Here is the story behind the Newport edition you have been waiting for. In the year that the movie Poltergeist came out on the big screen there was another similar drama playing out in a town in Texas. In the early 1980 a new housing edition went in called Newport. Sam and Judith Haney purchased a home in the Newport area of Houston. The family decided to have a swimming pool put in the back yard. As they began to get started an elderly black man showed up out of nowhere and told them that they was about to dig up human remains. The reason he gave them this information was that he knew they were buried because he had seen them years before. They decided the old man was crazy and started digging for the pool anyway. As they were digging the two bodies were just where the old man said they were. Scared they began doing research and found a man named Jasper Norton who as a young man had worked as a gravedigger. Norton told the Haney’s that their home and the surrounding houses were built on top of an old cemetery called Black Hope. He also told them that most of the deceased were former slaves.

They found out that last burial had occurred 1939 and that there as many as 60 people were in graves. Norton identified the two people buried in the Haney’s backyard as Betty and Charlie Thomas who former slaves. They had died sometime during the thirties. As they lived in their house the activity became more negative. They heard disembodied voices, an unplugged clock in the began shooting sparks and glowing, sliding glass door open but there was nobody there and the door was locked. The next morning after to door incident Judith couldn’t find her red shoes. When she finally located them they were outside miraculously sitting side by side on top of Betty’s grave. They also realized that the date was Betty’s birthday.

Unable to keep all of the information to themselves they had a neighborhood meeting. They found out neighbors whose houses were built on top of the abandoned cemetery also had all kinds of activity. They reported lights, televisions/water faucets turning on and off, unearthly sounds and apparitions. Sam and Judith decided right then to fight back. They sued the developer for not disclosing that their home was built over a cemetery. They won and were awarded $142,000 by a jury. The judge ruled on legal grounds that the developers were not liable and reversed the decision. He then ordered the Haney’s to pay $50,000 in court costs. Unable to pay and plagued with health problems they were frightened of remaining in their house. They made the decision to file bankruptcy and abandoned their home.

One of the other families lived right across the street with similar problems to the Haney’s. Ben and Jean Williams lived there with their young granddaughter named Carli. They reported activity that the house was cold year round, the feeling of being watched, toilets flushed by themselves as well as the garage door and other household appliances would operate on their own. They even had rectangular sinkholes open up in the yard and for whatever reason they couldn’t be filled in. As soon as she thought she would have the problem solved the sinkholes would reappear within a few days. Another oddity was Jean couldn’t get any new plants to live on the property even though she always had a green thumb. On their property they noticed strange markings on an old oak tree by the sinkholes. It was an arrow pointed downward with two horizontal slash marks beneath it. They attended the meeting and discovered their lovely home was built over the cemetery. As they began to research a long time resident of the area told them he had marked the tree as a way to identify where his two sisters were buried. The activity began to increase and they would hear phantom footsteps in the hall, an apparition hovering over them when they slept and six members of their extended family were diagnosed with different cancers where three of them died within that year.

The Haney’s were not the only family to try legal recourse. They were all told that without definitive proof of a cemetery on their property nothing could be done. Ben and Jean Williams decided to prove their home was built over a cemetery. So Jean began to dig in one of the sinkholes beneath the oak. When she became overwhelmed from exhaustion to her daughter Tina took over. After digging for about a half-hour Tina collapsed and was dead 2 days later. Jean was convinced their desecration of a grave had precipitated their daughter’s death. They decided to leave no matter what it cost them. The loss they already experienced was more than they could bear. They abandoned their house and escaped to Montana. After a period of time passed they later moved back to Texas.

Subsequent owners of their homes say they have noticed no unusual activity. They seem content to live in the houses even with the negative history. Would you buy a home here? If you google the story you will find some people report activity and some say they never experienced anything. The fire department will tell you there are more alarms that go off in the part of the neighborhood that covers the cemetery. Do you think some people are more sensitive than others and this is why the new owners do not have activity? Do you think that the Williams or the Haney’s would make up such activity to give them a reason to loose all the money they had invested in their homes? These are some the same types of questions my group puts to the test every day as we deal with homeowners. Is it real or imagined? Can we find evidence to back up the claims? I spent time in Newport on several occasions. I can tell you that the area has a strange vibe to it for me. The woods have shadows that dart about even when nobody is there. I believe the place to be haunted. I will be uploading photos and other evidence I collected while there in the future.

Go see the Black Hope photo gallery here

[singlepic id=63 w=320 h=240 float=right]You can ask anyone who knows me. I have always been very busy. It hasn’t just been me in my family either. My kids were always very busy with their activities. I would drive them to dance, soccer, football, track, swim, musical theater etc and wait for them to get done. I spent much time in the car waiting. While waiting instead of doing crochet I would pull out a cake decorating stash and make gum paste flowers. Oh yes I did! Once I had a project that required me to make 350 hand made gum paste roses. That took me some time to get done and the car time was perfect. One of the kids best loved activities was being on the swim team of the Timberlane Tigersharks. I could not make flowers during this activity unless it was only practice. I was required to stand on the side lines every Saturday and scream as loud as I could for them to win.

Our team song still rings in my head at times. Why does it get stuck in my head? Has anyone conducted research about this yet? Here are the words to the song:  “Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we tell them, we are are the Tigersharks the mighty mighty Tigersharks … keep repeating and get louder and louder each time”.

[singlepic id=56 w=320 h=240 float=left]One of the teams we would go against was Newport. It was a huge team that dwarfed ours. I still remember their pool right across from the golf course. The kids enjoyed their time there swimming. They would sit with with their arms and bodies all doodled on with a blue magic marker. The shark and Eat my bubbles! were things they liked to have drawn on their back. They didn’t realize that while we were there we were at a famous housing edition that made national headlines. They didn’t know the housing developer ignored a fence and markers signifying that part of the area was a cemetery. Sometimes in life you will spend time in a haunted location without knowing it. If you would have known at the time you may have treated your time there differently. I wonder if the kids would have known would they have refused to get in the pool thinking it was haunted? Have you ever swam in an a haunted pool?

[singlepic id=58 w=320 h=240 float=right]I will be posting an an article about my experience investigating Newport soon. For now I will leave you with the information that the story about this subdivision has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries, has been the subject of several books and has been made into a movie for television. Alarms trigger the local fire department and nobody is home and no fire is present. These alarms seem to come more from the part of the neighborhood that covers the old cemetery. Are there restless spirits triggering the alarms to go off? Some
in the fire department seem to think so. Neighbors have also reported activity from the time they have moved into the neighborhood. I will cover a few of these stories next time.

[singlepic id=7 w=320 h=240 float=right]One place that is very active according to several paranormal groups is located in Humble Texas and known as the 1960 overpass. If you read through the forums online you will read that people call this area the doorway to hell. You can read the stories of businesses that have failed as a result of the activity. One place was a dollar movie theater that failed because the employees would quit after encountering what they called a demonic presence. The place shut down and has been broken into by many times by thrill seekers wanting to encounter it for themselves. Today the dollar theater has been purchased and breaking in would land you in jail if you were caught. People don’t know what the ruins are next to the cemetery behind the old dollar theater.

[singlepic id=1 w=320 h=240 float=left]Through my research I found “the ruins” to be an old kerosene refinery that was closed when the need for kerosene diminished. The area is in an unincorporated part of Harris county Texas commonly known as Bordersville. Humble had decided to pass laws making the area all white and forced all people of color out of town thus Bordersville was born. It was the most poverty stricken of the whole Houston metro area. The train went through the east side and this is where residents decided to have their cemetery. The cemetery is said by some to have been moved out of the way when the railroad came through. I found that it was never moved from it’s current position. It was never cared for and had fallen into a horrible state. It is today a secluded spot where the homeless have taken shelter on and off over the years. They could jump onto a passing train or jump off and stay at this location unseen.

In the years before commerce had taken over this spot was where the area train station was located. On December 13, 1922 there was a train wreck that claimed 19 lives and injured many others. The Southern Pacific train #28 was crowded to full capacity and was bound for Shreveport when it came into the station. There was a freight train stopped on a nearby track that happened to be too close. The engineer tried to stop the train before the collision and was not able to do so. All the destruction was caused by a 2″ pipe leading from a water tender to the boiler which had been stripped of it’s mooring along side the engine. This caused the pipe to break through the windows of the passenger train which was attempting to stop. The pipe burst through the windows releasing deadly hot steam and water. This sprayed the passengers and filled up the coaches with steam causing 19 to be scalded to death. The newspapers of the day reported skin had fallen off from hands and faces and was clinging on the backs of seats, window latches and laying everywhere.

In 2008 three privileged teenagers from nearby Kingwood decided desecrate a grave. Kevin Wade Jones and Matthew Richard Gonzalez who were both 17 as well as a 16-year old dug up a grave with shovel. They removed the skull of Willie Sims from his coffin and converted it into a bong in their home. Willie was 11 years old at the time he died on September 11, 1921. The teens were charged with misdemeanor abuse of a corpse and Willie was laid to rest again. They were unable to locate any of Willies relatives to participate. This is also the same area where the body of a child was found murdered. Secluded areas are usually places for crimes to be committed. I wonder how many other things happened here that we do not know about.

Perhaps the pain from segregation, poverty, tragedy and disrespect has the spirits of the area up in arms? Many times we find activity at sites with such pain. While I was investigating I had a sense of the tragedy of the past. To me it hung around like the thick humid air.
Sometimes I will go into an area and my senses will be heightened. Many people have experienced this but don’t understand what that feeling is. Your gut tells you that you need to leave. As a paranormal investigator I wonder if there is high emf provoking this feeling. Instead of going with “fight or flight” I pull out meters to try to collect the data. If I was by myself I would go with my gut instinct and leave because I know it is possible that I had disturbed someone and they were watching me from the woods. Perhaps I had disturbed something else that I couldn’t see. I am still reviewing evidence collected and will share what I find with everyone

Go see the photo gallery for 1960 Overpass

Have you ever been to a national cemetery? When you drive past the gates and into one you notice how well manicured the lawn and landscaping are. The next thing you notice is all the headstones. This experience can be overwhelming no matter how big or small the cemetery is. It is sad and awe inspiring to know that all these men and women gave their lives for our freedoms today. While on a recent trip to Fort Chaffee we decided to go hunt down the grave of Brigadier General William O Darby to pay our respects. Darby is buried in Fort Smith National Cemetery which is located in Sebastian County in section 9 site 3991. This cemetery began it’s existence sometime after Christmas day 1817 when men began constructing a stockade fort sufficient for one company. In 1841 a newspaper article suggests that there was a “dilapidated burying ground outside of the stockade containing three graves marked by marble slabs.” Once it was small and shoddy however today this beautiful cemetery totals 22.3 acres. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1999

After a period of time searching the cemetery we finally found what we were looking for.  It had taken longer than I thought It would. We noticed many of the stones were marked unknown. These graves were from the civil war time and represented both sides of the war. When we found Darby’s stone I stood there for a while contemplating what he had done with his life. I am happy that sometimes God gives us people like him for awhile. He was an amazing man and I was happy to be there for the moment. Some people may think of this it is morbid to go into a cemetery to pay respects to someone you do not know personally. I was standing there thanking him for his service, celebrating the memory of his life and there was nothing morbid about this. I only hope that my mark on the world would be good enough to one day have someone I do not know come to pay respect to me because of the way I lived my life.

Why did we come to pay respect? Our team is not just a paranormal focused group but also a group dedicated historians with a healthy respect for life and death. Do you recognize the name Brigadier General William O Darby? Darby was born February 8, 1911 in Fort Smith Arkansas and became a West Point graduate. He was also an officer in the US Army during World War II . Darby led the famous Darby’s Rangers which over time evolved into the US Army Rangers which is an elite commando division of the Army. After handpicking 500 men who underwent preliminary elimination tests, the first Battalion was activated June 19, 1942. Darby died in Italy’s Poe Valley on April 30, 1945 which was also the same day Hitler shot himself. He died when an 88 mm shell burst in the middle of the assembled officers and NCO’s. This event killed Darby as well as a Sergeant and wounded several others. He was only 34 years old at the time of his death. Gen. George Patton once said, “He was the bravest man I knew.” There was a movie made by Warner Brothers in 1958 starring James Garner called “Darby’s Rangers. ”

Just what does it mean to be a Ranger? The First Ranger Battalion was formed as an elite unit modeled after the British Commandos led by Darby. Strictly on a volunteer basis they were trained to surprise attack in the dead of night from the least likely route. Sometimes these attacks would take them 30 miles deep behind enemy lines on foot. Training included cliff climbing, speed marching and amphibious landings. During World War II there were more than 15 million people who served in the armed forces however only 3000 were Rangers! William Darby was the beginning of these men who are known legends and heroes

By the late 1800’s tuberculosis was taking over the population of the United States. The disease is highly contagious and was poorly understood at the time.It was almost impossible to cure with the mortality rate being at 80.2 %. Health professionals believed that clean, cold mountain air was the best treatment for lung diseases. Sunlight was also believed to be an effective treatment. Sanatoriums were built with large windows, patios and terraced areas with fresh air and sunlight in mind. Sometimes the roof of the buildings were
used as for patients.

Patients who were only suspected of having tuberculosis were admitted to prevent the spread of the disease. Patients who did not have the virus were now be exposed to the virus and would then become infected. My husbands grandfather was one of these patients. As a child he lost a tooth that showed up eventually on an xray in his lung. Long before that xray he was believed to have TB and was admitted into a facility. Now exposed to TB he would always show positive on testing.

The discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin in 1943 became the first cure for tuberculosis. In 1944 Merck and Company began major production of the drug. The first randomized trial of streptomycin against pulmonary tuberculosis was carried out in 1946-1947 by the MRC Tuberculosis Research Unit. TB was now shown to be controlled by antibiotics rather than extended rest. By the 1950s tuberculosis was no longer a major public health and the sanatoria began to close. Most sanatoria have now been demolished. Several were converted into hospitals for other uses including aids. Those hospitals remaining are abandoned.

Paranormal teams investigate places like this to see if they can capture any evidence of residual energy of the past. There have been reports of an active haunting at some locations. The rate of mortality being at 80.2 %. puts these places at an advantage for the possibility of capturing evidence. One of the locations we are investigating is nestled in the hills in it’s own complex. It was a self sustaining city of its own. It had a municipal like water/sewer system, fire department, and a farm with dairy and swine operation. Built in 1910 covering 973 acres of land. It was closed in 1973. Some of the complex has been converted for other use.

Driving through the gates of the facility knowing the mortality rates of the people that passed here was very sad. The gate was imposing because of what it represented and not because of the architecture. As we drove up the hill and turned the corner seeing all of the buildings of the compound you could see how it was separated from the rest of the world. The main hospital still stands as an imposing gothic type structure. There have been many reports of activity in this building. We are hoping to be able to validate the activity ourselves.

Go see the photo gallery for this amazing place

We always stop by Buford “Blue” Duck’s grave along with those of his family. I will give you some history of this famous outlaw below. Near Blue’s grave are a series of headstones marked with half breed which is just sad to me. I cannot imagine being around in those days with the cruelty that was shown towards people with mixed heritage. We have investigated this cemetery several times over the years. Every time we have been there we have had something happen. This night was an especially great night. The cemetery was lit up my the setting moon which was almost full. We all watched shadows move and dart about the cemetery between the trees and headstones. I saw what appeared to be a child who disappeared. We heard what sounded like a group of people come into the cemetery and head towards where we were standing however there was nothing else in the cemetery. One of our members watched a child bicycle across an area that would have been impossible to do and disappear. I have captured photographic evidence in the past and was hoping to collect more. Over the years we have captured evps and photos. We have had meter activations, cold spots, audible voices and personal experiences.

One famous person is buried in the cemetery. This is the grave we always stop by when we investigate there. Bluford “Blue” Duck was born sometime early 1800’s and died 1895 In Cherokee Blue Duck’s name was Sha-con-gah. Blue Duck was said to have been a member of a gang who was involved in stage coach holdups and rustling. It was said he had an affair with Myra Maybelle Shirley also known as Belle Starr in the late 1870’s.She married Sam Starr instead of Blue.The new couple formed their own gang and Blue joined them. They were involved in cattle rustling, horse stealing and bootlegging whiskey to the Indians. One day on June 23 1884 Blue Duck and William Christie were both drunk riding in the Flint District of the Cherokee Nation. For whatever reason they decided to ride up on Samuel Wyrick a young farmer who was working in his field. Blue Duck emptied his revolver into the man. He then reloaded shot towards an Indian boy hitting his horse instead. Duck and Christie were both arrested for the killing by Deputy US Marshal Frank Cochran. Duck was sentenced by infamous Judge Parker to be hanged on July 23, 1886. Christie was cleared of the charge and let go. Blue Duck got an appeal due to the help of Belle Starr. His sentence was commuted to life in prison. He was sent to Menard Penitentiary at Chester, Illinois Oct 16, 1866 as Inmate # 2486. He developed consumption also known as tuberculosis and was given one month to live in 1895. President Cleveland pardoned him on March 20th where he returned home to die. On May 7, 1895 he died. You can find his stone in section D not far from what looks like a dog house. Blue Duck posed for what is a widely publicized photograph of himself with Belle Starr. Author and historian Glenn Shirley, in “Belle Starr and Her Times”, stated that Marcum had hoped to call attention to his client by having him photographed with Belle Starr.

Last weekend we had a full day of running around to different locations. This included picking up Lindsey Ladd from the National Paranormal Society to join us for our adventure. We had a preliminary investigation scheduled for the old Cushing Hotel now known as Cimarron Towers. Due to a cancellation we were able to make it a full evening. Let me begin by giving you a brief history of the town and the building. Cushing is known as the “Pipeline Crossroads of America”. The town’s most exciting era began on March 17, 1912 when an oil boom began. Twenty-three oil companies and five oil-field supply houses located there by 1915. The boom ended however sixteen companies still operated there in 1930. The town’s population had reached 9,301 which was the largest population ever. The need for a hotel was huge thus the Cushing Hotel came into existence in 1928. This was during an era where “Nations Business Magazine” had labeled it an unparalleled prosperity for the area in Oklahoma. In stark contrast the eastern United States most people were standing in line for soup. The area of Oklahoma was dry but farmers had a bumper wheat crop. It was such a big crop that wheat was literally everywhere including blowing in the street. This dropped the price of wheat from .68 cents a bushel to .25 cents in 1931. This made farmers go broke and abandon their fields. By the time 1940 rolled around the town only had 1,500 residents. Most people had left by then and only three refineries were active. The hotel was beautiful but was having a hard time staying open. One of the residents talked about the doorway into the hotel being grand and all the woodwork that was amazing. Today that woodwork is no longer there. The hotel which had once thrived now stood vacant from 1975 until 1983. The hotel had declined during those years and needed to have something done with it. It was purchased and remodeled into what is now the Cimarron Towers for senior citizens and the handicapped. Downtown Cushing is a quaint old town with the same buildings that have stood there for years. It takes you back to a different time until you notice the new cars that line the street.

We began the evening by meeting Andrew who was one of the tenants. He had invited us to come check out the building because of strange activity that had been noticed over the years. We interviewed him first and then he gave us a tour to different rooms and floors within the building. While on tour we stopped in different rooms where we talked to almost a dozen of the residents. Some of the residents did not want to be on camera or named. They had all felt and seen different things. One man had been pushed off of the toilet, was scratched and had seen things on his web cam. While he was away Hank Williams was playing in his room with the web cam recording. When he returned it appeared as if something was in the room mouthing the words to the song “Hey good looking” while bouncing back and forth. One woman reported to hear voices, shadows and had a general uneasy feeling in several of the areas of the building. Several residents reported that their dogs would growl at the hallway. They would get up to look and would find that nothing was there. . While we were interviewing residents I had become physically ill in different areas of the building. I asked others on the team and it was confirmed that we all were experiencing the same feelings. The feelings were nausea, dizziness and headaches. Some places I almost needed to sit down because I was so sick. I noticed Mike grab onto the wall a few times in some areas.

When the interviews were complete we began to investigate the building. We separated into small teams where we went from floor to floor running audio, video and taking photos. The building has 7 floors and has a basement as well. We also investigated the stairwell where we had heard that voices had been previously recorded by a resident. I spent more time in the areas where I felt sick. I saw a shadow once in the hallway appear like it went into a wall which was confirmed by Lindsey Ladd. I took a few pictures that I noticed had something which I couldn’t see well at the time. I watched Lindsey conduct an experiment where she was pulling energy to herself with my dowsing rods. She was asking questions of whatever entity that may bearound at the time and she was getting responses. A few team members had heard laughing coming from within the stairs and nobody had been laughing. One of the residents approached us and communicated to us that he had been scratched while showering. In the end it was a fun night as usual. We got to spend time in a historical location. We need to review all of the evidence before we make a conclusion. It seems at the very least that there is residual energy that seems to be lingering. Certain spots in the building hold more energy than others. From the scratching it also seems that they have an intelligent haunting going on.