unfortunately was not possible, because our allotted time had run out (it was 1 am).
Other odd occurrences:
Before the soldier, I was in the northeast corner of the building, and felt a presence standing behind me. I thought that someone might be there due to the cold air that was stationary behind me. Right after, my mom happened to place the meter behind me, and it lit up. I asked if this was Paul, and the spirit responded with one blink of the light. Right when our guide began to walk over, Paul left our presence immediately (I assumed he maybe does not like black people, or this was just a part of the hoax).
In the same area, I asked the spirits to do something for me on the count of 10. A voice in the voice box responded "yes". I started to count, and right after the number 6, a voice came through the box and stated "7". I continued to count, and received nothing at the end of the counting. I guess technically, they did do something "on" the count of 10.
While I was close to the southeast corner, but about 20-25 feet away my meter began to light up. I asked if there was a spirit there with me, and the light blinked once. I asked if my mom took a picture on the count of three, would they show themselves, and the voice on the voice box responded "yes". I began the countdown, and my mom did not take a picture on the count, but rather one too soon, and one too late. The voice on the box said "late", and about 3 seconds later, they stated "very".
These are the main highlights, aside from another couple odd things that occurred. I can understand skepticism from all who were not present, and I can honestly say that up to the last couple minutes, this could have been an elaborate hoax.
My mom decided to step out about 10 minutes before the end, and based on what she felt with me, I understand her skepticism as well. (She still does not believe I actually felt something, but rather imagined it). Unfortunately, she does not understand what actually happened to me on my own, only I do. Maybe some guys were watching with cameras and listening, and then responding to you in disguised voices. Maybe the EMF detectors were going off with the push of a button, and then responding with a blinking light by means of a person hiding on the other side of the warehouse. But I promise there is absolutely no way that the feeling of this presence walking through me was fake or imagined. I was way too far from any type of vent or window, let alone an open window, and this was not the same feeling you would receive from that type of occurrence anyways. I do not believe it was my own body, because usually when you feel cold like that (from being creeped out), you get a chill running down your body and goose bumps along with it. This cold "energy" was eerily similar to the presence that my mom and I felt at the Old Charleston Jail, which you can read about in my other story. The absolute only way to describe it is a cluster of chilly air moving together in one solid mass, and even this description is mediocre at best. It is something you MUST experience to 100% truly understand.
I left my house for vacation on Saturday, August 3, 2013 99.9% sure that there are no such things as ghosts. I am now almost certain that there are such beings from times all but forgotten, roaming the earth after death for reasons unknown to anyone but themselves.
Maybe human consciousness is much more complex than we currently believe it to be, and maybe you don't need your body to indeed be a conscious being. Maybe your body leaves behind a little part of you whose only objective is to reach out to others and in a way say, "Hey, I was here. I existed, and I just want you to know". I am still extremely baffled as to what this feeling truly was, but the only logical answer that I can pull from this mystery is that this was in fact the spirit of a man, a confederate soldier in fact who for one reason or another, felt comfortable enough around me alone to give me a clear sign of his company.
If you, the reader, ever get a chance to go to Savannah, Georgia, make it an absolute priority to visit the Gribble House Paranormal Experience. There is something going on here that cannot be explained by a common haunted house prank.