Devil in the Delta (16 page)

Unfortunately, though, major changes would occur in the Martin household and I would not get the chance to follow up with my findings …

Drastic Changes

Though I had gathered significantly more evidence concerning the haunting of the Martin property, it became abundantly clear that I would not be returning there again—at least not if I wanted to talk with Joanne or her family. Not long after the blessing of the trailer (or the ineffectual blessing, if you want to believe Joanne), the family decided it would be better if they moved out of the cursed abode. This was probably their best decision ever!

Over the years, I have learned that when a family goes through a lot of traumatic, paranormal experiences in a place, it's often impossible to move past them and to live comfortably in that home again. And though it may be the most drastic form of resolution to deal with a haunting, sometimes it's simply a necessary means to an end. If nothing else, moving out would ensure that Julie and Katie would no longer be exposed to something that may potentially scar them psychologically for life.

I asked Patricia and Terri what made Joanne finally decide to leave and they told me an interesting couple of tales … Apparently, the family was staying with relatives and was telling them about the horrible things that had happened to them while living in the trailer. Rather than getting sympathy, or even empathy, the family members thought it was “cool” that there were ghosts in the trailer.

As mentioned previously, one male relative had already decided he would go “ghost busting” at the trailer and ended up getting more than he bargained for. According to Terri, he arrived at the trailer and was checking things out when he heard a loud bang in the living room
.

When he walked into that area, his overnight bag flew through the air, striking the wall beside him. He promptly fled into the night with the distinction of being the shortest-lived paranormal investigator ever to enter the field! Apparently, since this incident, even more of the Martin clan (and most likely friends as well) had visited and been frightened away from the property.

Another incident (not long after my visit) was a little more sobering, and it involved Joanne's youngest daughter—Katie Martin. According to Terri, Joanne was cleaning up the trailer when the small girl suddenly began to behave erratically and started crawling all over the floor (she's well beyond the toddler years, so this was not typical behavior). As Joanne questioned her, the girl began taking off her clothes and speaking incoherently. A frantic call was made to Terri, who then dispatched an ambulance to the Martin residence.

Young Katie was kept at the hospital for a week for observation, and Terri would go on to learn from Julie that Joanne was now addicted to crystal methamphetamines and that Katie had gotten into her stash! Yipes … I could still remember hearing Joanne dismiss the drug paraphernalia we found in her trailer as belonging to her tenants.

Katie's incident would go on to be reported to child protective services in Mississippi and the family would end up moving again—this time to be with relatives in California. I didn't know if this was to avoid having Katie taken away permanently or if they simply wanted to be as far away from the home in Mississippi as possible. Either scenario could have been the case.

As far as the trailer was concerned, Joanne planned to sell it (separate from the family land) so that it could be relocated with a new owner. It would be interesting to know if the paranormal activity goes with it (though I rather doubt it and believe the haunting has more to do with the land and the surrounding area than it does with the trailer itself). But finding a buyer for a trailer in such a dilapidated state would certainly be a challenge.

Luckily, Terri and Patricia were able to meet with Joanne one last time (before she was completely relocated in California) to discuss the final round of evidence we gathered during our final investigation—and to obtain permission from her for me to write this book—before she moved west. She seemed pleased that many of her family's claims had been validated with audio data, but I would not get the chance to discuss the findings with her personally.

Observations and Suggestions

Oftentimes, it's hard to separate a haunting from the family that's experiencing a haunting. In the case of the Martins this is especially true. Would “John,” “Keith,” “Emily,” or possible even a grandfather haunt that trailer if they had not been there? Or even more pertinent, would there have been any activity had they not been the people using instigators (the magic rituals and paraphernalia, the Ouija board, etc.)?

I feel that some stories just have to come out. If a man named John was, indeed, killed by a member of the Martin family—or came to a horrible demise there without their help—it's probable that
something
would have eventually happened to someone there.

Tuning into the paranormal by using occult practices and other mystical means simply helped usher the activity along. Things like Ouija boards are not, in themselves, anything mysterious or magical. (It
is
a board game by Hasbro after all). But when the human mind wills something to happen and there are spirits paying attention, things happen. Things that aren't always explainable or even completely understandable. Such are the circumstances of this case.

In the end, my suggestions to Joanne and her family would have included the possibility of her moving away from the trailer and leaving her family land behind. It is clear from her opinion regarding the blessing of the home that neither she, nor her daughters, would have ever felt completely at ease there. After enduring some of the experiences they related, who would? And with so much negative, possibly nonhuman, activity going on as well, it seemed an even better decision for them to move on.

I'm just glad they decided to do it on their own and that I didn't have to drive back down to them and tell them I thought they should leave!

After all of this, it would be some time before I would hear anything further about the cursed trailer or the Martin family, but it was (of course) inevitable that I would.

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9

A Final Trip

After a few months without any word from the Mississippi team or anyone in the Martin family, I was contacted once again out of the blue by Terri. The circumstances concerning my favorite paranormal location in the Mississippi delta had changed again.

Terri informed me that Joanne and her family were once again living in the area—in a home closer to town, though she still owned and was renting out the trailer—and that they were making another attempt to get some answers concerning the haunting of the family land.

To this end, she had invited yet another paranormal group to the site, who intended to perform an investigation the upcoming weekend. Terri wanted to know if I could also be present because things in the trailer had evolved to some strange new territory. She also hoped that my experiences there might serve to assist with the new investigation.

Though this new information sounded a bit cryptic, I was intrigued enough with the case to actually brave the drive back south once again. Plus, I had to admit that I was curious about the current state of the haunting.

However, I knew from past experiences that most para-
normal groups do not relish the thought of “outsiders” joining their investigation. So I did not want to interfere with what the new group (we'll call them “X Paranormal” for reference sake) was doing at the trailer at all. Instead, I would simply return to catch up on what had happened with Joanne and her family, take a look at this “new territory” that Terri had referenced, and (perhaps) bring about some sort of resolution concerning the case—at least for myself!

So, after loading considerably less gear than on my previous trips, I found myself once again making the dreaded drive into Mississippi …

A New Approach

Once I arrived at the trailer (already exhausted from the trip), it was immediately obvious that X Paranormal had a whole different approach to an investigation than I did. There were at least fifteen people present to comb through the small trailer, and they seemed to be everywhere, getting into each other's way.

Once I had parked, I looked around and quickly picked out Terri and Tom from the members of the new group. This was no challenge since they were the only ones not dressed in black T-shirts. Sheesh … it looked like an AC/DC concert! Patricia and Blake would not be present for this investigation for personal reasons, but I was certainly glad there were a couple of familiar faces with me at the property. I slowly made my way to them as I watched the new team set up.

As I walked over to introduce myself, it was also quite clear that X Paranormal liked to use a lot of gear. By this I mean huge amounts of gear. In addition to a massive, wired DVR system with multiple cameras stationed all around the trailer (inside and outside), they also had entire tables covered with audio devices, various EMF detectors, and camcorders. It appeared that their approach to an investigation was to bombard an area with as much electronic equipment as is possible.

While on the surface this may seem like a good idea, I have learned the hard way in the past that electronic equipment often interferes with each other—the signals from wireless walkie-talkies pick up the wireless cameras, and so on. As a result, I usually choose to deploy gear more strategically rather than overload a location.

Also, wired DVR systems often make for a cumbersome investigation. Looking at this group's setup, it was clear that people would be tripping over wires all night long. A couple portable camcorders would have most likely served them better since they could be moved rather quickly to areas of activity—and since they are battery powered, they wouldn't trip up any investigator moving through the pitch of night. But tripping over wires would prove to be the least of my worries for this investigation …

Because there was still no power in the trailer, X Paranormal was running a generator on site to power their massive amounts of gear. A loud generator. A generator that would, most likely, pollute all the audio gathered during the investigation. They had attempted to place the generator as far away from the trailer as possible—but I knew it would still be there, looming in the background of all the audio data collected.

I had hoped to discreetly leave an audio recorder on the premises to gather a few more EVPs during my visit, but after seeing (and hearing) the generator, this idea flew out the window. I would have to be content with updated info and a few new photographs.

After saying my hellos to Terri and Tom, they took me around the area and quickly introduced me to members of the new group. Before they could get indignant at my presence, I quickly explained that my visit was solely for “journalistic purposes,” but the leader of the group (I'll call her “Pam”) insisted that I still log all my gear into their notebook for tracking purposes. Huh?

I explained that the only “gear” I would be using was my personal camera and that it did not need to be “tracked” since it would remain on my person during my visit, but this was like arguing with a wall—an illogical wall. She insisted that this was just their practice. So, rather than debating the ridiculousness of me logging
my
gear in
their
notebook (and adding on to the sizable amount of gear that they were already tracking during their visit), I simply placated them and left shaking my head. But the ridiculousness was not over.

Terri then explained to me that Pam wanted to bring all the investigators over to do a “blessing” before they did any work in the trailer. I probably don't have to tell you that I was appalled by this idea. Blessing? What kind of blessing? What possible benefit would this provide concerning the performance of a scientific investigation of the paranormal at this location? The short answer: none.

It was clear that this was
not
going to be a scientific investigation. Not long after the prayer circle broke up, I could hear Pam lecturing her team members about wearing anything religious that could “provoke” the demonic entity in the trailer into doing anything to them. Wow. If wearing a cross or crucifix antagonized anything in the trailer, wouldn't doing a blessing in the front yard essentially make them all targets? It made no sense.

Without ever having investigated the location, X Para-normal had already come to the hasty conclusion that they
were dealing with a demonic presence. I was sure this pleased
Joanne. Finally, some paranormal types were actually humoring her and giving her the attention that she desired.

I pulled Terri to the side and asked her about this. I could not believe that she and Tom were actually interested in being a part of such a debacle. At this point, Terri filled me in on some new events that had happened at the trailer during my absence.

The Haunted Meth Lab

Apparently, not long after returning to Mississippi, Joanne decided, once again, to try to rent the trailer. However, this time the tenants would get the entire place, since Joanne had no intention in living there herself. And despite missing two windows and being trashed, she managed to actually get a couple interested in living there—and it wasn't long before they moved in. For anyone other than Joanne, this would have set off alarms. Who would live in such conditions? The short answer: meth addicts.

Not long after the tenants had moved into the trailer, Joanne stopped getting her reasonably low amount of rent money from the couple. Concerned, she visited the property several times to try and collect the payments—to no avail. Either she never found them at home, or they were hiding in the trailer when she went over. Eventually, she was forced to go through legal channels to have the tenants evicted from the trailer.

Once they were gone, Joanne visited the trailer and found that it was (somehow) in an even worse state than before. But worse than that, it was clear that the people had been making crystal meth inside the premises. A quick look around the place found drug paraphernalia, all the ingredients necessary for concocting the drug, and the scent of the recently cooked amphetamines still hung heavy in the air.

There also happened to be something else in the trailer—
something that Joanne, even with her basic occult background, did not immediately recognize as being of significance.

In the kitchen of the trailer, a large mound of dirt was heaped up on the dining room table with assorted items strewn about it. According to the investigators of X Paranormal, this mound of dirt, along with the various items present, held specific occult significance. Basically, they were the essential ingredients needed for summoning the Devil or a demon through the use of a magic ritual.

The dirt was assumed by the group to be “grave dirt,” and several items that were present held a specific purpose for this ritual—or so X Paranormal believed. These items included a pack of juniper berries and a small silver bell that I was told the entity is supposed to ring upon its arrival to let the summoner know it is present.

After Terri finished explaining all of this, she took me inside the trailer to show me the pile of dirt in the kitchen, along with the various occult items. Knowing nothing about magical rituals, I would just have to take the word of X Paranormal that this was what was going on in the trailer: meth heads summoning the Devil! But Terri had even more information for me—news that made the latest deeds of the trailer seem even more sinister.

According to Terri, not long after the tenants were ev-icted, they were involved in a deadly accident that claimed the life of the female resident. This was told to me with bated breath and a tremor in her voice. She believed it was a result of the couple meddling with the occult.

While there could be no way to possibly know this to be the case, I did not press the issue with Terri or X Paranormal. After all, I have my own weird tale that involves the Devil, and I certainly did not want to challenge their personal beliefs. Nonetheless, I did have Terri escort me through the trailer, so that I could photograph the table with the dirt and items, as well as to see the damage the couple had wrought upon the place.

As we walked through the premises, I snapped my photos and held my nose tightly—believe it or not, the heavy scent of the cooked drugs was still in the air! Members of X Paranormal moved around us, quickly opening windows to air out the trailer for their investigation (a move that was needed, but would further pollute their audio data with the sounds outside the home).

Once we were finished with the walkthrough, Terri then informed me that X Paranormal had made another discovery on the property as well: the location of John's grave!

T he Mysterious Mound

After I was finished taking all the photos that I needed, Terri and I made our way back outside. Fighting our way past cables running from the DVR system into the house, Terri then took me around to the back of the trailer to an area that featured a deep depression with a large mound in the center of it. This, according to all present, was the gravesite of John.

I took a slow walk around the depression, taking photos all the while. There was no way for me to know if what they were saying was true. If there had been a John and he had been killed on the property in the 1940s, he would have most likely been placed in the ground quite a long time ago. There would be no evidence on the surface of the ground to indicate if there was a body there.

So I asked Terri how they knew he was buried there and if they had tried to dig for bones or other physical evidence. She told me that nobody had done any digging, but that the X Paranormal team had confirmed the gravesite through the use of dowsing rods. What?! I immediately stopped taking photos and left the area. I had a hard time believing that Terri, or Tom for that matter, could possibly believe that they had found a grave by using dowsing rods! Clearly the X Paranormal group was rubbing off on them.

In the paranormal world, though, there are many different beliefs—and the use of many different investigation methods. To those on the outside, the use of dowsing rods or a psychic may be no more ridiculous an investigative method than running audio and video recorders. After all, ghosts are make-believe, right?

But for those of us on the inside, there is a definite dividing line between those who stick to a strictly scientific method (like myself) and those who use techniques like pendulums, crystals, psychics, dowsing rods … well, you get the picture.

As a result, I knew it would do no good to scoff at their claims that there was a grave behind the trailer. That would just spawn a heated debate about the paranormal and various techniques. I told Terri to let me know if they ever got any
proof
that a person was buried in the mound. As of the writing of this book, this has not happened—and I don't really expect that it will …

Terri would, however, send me the link to an article from a local news source that detailed the death of the tenant who had passed away in the accident, so that was an actual incident.

A Final Investigation

Though I had no intention of joining in on X Paranormal's investigation, I stuck around while they did it. It went pretty much like how any other group would do such a thing: equipment was stationed throughout the trailer, members took turns making their rounds through the place, and on occasion, somebody would claim to have seen or heard something. Most of these incidents were of the mundane nature, but they did break up the monotony.

At one point, several audio recorders were reviewed on the spot, with one member claiming to have gotten a set of strange EVPs that he claimed was made by a “Native American” voice. I listened to one of the EVPs and could not hear what the investigator was talking about.

Even though their team did a reasonably good job of maintaining noise discipline, they were still working in a small trailer with the windows open, people talking outside, and a generator running in the vicinity!