I met a great bartender in town named Forrest; he could put most New York bartenders to shame. And that says a lot coming from me. The one thing that was a hassle was having to dress in layers, because when you left during the day with the sun out, it was warm.  But boy did the temp drop after the sun set. Another thing I did notice was that I’ve never seen stars so clear and beautiful like I had there. Something for those of you who like looking through a telescope might really enjoy seeing.

Ok, so onto the case at hand. This was not the usual location that Amy & I investigate and it posed a lot of challenges for Amy more than me for obvious reasons. It was a prison, and not just any prison. This was the location of the one of the United States’ most brutal & vicious riots in its history. I have seen a lot of violence in my time with the NYPD, but this was as brutal a crime scene as I have ever heard about or even seen for that matter. You will have to wait for the gruesome details when watching the show. Amy did see a lot of the violence as well as really give some hair-raising information to our client, who had experienced some crazy things while filming a movie there for only 2 days at the prison. It had taken a lot for our client to even come back there to show me where these experiences happened. Only thing, she did something she shouldn’t have, innocently I might add, that has changed her life drastically. I hope the viewers can take a lesson from this episode and heed the warning. Till next time, stay safe……..SD

They had horses, chickens and lots of dogs, which I love the most. The property was luscious green as well as the rest of the state. On my down time I found myself in two pretty close cities— Mobile, Alabama & Pensacola, Florida. Neither city disappointed me. Mobile had a very New Orleans flair to it, and from what I was told, they originated a lot of culture that New Orleans is famous for. Pensacola was as beautiful as I expected. I was able to get some beautiful shots of the sun setting on the gulf while eating dinner.

Ok, let’s get to the investigation. As I pulled up to this grand home, along with its sprawling property, I thought to myself…wow! I couldn’t imagine such a gorgeous old home like this could have any problems. Boy was I wrong! After I interviewed the client and she explained everything that was happening, I said to myself, “what the hell are you still doing here?” I was shocked that she was still alive after what happened to her. I will say this; she was a small woman full of fire. I give her so much credit for battling this and not giving up. I absolutely loved her husband. He reminded me of what men are, and what we do. I will say this; Amy couldn’t have been more spot on. She never ceases to amaze me, and the more I work with her, I find myself asking questions that I would never have asked anyone before. So much for being a skeptic. Till next time, stay safe……….SD

However, the Story County Sherriff’s office that patrols the area couldn’t have been worse. I think they are despicable and should learn the word discretion and courtesy. Our director received a summons for going over the speed limit by 5 miles as he was filming a scene of the town right by the Mackey Mansion where we were filming. It’s a tourist town and I’m pretty sure they didn’t need the revenue from a 5-mile an hour speed infraction. I was embarrassed to say the least, to say that I was a law enforcement officer for over twenty years  (in a real city by the way) after seeing the display of a no nonsense attitude towards a film crew that had been filming there over a week. The town had less than 900 people living there, so to say the cops didn’t know what we were doing there is a joke. All I want to say, and I know I’m ranting, is, that the law enforcement in Story County Nevada, need a lesson in common sense, discretion and just regular street no how, in dealing with people who aren’t the BAD guys. I’m really disgusted by this and it makes me angry to even write about it. I’m sad for the people who have to live there with that type of law enforcement personnel that make all real cops look bad. Well, enough about that, sorry, but it just makes angry!

Onto the Mackay Mansion and their problems, this was one of the cases that show both extremes when it came to the paranormal. From a sweet little playful girl, to a very menacing and sometimes traumatizing entity that enjoyed frightening people. The history here was so compelling and really had to make you think about what men and woman endured during the gold rush days: the men worked in the mines in unimaginable conditions, and the woman prostitutes serviced those men and did volunteer work, to boot.  This case has elements that only a town like this could have – the tragedy of mining disasters, and a notorious homicide resulting in a hanging. The Mackay Mansion investigation was very interesting to say the least. So please tune and give me your opinion.  Till next time, stay safe. Oh yeah, and don’t drive a mile over the speed limit in Story County Nevada!

I did get some great pictures of some really cute cows that were grazing just outside my hotel room. One cow came up to me all the time but once she smelled me and must of realized I was a big steak eater, she backed off.  I don’t think after getting that close to such a cute animal like that I could feel the same eating meat again.  I named one Rose after my mom; she is up in heaven probably cursing at me as I write this….LOL … : -)

On to the investigation this week, I can honestly say that after my initial interviews of the witnesses that lived there, my gut told me that half of what they are telling me can’t be true. Well guess what? I was wrong, and Amy nailed all of it. The small modest home was located in the middle of a densely wooded area. The client made no sense to me because she knew she should have left there but felt very strongly that she couldn’t, even though she didn’t even have running water. She had a feeling that the home and land that surrounded it needed her. She even told me it was like being in an abusive relationship, she knew she needed to leave but just couldn’t. I didn’t understand it, until the reveal. This case truly made me realize how important both Amy and my investigations are and how much they can help real people. I think this case will stand out incredibly. Until next time, please stay safe….SD

This case was very interesting from the beginning; the family had relocated from a bigger city within Georgia due to a job transfer for the father of the family. This investigation involved a special needs person that was right in the middle of all the activity associated with the home. When the family moved there, all they saw was this beautiful home. The previous owner left, leaving everything behind, never speaking or meeting the new owners.  They had no IDEA what he really left behind.

The home had come with quite a history. What I learned during my investigation was that whatever was in this house was interacting directly with this special needs person. I felt deeply for the parents as well as for the other young adults that lived there. They were two young men who were terrified to stay there alone. The house had so much activity it seemed that they were at their wits end and desperately needed our help. Whatever was there in this home was making it clear it wanted attention, and it was being pretty blunt about it. So check it out and see what the Dead Files team was able to do for them…SD

First off, I think this case was the most urgent that Amy and I have worked on as of yet. The client was in desperate need of our help. Not just for her, but for her grandchildren as well. I had received some disturbing video footage of what was going on, and from that I realized what a problem she was having. After my initial interviews all I was concerned about was how physical things had gotten. I was not sure who or what Amy was going to encounter, but I was concerned for her safety as much as the client and the kids. As my investigation of the home unfolded, I was getting frustrated with the progress, but I was eventually able to come up with some pretty violent and tragic information from the past surrounding this 1950’s home.  That may have been part of the problem, but there was something else. I think your going to really feel for the client on this episode.  I know I did………SD

Well this case was a little different this time, due to its location, it was a theatre. It was a very old home that was turned into a theatre in the early 70’s. The home was actually moved from its original sight not far from where it sits now. There were some pretty bizarre things happening and a lot of it was aimed at children. This had me concerned as well as their claim of hearing children playing. The folks that ran the theatre felt a very strong hatred for woman and children. As my investigation unfolded, the information I obtained started to make sense with the connection to mistreatment of women and children. The investigation really came together once I sat with Amy and the clients and put it all together. The theatre people really needed our help with this case because kids in the area would not come to the theatre due to the activity when children were present. Till next time, stay safe…….SD

The walk was difficult! I felt ill as soon as we left for the walk. The nausea and dizziness grew as we arrived and began the walk. I felt that no one really liked me (the dead) and did not really care to tell me what happened, as if embarrassed or even over it.  Grabbing pieces of images and trying to put together the information was too much for me, as the illness became all consuming.

I thought to myself at one point on the stairwell, “why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this pain? I just want to go home!”  Sometimes this work really tears you apart!  The physical drain on your health, the pain that you absorb from the dead on occasion can be all consuming, to think of how many deaths I have experienced and why my body occasionally simply shuts down is no surprise. It has ALWAYS been that way; for physical mediums there is no escaping that aspect of who we are.

Yes, we can protect and we can pull from our tool box items that may help us: ensure, bananas, melatonin and on and on, as well as spiritually protecting ourselves and recovering as much as possibly, but there is no escaping the truth that this work harms us!  Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually; it takes a toll and sometimes there are those moments when all I want to do is run away from it. I have tried many times before to do so.  Never successfully, because it is what I am here to do; I love the dead, I love what I do and I want to help the living and the dead come to an understanding. There is no other way.

So, yes that thought came, but then it went and I moved forward. I had to help this girl, I had to understand this house and I had to deal with the evil in the backyard. Because the dead need it and so do the living!

I missed being able at this time to work with living energy via the bodywork I do; it seems to balance me. Working with the dead ONLY absorbing only dead energy is what can cause many issues.

It simply was “one of those days”

I do believe that Steve and I were able to find ways, though dramatic in nature, to help the living find peace in this situation. The son Ryan did follow our advice. That is what it is ALL about after all!

On to the case at hand, this was an investigation that really took me back to my days investigating homicides. The only difference here, it was more of a cold case homicide I needed to investigate, surrounding a home built in 1891. This case involved a family from Brooklyn (My hometown) and whose last name was Cropsey. I learned that Cropsey Avenue in Brooklyn was named after this family and it’s relatives who were pretty prominent in the New York area. I actually grew up half a block from Cropsey Avenue. The investigation on my end was focused on a young girl (Nell Cropsey) who was murdered in 1901 supposedly by her boyfriend back in 1901. Following the murder I uncovered a lot more tragedy connected to the case. I had to go as far as having to speak with a forensic pathologist as well as a biologist whose expertise revolved around rivers. These two interviews were crucial to the case for me. Once we did the reveal and I learned what Amy saw on her walk, it all made sense. However, there was much more going on this house than I expected and the family really needs to make decision! Till next time, stay safe……..SD

The worst walk EVER!  

We were driven to a restaurant far from the hotel, seemingly in the middle of a one stop light town.  The beginning of the walk went well. I met a nice dead man named Henry (or is he nice? I am not sure about that). He talked smoothly and swiftly and then spoke a word: MORE.  Everything stopped; I was pulled out of my altered state of consciousness where Henry was, and was now standing in the restaurant staring at the cameras and crew.

 It took only a minute for me to understand.  Someone on the crew is telepathic! I was getting a hit, and someone on the crew got excited and wanted more of that information.  A Telepath!  What was I going to do?  I had to try and refocus and get back into a state were I could focus on the dead and NOT the living. 

It took some time and a LOT of focus to try and get back into the groove, not to mention being aware if someone was trying to send me information.  The walk was chaos, putting it mildly.

 I did not sleep for days. I had to have a meeting with the producers and tell them that someone on the crew is telepathic and it could be a concern.  All is fine and dandy in the world I know, as most of my friends and family are sensitive’s and we know this stuff to exist. But it was difficult talking to several producers, who are just wrapping their minds around the fact that I am talking to the dead, (yes, FOR real) and now I was going to hit them with this. I was very NERVOUS!

We all sat down and I just explained that someone on the team might be a telepath. They probably did not know it, but it did interrupt my walk.  It is a concern they have to be aware of, due to its possible ramifications. They sat there, jaws gaping open.  “What?  What IS that? What can they do, who do you think it is, how do we stop it, what is their profile?”

I told them what a telepath is, someone who can both receive and send information via their mind, and that it can be with or without intent. I felt that this was without intent. I did not say who I thought it was, but rather suggested that THE person needed to let go of their expectations during a walk; that they needed to just be and let it flow and not to try and make it follow a story. I gave a bit of the typical general outline of a telepath. I then stated that I was shocked that they were even listening to me; not laughing, but taking this seriously.  They just stated that they had to take it into consideration because it was coming from me, and as far as they understand and have witnessed, I talk to dead people so perhaps anything IS possible.

It is nice to work with people who have become open minded and whom I feel I can share these things with.

 The Sketch: What can I say, that is what scares me!

 The Reveal: I did not feel that I matched on the historical facts that were provided.

The woman I encountered who was depressed and mangled-looking was a woman who died in a car accident, as the owner confirmed there was a neighbor fitting the description and the car’s description. The children for me were not the ones who died in the ravine, four boys under the age of 3.  Nope; I had two boys and two girls ranging in ages from 4-14!  I was both surprised and not surprised, as there were in all approximately 50-60 dead people at the location.

 Henry, who after he was interrupted would no longer speak to me, was a direct hit, which did not surprise me as he was in charge of the place.

The Curse was the main thing I was concerned about! The curse created and trapped all of the dead people that are/were at the location, and I knew the owners and the townspeople were going to have to organize a battle to set them free and make sure they too would not enter the trap when they die.

At the time of the reveal, for reasons not fully understood and due to misinformation being provided to producers, there was no historical information regarding ANY tensions between the whites and the Native Americans in that area.  It would be discovered weeks later!  This is not an unusual occurrence. Due to time constraints, it is impossible for them to look up EVERYTHING that EVER happened at a given location. Then there is the “Oh our town; it is a sweet, charming, lovely town, nothing EVER happened here” 

 In this case BOTH situations occurred.  This at the time did not matter to me; all I wanted was for them to understand the danger they and the town was in.  They listened and promised to take care and to reach out to others in the community to resolve the situation. 

Finally it was over! I felt that this was the most challenging investigation from start to finish. I was ecstatic for Matt and me to go home and have a bit of down time with our three fuzz balls.  But before that, we did make it into Salt Lake City where we had a GREAT meal!  I was shocked at how small the city is, but it is so cute and the architecture is very nice, and it is a manageable place to get around. It was interesting to see the Mormons all dressed in their best, walking to the church.  And the lights for Christmas, not just in the city but all around it, were the most beautiful and tasteful I have ever seen!