The Case for Black Moon Manor

With all of the controversy over the place, and knowing some of the background, a few of our members went out to Black Moon Manor to find out if the place really had anything going on, or is it a sham. The answer to this, as we found out, is a little of both.

What Matt Speck set out to do was to create a "Haunted Attraction", but somewhere along the way, he says he found the place to be truly haunted. Now this may be totally true, and it is fine, but then there is a blurring of the lines between the "Haunted Attraction" and the place actually being haunted with his facts. For instance, I have it on good authority talking with a very very reliable source and honest fellow that he was approached by Mr. Speck to buy some items with him to spruce up the creepy factor of the house. We do know that the wheelchair that is within the house was not there when he obtained the site, as he has said, for the mere fact that other people lived in this house around ten years ago...and they said it wasn't in there. Yet, Mr. Speck has said that this is the wheelchair of someone who perished from freezing to death within the place, even after he states he abandoned his goal of creating a "Haunted Attraction". This is on top of the many things that have been falsely said of the Estes family, and of people that were said to be deceased, that in reality aren't, make for a lot of confusion. 

The Estes family was notified of these claims, and after much patience with the local community, and people researching the house contacting them with all the allegations, they have taken back the house, and it is scheduled to be demolished in the very near future. 

Our investigators wanted to see if the claims and evidence that were coming out of this house were real or were they fabricated. As there wasn't really anything but a few minor experiences that were had, and really nothing of audio or video evidence, one picture did come up as odd. This is a picture from the upstairs looking down...look around the bottom right hand of the photo. As I saw this image that was sent to me, I wanted to see what was going on over there. Being that I am a photographer, I lightened the exposure up, and the next image is what I found.

 SOUP can totally say that we have never fabricated nor will we fabricate evidence of the paranormal just to make ourselves look "cool" or anything of the sort. We have been offered some TV deals, and other media things, but we are really just not about that sort of thing; we are really about getting some answers and helping some people. We have done some radio programs and a few articles in print, but nothing for profit, and any money our team has ever come into has gone to charity. Now with that being said, I can't tell you what this is in this picture, but without a light source being in the area, the exposure being ramped up and having more of an image of something showing up, I can say I don't believe this to be a fabrication made by Mr. Speck. 

I do believe that some of these places that make you pay to investigate may just be an attraction and have some surprises that the administers of the fun house have added to make sure everyone is happy, so BUYER BEWARE! SOUP has gone to only a few of these places as fun trips, and never has taken any of them all that seriously, but I will say that there are some that are really amazing, and really do have something going on within their walls. It is up to the team, that goes into ALL places, to do their research, and know ALL that has gone on their as well as look a little into the people that are asking for the money for you to be there.

Hello to all the great people that we met this last weekend at The Paranormal Fest in Columbus Indiana! SOUP had such a great time talking with so many people, hearing a lot of great stories, and was handed a couple of new leads.
This year looks to be our busiest and some of the largest investigations yet. WE ARE REALLY ECSTATIC and so thankful for all of your support once again!!!!!!!

P.S. Was so happy to hand out lots of our GHOST POOP to you all this weekend. Yes...that is just the type of light hearted group we are!

A new edit on an old video while going over evidence

This is a re-edit of a case that we did as a joint investigation. Yes, teams sometimes get together and help out each other, and no, all teams don't have to be competitive. It's about science and helping people, not an egofest.

Things to look forward to

We have all kept busy as Indianapolis has put Todd and I through our paces working downtown during the Superbowl lunacy that has taken the city by storm. Outside of that, SOUP will be participating in the Paranormal Fest on May 19th down in Columbus, Indiana, at the notoriously haunted Crump Theatre. There are a bunch of other groups going to be there, a few paranormal television stars, and for an extra fee, they are having an investigation of the Crump with some of the paranormal celebrities. You can find all the info at the website: www.theparanormalfest.com
We have been investing in a bunch of new equipment lately as to better our technical systems, and in general test out some theories. For one, we are going to see what happens when we use a bunch of negative ion generators in close proximity to our cameras, and then test out some new cameras that can see for 350 feet, with 600 line resolution along with our new external microphones.
SOUP is also gearing up for a return to Waverly Hills on March 4th., and we are all very excited with our extra investigators that are coming along with us. Outside of that, a couple of really interesting cases have been brought to us, and now for the arduous part of trying to nail down a time in our busy schedule to investigate. As always, if the client gives us the release that says we can post video, audio, and pictures after they have reviewed the evidence, we will share that evidence with you all to see what your take is on it.
Thank you all as always for backing our little tribe. We are looking to have a full website coming up with a blog feature involved...which of course means a nicer layout, and more money being spent! Stay tuned....

Happy New Year!

     I hope everyone had a great holiday, and Happy New Year to you all! I just wanted to say I am so very lucky to be part of a group that loves to hang out with each other, in and out of the dark, while people representing some of the most historic sites just hand us keys to the front doors and entrust us with these amazing structures, fully riding on our reputation alone! It never ceases to amaze me of how much we keep growing as a group, and how we are always trying to further educate ourselves while helping those around us.We have a lot of changes happening this year, and we are excited to see where the year takes us. I really want to thank all of our clients,past and present, for letting us prove that we really can help to make a difference in their lives.

     This year we've helped people who have not needed us to turn on one camera, or push one button on a meter. There have been people that have had spirits attatched to them that were wreaking havoc on their lives, and we were able to stop the activity with some simple instructions. Sure, we could have taped the environment around them and probably would have caught some crazy things on those tapes, but that wouldn't have helped them at all. What I am saying here is that I am glad we didnt get into this to become "Ghosthunters", and that we did it to be the Paranormal Investigators and scientists we are now. SOUP has noticed many groups have been "Selling Out" at an alarming ratea lately, and just trying to get press, and a TV deal; basically trying to help themselves and their wallets. Just know, the same four guys that you've come to know and love are not gonna go Hollywood folks. We've been offered these things, and really it isn't amusing to us. 

      This year we are going back to Waverly Hills Sanatorium to see how far we've come as a group, and in general, see how much more we can uncover in the large structure.We don't usually do the historically haunted sites as we have enough cases as is, but something has been eating at us for a while: I know we will hear more screams and see more shadowpeople than you can shake a stick at (as we witnessed  last time); but we want to start figuring out why these spirits stay there; why haven't some moved on by now, and really look into what is driving it all. We know that we may be doing some other hospitals that are shutting down in the near future, so this kind of gives us a leg up on figuring out how to clear some of the more negative entities, and also help those that reach out to us. I know it is a tall order being that Waverly Hills is looked upon as being The Mecca of Haunted....but why not? Lots of other historically haunted places have declined in activity from other groups caring and helping clear the spaces of spirits. Leaving a place to be haunted just so it is a funhouse for others is kind of a weird and cruel sense of amusement, right? I guess that it is all up to the individual, but we hope to find another piece of the puzzle, and have a great night of work down in Louisville KY! Hope to see you all in the NEW YEAR!