Ghost Hunting With TakeFiveGal

I had the incredible opportunity to attend Sci Fi’s Digital Press Weekend and while there, we attended panels for all of their reality shows (more details to come). The highlight of the weekend for me, though, was the Ghost Hunters-led investigations into some of the most haunted locations in the famed Stanley Hotel in Colorado.

Our fantastic group started off in room 418 of the Stanley with the lovely Kris Williams. She explained to us that the room itself was famed to be haunted by a small blond girl. As recently as Wednesday of the week before we had gotten there, it was rumored the blond girl was seen in the hallway. I really thought at one point I might pee I was so nervous! Not to mention the fact that the boys from Scare Tactics were in our group, so I was pos that they were going to attempt something! But as soon as we were in the room, lights off, watching the K2 and hoping the spirit would communicate with us, I was calm as could be, and rather excited to see what could happen. Not much happened in that room (other than a séance attempt gone bad – A, T, S, and I were totally prepared for it). We all saw the curtains move when we asked the spirit to show us he or she was there, and Kris double checked to make sure it wasn’t just a breeze. Activity was low in that room, and it was time for a switch, so we headed as a group to the famous Room 401.

When Jason Hawes stayed in room 401 for 9 days, all kinds of crazy stuff happened, including windows opening and closing on their own. As a resident of Room 403 (the room right next door), I was excited to see what we could find. Jason and Grant Wilson were in the room waiting for us, and explained that in the group before us, glasses moved on the table. The spirit was active and talking to us using the K2 Meter. The rumor of the room is that the man who was supposedly haunting the place was a voyeur who used to stare at women from the closet. Asked if it was a male, it said yes (and confirmed he was not a female). After asking if we looked normal (we didn’t, we looked shadowy), Jason asked the spirit if they knew how many people were in our room. Before we had even counted, the spirit responded “yes” to 14 (he was right!). Grant asked the ghost, if we all said it was okay, if he would like to touch someone. He said yes! April MacIntyre from Monsters and Critics volunteered to head into the closet to see if the spirit would make contact. When asked, the spirit apparently touched her leg. My buddy Thomas from Sci Fi headed into the closet next – my favorite spirit reaction of the weekend was when there was no activity and Thomas yelled from the closet “Are you not touching me because you don’t like boys?” and the K2 lit up super fast! After some more conversation, it was time to head to the Manor House to meet up with Dave Tango and Steve Gonsalves!

Steve took us into the suite in the Manor House where, in previous investigations, the table in the room had moved on its own. We spent some quiet time in the room, looking around. I shared a few laughs with Amanda (Tapping from Sanctuary) and Thomas, but the room was a bust! Scott Hallock (creator/producer of Scare Tactics) tried to make us think the ghost had turned the TV on, but delayed reaction time didn’t help his trick! Good try, though!

After that, we went down the creepiest, darkest hallway ever, with Tango. Tango said that in the group before us, they heard a loud banging at the end of the hallway, and no one was there. They checked with maintenance and it wasn’t pipes. Also, all of the emergency lights were turned off. I’m just saying, don’t they have back up generators so the Exit lights never go off? That spirit did not want us in that hallway! Nothing big happened on our investigation, so we headed out.

Last stop of the night was the notoriously haunted Concert Hall on the grounds. Not much activity, and it really just served as a way for us to get some chat-time in with Dave Tango (love him!) about other investigations they’d gone on.

I was a scared nonbeliever before the hunt. I’m officially a converted believer and want to start my own branch of TAPS!Â

I need to send a shout out to the Scare Tactics boys (Scott, Travis, Gabriel, Jose), the NMS ladies (Courtney, Stephanie), the Sci Fi boys (Thomas, Bill), the Wests, April, and Amanda Tapping for being the best Ghost Hunting buddies ever!!