Free April Slaughter by Ghosthunting Texas Page A

glimpsed. When we subsequently reviewed
our audio data, we found that the box communication had been clearly captured, but not the sound of the heavy footsteps.
    Several times throughout the evening, our investigators reported feeling sudden variations in temperature in different areas of the bookstore. Occasionally, these experiences would be accompanied by slight headaches that would come and quickly dissipate. Lead investigator Jerry Bowers believed he had seen movement near the front register. My first thought was that it could have been the cat moving around, but she had been sitting quietly on the other side of the building when the movement occurred. Everyone in the bookstore was accounted for as well.
    As the evening wore on, the team grew tired and we decided it would be best to wrap up and go home. When we prepare for investigations, we are aware that we might be out until the very early morning hours, and while we do all that we can to remain alert, it seems that the activity we encounter can sometimes drain us very quickly despite our best efforts.
    After some much-needed rest, we discussed a return visit as a team and arranged another nighttime investigation. Three months later, we were back to see what else we could discover within the nostalgic theatre’s walls.
    Upon arrival, we split into several small teams to canvass the building. Jerry and I were accompanied by lead investigator Buffy Clary as we entered the theatre’s basement, where it was believed a man had fallen down the steep set of stairs and later died from his injuries. In the dark of the basement, we sat in three foldout chairs and began to use the K-II meter to see if we could establish any other presence. Although the lights on the meter would randomly come on, as if someone were approaching the meter, nothing definitive came out of our attempts to obtain answers to our questions. All three of us were quietly talking to one another when we felt a distinct atmospheric change, as if
several more people had just walked down the stairs to join us.
    After a few minutes, I heard a definite scratching noise on the floor to my right, as if something were being dragged slowly toward me. Jerry and Buffy also reported hearing the same thing, and just as we turned on our flashlights to investigate the source, the sound inexplicably stopped. There were no rodents, bugs, or any other obvious explanation for the noise.
    On this occasion, we were especially thrilled to test the arrival of a new ghost box device—Frank’s Box #37, which was built and shipped directly to me by Frank Sumption himself. Frank has spent a number of years building and testing his devices, and he gives them to only a handful of people for their research. The old theatre-turned-bookstore would be the first place we used #37 during an official Paranormal Source investigation.
    We set up the box in the front of the bookstore in the lounge section, where several of us sat on small couches eager to hear whatever might come through, also keeping in mind that it was possible we might hear nothing at all.
    Maddie the cat systematically made her way onto everyone’s lap. The box ran uneventfully until I posed a lighthearted question.
    “Can you tell me the kitty’s name?” I asked.
    Almost instantly the box replied with, “Maddie,” in what sounded like a young girl’s voice.
    “Can you tell me your name, please?” I asked, trying to keep the communication going.
    “Jan,” was the reply, in the same little girl’s voice.
    While we do not know who Jan was or what her ties were to the theatre, it was clear that she had been speaking to us and that she sounded happy.
    The boxes had certainly impressed us as investigators with the amount of direct questions they answered. You never can predict what will come out of the box, if you are fortunate enough to get anything at all. At 2:15 A.M. the next morning, we decided
to conclude the investigation and once again head home to rest and