Darkness Radio Event

Just got back from the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. The Stanley is considered one of the most haunted hotels in America. 

This hotel inspired Steven King's The Shining and Pet Cemetery.

Dave Schrader from Darkness Radio and the Cast from Ghost Adventures hosted this event. I found Dave and Zak to be very down to earth and accessible.

It was a very informative conference. 

Speakers, such as, Jeff Belanger and Bill Chappell made the trip very worthwhile. 

Jeff has written some of the most entertaining and informative books about hauntings. Bill is a retired engineer who has developed some great ghost hunting equipment, the PX, Ovilus etc.

Several members of my group Central New Mexico Ghost Investigations and myself attended this ghost hunt/conference. 

Our group normally conducts hunts with only 4 to 6 people at a time. 

We investigate homes and hotels etc. where the owners are kind enough to let us have the space with no one else around. 

So we turn off the lights, walk in our soft-soled shoes, and send in 2 people at a time, which allows us to do very quiet investigations.

I was pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of the ghost hunt we attended at this conference. 

Despite several hundred attendees groups were divided over two nights into various parts of the hotel, manor house, and concert hall. 

The Stanley closed its doors except for the conference attendees--they also turned out all the lights for us. 

We where divided into small groups and went to various locations were leaders, such as; the Constantinos (EVP specialists) and Zak, Aaron and Billy from Ghost Adventures led the various groups in investigations in the most haunted locations. 

We went into the employee tunnel and then into the cave next to it. Our small group EVP session picked up a spirit swearing at us and we head a disembodied voice (Manuel) speak to us. 

It was really fun. (Note: my group does this kind of thing all the time and we seek it so it does not scare us). 

We had a great session with Jeff in the bachelor suite in the manor house. 

Using a PX and a Shack Hack we got direct responses on both in direct answers to our questions--when you use these two types of equipment you always record--so we have great evidence. For example, both gave us the same name for the spirit we were talking to and both mentioned the Stanley by name. 

My group also did some investigations on our own and we actually picked up some compelling evidence on our camcorder and digital cameras during the day on the hotels' side staircase. 

One of my investigators went back up to our room during lights out using this same side staircase--her flashlight battery drained and a very dark entity followed her. 

Something fluttered up between my pants leg and sock during the bachelor room session when I was leaning against a wall with no one on either side of me.

One a final note: The Stanley Hotel is a must visit. It has a wonderful staff and an old world charm rarely found. Do not visit this hotel in the summer--it has no air-conditioning.

In the winter the central heating is so effective you can throw open your room windows and have fresh air 24/7. In the summer there are constant ghost tours so it is noisy. In the winter the hotel is peaceful in comparison. 

The food in the bar and dinning room is wonderful but very expensive. Rent a car or drive your own. It literally takes five minutes to get anywhere you want in Estes Park from the Stanley.