There?s something strange in the neighborhood. Who you gonna call? Soulseekers Paranormal. Founded two weeks before Halloween by Carol Ann Castro and Grace A. Freeman, the fledgling paranormal group is bringing ghost hunting to history-infused Vallejo, California.
Find no other such investigations group in the area, Castro took it upon herself to form her own.
?Vallejo is so full of history,? Castro said. ?You have Mare Island, the Indians that lived here, the houses that are 200 years old, and I thought, ?Gosh, there?s so much energy up here.? ?
Castro and Freeman began by taking pictures at various area sites, including Mare Island. ?In every picture I got, there were orbs or light rods,? Castro said.
While Freeman does not feel the energy, she seems to attract it. ?They follow her, and I know where to take the picture,? Castro said. ?I sense it and I can feel the energy.?
The group?s MySpace page is a testimony to what Castro and Freeman believe is evidence of energies from numerous investigations. The page is attracting more attention, whether from the merely curious or from staunch believers.
?We have people who come (ghost hunting) with us once in a while,? Castro said. ?It?s fun.?
?We don?t go anywhere dangerous,? Freeman added.
While Castro wants her investigations to remain focused in Vallejo, their site has allowed for a growing network to which she can refer out-of-state individuals with inquiries.
Castro is also offering her experience via her new monthly Ozcat 1670 AM radio show. From 10 a.m. to noon on the second Tuesday of every month, during the Erika Blue show, Castro and Freeman welcome callers who ask questions, seek advice or present their own experiences.
?Anybody can talk about any paranormal activity they?ve seen, if they?ve seen a UFO, Bigfoot, whatever,? Castro said.
She lends confidence to those who confide in her.
Many times, it?s something they?ve never told anyone, Castro said. They?re afraid people will think they?re crazy.
Her first time on the air was a nerve-wracking experience.
?I felt like I was there, but I wasn?t really there,? Castro recalled. ?I just kind of stood there and went ?Oh, my God, what am I doing? I?m on the radio.? ?
With the jitters out of the way, the hosts hope for more calls as word continues to spread.
By day, Castro works as a special purpose aide for the Benicia Unified School District.
She is working toward her paraeducator certificate, which will allow her to advance her work with special-needs children. ?I knew I wanted to get into something where I could make a difference,? she said.
But at night, during her investigations, she seeks the truth, she said - ?That one little bit of evidence that the other side really does exist.?
As for her ?gift,? Castro has recognized it since childhood. Her grandmother, originally from Wales, was a ?communicator,? she said.
?She would speak with the spirits all the time,? Castro said. ?She was always open about it.
?I believe that it?s a true gift, that it was handed down to me.?
And the downside? ?I have a hard time going to hospitals,? Castro said.
She was scheduled for an operation three years ago and began crying as she walked down the hospital corridor. ?I was bawling,? she said. ?I could feel everyone who didn?t make it out of O.R.?
But this is a small price to pay. ?I don?t regret my gift. I let it out, I feel things and I?ve got to let it out,? Castro said.
?Everyone?s used to me crying,? she added with a smile.
Castro and Freeman are now working out details of a ghost tour through Vallejo, tentatively slated for October.
?We?re hoping to get historical stories of Vallejo,? Freeman said. ?We want to educate. It isn?t just ?ooh? and ?ah.? There?s a lot of educational benefit in the history.?
?We want to make it to where you have the history of Vallejo,? Castro said, ?Then you tell them about what happened in the house, why is it haunted.?
And the skeptics can think what they will. Freeman is cautious about jumping to conclusions and always looks for a natural cause first, like old plumbing or rats in the attic. Castro teases her for being ?too scientific,? Freeman said.
But Castro just knows. ?I can feel the temperature drop. Sometimes I have visions,? she said. ?I can see the person that used to live in the house.?
?They?re not here to hurt us,? Castro said. ?The way our planet is going right now, with the destruction we?re doing to it. There?s no morals left, the veil is starting to thin, and it?s almost like I believe they?re coming down to help us.?
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