Paranormal Investigation and the Like

Case #4 (the secrets of the Freemasons) - Ludlow, Massachusetts

This investigation got us in a boatload of trouble. I admit we acted extremely unprofessional. During an investigation, groups need to be mature and behave, to keep up to par with the professional image we try to convey. 

Almost all the men in Shawn's family are Freemasons. His grandfather runs a lodge. They've always had reports of paranormal activity there, and Shawn has investigated the place multiple times already. He has come up with good results every time. So he decided to do it again. 

The mistake Shawn made was bringing a large group of us with him, and letting us go off on our own. It's a masonic lodge.... Nobody is allowed in the Hall unless they are Freemason.... They had tons of cool stuff in there.... Tons of cool secret stuff. Of course we were gonna snoop around. What was he expecting? 

It was early in the night, maybe only 10pm. We were already two sessions into the investigation. For the third session, my group was assigned to the big room upstairs, or the Hall, where they perform their very secret meetings and do whatever the hell they do. My group consisted of myself, my mother, my mother's cousin Karin, and her husband  Kevin. 

The first few minutes of the session were usual. We did an EMF sweep, introduced ourselves to any spirits, set up our stationary cameras, and placed our digital recorders down. Boring. 

Then things got really funny, once we actually got settled and looked at our surrounings. At the time, we did not realize that the things we were saying were wrong and rude, and presently I regret taking part in the mockery of the Freemasons. But honestly, it was funny and I was having a great time. I mean, we were in tears the entire 45 minutes. Just 45 minutes of us being extremely immature and joking about Freemasons.

It started when Kevin found white surgical gloves inside a tiny compartment. Then he found the buttons (what's with all the buttons?!) and wouldn't leave those alone. So many jokes about the buttons. Then I found the giant hammer and dropped it on the floor. And my mother found a jar full of nuts. And there was huge board that lit up and it funky little pictures on it. Then we realized there was a stretcher in the corner of the room, by a packet of Nicorette. 

Later in the night, we went back up there a second time. We actually went a step further and decided to look through the desks. I found a pendulum and scissors. Another investigator found a book that translates a really strange language. Then we found this huge blue rubber gavel thing... I can't describe it... I can't even really be sure what the hell it actually is or what they use it for. 

So, really, I have no idea what the Freemasons are up to. I don't really want to know...

As for the ghosts that reside in their lodge, we can't say for sure. We didn't catch any really convincing evidence. I caught a few EVPs, but they were too ambiguous to be counted as evidence.

All our joking around got us in trouble, as I said before. We did get yelled at and I did feel so bad. Shawn said that he was so embarassed, and also said that he was almost brought to tears hearing what he heard on the audio tapes. 

It is a rule to keep a professional and mature image on investigations, or even around the client. We even have a dress code for this reason. Nothing like this will happen again, as clients deserve respect and need to trust us in doing our job.