In my life, I was pretty certain of the paranormal as it filled my biography throughout. In fact the paranormal was involved with my first memory at age four, as I watched my grandfather die outside of the house I now reside in. Imagine yourself, looking at a blank page and conjuring up that memory, "Oh God, I don't want to start my book off with the paranormal version of, 'It was a dark and stormy night...'"

It solidified my thought that my biography should start off with my story of love at first story that took place in fifth grade. I was able to hold that four year old memory until several chapters later, using it to bolster another story. I didn't like the paranormal in my biography, but had to include it because it was integral to other stories. I simply presented them as they occurred with me; rather matter of fact and leaving the reader to decide whether they were true or I was crazy.

My disbelief and cynicism entered in regards to proving the existence of ghosts and a paranormal realm. Reading about it since age five, I always fancied myself as a paranormal investigator, yet only as a fantasy with no real desire to be one. Well even with keeping up to date on what was occurring with paranormal investigation, money was a big stumbling point as well desire as I had more practical things to spend money on.

One of my creepiest moments was with photographing myself at Poe's grave in Baltimore while playing the Theremin which is an electric musical instrument of the late 1920s. Afterwards was a poetry discussion group at the HI Youth Hostel just a few doors down were Poe won a contest and got his start with writing.

Just in case Poe was there to witness defiling of his grave, I apologized out loud and suddenly sensed a humorous amusement from the area. After the poetry discussion meeting, I stored my equipment there and went to the Poe House and Museum. The curator wasn't there, only his assistant who informed me of the new accusation of a chair that Poe sat in.

I was hoping to sweet talk them into letting me sit at Poe's desk, but the museum didn't have one. Only a portable writing desk that Poe took around with him on the streets of Baltimore he haunted while he was alive. I did remain and took several photographs for a future poem I had thoughts of penning.

When the lady found this out from me, she did offer the chance of me sitting in the chair of his that they had, and the movie, "Patriot," came to mind as it was a Windsor chair. I handed over the camera and sank down into it as it made the same noises it did at the movie and I held my breath, but it settled into secure stability instead of collapsing.

I did feel that Poe was there and imagined he admired both my surprise at the offer and the fact I had the guts to sit in it. Also I felt a satisfaction with Poe that I did that, but also a trepidation that like him, he now considered me a poet and expected me to follow in his vain. Maybe I have, not so much in his writing, but his explorations of life [and death] that made his life and his stories.


It was at another event for the Poe House and Museum that I arrived early and met a person named Ron. Strangely too, he had an air of familiarity and we talked like we were friends for a long time. I started with talking about radio and some personalities in it and he was in radio. I talked about getting thrown out of the Jewish Museum of Maryland and mentioned the paranormal and he seemed to understand and stay on topic with the conversation.

He had to go temporarily, but handed me his card which had, "The Merryman Project," on it. When he got back in line with me, he was totally crept out as I brought up Merryman's and it turned out to be the area that my high school friend had become obsessed with. It was great to find a person to compare notes with.

It turned out he was not only a paranormal investigator, but the leader in regards to investigating the area itself and mentioned that he would invite me along for his next investigation. I agreed to go, but more in relation of getting material to tie up the paranormal in my biography and to contrast my experiences with an actual investigation.

That day arrived and since I had no experience investigating, I felt I was only along for the ride and had no expectation of experiencing anything myself, yet I felt it best to be completely open minded. We met at a different place, then drove there. Merryman's is now an area of Loch Raven, at one time his property and he bitterly contested the fact it was going to be turned into a reservoir for Baltimore City.

Walking into the property, Ron gathered us together and we said St. Michael's prayer, something that struck me as overkill. Our first area of investigation was a small bridge, rebuilt several times were a woman was reportedly choked and thrown off of, and a wagon accident occurred nearby killing three other people.

The group was preparing for an EVT session and was calling forth the dead lady when I felt my calf being rubbed and it was a very pleasurable sensation. But since I was wearing shorts and my drover, simply dismissed it as the drover rubbing the back of my leg.

I suddenly had the sensation of electricity and a wild animal going up my leg and hitting my crotch; boy did I do a dance! At the same time, a lady across the bridge yelled, "I feel energy," and the MEL meter went off indicating it had either sensed energy or a temperature change.

Most of us were at the center of the bridge when I heard singing ... Now I collect international and ethnic music and couldn't place it, so I turned to the women to ask and everyone was pointing in the same direction. It lasted about twenty seconds and die out, but I did have my suspicions about it.

I asked Ron if he knew if this area was a gathering spot for picnics or outdoor church and he said, "Well I can't answer that, but can show you this." Just on the other side of the bridge was the remnants of a huge hitching post which was designed for hitching a large number of horses.

Next on our tour was, The Burning Tree where a slave woman, impregnated by Merryman's son threatened to run to raise the baby and was tied to the tree and burned. Nearing where the house was located, we passed a quarry and then visited where his silos were, then cemetery, the Secret Place which is an underground smoke house and cold cellar. Last was the house's foundation and the long walk out.

Immediately at home, I went on to You Tube to explore the music I heard and the bridge and got a match an hour in a half later that turned up Gaelic Sound Singing which is how Scots sing their Psalms and was totally unique.

I didn't get any evidence and didn't make friends when I was able to debunk others, but I point blank ... I knew the evidence was there and with the next trip, did get some.


With the first investigation, I felt I had taken something home with me and felt sick as a dog, but thinking about Mrs. Merryman made me feel better. Four days later I had a dream I was walking down the road with Mrs. Merryman and she was not at all happy with the way Ron was talking about the property.

I promised to Mrs. Merryman that I would try to present the property better and show what she got out of it and at that moment, a dark slithering shadow came out of my back and went down the hill into the stream with the waterfall.

I also found out from my high school friend that he had a person have a panic attack there one night and insisted a snake was wrapped around his ankle, the flash light revealed nothing was there. Then Ron stated he had problems at the quarry as well.

Another classmate told me my story was interesting because he was at the cemetery one night with a cassette recorder with a friend and their girlfriends. With the women talking outside of the cemetery and the men talking inside it, over top of the two conversations was a female voice saying, "There was no murder here!" At that point the cassette died out from the batteries being drained.

With the next investigation I wasn't happy because it was a different group and they kept talking about everything else but investigating and when I said it was interfering with mine, purposely interfered with it. We felt it best to do the quarry and one person suddenly lost his humor as he saw a shadow move.

On top of the quarry his behavior got damn queer as he asked us if we were smoking cloves, then his face changed. Though my camera took a dump on me, I actually got a before and after; then when he came down I went up and had the distinct feeling of something trying to push me off of the rock.

All of a sudden I felt something enter me and I had to get the hell down! Passing a lady at the bottom, her new batteries were instantly drained and I got yelled at. At the cemetery, we had two Ovulis' and that is a speaking box with a dictionary in it triggered by Electro Magnetic Frequency differences.

Usually most of the words spoken by the Ovilus is discarded because they are perceived as random, yet some interesting things happened. For me, it did seem to put out words relevant to the EVP questions we asked. Also in one case two Ovilus' said the same word within seconds apart.

The wildest thing that happened was that Ron yelled to have his picture taken, and one woman did just that and he then explained that he felt energy and just in front of his hand was about a six inch orb of light. Not being an orb person, I had to note that because she had a digital single lens reflex camera, most causes of orbs were eliminated.

There is a spot in the cemetery where you stand and get the feeling that something is pushing you back and forth; when it was my turn I realized it was the same frequency as the feeling I had of being pushed off of the rock at the top of the quarry so I asked, "Can you put a little more power into it?"

My K2 meter immediately spiked to 3 and the woman in front of me yelled, "I feel energy!" and walked the hell away from me, only to have her batteries die out a short time later. Finally I got in a EVP session in to my satisfaction, but if I had anything, it would be revealed later at home.

I felt that lady must have had good evidence, but unfortunately she left her equipment behind when we drove off and while she drove back a short time later, it was gone. I reviewed the session at the cemetery and made several startling discoveries.

First, that most of the words from the Ovilus wasn't random at all, but had relevancy to the various conversations we had in the cemetery. Last I combined the taping sessions with photos and video to make a tape and discovered at the EVP session"

"Mrs. Merryman, after the last investigation I had a dream I was with you..."

The Ovilus seemed to correct me, "Meeting."

I continued on and invited Mrs. Merryman to tell stories of the positive aspects of the property and distinctly got an EVP of, "I'm talllkkkkiiiiinnnng!" In a very correctional tone, which my classmate also said sounded exactly like the one he got on his cassette recorder.

There was a third investigation, and even more evidence as well many more considerations for future investigations. Now that I have proof of the existence of ghosts and the paranormal realm, I am left wondering what to do with it, as well if I wanted any proof in the first place.