I usually write a blog article right away, but I really had to think through this one. Because quite alot of things happened to everybody that went. I do not believe that anybody who went left disappointed. I was already sensitive when I joined Society of the Haunted, but lately it seems like more things are unfolding. It is almost like going on these investigations has opened a door to a well spring of things. Which of course I was warned by friends in the psychic community. Once you go through that door, there is NO turning back. If you are sensitive and begin working in the paranormal field then your abilities WILL be amplified. They told me to proceed at my own discretion and so that is what I did.I wish I could go into more detail about this, yet it is just too hard to describe.
We had already planned to do an investigation at a residential in Commerce. Which is not too far away from Picher. Since Picher has an alluring past of tragedy and misfortune we decided to make it a road stop. Picher was founded in 1913 because of its high concentration of lead and zinc. A vast industry in mining was started and the residents were financially maintained. People came in droves from Missouri to mine the tunnels. In 1967 mining was officially haulted and so was pumping water from the mines. Because the water was found to be contaminated by high concentrations of lead. What was left after the work ceased was 14,000 abandoned mine shafts, 70 million tons of mine tailings, and 36 million tons of sand and mining sludge. They had no place to dispose any of the biohazardous material. All they could do is close off the areas and leave the towns people to their own discretion.
The biohazardous waste was not the only risk plaguing residents of Picher. The water was highly toxic and the town is at an extreme risk of collapsing in on itself. The reason of this is because the mine shafts were not dug deep enough. They were dug at what is known as "property level". Another problem with the mine shafts not beeing deep enough is earthquakes. Which also is a contributor to weakening the Picher's foundation. In 2006 the EPA decided that it was in the resident's best interest to be evacuated. Picher was declared the closest that you could come to being in Chernobyl. This thought was perpetuated in many media based outlets. Picher became the center of a PBS special titled "The Creek Runs Red". Where Picher residents were asked if they wished to stay in the town or leave. It was also the basis for the movie titled "Tar Creek" and featured in an episode of History Channel's "Life After People."
In 2008 a EF4 tornado added to Picher's misery. It was the second deadliest tornado to have struck Oklahoma. The first being the tornado that struck Oklahoma City in 1999. The 2008 tornado in Picher left at least 150 people injured and was confirmed to have killed 8 people. Including that of a small child.
In November of 2010 what was left of the residents met at the high school gymnasium to say their final goodbyes. The government had bought out their properties and gave them fincacial aid to leave. Yet six household residents refused to leave along with the town pharmacist. Gary Linderman has been cited numerous times stating that he refuses to leave. He will not leave until Picher is no longer occupied by a single resident.
What is left of Picher is an empty, voided shell of what once was. A majority of it is flattened out. What is left of the buildings is skeletal. There are a few remaining structures and all of them are still full of furniture and belongings. There is a hair salon with appointment books that will never be filled. A house with a grand living room that will never hold entertainment. Another home that is gutted out in the middle by the ravages of a tornado. A store front with an antique shop that still has most of its merchandise. Lastly, there is a church that has seen better days.
(What is left of the hair salon. With Brittney Smith going through what was left.)
(What is left of the store front.)
(The remains of Picher's town church.)
As soon as I exited the car I was assailed with the feeling of awareness. Which this happens to me alot at a majority of locations including my own house. It almost felt like people peering out at us from what is left of the structures. Almost like the western movies you see. Where all the towns folk hole themselves up in their homes and wearily peer outside at the stranger coming through. It felt almost like they didn't know what to make of us.
The first place we actually poked around in, was a home that a hair salon was ran out of. There were hair styling magazines and appointment magazines strewn about the floor. There were cardboard boxes of hair products, brushes, curlers, and modeling heads. Their was a bed in the corner of the living room. Johnny pulled out his ghost box and immediately a woman was coming through. She said that her name was Melissa and that it was her house. As soon as Melissa began conversing a girl in her early-mid teens began talking. The younger girl told us her name was Savannah. After a little while they stopped talking and a young man began speaking, he called himself Elijah. Elijah told us that there were seven of them, but that "more are coming." We asked him what he meant by "more are coming" and he told us, "the town".
The next house was much more spacious and had a 70's feel to it. I don't know if it was because of the architecture or if it was what the spirit wanted me to feel. The spirit at this house called himself Bill. Bill didn't like Johnny very much and proceeded to cuss Johnny out. Also giving Johnny threats of violence. I had to get Johnny to leave and go to the next location before he started boxing his ghost box.
We then stalked and prowled around until we found that the antique store's backdoor was open. So Johnny, Brittany, Meagan, and I made our way inside. As soon as we entered I felt the sense of being unwelcome. Almost like a force was throwing itself at me trying to nudge me towards the door. The first thing we got on the ghost box was the usual "Hellos". Then suddenly we heard a man in his early 30's shout, "I am innocent Jesus!" followed by a woman letting out a blood curdling scream. We tried questioning him and all he would say is, "I am not guilty." John asked, "Is there anything non human here?" We immediately received a "Yes." We asked, "If it's not human? Then what is it?" Right away we got a response saying, "demon. demon. demon. demon. demon." Not too long after that a man came through telling us to leave and calling Johnny a barrage of names. He called Johnny "a punk" over and over. He then shouted to Johnny, "You're a freak!" Brittany told the man that he wasn't being very nice. He responded with, "F*ck you b*tch." He also told us "to be scared", "come back after dark", and "I am going to hurt you." We also got several cold spots, phantom breezes, and were touched in there. Cathy found a chipped up statue of the Virgin Mary in the shop to add to her "haunted collection".
During our exploration a fellow investigator Marc Hall, met up with us on his way to the Tri-State ghost light. We followed him to the abandoned church known simply as "Christian Church". We automatically headed up the stairs and had the ghost box out. (If you haven't noticed. Johnny and I adore the ghost box.) The first thing we got was a child's voice saying "Hello" and "who are you?". We introduced ourselves and the child laughed. Before we could talk to the child a really angry male came through. Telling us to leave the child alone and for us to leave. It bothered Johnny that we got a child coming through. So Johnny asked, "Why is there a child here? Why hasn't the child moved to the light? What is keeping them here?". Instantly we got a voice retort, "the devil. the devil. the devil. the devil is here." John and I looked at one another. John proceeded to ask, "Is the devil in the town or in the church?". A few seconds went by and choir music came through and during the choir music a voice said "the church".
Brittany, Meagan, and Cathy joined us upstairs and we began to ask questions. During the EVP session the door slammed close. Not too long after that Meagan and I decided to see if we could get K2 activity. We went into the Sunday School room and found a chalk board with names written on it. We didn't get anything in there. So we went into the next room and went into the bathroom connected to it. I felt something in the bathroom. It was alert, coiled up as if it were about to attack, and it was full of fear. Whatever it was felt like it was terrified of us. So I just stood on the threshhold of the bathroom and held the K2 as far as it would go in front of me. I felt the fear subside and what seemed like curiosity. I then began talking like how you would talk to a small child. I don't know why I did it. I just did. As soon as I did it, Meagan, and I began getting hits on the K2.
Right before we left John and I went to the bathroom area with the ghost box. We were settling in to do a session when a commanding voice boomed through, "Brother!" John was like "are you talking to me?". The man said, "Yes!". I asked, "Are you a preacher?" He replied, "Yes!". I then asked, "Can we join your congregation?" We got an energetic reply from him, "Yes you can!". After a minute or two of not getting much else we focused our attention on the K2. Suddenly the preaches demanding voice boomed through, "Sinner! Kneel!" John asked, "Are you talking to me?" He said, "Yes!" John asked, "What's my sin?" The preacher replied, "Drugs!" John told him, "I don't do drugs anymore." The preacher boomned, "Repent!" We began laughing, but next I was the target. "Sister!", he yelled at me. I am like, "Yes?" He commands, "Sinner! Kneel!" I ask, "How am I a sinner?" I wasn't expecting the reply I received. Which was, "Whore!"
John reaches for the ghost box and switches it off.
While everybody piled in the car to head off and Cathy and John was seeing Marc off. I decided to go to the house across the field from the church. As I walking along the road. I heard footsteps following beside me in the grass. When I reached the house it felt like a whole group of people flat out staring at me. I ignored it and walked to the house. I couldn't get in the front or back door because of the furniture piled up. But there was a window with all of the glass knocked out. I walked up to the window contemplating whether to climb through or not. As I was looking in the house, I looked through the living room across to another room. In this other room there was a shelf built into the wall with a glass door. You would pull it back like a lid. It was open and on the shelf was broken glass bigger than my hand. Suddenly the glass began sliding and hitting the floor. That is when I decided to leave. On the way back I heard the same footsteps follow beside me in the grass as I walked the road.
After awhile we left to go to our residential. Yet we decided that after we were done we would come back at night. Especially after the man at the antique shop told us to.
----LATER THAT NIGHT----
After the residential we of course came back. Not only out of request, but to Find the so called "Picher Goblin". Wich we found no squinty eye or pointy ear of. Then again it maybe as slick as oil. We didn't get much activity except for walking upstairs, shadow people darting past windows, and what came through on the ghost box. We decided to explore the fields for the goblin and left my laptop on in the church. When we came back John and I went inside to retreive our things. His was equipment was already in his bag and all he did was snatch it up. Although while walking out he and I heard a man laugh. I was still in the church gathering things and then was heading out the door. When I heard the door behind the altar creak open and then booming footsteps running towards me. All I remember is freezing and bending forward to try to run. When I felt a hand against my back shove me. I let out a blood curdling scream. Not because I had been touched. But because I heard whatever or whoever it was come after me.
One of the craziest things we got was when we came back to the Church that night. Cathy snapped a picture of it looking at my laptop. It almost looks like a skull to me.
What do you think?
This is a close up of it:
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