| Interview W/ Crossroads Paranormal |
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 Why did the Ghost Cross the Road?
Interview with Crossroads Paranormal
mad- http://www.upsidebackwards.info
7/13/08
-MAD: Mr. Baker, thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time to discuss your research group CROSSROADS PARANORMAL, and the upcoming meet-up you’re holding on August 9th at the historic and infamous ‘Hannah House’. As we’re both based out of Indiana, I had to take this opportunity to contact you and see if you might be interested in sharing some of the details of your work. How did the ‘Crossroads Paranormal’ group first get started, and are their any key events of the supernatural variety which inspired the formation of this research team?
-MIKE: You are welcome. My wife Kris has been involved with the Paranormal our entire married life, which is 10yrs, and well before that, she had many experiences as a child growing up in Canada. She was with another group for many years but, as the group grew her philosophy and ideas didn’t quite mesh with that organization. So she left and teamed up with another former member of that group to start Crossroads Paranormal.
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-MAD: As stated, the upcoming meet and greet is the 3rd annual event and is being held at the Hannah House. Could you give us a little background on this location, and why did your group choose this as the setting for next month’s conference?
-MIKE: In 2006, Kris and Danielle (Co-Founder) wanted to have a get together to network with other groups around Indiana, so they decided to put together a Meet~n~Greet on a Saturday at a park in Avon, kind of a central location. There were 20 or 30 people that showed up and a good time was had by all. So it was decided to make this an annual thing. Last year, 2007, Indiana SPI asked if they could help out with the event and we said yes. We had over 100 people with 20 groups from all over Indiana and surrounding states represented.
We were thrilled when talks began with the Hannah House about hosting the Meet and Greet there and hopefully some of the investigators will look into attending one of their overnight ghost hunts known as “The Hannah House Experience”.
The Hannah House is known as one of the most, if not the most haunted locations in Indiana. The Hannah House is believed to have been a stop along the Underground Railroad. The slaves were hidden in a room in the basement as they waited for the darkness to come so they could make their way to their next “safe” house.
One night it is believed that a slave accidentally knocked over an oil lamp and it set the room ablaze. The slaves were trapped in a fiery tomb and it is said that those who died were buried in the basement as they could not be removed from the house without exposing Mr. Hannah or the “stop” itself.
Some say that not only are the slaves still there, probably afraid to leave due to this being the last safe place they knew but there are claims that Mr. Hannah is there as well. Is he still there trying to protect the secret of the stop? No one knows but if you attend one of “The Hannah House Experience” nights you could find the answer.
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-MAD: People from all over the Midwest trek out to this annual gathering, what might newcomers expect regarding the day’s festivities? What’s the ultimate goal of the ‘Crossroads’ research group and these yearly gatherings?
-MIKE: You are correct, and it actually amazes us. We are expecting people from not only Indiana this year but also, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Michigan. Those are just the ones we know about. Basically it’s just a day of networking with other groups. Groups set up tables and display their equipment; some are authors who sell books and many other things. We generally have door prizes which are all donated by the groups. All in all what a person can expect is to have a good time, meet lots of new people with like interests and maybe even learn a thing or two from another group.
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-MAD: If you could have the next conference anywhere in the world, in or out of the U.S., haunted or otherwise, where would you personally like to hold a future meeting?
-MIKE: First let me clarify that this is not a conference it’s just a meet~n~greet. We do hold a conference that will be an annual event each year for charity. But either way, we would still probably hold it right here in Indiana. There are many exciting places right here in Indiana to visit. So to use the old cliché “There IS more than corn in Indiana”
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-MAD: Your website states that you’re pretty much the “resident skeptic” out of the group. Even though this is the case, you seem dedicated to trying to find the truth behind paranormal circumstances, using whatever scientific methods, and logical conclusions, that are available. Tell me, even as a skeptic, are there any cases and reports that have simply left you baffled and scratching your head in wonder?
-MIKE: You are correct, I am the skeptic and I always tell everyone, my grandfather was from Missouri, which is “The Show Me” state. And that is pretty much how I feel. And to date we have pretty much been able to debunk every investigation that we have been on. Now having said that, a few years ago, while visiting my parents on Thanksgiving, who lives in Marion, Kris wanted to go down and see the Hostess House, which is reported to be haunted. So while we were driving down there, she told my father, who was driving if he would take her to a street where she had heard a story about a haunting. As we were driving down the street she said that is a very old home and looks like it could be the one. So she got out of the van, snapped a couple of pictures and we were off to the Hostess House. Well when we got home and she was going through her pictures and all of a sudden she said, “You need to see this one”. So I took a look, and to be totally honest, I still to this day cannot explain what is in the picture. So I guess that would be the only thing for me to date. You can view the picture on our website. http://www.crossroadsparanormal.com.
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-MAD: We all know that the mind can play tricks on us, and that the hand is sometimes quicker than the eye. How much of “paranormal” activity to you believe can easily be explained with rationality and logic, as opposed to superstition and phantasms of the mind?
-MIKE: That is a great question. First off I do want to say that we have never really “closed a case” and that is because it usually takes multiple visits to the reported location and even then you may not experience or be able to explain the exact phenomena that has been reported. I would say that about 95%, if not more, of the cases that we have been on have been explained, or after multiple visits we still have not produced any possible evidence of the paranormal.
Most of the cases that we have investigated the clients have been sincere and some truly frightened and we believe that they believe that they have experienced something that was paranormal to them. Could it be that the phenomena reported only occurs on a certain day once a year, at a specific time, under a new moon with high humidity? Yes, it could be that and your average person does not take notice of all these things when they experience paranormal phenomena. This makes it difficult to find out the exact conditions and to be able to be there when these conditions are in place.
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-MAD: Currently, what do you see as the strengths, and weaknesses, of the paranormal community in general?
-MIKE: I’ll start this one with the weaknesses, which in my opinion, is TV. Now don’t get me wrong, we watch every single paranormal show that is on and enjoy them. But, and yes there is always a but, these shows are for “entertainment” purposes only. I think they have contributed to the popularity of the Paranormal immensely, but at the same time I think they have also hurt it. Many new groups are forming with little or no training, they go on investigations or ghost hunts with the mindset that they will see a ghost or some kind of paranormal activity. Well, that just isn’t going to happen. Plus there are many things being done on these shows that we just don’t agree with at Crossroads Paranormal. Now as far as the strengths, and even though I said TV was a weakness, I would also list in briefly in the strengths category as well. Reason being, it has helped being a Paranormal Investigator to be more accepted. I also think there are a lot of good people with a lot of knowledge out there doing everything they can to train and educate people on every aspect of the paranormal. They are trying to get things to be more standardized so that just about anyone can attain the same results.
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-MAD: Historically, what are a few of your favorite cases of hauntings, poltergeists, or other related phenomena of the paranormal and psychical variety?
-MIKE: There are so many great places that it is difficult to narrow it down. Kris is in the process of writing a book, being published by Schiffer, about the Greater Lafayette area and there are some great historic places and paranormal claims from our area but you will have to wait for the book to hear about them.
Aside from our local cases I would have to say that the Hannah House story is a great case and Kris has been there several times.
Some Historic places that are fascinating are Mansfield Reformatory and one we have not visited yet, Winchester Mansion.
One of my favorite cases took place not far from here. It is the case known as “The Watseka Wonder” which took place in the 1800’s. It’s about 2 girls Lurancy Vennum and Mary Roff. Lurancy was what some now label a “medium” and she would go into trance like states. Mary Roff had passed away when Lurancy was only a year old so they did not know each other in life. Lurancy would go into trances and it is said that she was communicating with Mary and at one point somewhat “became” Mary, some say she was possessed by her. It is said that Lurancy knew things about Mary’s life that only Mary would know and that Lurancy would have no way of knowing. Lurancy actually moved into the Roff’s home and lived there for several months as Mary, so to speak. When she left the home and returned to the Vennum house it is said that she lived a “normal” life. There is a lot more to the story and it is a very interesting story at that.
When it comes to the Historical places, it really is about the history and the events that have taken place there in the past. It is also about what could happen when you are there. It is difficult to really say you found anything when you are there with 25 plus people because you cannot truly say that it wasn’t a living person.
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-MAD: Research of parapsychology is a long standing field which is slowly getting a little more recognition and respect as a valid area of study. While there’s still a long way to go before any conclusive answers will be discovered, or it gets mainstream appreciation, what are some of your thoughts on the current state of the paranormal community, in particular throughout the Midwest United States, where ‘Crossroads Paranormal’ is located?
-MIKE: Crossroads Paranormal’s mission has always been “Putting People Above Paranormal” and that goes beyond just our clients, it goes out to fellow investigators also. We held our first Meet and Greet in 2006 and it was to help bring groups together so they can get to know each other. Crossroads Paranormal, Kris and Dani, really are the ones who worked to bring down the walls that stood amongst Paranormal Investigators in Indiana. There was never anything like this in the state and they were the 1st to do this.
I feel very positive about the Midwest Paranormal Community and how they all support each other. Sure there are some groups out there that do not participate in the events and I am sure that there always will be. The one thing that supports my positive outlook on the Midwest Paranormal Community is that there are more groups/organizations that do participate then don’t and each year more and more join us on our efforts to work together.
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-MAD: What are a few of the other research groups out there who you would respectfully recommend as taking this material seriously and genuinely trying to reach validated explanations and conclusions?
-MIKE: There are many good groups out there that we have worked with or we would recommend to anyone. I prefer not to list them as I’m sure I would leave someone off. Just this week alone we have received, I believe 6 requests for investigations of which 4 we have turned over to other groups. When we get requests we look at the location to see if it is feasible for us to go, primarily due to the gas situation and our work schedule. If we cannot make it we contact the requestor and ask permission to turn it over to another group that we know will do a great job. If they agree, then we contact a group in that general area that we would highly recommend and turn it over to them.
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-MAD: Are their any books or websites you’d recommend? How about pop-culture, are their any films or television programs which you feel depicts the ‘supernatural’ in an adequate and respectful light?
-MIKE: As stated before the films and television shows that are out there are for entertainment purposes and are not showing people all the work and hurry up and wait that takes place when investigating the paranormal.
The one website that is great for the new paranormal investigator is “The Shadowlands”
http://theshadowlands.net/ as they have reported haunted locations by state and more importantly Ghost Hunting 101.
And of course our website http://www.crossroadsparanormal.com which has information about us, what to do if you are experiencing a haunting, the PAL (Paranormal Activity Log) which is a great tool if you are experiencing paranormal phenomena, and what to expect during an investigation.
As for books I am not much of a reader myself but Kris has several (several is actually an understatement) she really does not have a favorite author but I know she really enjoys reading the books that our good friend James Willis has contributed to such as Weird Indiana, Weird Ohio, Weird Hauntings etc.
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-MAD: You guys also host your own regular radio broadcast which can be found at http://www.cprshow.com . Can you share some highlights from a few of your past guests, upcoming guests, and the types of discussion you’d like to cover in future episodes? Are you currently taking show and guest suggestions, and if so, how might people reach you?
-MIKE: We have been broadcasting for about 1 ½ years now. We started this as more of a public service to groups that want to get their name out there. It is an open forum for them to talk about anything they want, it is their time. We have had numerous paranormal household names on our show. Such as, and I’m sure I will forget some: Patrick Burns, John Zaffis, Keith Age, Shannon Sylvia, Steven LaChance, Dustin Pari, Zak Bagans, Robbie Thomas, Eddie Benitez and many others.
Anyone that is interested in being on the show can contact us from our website, which you have listed above. And yes, we are always open to suggestions. Fact of the matter, we have had many guests on that have come from someone sending us a suggestion to who they would recommend.
Our next big highlight is doing live broadcasts from our Meet~n~Greet on August 9th (still waiting on internet confirmation) and also from the annual Witches Ball being held in Indianapolis on October 11th. So if anyone is interested they can tune into http://www.para-x.com/live.html on these dates and hear us live on location.
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-MAD: Sounds great! You describe yourself as an “exclusive” team, as each of you have special interests and talents in this field. I’m interested though, how might a person become an ‘honorary’ member (wink, wink), and what are your specifications for a person who might be curious about starting their own branch of the ‘Crossroads Paranormal’ group?
-MIKE: The term “exclusive” in our case would so mean, honest, compassionate and discrete. We do everything in our power to educate and empower the client. Honorary Member, well, we have never really used the term although I guess we have some already. We do have individuals that have accompanied us on investigations that are not a member of our group, so I guess they would be honorary. So feel free to consider yourself an “Official Honorary Member” of Crossroads Paranormal. We do have cases in Indy so maybe at some point you can come along. Now as far as a branch of Crossroads Paranormal, again we don’t necessarily use that term, we would call them affiliate groups, which we do have 5 across the United States at this time. So if we get an investigation request from another state, which we do, we look to see if we have an affiliate group in that state and attempt to turn it over to them. We do have an application form on the website for groups to fill out that wish to join us.
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-MAD: Mike, thanks very much for speaking with me today and I wish you guys the best of luck with future endeavors and the upcoming event on August 9th. I’ll do my best to attend, and if nothing else, hope we might keep in touch as there is always something to talk about and always more rocks that need to be turned over. As we finish, are their any closing statements you’d like to leave the readers with, or any further information you’d like to relay in regards to the 3rd annual paranormal meet-up?
-MIKE: It’s been my pleasure. And yes, if anyone reading this has nothing to do on August 9th be sure to come by the Hanna House and say hi. I don’t think you’ll regret it. It gets better every year so I don’t expect this year to be any different.
Also if you would like to listen to our show or be a guest on the program, all the information is on the website. We’d love to have you.
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MAD is the Administrator of UPSIDEBACKWARDS and creator of ‘Ezekiel’s Cave’. Recent articles and interviews can be found HERE.
Mike Baker is the co-founder of the Crossroads Paranormal research group, and co-host of the weekly http://www.cprshow.com .
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Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2008 @ 18:03:15 CDT by ThothMoses3 |
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