Link to Part 1.

(Reposted due to error in the title)

The Photo

My head was spinning.

The polaroid photo of Jared and I was sitting on my laptop. Less than a day after I received his emotional plea to investigate a haunting at his home. It was impossible. The whole thing was impossible! I don’t believe in ghosts, and that photo hasn’t seen the outside of a box in years.

I ripped open my storage closet. Underneath many boxes in the back corner was the small pink shoebox, where I kept all the mementos from college. I tore off the lid and rooted through the contents. The box contained many polaroids of friends, parties, everyday items I framed in an ‘artsy’ way, and a lot of questionable hair/fashion choices. No Jared photo. I examined the photo placed on my laptop again, it looked exactly like the others in the box. Yellowed from the years and covered in a light film of dust. I flipped it over, and saw a handwritten note. “Love you always - Jared”. His penmanship was almost illegible, and there was a heart beside his name. Wow.

As if I didn’t have enough confusing feelings to process right now. Desperate to hold onto a semblance of reality, I texted Sara asking if she moved my photos. That would make sense, right? She learned about Jared last night, maybe she dug up my boxes from college? My phone chimed. Sara questioned your message “Did you move any of my old college photos?” - for non-iOS users, that means she held down on my message and selected a question mark. Since she’s at work, that’s likely the best response I’ll get for a few hours, but it’s safe to assume Sara didn’t touch the photo.

After covering my shifts at the restaurant for the week, I decided to reply to Jared. I sent him a brief email informing him that I would be taking a ferry to Vancouver Island the next day. Afterwards I found myself writing down the entire experience. This is unlike me, I don’t journal, or keep a blog, or anything like that. I’m not sure what compelled me, but this event felt… significant.

The Ferry

I loaded up my crappy little car with all my equipment, and left at the ass-crack of dawn. Traffic wasn’t too bad this early in the morning, and I made it to the terminal with time to spare. I pulled up to the ticketing booth, and fumbled with my phone until I found my online reservation email. They gave me my lane number and I drove through. The booth opened up to a huge tarmac with around 20 different lanes, and I found my spot in line. I pulled in behind 10 other vehicles and turned off my engine.

Non-locals won’t know what I mean when I say this, but: BCFerries is a racket. It’s like $100 one way with a vehicle. As my bank account drained, I remembered why I don’t visit Vancouver Island all that often. Beautiful though it may be. Maybe I can write this off as a business expense, I just need to learn taxes, and… business. Don’t judge, I went to school to study grainy surveillance footage. On second thought, Jared can cover my ferry costs.

After a long period of waiting, the ferry started loading up cars and I parked on the lower vehicle decks. For those unfamiliar, these ferries aren’t cute little boats. These are massive ships that can fit dozens of vehicles, and hundreds of passengers. They’re several stories tall and contain a restaurant, gift shop, play areas for children, and more. I made my way up to the upper passenger deck and got in line for breakfast. A breakfast meal with coffee cost me $20, and it left me feeling sick for hours. The racket continues.

After breakfast, I waddled over to passenger seating and managed to score a window seat. As I settled in for the rest of my journey, I finalised my plans for Jared’s ghost problem.

The Plan

There are three major events to investigate. The Ten Knocks, the Floating Spoon, and the Shadow Man. Here are my plans for each:

The Ten Knocks: Ten loud knocks ripple through the home every night at exactly 3:24am. According to Jared, the sound seems to come from a different location each night. As you know Jared already has an existing surveillance system. On top of that, I’m going to set up two Zoom audio recorders, and an old phone of mine to record audio throughout the night. From there I’m going to attempt to make a map of the approximate knock locations, and see what data we can generate. I’m hoping we can discover a pattern and isolate the source of these noises. Last time I mentioned a friend of mine who specialises in Forensic Audio. I'm hoping he can help me with this, but at the moment I haven’t heard back from him. I’m not sure I blame him, honestly.

The Floating Spoon: Surveillance footage shows the utensil drawer opening in the kitchen, and a spoon levitating in the air. Since the spoon's movements were quite articulate, I’ll be looking for any evidence of wiring rigs. I also brought a compass for detecting magnetic fields. I’ll be insisting on seeing Jared’s computers, to see if they have software that could fake these things with CGI. I should note that there were a few other objects I caught moving in the raw surveillance footage, but those could be faked with a single string. Unlike the Floating Spoon, which moved in many directions.

The Shadow Man: I’m going to get Jared to stand exactly where the figure appeared in the video, and take measurements for scale. If this man-shaped figure happens to be exactly Jared’s size, that’ll be a strong sign the footage is fake. If they’ll let me, I’m also going to inspect Simon’s bruises. Finger-shaped bruises can be imitated with makeup. A sobering reality here to consider is that if Jared faked the Shadow Man footage, I may have to call Child Protective Services. Simon’s noises and movement in the video indicated he was in legitimate distress. If I do determine the footage is fake, I’ll be demanding a detailed explanation of the hoax from Jared. For Simon's sake.

The Drive

The ferry docked, and I made my way down to my vehicle. Cell reception returned as we got closer to the island, so I entered Jared’s address into Google Maps. For those unfamiliar with Vancouver Island, this isn’t a tiny island you can cruise around in a day. It’s home to over 850,000 people and bigger than the Hawaiian islands combined, or half the size of Ireland. It’s home to a few cities; the largest of which being BC’s capital city, Victoria, and many towns of various sizes. For privacy reasons, I won’t be sharing exactly where Jared lives, but for context I’ll say that it’s a small town.

I’ve driven through the Island a few times, but this visit felt ominous. Pouring rain from the grey skies splattered my windshield. The roads were flanked on both sides by towering evergreen trees, sprawling all the way across distant mountain ranges. As I left the cities and hit a winding stretch of highway, I couldn’t help feeling like I was in the opening scene of The Shining. My speakers blasted upbeat 90s classics to keep my spirits up, but the foreboding feeling was hard to shake.

As I approached the town where Jared lives, I decided to stop at a cute little coffee shop advertising free Wi-fi. Knowing you’re about to see your ex is nerve-wracking enough on its own. Let alone when you’re going to their home, meeting their wife, and presumably fighting ghosts. I ordered a latte, and found a quiet spot in the corner. As the rain pattered against the window, I called Sara on FaceTime. She answered, and I could tell she was walking home from the restaurant. After some small talk, I blurted out what was on my mind:

“Am I making a terrible mistake?” Sara stifled a laugh.

“I mean… How honest do you want me to be?” We both laughed this time, if a bit nervously on my end. “Look. Either you’re about to save a family and fight some ghosts, or somebody’s living in their walls, or your ex is pranking you. What’s your plan if things go to shit?”

“More like when things go to shit. Let’s just hope he pays me upfront.”

Sara knew me well enough to know I’m very safety-conscious. Working for a crime lab tends to have that effect. I had already shared Jared’s address with her, and called ahead to a local motel. I explained that I was staying with someone nearby, but had concerns about my safety. I would have preferred spending all my nights in a motel, but our ‘ghost’ only knocks in the middle of the night. Wendy, the manager, was lovely and agreed to hold a room for the first night. No charge unless I check in! It was their off season, and they had plenty of vacancies. I love small towns.

Sara and I decided on one final safety measure. If I feel unsafe at any time, I’ll text her a code phrase. Like ‘How was your job interview?’

Furthermore, we have a daily check-in, and if I don’t respond within 20 minutes, Sara will call the authorities. Realising Jared IS an authority, Sara wrote down the direct lines for EMT, Fire and RCMP in the hopes that someone will check on me. Our conversation came to a close.

“I love you, Sara.”

“Love you too Marn. Stay safe!”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

The call ended. I collected myself, pulled up the hood of my jacket, and ran out into the pouring rain to my car. I sent Jared a text letting him know I was close, and drove the rest of the way there.

The House

Jared and Jenny’s house is tucked in the back corner of an upper class area, surrounded by woods. I pulled up the driveway, feeling very out of place in my crappy sedan. An old woman standing outside in a neighbouring front yard eyed my poor ass with suspicion. I ignored her. The house was modern, bright white with black accents, and completely unassuming. The rain had lifted, and a sliver of sunlight made the house seem positively welcoming. Despite seeing the house in videos and pictures, a part of my brain expected some sort of haunted castle. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.

I had barely gotten out of my car when Jared and Jenny came outside to greet me. It’s always a little awkward sussing out the etiquette when meeting up with your ex after several years. Do we shake hands, or hug, or exchange an explosive fist bump? I was panicking a little, but Jenny cut right through that by springing an enthusiastic hug on me.

“Oh my god hiii!” Jenny had that gorgeous, effortless, hippy-island-girl thing going on. Her shoulder-length straight hair was blonde, and she wore a long, flowing olive cardigan, and black leggings with sneakers. “It’s so nice to meet you! Thank you so much for coming.”

Jared was standing behind her and gave a small wave, “Hey, Marn.” He looked exactly like the video. We exchanged a brief hug. I’m not sure if everyone else over-analyzes every single social interaction they’re in, but I was very cognizant of not letting that hug linger. A professional hug. Jenny chimed in.

“I love your videos!” Jenny’s enthusiasm seemed genuine. “After uh, all this started happening, I went deep down the YouTube rabbit hole. There’s a lot of stuff out there, but your videos made me feel sane.”

“Yeah, I came into the room and saw you on the TV. I was like, whoa, I dated her in college!” Jared added.

“I didn’t believe him at first, but he had proof!” Jenny gave him a playful smack on the arm.

“Evidence is important.”

Jenny laughed at Jared’s terrible cop joke. I could see why he liked her, Jenny’s sunny disposition was infectious. In comparison, Jared and I were two people with very dry senses of humour.

We exchanged pleasantries, and the couple helped me bring my bags into the guest room. Jared gave me something of a tour of the home. Having studied their surveillance footage in detail, I had no issue navigating their home. It was easy to forget I hadn’t been here before. When we got to the kitchen, I made a mental note of the ceiling. Adorned with several wooden beams, perfect for stringing up wires to say, make a spoon dance in the air. Interesting.

Walking down the hallway to the master bedroom, and nursery, Jared pointed out a small blind spot in the cameras. I made a note to place one of my cameras there to cover that gap. While the knocks occurred in different locations each night, the main hallway was where the most activity occurred. I decided that this would be a good spot for my thermal camera, a piece of equipment I’ve owned for several years but never had a good excuse to use. According to the lore, ghosts can affect temperature. I guess we’ll see.

As Jared showed me the nursery, he explained that Simon would be staying at his sister-in-laws for the foreseeable future. I had hoped to take a look at his bruises, but this didn’t feel like the time to mention Simon’s injuries, or the Shadow Man. Jenny’s expression darkened, and she brought it up without my prompting.

“After Jared showed me…” her voice quavered. She paused before collecting herself. “...The video, I didn’t feel safe having him here any more. We visit him every day.”

Jenny’s eyes welled up, and she excused herself. Left alone with Jared for the first time, there was an awkward pause. Wanting to avoid awkwardness at all costs, I asked Jared if he could do me a favour: Stand where the Shadow Man stood, and imitate his movements. For scale, I told him, and that was true. If Jared’s measurements match the Shadow Man, there’s a good chance he faked the footage, either with CGI or some sort of lighting rig. Jared seemed surprised, but he complied. I think he understood where I was going with this.

I grappled with my emotions versus my logic. On one hand, this ‘ghost’ should have a rational explanation, and the most rational explanation was that this was a hoax. On the other hand, Jared’s wife is crying because she doesn’t feel like her child is safe in her home. If this is a prank, to what end? My relationship with Jared ended amicably. Hell, he was the one who ended it. It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

After playing Shadow Man charades, I inquired about Jared’s security system. I wanted to see how he viewed surveillance footage. Jared darted into the bedroom and grabbed his laptop, a Macbook that was several years old. His security cameras uploaded over wi-fi to the cloud, and he was able to access that footage via an app. This app deletes the videos after a period of time, so Jared had been downloading them onto his computer. I noted he had several external hard drives, video files take up a lot of space so this made sense. I asked if I could borrow his laptop for a moment.

“Sure, do whatever you want.” Jared handed me the laptop, which I took into the guest bedroom where I was staying. I took this opportunity to see if his computer had any visual effects, or video editing apps. All he had was iMovie, not a particularly powerful option.

I spent a few hours reviewing the laptop, and then editing some B-roll footage I had shot earlier on my own computer. Jared knocked on the door. I looked up to see him in full police gear, and he let me know he was going to work. After Jared left, Jenny poked her head in the doorway and asked if I’d like to go out for dinner tonight, just the two of us. I agreed. All I had eaten was sickening ferry-food for breakfast, and Jenny seemed nice enough.

The Dinner

Jenny drove us to this amazing little Italian restaurant, and we had a fantastic time! She pushed many appetisers on me (so much bread), and the main course was delicious. I had linguine pescatora, and Jenny had gnocchi. Jenny had one glass, and I had the rest of the wine bottle. The dinner was a little awkward at first, but by the end of the night we felt like old friends. For Jenny’s sake, I won’t discuss every single thing she told me, but here are the relevant bits:

I previously described Jenny as a seamstress. While that is true, it’s under-selling what she does. Jenny knows some specific, technical dress-making techniques. She has her own business, targeted towards Renaissance Fairs and cosplayers. Her work eventually attracted the attention of Hollywood productions. Now she makes beautiful clothing for feature films (period pieces), and high-end clients. I wondered how she and Jared could afford their beautiful home, she appears to be the reason.

Jared and Jenny met a little over 3 years ago. Jared was a few years out of the academy, and got stationed in their small town. By coincidence, he had moved into her apartment building. They struck up a conversation one day when Jared offered to help her haul several bags of dresses to her car. She liked him, and asked him out for coffee. They married two years later, and she got pregnant with Simon around that time.

At one point later in the evening, we got onto the subject of ghosts. Jenny’s always been a spiritual person, her office is full of crystals, and she loves astrology. I also learned she believes she saw a ghost as a child. As she describes it, she was in bed and a bearded old man in a white three-piece suit appeared in the room. He loomed over her with an intense stare, and they locked eyes for a long time. Jenny rolled to her side, and when she looked back he was gone. I asked if she ever saw the man again, and she answered no. I spoke to her about the phenomena of sleep paralysis, and she conceded that was possible. I’m not sure if she believed that or not. Regardless, I could see myself being good friends with Jenny.

Night One

We had such a lovely time at dinner, my reason for visiting had all but slipped my mind. It wasn’t until our drive home that I realised we were heading back to (for all intents and purposes) a haunted house. A pit began to form in my stomach as we pulled into the driveway. At night, the house took on an eerie presence, and the surrounding woods had me feeling like something could leap out at me at any moment. Jenny must have been feeling the same way, as we hurried into the house. Jared still wasn’t back yet, as he worked 12 hour shifts.

I asked Jenny if she wanted to help me set up some of my equipment before bed, and her expression darkened. She declined. She opened up a drawer and pulled out a massive bag of earplugs, offering me some. This seems to be her solution to the nightly knocking sounds. I took some earplugs, though I forgot them on the counter. I got to work setting up my cameras and audio recording devices. I placed one of my cameras to cover the blind spot Jared showed me, and set the thermal camera in the main hallway. I was more than a little tipsy, but I managed to get the job done. After triple-checking that everything was recording, I shuffled back to the guest bedroom to sleep. It was around 10:30 pm, and I was dead tired, but knowing why I was there, I set an alarm for 3:15 am, hoping to be awake for the knocks.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

I shut the alarm off, and groaned. I barely registered falling asleep. It was one of those sleeps where it feels like you’ve blinked, and all of a sudden it’s several hours later. Awful. I grabbed my phone, pulled myself out of bed, and left my room. I checked the time, 3:20 am. I shuffled into the main hallway, and waited. The minutes felt like an eternity as I stood around, waiting for a noise. It was dead quiet. Impatient, I found myself checking my phone. While waiting for a ghostly knocking. Something must be wrong with my brain. As my phone’s clock read 3:23, I put my phone away and listened.

I couldn’t hear any footfalls, or doors opening. No strange noises from the plumbing or AC units. As I lingered in the silence, I wondered if this would be the night when the noises stopped. Did I scare the ghost away?

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG ! BANG!

I screamed, startled by the incredible volume of noise that surrounded me. It felt like the banging was right beside my head, as if the very walls were screaming at me. Then it started again.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG ! BANG!

I whirled around, searching for a source to this thunderous sound. No such source was obvious to me. Jared came out of the bedroom in his pyjamas, and stared at me for a moment. As if to say, ‘Told you so’, but no lecture came. If anything, he looked sad. Disheartened that this horrible noise was real, not some sort of shared hallucination. He took a step towards me.

“Oh my god…” Was all that came out of my mouth.

“Let’s talk in the morning.” Jared said, shivering a little before heading back to bed. It’s clear he's used to this, but my heart was pounding out of my chest. After a pause, I followed suit, and returned to the guest bedroom. It took a long time to fall back asleep after that. I wished I took Jenny up on her offer of earplugs.

Reviewing the Evidence

I awoke around 8:30 to a gentle knock on my door, and an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“There’s fresh coffee, if you want some.” Jenny announced. God yes.

As I sat down for coffee, nectar of the gods, I couldn’t help but focus on the empty high chair at the kitchen table. There wasn’t much conversation in the morning, but Jenny did tell me she was spending the day at her sister’s with Simon. Later Jared would go there after work to spend the night with him. My heart hurts for them. As Jenny left, Jared encouraged me to check my footage from last night. He did the same with his security system.

I scrubbed through my three audio recordings. The ear-shattering knocks were definitely coming from the main hallway. I marked down where I was standing on my sound map. I checked my blind spot camera, and scrubbed through the night’s events. Nothing of note until I enter the hallway at 3:20, stare at my phone and then jump into the air at the sound of the knocks. As I finished up with this, Jared came into the room. He told me there wasn’t anything noteworthy on his cameras, just the knocks, but he would send me the footage to review. He was about to leave the room, when I asked him if he wanted to stick around to watch the thermal camera footage with me. I opened up the video file.

The thermal camera was pointing straight down the main hallway, now visible in various shades of orange, and purple. The walls were brighter than the doorways, and the lights appeared brightest. I scrubbed through the hours of footage. It captured Jared going into the bedroom around 12:35 am, having finished work at midnight. As the timestamp hits 3:20, I come into frame, my skin orange, and my hair and clothes closer to purple. I watch myself pull out my phone, and I shoot an awkward smile at Jared, who seems unphased. At 3:23, right before the knocking sound, a dark blue spot appears on the floor in front of me.

The dark blue mass starts rising, getting taller and taller until it looms over me. The deep blue shape becomes humanoid.

“What the fuck?” Jared interjects over my shoulder.

At exactly 3:24, I jump at the knocks, and the man-shape follows my movement. It doesn’t have a face, but I can tell that it’s… staring at me. In the video, Jared comes out of the bedroom. The blue mass is still in front of him, but you can see the blue colour turn closer to purple as Jared stands behind it.

As Jared takes a step forward, he walks right through the mass. He shivers, affected by the temperature difference, before he walks back into the room. As I exit the hallway, the mass ‘looks’ at me, its’ featureless head tilting in my direction.

It just stands there. I scrub forward several hours. A distinct man shape, motionless. It’s not until 6 am, when Jenny comes out of the bedroom, that the figure drops back down into the floor. The temperature readings become normal again. The video ends a few hours later, when I come to collect the camera’s memory card.

Jared and I stared at each other for a moment. He collected himself.

“So, in your professional opinion, what, uh… what the hell was that?”

“In my professional opinion?” He nodded.

“Jared,” I stated. “Your house is fucking haunted.”

​

EDIT: Link to Part 3