Experiences of a Psychical researcher – Raymond Bayless

A very strange adventure befell both my brother and me when in 1938, in Denver, we had returned to our home one evening and found no one there. My brother went upstairs and I stayed downstairs. Suddenly, for absolutely no reason that I was able to discover, I had an overwhelming impression that something frightful was in the house. So powerful was this feeling that I actually started to run for the back door and, as I was passing the staircase, I almost collided with my brother, who had just dashed wildly down the stairs.

We both ran out of the house through the back door and, when outside, compared notes. It turned out that he too had a horrible feeling that something fearful was in the house and had, as did I, started to run from the building to escape its presence. Again, I have absolutely no explanation to offer.

The occurrence was particularly interesting, inasmuch as my experience was "confirmed" by my brother's similar spontaneous impression.

Other spontaneous happenings have occurred to me, as with many people. Such incidents are certainly common, but I will describe to some extent three "haunting" experiences which I have had the good fortune to encounter. One of the most interesting spontaneous events which I have witnessed occurred in the home of Mrs. Bruce Ogden in Eagle Rock, California.

I must first mention that her home had the neighbourhood reputation of being haunted, and, in fact, when I first moved into the area I was told about the house which was termed the "Haunted House of xxxxxx Drive."

One afternoon at about 5:45 p.m. I was having coffee in a breakfast room with Mrs. Ogden when the distinct sound of the door handle and lock mechanism of the front door was heard in operation as it always sounded when the door was opened. I got to my feet and started to answer the door without the least thought that anything unusual was happening. As I started to walk to the door Mrs. Ogden remarked, "That's only the ghost." These curious words made absolutely no impression upon my mind and, in reality, I thought she was having a bit of fun.

When I arrived at the entrance hallway, I clearly heard the front door shut and the latch mechanism fall into place. Of this there was no doubt. However, to my complete surprise I saw that the door was tightly closed and had never been opened. I reached a position of just a few feet away from the door when I distinctly heard the sound of three footsteps on the carpeted floor walk away from the door toward a stairway. The footsteps were no further than one and one-half yards from me; the hallway was fully lighted; and there was no doubt that an invisible walker had stepped across the area directly in front of me.

Mrs. Ogden afterward told me that these sounds had occurred previously and that was why she had remarked to me, "That's only the ghost." She had been absolutely factual and serious. Other interesting phenomena occurred within this house, including an incident which I "witnessed" that featured an invisible hand which slowly scraped across a window screen directly in front of me. The screen did not bend from any pressure, however. It was early in the evening and I could see the driveway and the adjoining house clearly, and no one who could have, in theory, been responsible for this episode was to be seen. I can not imagine any normal explanation, but the occurrence fits well into the house's pattern of haunting.

The findings of this investigation may provide some preliminary insight into the ways in which haunt phenomena and "poltergeist" phenomena (the latter are also known as recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis, or RSPK, in parapsychological parlance) may sometimes intersect with each other. Although they appear similar on the surface and may often be confused with one another, parapsychologists have managed to identify certain distinct characteristics between haunts and poltergeists which allow them to be classified as separate phenomena. But occasionally, one does come across cases where the two phenomena seemingly occur in tandem - this Japanese restaurant case would appear to be one of them (another would be the Johnson case, examined previously in our 2017 Halloween blog entry).   

An article which takes a look back at the case and its investigation, and which discusses some of its possible implications, is available to view at this link (the article is in Adobe PDF format). Over the course of his life-long career in parapsychology, the late William Roll (the PRF's first research director) had conducted numerous field investigations at various locations which were said to be haunted. 

One of them was a Japanese restaurant in Georgia, where in the early 1990s, a range of unusual phenomena were reportedly being experienced by the restaurant's staff and its customers (the phenomena have long since ceased to occur). These included: feeling "cold spots" in certain parts of the restaurant, hearing phantom footsteps, observing erratic behavioral displays and malfunctions with the appliances & equipment, and spontaneously sighting ghostly figures. 

Initially unable to explain these unusual phenomena occurring in the restaurant, the manager eventually reached out to Roll for help. Collaborating with parapsychologist Michaeleen Maher, he made a deeper inquiry into the phenomena that was briefly profiled in a segment on one of the premiere episodes of the then popular paranormal documentary TV show Sightings. The segment itself can still be viewed via a digitalized video copy of that episode that has been uploaded onto YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0wI7x_Rvd0&feature=youtu.be&t=1950   

The findings of this investigation may provide some preliminary insight into the ways in which haunt phenomena and "poltergeist" phenomena (the latter are also known as recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis, or RSPK, in parapsychological parlance) may sometimes intersect with each other. Although they appear similar on the surface and may often be confused with one another, parapsychologists have managed to identify certain distinct characteristics between haunts and poltergeists which allow them to be classified as separate phenomena. But occasionally, one does come across cases where the two phenomena seemingly occur in tandem - this Japanese restaurant case would appear to be one of them (another would be the Johnson case, examined previously in our 2017 Halloween blog entry).   

An article which takes a look back at the case and its investigation, and which discusses some of its possible implications, is available to view at this link (the article is in Adobe PDF format).

About two years ago. my family moved to Bradenton Florida because of my husbands job.We lived in apartment. I never heard of shadow people before until then.I was amazed when I looked up the term on the internet because I did not know what I was dealing with.The first experience happened when my kids and I were watching tv when my kids said look,they pointed to their bedroom doorway in the doorway stood a six foot at least man who was all black he was not alone he was with another shadow person this one was of a child.They just stood there as though they were staring.They had no features except it was shaped as humans that were black,the man had a wide brimmed hat on,I feel the child was agirl.Another incident in the same apartment.

I was sleepin in my daughters bedroom because they felt uncomfortable in there after seeing the shadow people.There was a blind on the window and the street light glowed orange on it at night from the lamp post.I saw a large male figure standing outside of the window as though he was hesitating on what to do.I was thinking a break in or something,well to my suprise this man walked thru the blinds into the bedroom.Yes I said walked right thru the glass windows ,thru the blinds and he was not flesh and blood ,he also was not wearing a hat like the other one.I did let out a little scream and when I did he stopped for a very brief second looked my way and kept right on walking.

I was on the bed when this occured and when I first saw the "burgaler" I did look out the window no one was there and then he came back and walked right in.That one was scary.I had another encounter in my bedroom and this shadow person was standing at the end of the bed when I noticed him he left.Another encounter was when I was cooking dinner in the kitchen my daughter pointed out two smoke billowing see thru shapes in the corner I was annoyed and yelled at them to get out which it did not do immediatly.Another encounter was when I was in bed we were on the second floor I was not dreaming or sleeping or whatever.I had the blinds up the windows up there was a good breeze we lived two miles from the beach anyhow I was looking down into the bushes behind the next building over I saw the largest pair of eyes looking at me and yes every so often it would blink.The bushes were small and low to the ground.I saw no body of human or animal orgins just eyes.TO me that was unerving.I believe it could have been a shadow person in a different form but I do not know.I have not since living there had another encounter with shadow people and do not want to either.