Part 1 (1/2)

The Ghost Chronicles.

by MAUREEN WOOD & RON KOLEX.

FOREWORD.

Don't tread lightly into the realms of the paranormal, because it can be a dangerous place.There are so many other subjects that intersect with and overlap the topic of ghosts and hauntings, including psychological issues, religious beliefs, history, science, legends, and even popular culture. Don't think you know everything there is to know about ghosts because you watched a television program or two.

Do read on.

All over the planet there are individuals and groups whose pa.s.sions involve paranormal investigation. These are folks who spend a great deal of time and their own money digging through old buildings, historical doc.u.ments, and sometimes through the spirit world, looking for evidence of things that go b.u.mp in the night and answers to their own spiritual questions. Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood are two such people.

Think you have what it takes to hunt the supernatural? The demands often include all-night vigils in cold weather, waiting for something to happen. You hear a strange noise above you, and your senses come alive as the adrenaline courses through your veins.You think you're about to find indisputable proof of a haunting, only to discover it's just a racc.o.o.n in the attic. It's all part of the job. But once in a while, when conditions are right-and with a little bit of luck-something happens while you're watching and your cameras are rolling. It's these moments we all live for, when we brush the plane that exists between life and death, where ghosts-and sometimes darker forces-dwell.We gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back.

What you're holding in your hands are some of the doc.u.mented experiences and evidence collected by the New England Ghost Project. I've had the pleasure of knowing Ron and Maureen and working with them for several years now, and I can tell you that they bring total dedication to the subject of the paranormal.

Through hosting their popular radio show, their myriad investigations, and being out in the field for many years doing research, these folks are well-qualified to be your paranormal tour guides through some of their more fascinating cases.

New England is ripe with hauntings. Some paranormal legends go back generations and seem to hover over certain areas like a morning fog. When the stories become more than just tales, witnesses and families go looking for help, so they can better understand their situation or, worse, protect themselves from potential harm. In New England, when people ask around for someone who looks into these kinds of things, they often discover the New England Ghost Project.

When Ron, Maureen, and their team walk into a potential haunt, they're trying to establish contact. Maybe there's a mundane explanation for the phenomena, but maybe there isn't. Being psychic, Maureen will reach out to what may be waiting in any given location as Ron, with his EMF meters, cameras, and other equipment, attempts to scientifically validate any oddities in the environment. When his EMF meter beeps, and Maureen's face gets that faraway look, you know something is happening. I've watched Maureen's shoulders slump and her head drop, and I've heard her voice deepen as she takes on a new personality-channeling someone the rest of us can't see. Ron has seen this before and immediately reacts, asking questions of the ”ent.i.ty,” but always mindful of Maureen's safety. If events turn violent, if Maureen starts to shake or swing her fists, Ron is there to subdue her, to bring Maureen back to our world, and to help her drive the ent.i.ty back out.

When the information Maureen channels can be later verified by historical doc.u.ments, you have what we in paranormal research call a home run. By combining scientific ac.u.men with psychic intuition, Ron and Maureen bring you a complete picture of a haunting investigation. From lighthouses to spooky mansions, from ancient sites to private homes, this book takes you inside the haunts and into the world of a real paranormal investigation team.

Don't tread lightly as you read through the chronicles of the New England Ghost Project. Do know there are forces and realms we don't fully understand just yet.

-Jeff Belanger, author of The World's Most Haunted Places The World's Most Haunted Places and founder of Ghostvillage.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

MAUREEN.

Dear Reader, thank you for taking this journey through The Ghost Chronicles The Ghost Chronicles and walking beside us as we encounter what may seem like surreal paranormal events. However, truth be told, these glimpses into our world, as the saying goes, are often stranger than fiction. So sit back and buckle yourself in, because you're in for a wild ride. and walking beside us as we encounter what may seem like surreal paranormal events. However, truth be told, these glimpses into our world, as the saying goes, are often stranger than fiction. So sit back and buckle yourself in, because you're in for a wild ride.

I'd like to thank a few of the special people in my life: To my mother, Lorraine Couture, I thank you for quieting my fears while growing up as a medium and telling me without a shadow of a doubt that despite society's interpretation of normal normal, I was normal just the same. If it hadn't been for your acknowledgment of my gifts, I may not be as psychically open as I am today.

Jim and Marie Apitz, friends and family of my heart, thank you for being there in my tumultuous youth and believing in not only me, but also my blossoming, sometimes horrific, psychic abilities. It was through you both that I met my metaphysical mentor, Carol Waldie White, a woman who studied under Laurie Cabot, the official witch of Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts, and who played an important role in teaching me how to control and not fear my gifts.

To the past and present members of the New England Ghost Project, you have always accepted me for who I am-thank you! Ron Kolek, my partner in crime, thank you for your openmindedness, your strong faith, and for having my back when the going gets tough...and oh boy, can it get tough!

To my family and friends too numerous to mention, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me in all I do. Yet there are a few I must mention: To my sisters Donna Fereira and Evon Tudisco, thank you listening to my spirited tales and loving me all the same. And to my friends Bety Comerford, Debbie D'Orazio, and Marky Gibson, thank you for your guidance, love, and encouragement, and for helping to solidify my vision.

Deidre Knight, our agent: you are amazing! Thank you for your keen insight and persistence. Shana Drehs, thank you for sharing our vision in our quest to bring our stories to print and for having the patience of a saint to see it through.

Most importantly, I want to thank my husband, Stephen, and my children, Sabrina and Joshua. Stephen, I thank you for your warmth of spirit, for your patience and understanding, for your support, and for your unending encouragement in all my endeavors. But most of all I thank you for being my balance, for catching the occasional glimpse of my paranormal life (as, Reader, you will later attest to) and, to my amazement and my unyielding grat.i.tude, still welcoming me by your side. I love you.

Sabrina and Joshua, thank you for believing in me. You are the light that guides me through any storm. I love you both with all my heart.

RON.

When I founded the New England Ghost Project, I had no idea where it would take me. After all, my degree was in environmental science-who'd ever thought I'd be chasing ghosts? But it happened. Perhaps it is my scientific background that pushes me to find the truth. Whatever it is, it has become my mission. Like so many other people before me, I really don't care what others say or see; I want to experience it for myself. I want proof! It is that goal to which I strive. But what const.i.tutes proof?

It would be great to be able to walk up to one of these spirits, touch its substance, and converse with it without the aid of a medium or psychic, but chances are, it ain't going to happen. So I strive for the next best thing: photographic, video, and audio evidence. It is these physical things that we are more apt to believe, and yet to the unbeliever, no amount of evidence will suffice. Therefore, it is my goal not to try to convince you, but rather to share my experiences as I walk along the thin line between the living and the dead.

I cannot say enough about the people who have helped me in my quest. From scientists to witches, from psychics to skeptics, they have all opened my eyes to the many paths I have traveled. I would especially like to thank Maureen Wood, my partner in this journey, who taught me the ways of the metaphysical; Janet, my faithful wife of thirty-six years, for putting up with me; Dr. Karen Da Silva, who saved my life and started me on this journey; the many members and former members of the New England Ghost Project, who have a.s.sisted me with this voyage; Brian the Monk and Jeff Belanger, my spiritual and literary mentors; Shana Drehs and Sourcebooks for giving me the opportunity to share my story; and most of all, my mother, Catherine Kolek, who never stopped praying for me.

So as you travel with me through the pages of this book, you will see what I have seen, hear what I have heard, and feel what I have felt. Is this proof of the existence of ghosts? You be the judge.

INTRODUCTION.

Come with us on a journey to the unknown, the unexplained, and the unbelievable. Enter a world in which science and religion clash...or do they? The episodes in The Ghost Chronicles The Ghost Chronicles will test your senses and challenge your thinking. You will meet real people and hear real stories. But what will you believe? will test your senses and challenge your thinking. You will meet real people and hear real stories. But what will you believe?

Let the New England Ghost Project take you on a new kind of paranormal adventure, with investigators Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood leading the way.

Before we dive into the ghostly case files, there are a few things you may want to know: Q: What is the New England Ghost Project? What is the New England Ghost Project?

RON: It's a select group of people who volunteer their time to investigate the paranormal. Our goals are to a.s.sist those in need and to educate the public. It's a select group of people who volunteer their time to investigate the paranormal. Our goals are to a.s.sist those in need and to educate the public.

Q: How did the Ghost Project start? How did the Ghost Project start?

RON: It all started with me, New England's own Van Helsing, as I like to call myself. Back in the late 1990s, I cut my fingers off in an industrial accident. The doctors at the hospital were able to reattach them, but one of the doctors had a ”feeling” that something was not quite right, so she sent me for a CAT scan. They discovered a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that had traveled to my lungs, which usually results in death. But they rushed me to the ICU and saved my life. While in the ICU, I had a strange experience: I saw the light, if you will. Everything was bright white. I felt warm, as if I had come home, and there were people all in white (not doctors) and angelic music. Then all of a sudden, it all disappeared, like the closing of an iris. The bright white light was replaced by the dim lights of the ICU, the ”people in white” were gone, and the pleasant sounds were replaced by the beat of my heart on the monitor. It all started with me, New England's own Van Helsing, as I like to call myself. Back in the late 1990s, I cut my fingers off in an industrial accident. The doctors at the hospital were able to reattach them, but one of the doctors had a ”feeling” that something was not quite right, so she sent me for a CAT scan. They discovered a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that had traveled to my lungs, which usually results in death. But they rushed me to the ICU and saved my life. While in the ICU, I had a strange experience: I saw the light, if you will. Everything was bright white. I felt warm, as if I had come home, and there were people all in white (not doctors) and angelic music. Then all of a sudden, it all disappeared, like the closing of an iris. The bright white light was replaced by the dim lights of the ICU, the ”people in white” were gone, and the pleasant sounds were replaced by the beat of my heart on the monitor.

When I was released by the hospital, I was no longer able to work, so I took a course in TV production. One of the course projects was to produce a show, and I decided to do the show on ghosts. It aired on local cable television and was so successful that WNDS in Derry, New Hamps.h.i.+re, picked it up. The more I investigated the paranormal, the more addicted I became to it. I started a website (it is the number one result when you Google ”New England Ghost”) on which I published my findings. As my notoriety grew, I began to meet various people who wished to join me in my quest for the unknown. Each person that I have accepted into the Ghost Project along the way brings a special skill or talent, making the Ghost Project a strong and resilient organization. When I was released by the hospital, I was no longer able to work, so I took a course in TV production. One of the course projects was to produce a show, and I decided to do the show on ghosts. It aired on local cable television and was so successful that WNDS in Derry, New Hamps.h.i.+re, picked it up. The more I investigated the paranormal, the more addicted I became to it. I started a website (it is the number one result when you Google ”New England Ghost”) on which I published my findings. As my notoriety grew, I began to meet various people who wished to join me in my quest for the unknown. Each person that I have accepted into the Ghost Project along the way brings a special skill or talent, making the Ghost Project a strong and resilient organization.

Q: How does the Ghost Project differ from other ghost-hunting groups out there? How does the Ghost Project differ from other ghost-hunting groups out there?

RON: Some of the other ghost-hunting outfits focus primarily on debunking, using only scientific methods, whereas we capitalize on the unique pairing of a medium and a paranormal scientist, using both spiritual and scientific methods to investigate the paranormal. The Ghost Project goes into an investigation open-minded, using all of our equipment and techniques to discover the truth. We provide the client with the evidence we uncover, and it is ultimately up to him or her to make a decision as to what to do next and what to believe. Some of the other ghost-hunting outfits focus primarily on debunking, using only scientific methods, whereas we capitalize on the unique pairing of a medium and a paranormal scientist, using both spiritual and scientific methods to investigate the paranormal. The Ghost Project goes into an investigation open-minded, using all of our equipment and techniques to discover the truth. We provide the client with the evidence we uncover, and it is ultimately up to him or her to make a decision as to what to do next and what to believe.

Q: Who's on the team? Who's on the team?

RON: My partner is Maureen Wood, our psychic investigator and trance medium, and my co-host of the My partner is Maureen Wood, our psychic investigator and trance medium, and my co-host of the Ghost Chronicles Ghost Chronicles radio show. My family is also involved-my son, Ron Jr., and my wife, Janet (also known as Saint Janet by most people, for putting up with my antics), help out as investigators. Various folks will float in and out of the episodes in this book: previous members of the team include Bob Corey and his wife, Gay, photographer Leo Monfet, and electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) specialist Karen Mossey. Current members include photographer Laura Wooster, EVP specialist Jim Stonier, tech manager Clay Rucker, thermal imaging specialist Dan Parsons, case manager Stacylynn Caira, and director of research Janet Rucker. radio show. My family is also involved-my son, Ron Jr., and my wife, Janet (also known as Saint Janet by most people, for putting up with my antics), help out as investigators. Various folks will float in and out of the episodes in this book: previous members of the team include Bob Corey and his wife, Gay, photographer Leo Monfet, and electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) specialist Karen Mossey. Current members include photographer Laura Wooster, EVP specialist Jim Stonier, tech manager Clay Rucker, thermal imaging specialist Dan Parsons, case manager Stacylynn Caira, and director of research Janet Rucker.

Q: How did Maureen get involved with the Ghost Project? How did Maureen get involved with the Ghost Project?

MAUREEN: Although I have been communicating with spirits all of my life, up until the day I joined the Ghost Project, I'd never worked with a paranormal investigative team. At a time in my life when the call to communicate with spirits could no longer be ignored, I happened across an article in a local New Hamps.h.i.+re newspaper. It featured a paranormal investigative team called the New England Ghost Project. After reading the article, and being a big believer that everything happens for a reason, I quickly emailed Ron. Curious, he invited me to tag along on the first of a four-part series with WNDS television in Derry, New Hamps.h.i.+re. Episode Two depicts that first investigation with Ron's team: my ”audition,” if you will. I guess I did something right, because not long after I was invited to join. And as Ron frequently says, the rest is history. Although I have been communicating with spirits all of my life, up until the day I joined the Ghost Project, I'd never worked with a paranormal investigative team. At a time in my life when the call to communicate with spirits could no longer be ignored, I happened across an article in a local New Hamps.h.i.+re newspaper. It featured a paranormal investigative team called the New England Ghost Project. After reading the article, and being a big believer that everything happens for a reason, I quickly emailed Ron. Curious, he invited me to tag along on the first of a four-part series with WNDS television in Derry, New Hamps.h.i.+re. Episode Two depicts that first investigation with Ron's team: my ”audition,” if you will. I guess I did something right, because not long after I was invited to join. And as Ron frequently says, the rest is history.

RON: I didn't believe in psychics when I started the Ghost Project. In fact, I always thought they were charlatans. But once I started working with Maureen, I began to realize that there was more truth to psychics and mediums than I had first believed. With a degree in environmental science, I still consider myself a skeptic, but open-minded enough to investigate the possibilities. I didn't believe in psychics when I started the Ghost Project. In fact, I always thought they were charlatans. But once I started working with Maureen, I began to realize that there was more truth to psychics and mediums than I had first believed. With a degree in environmental science, I still consider myself a skeptic, but open-minded enough to investigate the possibilities.