THE YOUNG ONES - Shouldn’t be afraid … We catch up with 12-year

It was a long four-and-a-half-hour drive from Davenport Iowa. I passed the time by staring playing games on my phone and watching YouTube videos. My stomach growled from hunger as dad parked the car in the driveway at 103 E 3rd Street. We have arrived at Malvern Manor. It’s an old hotel built in the 1860s. You see, when the “Malvern” was built, it was part of the local community, with town meetings, weddings, and special events. It was also a temporary stop for people traveling by train on their way to larger cities. Everything in Malvern, Iowa happened here. It’s crazy to think about. These people actually lived here; they did everything here for years. After being sold a couple of times, the building has been a care facility for mentally challenged people as well as a nursing home facility. I imagined people visiting, sitting laughing and eating together. Their energy filled the rooms here. It still does. It’s sad to think about, but people also died around here. Bad things happened here. Very bad things like bullying, physical abuse and over medicated patients by caregivers so the patients would be like zombies and not “cause trouble”. One story I always think about is of a young girl. The same age as me, twelve. her name is Inez. In the 1900s Inez and her family occupied the hotel. Inez died a couple of blocks from Malvern, but her spirit is said to haunt these halls. Over this weekend, I want to connect with her and some other spirits. As I got out of the car, I could see the awesome new sign they installed out front. Its large with big letters and the smell of new paint. Now visitors can see they are welcome to stop in for a visit and a ghost tour when they are in town. As I turn to look at the front of Malvern, I see two people sitting on the front porch. Dad helps me unload some of my gear, I grab my camera and snap a picture of myself in front of the new sign. I see the people on the porch. They are also paranormal investigators just like me! We chat a little, and I decide to sit outside for a little bit to get my bearings. After about twenty minutes I walk in and take a good look around. Hmm! “Malvern” hasn’t changed much since I was here last June. In fact, it probably looks nearly the same as it did back in 1860. Inside there is a moist, stale smell, the kind that makes you shiver, and paint is peeling off the walls but in a cool way that makes you think of a real haunted house and adds to its charm. The main room is dark and most of the windows have covers on them that give me a creepy eerie feeling. Once everyone arrived, me and Josh’s daughter hand out the gifts I had brought for the spirits who live here. I always try to bring something to show the spirits I care about them. We take one gift to leave for the spirit of Inez, and Susie the owner’s daughter, leaves the other gift at Hanks room. Hank hates kids. I gave him a gift anyways. “Kill them with kindness” my dad always tells me. Hank was a bully to the nurses that tried to take care of him. He is already dead. But I can be kind to his spirit. After that, everyone decides it’s getting late, so we all go back to our places to sleep. We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow. As we pull up at noon on Saturday the place looks pretty quiet. I walk in and see Josh Heard the owner, giving a ghost tour to some new lucky visitors, so I dropped off my backpack in his office. I quietly listen in to the story of the Manor again, which Josh always makes exciting. He is a great storyteller and shares about the interesting people who lived here. As we walk down the “shadow hallway” Josh tells the story of the Shadow Man often seen wandering around. We go upstairs and learn more about the other spirits I have come to know like Inez and Hank. I sort out my ghost hunting devices and get ready for the next ghost hunt. I download evidence off my video camera and digital recorder onto my computer. I save the evidence I captured to research later when I get home. I also take out the used-up batteries from my camera and digital recorder from the day before and put new ones in. After dinner, I team up with other paranormal investigators. We get the whole second floor to start with. As we begin the tour, I show the guests my lighted dowsing rods and how they work. They are pretty cool, and glow in the dark. I ask the spirits questions and get direct responses. Then, I have the guests ask questions. They watch in surprise as the dowsing rods answer their questions. Then my team walked down to the other end of the hall into Hank’s room. We did a Spiritus session. It is a device that communicates with spirits. It has a dictionary where the spirit energy can communicate by using words from its database. As we start our second session, we take our group down to the “Shadow Hallway”. I awaken the spirits and the air using my Singing Bowl. After doing this three times, my teammate starts the Spiritus App and we start communicating with the spirits. We used a device called a Parascope. It detects static fields. We use the static electricity to detect the energy in the room we can’t see with our own eyes. At the opposite end of the hall someone notices one of the lights is starting to light up on the Mel Meter. My teammate asks spirit to light up the next light. It follows her commands. One by one. Eventually we visit Inez’s room. She’s the girl I was talking about earlier. She was my age when she died. In the papers, she had told a relative, she would “rather die than live with her birth mother” and was later found dead in a closet hanging by her jump rope. Some say she was depressed after she didn’t get good grades on her report card. The spirits were active again today. Inez wanted to play. She liked the gift I gave her, and she kept repeating the word “gift”. Hank was as stubborn as always. He kept repeating he wanted all the females to get out and leave his room. Soon it was time to pack up for the long drive home again. I repeated the singing bowl technique until the spirit activity died down closing the portal to the spirits. To end the night, I took a small group of visitors investigating around the manor grounds. As I walk out of the Malvern I look back and say goodbye to all the spirits I met tonight and tell them I will be back soon to chat and play.

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Haunted Magazine46

MADI AT THE MANOR

INTERVIEW WITH MADISON SMITH BY VICKY C.S. LAURSEN

Madison Smith is a ghost hunter, a hunter of ghosts, a paranormal investigator, an investigator of the paranormal. She is 12 years old. TWELVE YEARS OLD!! Most 12 year olds, or as they are commonly known as the “tweens”, not teenagers but not far off know about ghosts and spooks, let’s be honest anyone reading this who has kids of a similar age know that THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ALREADY, according to them. BUT I bet not many twelve-year olds go ghost hunting. BUT GET THIS: She has been a paranormal investigator for 2 years, since she was 10 years old. There’s a lot of types out there that say, “ghost hunting is for people over aged 18” and “kids shouldn’t ghost hunt, it will mess with their minds and f**k them up”. WILL IT, DOES IT, CAN IT, WOULD IT? I guess anything in life is possible but rather then make some sort of stereotypical judgement, I guess it has to be judged on an individual basis, trust me, I have been ghost hunting with adults, who (in my opinion), shouldn’t be ghost hunting.

Two years in, as a paranormal investigator, Madison enjoys exploring mysterious locations alleged to be haunted with spirits. She examines the evidence that she captures herself, trying to catch all types of paranormal activity using her ghost detection devices. She was taught how to use them by her network of seasoned paranormal mentors.

Madison, how did it all start? I was young around four I believe when I became interested in the paranormal. I started watching paranormal videos on YouTube and got hooked on wanting to learn more. I started ghost hunting when I was ten. My dad signed me up for an investigation at a location called Renwick Mansion in our state. I met a lot of paranormal investigators’ there, and they all support each other. They have become my second family and I enjoy seeing them at different locations and Paranormal Conventions each year. Your dad signed you up, interesting, what about family life & school, does the paranormal get in the way sometimes? Our family is Christian, but we don’t attend church regularly. I am pretty busy with softball and ghost investigating. I try to get all my homework done at school. If I don’t have good grades, my parents say I can’t keep investigating. It really motivates me to do well in school. A lot of people explore their local area to get a feel of ghost hunting, did you? Unfortunately, I did not grow up in a haunted area like many other paranormal investigators out there, but there are places near me that have tons of activity. I think the paranormal is interesting, I love to learn about the spirits and their past lives. I think It’s fun to learn about places and then be able to have the ghost communicate in one form or another to me. I want to keep finding paranormal evidence to prove to sceptics that ghosts do exist. Once at a location called Rock Island in Illinois, I made contact with a spirit, and have never forgotten what it was like.

With Daniel Klaes

With Chris from the Tennessee Wraith Chasers

With Dougie and Mike from the Tennesse Wraith Chasers

Tell us more about your school life… If you meet me at school you may say I am low energy. I just go about my day to get it over with. When I’m ghost Investigating, I go from low to super high energy. I think It’s so fun. I am in my comfort zone ghost hunting and have no problems taking a bunch of kids or adults on a ghost tour. Before I started investigating, I was shy. Now I am getting used to meeting new people. What do your friends and others at school think about it? Some kids are sceptics, but it doesn’t bother me. I think sceptics are just people who need proof that spirits exist before they can believe. I tell them to open their minds and try not to overthink everything you see or hear. Just be open to it.

“I really want to get more kids involved in the paranormal. If kids are interested, I am open to talking to them.”

Some kids are fine about me being a ghost investigator and some aren’t. It’s a mixed reaction. Everyone has their own opinions of what they think of me. I am okay with that. I respect their opinion even if it’s different than mine. If kids are interested, I tell them my personal stories about my investigations. I think if I tell them about it, they will feel less afraid of the paranormal and come with me some time. There are people out there who say, “ghost hunting isn’t for kids”, what would you say to that? I think ghost hunting can help kids at school who have been teased and bullied. For me, ghost hunting gives me a comfortable place to feel welcome. I feel so safe and comfortable when I am in the zone with my other paranormal investigator friends. I really want to get more kids involved in the paranormal. If kids are interested, I am open to talking to them. So, back to ghost hunting, how do you approach it? I like to do a little research before we leave for the ghost hunt, so I know the history of the building and its people. To pass the time on the long drive to locations I use my phone to watch videos and play games. It clears my mind in a way, so I can be ready for the ghost hunt. If I get hungry, I eat candy and drink fruit drinks. (hey don’t we all – editor) What are the Advantages of being a young Paranormal Investigator? When you’re a child you haven’t started blocking ideas that don’t make sense, out of your mind. Although being young has given me a chance to investigate most of the time you don’t see people my age doing this. Many locations are ages 18 and older, so I am not allowed. I think the more kids that get involved, the more location owners will be open to allowing us in. When I investigate, I am always watching for other kids to show up. I like to team up with them. There aren’t as many kids in the field as you would think. And what do you feel about the locations you visit? Sometimes I am drawn back to the same locations. I make friends with the spirits and I learn about their past. Sometimes if you’re lucky you can capture a voice EVP or see an apparition. I try to debunk noises that may be other things like wind or a creaking floorboard. Not everything is paranormal. I watch horror movies, and they don’t scare me. The only things that scare me are creepy dolls and bugs. Do you ever feel scared or feel like ghosts are trying how to mess with you?

When I meet negative spirits, I tell them that I’m not there to hurt them and if it gets too intense, I just walk away from the situation. When I am ready to go home, I tell the spirits I am leaving them. They need to stay where they live. And that I will be back to visit them again soon. So far, I have not had any attachments. Sometimes after going to a location I feel different. Drained of energy. I have learned how to burn sage to cleanse myself. Most 12-year-old Favourite gadget would be their phone; I imagine yours is something else?

My favourite piece of ghost hunting equipment is the Mel Meter. I love the story behind the reason it was built. A father built it to talk to his daughter who had passed away. I have a video recorder and a voice recorder to record any paranormal activity. I use crystal pendulums to talk with the spirits. What’s your ghost hunting essentials you take when you’re investigating? In my ghost hunting backpack, I have my flashlight, lighted dowsing rods, Mel Meter and a light up stuffed bear. I love my dowsing rods because I can see them in the dark, so

no lights or electricity are needed. Great in old haunted locations. I have also used a Ouija board. It is just another tool to talk to spirits. It is a portal. After you have talked with a spirit using a Ouija board, you should close the portal. If you do not close the portal, negative spirits can come through and very bad things can happen. What paranormal experiences have you had, so far? I have seen a few shadow people and talked to them using my spiritus app on my phone. I have been touched, but it wasn’t a negative experience. I enjoy capturing evidence. There is nothing better than an EVP to prove something or a picture or video. Ghost hunting is an expensive business…

Ghost hunting can be expensive. I go as much as possible. To pay for ghost hunts I mostly save money I get for doing chores like folding laundry, washing dishes and help cooking. I make part of the money selling my handmade pendulums. I don’t mind doing chores, because I know it will allow me to go on ghost hunts. What’s on your paranormal bucket list? Two of my dream locations to visit are the Haunted Hinsdale House in New York, and Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville Kentucky. I would love to be invited to the UK and investigate a castle one day. (am sure we can help, we know people – editor) So, away from the paranormal, what are your other interest and hobbies? I play softball, I like to draw, and I love researching history. I am against bullying and I am a member of the “Paranormal Bully Busters”. I also spend time with my two dogs Lucy is a Chiweenie and Sassy is a Boston Terrier. What things annoy you about the paranormal? I don’t like that people call us “Ghost Hunter’s” because we are not actually hunting ghosts. That term makes me feel like we are chasing them down to do them harm. I am just talking to spirits not trying to harm them. (ouch – how many times have we called Madi a “ghost hunter” in this, oops – editor) And what’s coming up for Madison Smith, (ahem) Paranormal Investigator? I have thought about starting my own YouTube channel. It would probably be talking about paranormal activity. Right now, I have my own podcast show called SpoopyTalk (no it’s not a spelling mistake – editor). I have thought of filming my own ghost hunts and editing them myself. But would need help since I don’t know anything about doing that. My goal right now is to keep searching for paranormal evidence. And if our readers want to know more about you where can they see you, hear about you etc? You can find me answering questions on “What it’s like to be a kid in the Paranormal Field” on Paranormal Panels at ParaCons across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Places Madison frequently investigates are: Old YMCA Rock Island, Illinois Farrar Schoolhouse Maxwell, Iowa Malvern Manor Malvern, Iowa Eloise Asylum Westland, Michigan Conover Square Mall Oregon, Illinois Any advice for young people interested in what you do & wanting to give it a go? I have experienced paranormal activity in daylight and at night. This is a good way to investigate two locations in one day. I would tell them don’t be afraid. Always have someone with you, never go alone it could be dangerous. And don’t let other people talk you out of ghost hunting if you think it’s fun. I would definitely recommend other kids to ghost hunt. It’s an exciting way to learn about History.

Vicky C. S. Laursen works freelance as a publicist for assorted paranormal celebrities and as a publications assistant for The Haunted Hinsdale House in Hinsdale, New York. She is also an inventor of software solutions that help raise money and awareness for haunted locations. Book author, Video editor and Storyteller. She is from San Francisco, California but now resides in Europe with part of her family.