Ghost Data

9:58pm: The Basement.
"I can't handle these voices anymore. I desperately want out, but I feel like I am so close to unraveling this entire mystery. I shall be in the basement for a time. I know the answers are there."

Odd in its brevity, and the handwriting was much more erratic than any of his other journal entries. I won't waste any more time, I must go to the basement and find James. I fear for the worst, but at least I'll have closure. I replace the batteries in my flashlight and make my way down the stairs. I've put this off for far too long.

Looking at the metal door is intimidating, and doesn't give me a good feeling about what's behind it. Simple tugs aren't enough to open it, but giving it some strength gets the job done. It opens with an eerie creek that seems to send a shriek throughout the whole house. Shining the flashlight down the stairs doesn't seem to reveal much. It's very dark, with a thick dust or fog obscuring much of the possible view. It's a very strange feeling staring down at these concrete stairs that just disappear into a mass of darkness. There's no telling what's down there. Hopefully James is among the things contained within.

I'm having trouble making my way down with any measure of swiftness. I suppose caution is the best strategy in this situation, but I'm also so anxious to get this over with. I've finally reached the bottom.
"James?"
"....James?"
There is no answer. No sound but that of my voice ricocheting off the floor and ceiling. The light isn't much help down here, but it does give me somewhat of a reference. I slowly walk forward with my arm outstretched, even though the light reaches further than my hand. Suddenly I hear a shuffle behind me, and I turn to investigate, backing up a bit to give myself distance from the noise. I see nothing, so I pan the flashlight slowly back and forth, and still I see nothing. This basement must be a large one, as I have not yet encountered a wall. As I continue to back up, my back brushes up against something. I turn and see a torso swinging back and forth. My breath escapes me. I quiver for a moment, not moving the light, afraid of what I might find...but I must persevere. Bringing the flashlight's beam up to the man's face...reveals a disgusting version of James, twisted by the effects of a hanging. I stumble back further, I can't believe he would do this...it can't be him there. Another noise behind me; I turn and see a girl. She has a knife.

She's advancing toward me.

9:46pm: Remnants of Sanity.
I must have been standing at the base of the stairs for a good fifteen minutes, just staring at the upper reaches of the house. The dim, shadowy second floor was not the least bit inviting, especially now. I had to gather myself before advancing back up the steps. I need to check a couple of the rooms before heading downstairs. I must not lose focus, no matter what the circumstance. Once upstairs, I begin my search of the rooms. At the end of the hallway to the right of the staircase is the master bedroom, adorned with an uncovered mattress and not much else. The room is bare and the wooden floors are peeling and in quite atrocious condition. There is a large glass door leading to a large porch overlooking the yard, but I have no interest in investigating that, so I head out of the master bedroom and search the rest of the upstairs.

Slightly up the hall from the master bedroom is another room. I peer inside and see a figure sheathed in a blanket huddled on the floor. I duck back out of sight and catch my breath. "James?" I whispered to myself. I peered back in, but there wasn't anyone in there. Shivers traveled straight up my spine, but I persevered. Glancing around the room I noticed a paper on the floor. Another entry.

10:08pm: The Bathroom.
I went quickly into the adjacent bathroom to compose myself. Looking in the mirror at my reflection I told myself "Keep it together. Keep it together." Out of curiosity, I turned the faucet and much to my surprise there was running water. Why no one bothered to shut it off is beyond me. This suggests that the owners left quickly. I've decided to wash my face, refresh myself, and then continue my search for clues around the house. I figure that I can look into two of the bedrooms and finally make my way downstairs to the basement. I doubt I will find James up here, after all he would have heard me and come to investigate my noise.

The water is cool and has no offending smell, indicating it's fresh. I fill my cupped hands and run them over my face. It feels good, relaxing. I repeat this process, and with each splash I calm more and more. It's amazing how much a little water can do to soothe one's uneasy nerves. In between washes, I notice in the mirror some thin, bony knuckles wrapping around the door, as if someone's grabbing it to push it open. I look back behind me and notice nothing, sighing relief as I assure myself it's my imagination once again. I return my gaze to the mirror and witness a horrific face staring at me in the small opening in the door. It's an ugly, rotten looking face, as if someone unwrapped a long-mummified corpse. Another look at the doorway behind me reveals nothing, and I run out and downstairs. At the base of the stairwell I catch my breath. This house is much more than I expected. I've heard awfully fictitious ghost stories that were more plausible than this, yet it's actually happening.

10:53pm: The Video.
There are only fifteen entries in this journal. The rest of the pages have been torn out. Some completely, others partially. Since I haven't been able to find James so far, I believe his journal will provide much-needed information on his whereabouts. A VCR and monitor are hooked up, and there's a tape inside the player, so I decide to play that to see if there was any activity from my missing colleague.

Most of the video is just footage of the kitchen, empty and quite dull. Nothing is going on, so I'm fast-forwarding it. Perhaps I can skip to a more active sector of the footage. Even with the quickened pace, there is nothing...not even James. I look down at his journal to try to make out some of the partial messages.

"The basement is the ke
house's hau
center
The sta"

The above is all I can make out. So that's what that metal door led to... After I look at the video I'll venture down there. ...Speaking of which.

There's a very bloody face looking at the camera. It must be just a foot or so away as it's filling the monitor's image with just his rotten mug. The flesh on his cheek is just hanging down, revealing his teeth and some jaw structure. It's very unsettling. I've got to see where he entered the room from. So I rewind it to backtrack...and he's just standing there, staring. The longer I look at it, the more chilling it becomes. My head tilts forward as I sneeze, and when I return it to look at the screen, the face is gone. Quickly, I reach for the play button. And I wait... And wait... And wait... No face. I fast-forward once more. No luck. There is no face.

10:40pm: Words from James.
"The voices are very loud now. They drown out my thoughts. They're very suggestive...

They tell me I need to go to the pond in the back yard. I will do anything to shut them up.

When I got to the pond there was nothing there. I looked in the dirty water and saw something floating. It was the body of the man I had seen a few times before. He was staring at the sky, motionless. Expressionless. I was so scared I came back to my safe room. They keep calling to me. They want something.

I want to sleep."

As I read this page I can't help but become worried. James doesn't seem to be himself. What I read matches more with some sort of psychosis than a haunting. I fear the work has gotten to him and he's done something drastic. I'm going to find his safe room and hope he is there, or at least clues to his whereabouts. Perhaps I'll find the rest of the journal, or maybe some recordings of the goings on in the house. There must be some reason for all of this.

Most of the downstairs has been explored already, so I'm going to go on up to the second level. On my way up the air feels more dense, more humid. Directly to the left at the top of the stairs is a small room with some belongings. They're James', but he's not here. There's a small monitor, a tape recorder, and some tapes lying on the ground, along with his sleeping bag. His journal lies on the floor next to the foot of his bag.

9:51pm: Dirty Kitchen.
I am certainly glad to have bought that flashlight at the convenience store before I left. The ambiance of this house is getting to my imagination. While I was rooting around in what I assume is the den, I thought saw a shadow move, but it was just one cast by my light when I turned around. I ventured outside for a short period of time to find the generator, which was still full of fuel. There wasn't any trouble starting it up, but once I had I thought I heard someone saying something barely audible next to the machine; again it must be my imagination. I went back inside the house and straight to the kitchen to check out James' recording equipment. What little extra light I have from the generator reveals the kitchen to be very run down. What used to be white countertops and yellow walls has been covered with filth of some sort, all earthen browns and reds in color. The doors are all open, revealing bare and disgustingly dirty shelves. The sink has a dark reddish blotch stained all over the porcelain. The windows that at one time shed some cheeriness to the room are now heavily stained or boarded up. James has a camera set up atop the cabinets along the wall, lens facing the center of the room. It looks like it had been hooked up to a VCR but no longer. I do a standing search of the room, panning my head about and spot a piece of paper on the floor. Telling by the handwriting, it looks like it was out of James' journal. I need to read this...

9:35pm: Arrival.
The house is very large, made of yellow stucco that hasn't been taken care of for years, bits and pieces crumbling off as if picked off by the paws of a giant rodent. The bushes had overgrown before dying from lack of maintenance, a theme reflected in the whole yard. A curved porch stands menacingly above the doorway, once beautiful rod-iron railing now rusted and weathered, a section lying in the weeds directly below. James picked a lovely place to stay...

Most of the windows had been boarded up and it looked like James pried those sealing the door off. I step in and am blinded by the darkness after moving away from being in the sunlight all day. A musty stench is in the air and as my eyes adjust to the low light I can start to make out the interior architecture. I am greeted by a large foyer. The staircase starts to my left and rises with a curve to the right. The balcony then wraps around the room, continuing over my head and stopping back over to the left. What lies ahead of me appears to be the dining room. I approach it for a closer look. Only the table and a lone chair remain. Behind me, on the left side of the room, is a large metal door, one that is situated beneath the stairs. However, seeing as it will not budge I can only assume it's a storage closet of sorts. Though I have to wonder why such a large door is needed. The sun will be going down soon, so I've got to find where James placed the generator.

9:31pm: Ghost Town.
Waking up as the bus reaches its destination, I hadn't realized when I had fallen asleep, but I had. My neck hurts, probably from sleeping wrong in the seat. As I get up, stretch, and make my way off the bus, I look at my surroundings...a fairly run-down stop in a very small town; I'm surprised there's even one here. My first stop is the local convenience store, which is where he told me he bought food the last time he called me. Walking along the road in this small town, I notice the streets are fairly unkept and dusty, and rather small. Nothing unexpected of a place like this.

Ahead I see the store, a ragged little place with liquor signs dotting the front windows. I walk in and ask the clerk about James, show him a picture, and listen to his story...if he has one. He tells me he was familiar with the man, a friendly guy who loved to talk about how great his discovery was. But in recent months, his visits were less common and less lengthy. The clerk says he seemed very odd, stopped talking to him and had an odd manner to his walk. He hadn't seen him in three weeks... I ask the man if he can take me to the mansion, but he declines. "I'm the only one here, I can't leave the place, but it's not far, about thirty minutes on foot. Just follow the road that goes east." he tells me. I buy a few things and leave, thanking him. The road to the east winds around, the destination not visible from here, but I make my way and I'll see James in half an hour.

10:37pm: Waiting...
Looking at my watch, I see that either the bus is running late or my watch is slightly fast. Either way, it's not here. At this hour most people are asleep, doing graveyard shifts, or watching repetitive infomercials on TV. I'm standing at a bus stop, not the least bit tired, and not the least bit able to sleep. Various thoughts fill my head, ranging from what I'm going to do to James when I find him jacking around in California to worrying if he's alive or not. In this dead of night it's very silent, with the occasional barking dog or the chirp of a nightingale, it almost seems as if I'm the only human in the city...or even on Earth. It's a nice peace and calm I don't often get to enjoy. I can see why some people prefer the night's solitude to the clutter and noise of the waking hours. The sound of a diesel engine breaks the silence. I look to the left and see headlights, those of the Greyhound that will be taking me to Siempre Malestar. As the bus stops, I can clearly hear the hissing from the brakes as the bus comes to a halt, and the sounds of the gas shifting in the door's pneumatics as it opens up, welcoming me inside. As I step in I see three other souls on the bus, including the driver, and aside from the sound of the engine all is rather silent. I take my seat and slink down, hoping I can coax some sleep from my worry-laden brain.

9:57pm: Nearly three months...
It's been nearly three months since I last heard from James. This worried me greatly; his faxes to the office were steady to begin with, then just stopped altogether. A small period of inactivity would be understandable...but three months?! As I stand in his office and look down at his desk, now beginning to collect a visible layer of dust, I think about how much trouble he had finding anything substantial...all the leads to nowhere - all the false reports. When he got a call about a fairly large abandoned mansion in southern California near the Mexico border, he jumped at the chance to investigate. I suggested going with him, or at least finding someone else to accompany him, but he just insisted he go it alone; now I regret ever letting him leave. I look around the office, collect my thoughts, and head out the door. It's time to leave.

9:26pm: Day Fifteen.
The voices are getting louder. Screaming. Crying. Pleading for help. I pity them in that I can do nothing for them, I can only stand aside and listen to their incessant howling. It has come to the point I lose sleep, and my work has become increasingly difficult. I need rest soon or I might lose all I have worked for. I will try to take this day to slumber so that I can be fresh for tomorrow.

10:16pm: Day Fourteen.
I cannot let an event as big as yesterday fall through my grasp. I have to find the girl and query her further, she could be a discovery of utmost importance, answering questions man has only thus far been able to speculate. In events today, the voices have become more apparent, and I began to investigate the basement once again, as activity had risen greatly there. I began to approach the basement door, and the voices became louder; I could begin to make out one of the voices...but I had to be sure what was being said. When I walked into the basement, the fog was extremely thick. The voice that I was pursuing was louder now, so I proceeded, only to face thicker fog and louder voices, not fading in and out so much as before, as if there's more in the room. I walked near the back wall when the fog became unbelievably thick; I could barely see my hand in front of my face, even with my flashlight. Standing there for five minutes, the voices suddenly stopped...and my heart began to pick up pace. I turned around a bit, trying to make out anything I could, but to no avail, as visibility was at an all-time low. Suddenly I heard a piercing shriek yell "TURN BACK!". This startled me, and I turned to make my way toward the exit and I found myself staring at a horrifyingly disfigured face; one eye missing, the other half-eaten, his left cheek rotted through, a chunk of skin was hanging from his chin. I turned back the other way and became disoriented. I groped around in the fog and darkness for about thirty minutes, voices assaulting me from all sides, screaming, yelling. I fought to escape the dungeon and finally fell upon the basement stairs. I climbed my way up and made way to my room. This has been the most horrifying event thus far. Even now I can hear the voices...eternally calling out for help...

10:08pm: Day Thirteen.
Yesterday was very eventful, full of activity; today did not turn out to be so... I have written the transcript of last night's conversation with the girl:

R: What is your name? And why are you here?
G: Gina...I don't have a home, well...I didn't before I started living here.
R: How do you feel living here?
G: This house is cold...very cold...
R: Yes, it is abnormally cold, that is caused by the apparitions. Do they scare you?
G: What?
R: The ghosts, voices, fog; do they scare you?
G: Sometimes they come after me...and I have to hide.
R: I have something to show you. Something that might answer a few questions I've had.

It was at this point I showed her the video of the blur from day two.

R: This movement here...did you happen to run by here?
G: NO...I can't run that fast...

The whole time, the girl looked very paranoid, constantly shifting her attention, which made it hard to interview her.

R: Do you know what it might be? I have it on another video as well-
G: I have to go...

After she said this, she ran out of the room. I ran after her, but she had escaped my grasp once again.

6:47pm: Day Twelve.
While I slept last night, the upstairs hall camera caught a boy wandering around, going from room to room, back and forth. He did this for about two hours before finally disappearing. Another camera (in the den) caught a blur move from left to right; from what I can tell, it is the same blur I caught on tape on day two, but I cannot be completely certain that they are both one and the same. I was out doing checks on the equipment in the kitchen when I heard glass break. I looked behind me where the sound seemed to originate from, but there was no evidence of anything broken, however one of the cabinet doors had been opened; none of them were open when I entered the room. When I finished, I returned to my room to have lunch when I found the same girl I had been after for days looking through my belongings. I asked her what she was doing and she looked at me with an expression of genuine fear, told me "I'm sorry" and attempted to exit the room. I had blocked her path and told her I would not hurt her, and I told her to return my belongings and allow me to ask her a few questions. She timidly agreed, and I recorded the entire conversation on audio cassette and will write a transcript tomorrow, as it is late and I need my rest.

10:47pm: Day Eleven.
I did a full sweep of the house today, with the "normal" goings on. The highlight of the day happened in the master bedroom, where I caught the girl once again sleeping... I approached her silently and observed her as she slumbered. She had no visible defects (as I had seen on the man in the yard), and didn't seem to emit any kind of coldness. After about five minutes had passed, she awoke, looking me straight in the eyes. She got up, startled it seems, and backed away from me. I tried to ask her who she was, but she just said "I'm sorry" and ran out of the room. I gave chase, but as before the chase was unsuccessful. I did not see her the rest of the day. When I first attempted going to sleep, I witnessed a green glow emanating from the bathroom in the hall. I went to investigate to find nothing actually in the bathroom (the glow faded away when I approached), however when I looked in the mirror I saw a young child, though it was too dark to make out details. The child stood in the reflection for about a minute and a half before walking out the doorway in the reflection. I went back to my bed and here I am writing this. I am pleased that I have made this much progress.

9:58pm: Day Ten.
I decided to sit in the basement the entire day to observe anything in this strong spot. I still cannot understand the voices, as they speak a language I am unfamiliar with, but they seem to fade in and out, as if they're all walking around me. It is extremely cold down here, so much so that I had to put on two layers of clothes and a coat, and still I must take short breaks from the depths of the basement. It is rather dark as well, due to the poor lighting, sometimes making it hard for my eyes to find focus. Later on in the day it felt as if someone had placed their hand on my shoulder, and at that moment it had become much colder than before, and I had to leave for a bit. Nothing else happened in the basement, but when I checked the videos I saw the girl taking rest in the master bedroom. She had left a few minutes before I stopped researching the basement, however. Tomorrow I will do a full sweep of the house.

11:21pm: Day Nine.
Camera number three (in the den) caught a glimpse of the girl I have been looking for these past few days; she seemed to be running from something, something that the cameras or the audio equipment did not catch... The voices from the basement have become more prominent in the house, however I still cannot understand them; they make it only slightly difficult to get to sleep... Tomorrow I will have more substantial data, as I will be here to record all of the goings on here.

6:08pm: Day Eight.
I haven't seen the girl today, however I did come across a 'hotspot' of sorts in the basement of the house ( which I have just now been able to unlock; it was eerily easy...). Although inaudible to the naked ear, my audio recordings picked up faint voices, those that sound in distress; I have not yet been able to decipher what they are saying. The fog seems to be getting thicker and is beginning to appear in places it wasn't before. No sign of the man...I'm questioning whether or not I want to continue this work... I must go into town tomorrow and pick up supplies, so anything I comment upon will be what the equipment caught (that is if it works).

6:36pm: Day Seven.
I saw the man once again. He was standing in the same place and started approaching me once again. This time he came up to the window, and what happened next I have never before seen. He started pounding on the window, screaming as if his flesh was on fire; as he was pounding on the window, marks of blood appeared where his fists made contact. I tilted my head and vomited, as it was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen...but when I lifted my head, he was gone along with the blood. I went to check and see if the equipment picked it up, but to my dismay the video recorder was turned off (I'm not sure why, I haven't turned off any equipment and the battery was still fresh). My audio equipment wasn't working either... I have never encountered a situation quite like this, so I am not sure what to make of the events that transpired...

7:05pm: Day Six.
Still no girl today. Trying the door open still proves futile, it just doesn't want to come open...maybe there is some sort of locking mechanism that I must discover... At the moment I am writing this, I am looking out the back window overlooking the yard and I can see someone standing there...it's not the girl, it's a dark man, I estimate about 6'5", and he seems to have missing patches of skin, part of his skull is missing as well... He is walking toward the house at this moment, looking directly at me; this is definitely paranormal... He has stopped...and vanished... I will keep post here tonight, maybe there will be further activity.

8:39pm: Day Five.
Early this morning I woke up with the feeling that someone was standing above me, watching me slumber; but I did not feel, hear, or see anything. I believe this to be attributed to my hightened state of alertness. I haven't seen the girl the whole day, though I hope to observe her more as she seems to be the strongest entity here (although she could just be a homeless girl, as I do not have concrete evidence of her being an apparition). I have finished setting up my equipment in all but one room: the basement, which I cannot gain access to, no matter how hard I try; I spent three hours trying to budge the large metal door open, but reached no success. I will get in there somehow.

7:10pm: Day Four.
I saw the person again, this time much more clearly; She was a girl, dressed in well-worn clothes, observing me from the balcony while I was in the back yard. Once I spotted her I attempted to interact with her by waving my arm and yelling out to her, but she did not respond. I went in to the house to rendezvous with her position, but by the time I reached the balcony she was gone. I'm still ashamed of myself for looking for her the entire day instead of going back to work, but at any rate I found no evidence of anyone being in or around the house. The prospects of me coming in contact with something of this caliber has me very excited. Finishing setting up my equipment has been delayed one day.

9:43pm: Day Three.
Another day of setting up equipment. During a short break I took out in the garden, I saw someone peeking from the corner of the house. I stood there for a minute and looked directly at the person. After a few moments, the person stepped out of view and I set off in pursuit; however, when I rounded the corner, the person was gone, cutting my chase short. I did look for about twenty minutes to no avail. I'm hoping this is indeed a paranormal incident instead of some interloper. Surprisingly, this was the only event that happened the entire day.

12:06pm: Day Two.
Whilst hooking up my video equipment in the study, I heard a noise behind me, like something shifting. Of course I was quick to investigate, but I saw nothing, nor did I hear anything after that. A check of my audio tape revealed nothing, so I assume it was my mind playing tricks on me. Later that day I did catch movement on tape of something in the east hall, but it was extremely brief and I am unable, without further hardware and software, to clarify what exactly it might be (I believe it to be a manifestation of the fog, though one can only speculate with so little to go on). I should have all of my video analysing equipment set up in two days.

11:31pm: Day One.
I have begun to log my experiences, as they have become more and more frequent on this new site (I felt the infamous "chill" in the kitchen, as well as a slight headache I believe to be related, not to mention a fog in three rooms around the stairs area). I am currently taking up bed in the utility room on the second floor, as it seems to be next to a junction for the activity in the house, but leaves me somewhat safe, as there hasn't been any encounters here (yet). I will soon be setting up recording equipment throughout the house...hopefully I will catch something of importance on camera as well as paper. Let us hope there will be more substantial activity here...