Tucson - "Tucson is quite a place of resort for traders, speculators, gamblers, horse thieves, murderers, and vagrant politicians. If the world were searched over there could not be found so degraded a set of villians as form the principal society of Tucson..." J. Ross Browne 1864
2005. Toys R Us Tucson Arizona. This is the one that started it all. This toy store on east Broadway Blvd. has within its storeroom an employee that cannot stop working. As employees of the store, we had to learn to coexist with this busy spirit. All day and night you can hear the sounds of moving boxes in one section of the store room. The boxes do not physically move, but the sound of them being shifted and occasionally dropped resonates in this area. Only one time did we noticed the spirit interact with one employee. Immediately after the employee said that he did not believe in ghosts, we all heard a box slide on an overhead shelf and drop to the floor at his feet. The box was heavy, about seven pounds, and was recessed on the top shelf. We were not allowed to have boxes overhang the shelf edge. Several staffers tried to recreate this incident by banging on the shelf, hitting the walls, and even trying to shake the racks holding the merchandise. At the time of the incident, we did not have the equipment to scientifically prove a haunting. All we could do is bring others into the store room to hear the strange activity.
After this, we started exploring supposed haunted places around Tucson. Most of the places we would go would not allow photography like cemetaries, court houses, and government buildings. We are in the continual process of trying to obtain permission for these locations.
2008. El Presidio Park Tucson Arizona. This park in downtown Tucson is considered an historic site. It was established in 1775 by a Colonel of the Spanish army. It is not the park itself that is of interest, but rather what lies beneath. The El Presidio Parking Garage, three levels of convenient downtown parking, was the site of a brutal homicide. Rumor tells of a girl that was raped and beaten to death on level "C", which is the bottom level, in the northwest corner. The truth of the assault was that it actually took place on the north end of the top level "A". In 1978, Karen Tweedy was approaching her car one evening when she was attacked. Her assailant shot her in the face. Not regaining consciousness, she passed away at St. Mary's hospital later that night. The attack was ruled as a homicide within the parking structure. Garage operations staff allowed for pictures, video and audio recording within the garage for the investigation. No unusual fluctuations in the electromagnetic fields (EMF), no temperature variations, and only one electronic voice phenomena (EVP) was found in the area of the attack (see gallery page). But something very old lives down on "C" level, according to government employees, referring to a spot in the southeast corner. Cold spots, EMF fluctuations, and EVPs have been detected down here by other investigators. Our investigation continues. Update Visit the gallery to hear a WAV file EVP caught within the garage. Our EMF meter had spiked to the top immediately before this recording was made, at the north end of the garage.
Today Circa 1900
2008. Old Pima County Courthouse. This old building has undergone several major renovations since it was first built, to its current re-design in 1928. Staff claim the basement storage area is haunted. Several people have claimed to see an oriental woman wearing traditional clothing moving from one area to another, not bothering to go around wall or doors, but rather through them. Some staff claim to hear voices where no one should be, and others claim to being touched by non-entities. After hours security personnel have heard locks rattling, voices from within walls, and objects being dropped. Our preliminary walkthrough with security staff revealed that the basement ceiling is covered with electrical wires, conduit and phone lines. All of which could present a large amount of static electricity floating through the air. A person overly sensitive to electricity could in fact feel or hear unexplained phenomena, since this electric transmission radiates from overhead. We were trying to obtain permission to perform a full investigation in the near future, but have since been denied. The second floor of the building has reports of supernatural activity. During the day, while the security staff were operating the metal detectors at the entrance to the courtrooms, they all heard noises from an area void of people. One guard took a photo of the area with her camera phone, revealing a vaporous figure human-like in shape. One EVP can be heard on the gallery page. This apparently female voice was captured a 1:30 in the morning when only men were present in the building. Nothing was heard with our ears, but the playback of our audio revealed that we were not alone!
Coming Soon - a repeat trip to Tombstone, this time with infrared videography. Also a trip to Douglas to visit a very haunted house.