by Chris Moon
Once the creature was gone, the tension in the room faded and she had a chance to recount everything that had just happened, calling to tell me exactly what had taken place. Never having an experience like that before, it was hard for me to understand exactly what had happened. I went through several different theories in an attempt to classify what this being was, but soon realized it was something we had never dealt with before. (This was at a time when accounts of Shadow People were rare.)
Several years passed, and although we dealt with many different types of entities that we hadn’t known existed until we encountered them in our investigations, my mom didn’t have any other encounters with Shadow People. That is, up until her father passed away.
One night when she was alone in bed, my mom woke up with a terrible feeling of fear. She thought about her father, who had just passed away, and she felt very sad and alone. She opened her eyes and saw, in the far corner of the bedroom, a dark figure crouched down low. When she sat up to get a closer look, the shadowy figure moved quickly from one corner of the room to another. Then, just as quickly, it moved again to another dark corner, behind and beside her bed.
My mom could then see it was a Shadow Person. She tried to communicate with it, but there was no response. She asked, “What are you doing here? Do you have a message for me?” It then returned to the corner in which she had first seen it.
She then asked, “Do you have a message from my father?” The dark figure telepathically communicated with her that her father had gone on to the other side and all of his suffering was over. My mom felt an overwhelming sense of relief both for her father and herself.
Just like my mom’s experience years earlier, the shadow being rose and quickly ascended through the ceiling. Emotion overwhelmed her and she spent the rest of the night crying. Her feelings of fear, sadness, and loss were so intense that she wasn’t sure she would live to see the next day. I was completely puzzled by these experiences my mother was having. At this point, I had had no experience with Shadow People myself, but having an inquisitive nature I wanted to experience something, too.
My first experience with Shadow People came while speaking at a conference in Connecticut. Some of the other speakers and I were invited on an after-hours ghost hunt in a popular outdoor park and I decided to take them up on the offer. Dina decided to come along as well. I brought along a camera to see if I could capture any evidence while we were there.
While we were outside examining a wooded area, several of us in the group suddenly felt small rocks hitting us. The pebble projectiles were coming from somewhere within the trees. My first thought was that someone was messing with us, so I ran into the wooded area with a flashlight to see what I could. I looked everywhere but couldn’t find signs of anyone nearby. I spoke aloud, asking if there were spirits trying to get our attention. Just as I did, I was struck in the arm by another small rock.
One of the other investigators told me we were probably dealing with Shadow People. (While there are reports of Bigfoot throwing rocks and pebbles, we’ve also found that Shadow People, being three-dimensional creatures, have the ability to move matter. We still aren’t sure if the pebbles being thrown were to communicate with us or to ward us off.) Apparently, this area was well known for this type of activity. As we took more pictures and asked more questions via EVP, we saw shadows effortlessly moving through the trees. The shadows moved at amazing speeds. If we asked a question that struck a nerve with them, they would throw a small rock to get our attention. It was so overwhelming that Dina had to leave the area and go back to the car with a couple of the other investigators because of the intense activity. She was extremely afraid of these entities because of their speed, their ability to move physical matter, and their high level of engagement with us.
The only explanation I came up with for this level of paranormal activity was that there must have been some sort of portal or vortex in that area allowing these beings to come and go at will. I’m still unsure of what their intent was.
My curiosity was piqued by this interaction with Shadow People. I wanted to know more. Over time, while investigating areas that were known to have Shadow People activity, I would turn on the Ghost Box and ask as many questions as I possibly could. The thing I found fascinating was that, when these entities attempted to communicate with us through the device, their responses were high-pitched screeches that were similar to whales and dolphins communicating with one another. I can only listen to it in short spurts, as it quickly becomes painful. Unfortunately, I had no way of discerning what they may or may not have been trying to tell us—my mediumship ability did not help in this instance. I feel confident they are trying to communicate, but again cannot decipher what they are trying to say.
My next experience with a Shadow Person happened at Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. We were conducting one of our Ghost Hunter University events there during the summer months and had a huge turnout. While we’d investigated this location on our own before and knew there was a huge amount of paranormal activity inside the walls, I couldn’t have prepared myself for what happened that night.
While leading one small group through the darkened halls of the building, I was quietly explaining some of the best techniques to capture photographic evidence of an investigation. We didn’t have our flashlights on at the time and were simply moving through the halls using the moon as our only light. While there was an occasional flash of the camera, it was nearly impossible to see anything other than shapes as we continued our ghost hunt.
All at once I felt something extremely strange. It’s hard to describe, but felt like a deep primal fear overtook everyone in my group, including me. I subconsciously hunched down as if I were preparing for something to happen, but had no idea what it was. As I turned away from my group to look behind us, the smell of dirt and dust filled the air. A huge cloud of debris then rose up from the floor in front of us, causing me to take a step back. As shocking as this was, it was just the precursor to something truly terrifying—a huge black shadow that emerged from the floor and towered over my group and me. I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t move. I was frozen. As we all looked up at this massive Shadow Person, it looked back down at us with what I felt was ill intent. In an instant, it turned and ran toward the window ledge off in the distance. All we could do was stand and stare as we watched this imposing entity jump off the ledge to the ground below. We stood shaken for several minutes. Once we gathered our wits, we all ran to the spot the creature jumped from and looked down to the ground. There was no sign of the Shadow Person. To this day we have no idea what these beings are or what their true intent might be.
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CHAPTER · SEVEN
JFK and Jackie Kennedy
at the Grassy Knoll
Several years ago, we were invited to do a summertime Ghost Hunter University event in Galveston, Texas. I lived in Texas for a short time as a child and I could still remember how incredibly hot and humid it was, so I can’t say I was looking forward to making the trip. My mother, father, and I were going, as well as Dina, who was our director of marketing for Haunted Times Magazine at the time. We decided that, in order to save money, we would drive rather than fly.
As we started planning the trip, we realized we would travel through the Dallas–Fort Worth area. My mother mentioned that if we had time, we should stop at Dealey Plaza to see if we could pick up anything associated with John F. Kennedy’s assassination. We all agreed it would be fascinating to see the site and use the Ghost Box to see if anyone in spirit could give us any specific information about the events of that tragic day. We had no idea what was in store for us—and wouldn’t have believed it, anyway, if someone had told us what was going to happen … not until we experienced it for ourselves.
As we made our way out of Colorado and crossed through a small part of Oklahoma before reaching the state of Texas, I realized exactly how long the trip was go
ing to be. The entire state of Texas seemed to be desolate and repetitive. It wasn’t a landscape I really wanted to remember, but it is still etched into my brain. It seemed like we drove forever before eventually reaching Dallas that night. We were still doing our Haunted Times Magazine radio show at that time and knew we had to reach the hotel to set up the broadcasting gear and get our guest on the air before show time. We set up all of the equipment at the last second and got our guest on the air in time. After a short show, we were able to catch a quick Tex-Mex dinner at a local restaurant. We were all so exhausted that sleep came quickly that night.
The next day we made our way to Dealey Plaza to see if we could contact someone on the other side who had been there on November 22, 1963, and knew what truly happened. We eventually found a parking spot right behind the famous grassy knoll. As we got out of the vehicle and started walking toward the legendary site of the shocking national tragedy and birthplace of so many conspiracy theories, my mother told us about her first visit to this location.
She told us that when she first moved to the Dallas area she had convinced my father to take her to Dealey Plaza because she felt compelled to experience the place where Kennedy was shot. It was important to her to be able to be in that exact spot to attempt to empathically pick up on the emotions of that day. When my mom arrived at the book depository, she was overtaken by overwhelming feelings of fear and pain as well as a horrible sense of dread. She had to leave almost immediately, her heart heavy with grief, fear, and despair.
I could sense that, excited as we all were to go into the book depository, there was also a certain hesitation. We crossed the street to walk into the notorious property. At the time, I had no worries or concerns about the small blue Ghost Box I held in my hands. (We were on the third-generation Ghost Box by this time. We called it the Blue Box and it was my primary device for two-plus years. The speaker was very quiet, but it had less static than the previous models, and spirit’s words burst through.)
It wasn’t until we attempted to enter the building that security guards stopped us and told me I would not be allowed to bring the device inside. I wasn’t asked what it was; I was simply told that it wasn’t allowed in the building. I remember finding it extremely strange that they were so adamant about me not bringing this device in and yet they didn’t have any questions about it. Angry, I thought my day was over at that very moment. My father must have sensed how I felt, because he walked over to me, grabbed the device, and started to leave the property. I knew that, like me, my dad was really interested in going into the depository. I also knew he had to be pretty upset about sitting this one out. When I asked him, my dad said it was more important that I go inside than him and that he would wait outside with the device. Reluctantly, my mom, Dina, and I entered the building. I think all of us felt the sadness that lingered inside the walls of this famous structure. It was an odd tribute to the former president—and in a strange way, to his alleged assassin. There were several films shown about the events that took place that day. To me, it felt almost like propaganda.
As we made our way through the location, we eventually came upon the room that Lee Harvey Oswald sat in on that fateful day. The guide told the story about the rifle Oswald used to shoot JFK from the large window. We had to look at the room through Plexiglas, as it was being historically preserved. As I looked around the room, I could feel, at a deep level, that something wasn’t adding up. I think the three of us knew at that point there was more to the story. As we readied to exit the building, our tour guides showed our group one final film about JFK and the events of that day, almost trying to cement in our collective minds the official story of what had taken place.
The three of us left the building and found my father out on the sidewalk. He asked us what had taken place inside and all of us were at a loss for words. My dad handed me the device and as he did, we decided to walk to the grassy knoll and see if we could reach spirits who might be able to shed light on what truly took place that day. It was an odd feeling, standing at this famous location, Ghost Box in hand, preparing to speak to someone on the other side about such a pivotal historic event.
We stood on the knoll looking down at the spot, clearly marked on the street, where the president had taken his last breath. (We find ourselves in some interesting positions with the paranormal investigative work we do, but this moment may have been stranger than all the others combined.) The four of us huddled together and I flipped the small black switch on the front of the device. “Technicians assist,” I said out loud. My eyes scanned the area around us to see if anyone was listening. At this point, no one had any idea or interest in what we were doing. Suddenly, through the white noise that was roaring through the small speaker on the box, my Spirit Technician answered and let me know we were prepared for safe communication.
I can’t remember my exact words that day, but they were something along the lines of, “Is there anyone there who can help us understand what truly took place in this location when John F. Kennedy was assassinated?” Some time went by without any answer. Feeling somewhat exposed (because the location was so public), and also a little self-conscious, we were about to give up on the idea that we might communicate that day. Suddenly, an extremely familiar-sounding voice burst through the speaker. Our minds raced trying to decipher who it was. We all scrambled, talking over each other, attempting to put two and two together when it dawned on me that the Boston dialect coming through was that of none other than John F. Kennedy. We looked at each other in amazement and disbelief.
It took me several seconds to compose myself and think about posing a question to this great man. “Um, Mr. President, I mean John, sir!” Because it had never occurred to us that JFK might come through the Ghost Box, I had no idea how to properly address him. Before I could ask my first question, the former president started providing us with definitive information about what had taken place that fateful day. He knew the reason why he had been killed and who the secondary gunmen was. He gave us in-depth details about the conspiracy behind his assassination.
Dina feverishly took notes of everything that was said. She transcribed every detail and even asked the president to repeat certain facts to make sure we heard them correctly. Keep in mind that, while this communication was taking place, we were standing outside in the daytime, in the very spot where JFK had been assassinated. It was at that moment my father looked up and noticed three men standing approximately fifteen to twenty feet away from us, well within hearing distance of our Ghost Box session.
My dad casually tapped me on the shoulder and mumbled under his breath to me to look at the three men. The first thing I noticed was the odd way they were dressed. All three were wearing white long-sleeved dress shirts and multicolored Bermuda shorts as well as black dress shoes with long black socks pulled up to their knees. Each of the men wore a dark pair of aviator sunglasses.
My focus was then pulled back to the session when I heard another extremely recognizable voice come through the speaker of the machine. It was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis! She immediately told us that she was worried about the children. We were confused by the statement but felt that Jackie must have been referring to her children John and Caroline. She also talked about Bobby Kennedy and his voice actually came through for a short time as well.
Here is the exchange as it was written in Dina’s notes. (This is immediately after JFK came through.)
Chris Moon: We want quick answers about his death.
Spirit Technician: Yes, about his death.
CM: Where did the shot come from?
ST: Shot from behind the fence. First was a warning shot to scare JFK.
CM: Who was involved in this plot?
ST: Mob, American Government, KKK. Oswald was told he was to shoot only to scare JFK.
CM: Why did they do this?
ST: Against civil rights. Murder.
Jackie Kennedy: We are at risk! Watched! Know a
bout the voices … only five who know!
ST: Lyndon Johnson was not involved.
JFK: I was worried about Jackie’s safety.
JK: I was concerned about the convertible.
JFK: I told her that it (would) be OK.
JK: I knew that John was with me after his death.
JFK: Lee Oswald was a decoy.
ST: Man behind fence shot JFK dead.
JFK: Hoffa not involved.
ST: Man who killed JFK was with the CIA. He was hired by several different agencies. (Mob, CIA, KKK.)
JFK: Secret Service was involved! Just one person helped to plan route to make it easy access for the shot.
JK: Watch out!
ST: John crossed quickly. Faith helped him cross. I saw him. Went right through!
Bobby Kennedy: Ted will not be elected.
JFK: Bobby was assassinated because he reopened the investigation.
JK: These two bastards up top Jack Beauvior?
JK: Daddy! Stop!
JK: Run!!!
At some point in the conversation, a certain tension came through the device and the energy shifted all around us, as if the very air took on a totally different feeling. The voices that came through the box sounded hurried and urgent. I could feel the tension radiating through my arms to the point they ached.