Ghost Stories
by Brandilyn Mitchell
When we think of ghost hunters, we usually think about groups going to truly haunted places like Alcatraz or the Winchester Mystery House, but Modesto boasts of it’s own ghostly haunts, too.
There are rumors that there is a ghost who whispers in the McHenry Mansion, that there is a spirit who paces the Dry Creek Trail in mourning of the land, and the most interesting story is that strange things happen in Davis Park at exactly 3:33am. None of those could be confirmed by my own personal research, but I did meet some very cool people in my investigation of Modesto’s paranormal activities!
Keith Clifton and his wife Pam, run the Nourishment for the Soul Wellness Center on Santa Barbara, in Modesto. Keith often helps spirits move on from this realm, and if they decide to stay, helps the spirit live harmoniously with the humans who come into contact with it. Although he doesn’t go “hunting” for ghosts necessarily, his spiritual work often brings him into contact with them. As a Master Reiki Practitioner, spirits seem to be drawn to him, and he does his best to help them be calm and find peace. He has cleared several residences in his time in Modesto, but none of them were the scary kind of ghosts we think of, but rather spirits likely lost, confused or attached to our world. For more information on his group, visit the Facebook page .
A few days later, I contacted the Ghost Hunting & Paranormal Research USA group. (Feel free to contact him on the facebook.) Ryan Privee runs the group and is a local psychic medium, who often finds himself communicating with those who have passed on. He has conducted many hunts over the years, mostly at local haunts like the cemeteries in Modesto and Ceres, and in Sonora, the Sloughhouse Inn, and most recently, Byron. He has also investigated the shop Daydreams and Nightmares, where he took this picture with a distinctive faint blue fuzzy blob over the chair. Looks like an apparition to me!
A blue streak found at Daydreams and Nightmares. Pics Courtesy Ryan Privee.
He invited me to go to the Acacia Cemetery in Modesto. I joined him on a Saturday evening at dusk to try to capture an apparition on film or a voice on an EVP, because his past hunts at Acacia have been successful. He took this picture of a tomb, with one random pink orb on the left side during one of this hunts there.
After a few hours walking around Acacia, spending ample time at new gravesites with the recorder, we didn’t come up with anything concrete, though on two recordings there were muffled noises. On one recording we asked the young gentleman how he died, and we think we heard the word “driving”, and the other was what sounded like a little girl humming a song. We also captured what may or may be an apparition on the right side of this tombstone.
What do you think?! Share your ghost stories with us on facebook, and share your photos on twitter with #modestoview
Orb at Acacia Cemetery. Pic Courtesy Ryan Privee.
