HPI Chronicles: The Ghosts of San Juan Bautista Part 3
by Paul Dale Roberts
(San Juan Bautista, CA USA)
Added information from Michele Stump, HPI’s Historian/ Investigator:
My most memorable paranormal experience was witnessing Shadow People
running in the field next to the car I was sitting in in Covelo, CA.
When I learned about the cemetery on the grounds of the San Juan Batista mission, and the fact that over 4000 bodies of the Mutsun Indians were buried in a space half the size of a typical city lot, I was intrigued. I thought that if I were to witness Shadow People again, this would be as good a place as any.
My boyfriend Scott and I went down the steps to a trail just below the
12 foot stone wall that is literally holding in the bones of thousands
of dead Mutsun Indians. Below even further are acres of farm land on top
of the San Andreas Fault. We laid down a blanket and waited and
listened. There were faint sounds of footsteps and the endless crackle
of weeds and branches. We sat there in the dark for about 45 minutes
when Scott sat up suddenly and said shaken, "What the?..." I reacted
also. He said that he heard a voice behind us in what sounded like
someone saying "Shhhh..." I didn't hear it and when I went through my
audio recordings, I was unable to find the sound. We sat there a little
longer and I suddenly remembered a story that I read about sightings of
a mountain lion around the Plaza area of the mission. The sightings
happened for about 10 years and became a sort of a local legend. In
1971, the legend became reality when the Department of Fish and Game
shot and killed a mountain lion on the property. The stuffed body of
the lion is on display at the museum in the stables.
My paranoia got the better of me. We decided that hanging out in the wilderness in mountain lion country wasn't such a great idea without a campfire, so we relocated to the plaza and sat on a pew outside of the mission, near the entrance to the cemetery.
I am not afraid of ghosts and the paranormal but what I am afraid of are man- eating wild animals.
Across the Plaza was the old Zanetta house. There, on the porch, I saw several shadows in the corner of my eye. Scott saw one fairly close to us between two pillars. At one point, we heard a bang on the roof and what sounded like something large walking on the roof.
Scott walked into the plaza and started snapping pictures of the roof. What he got was a gray cat. Great debunking Scott! At another point, Scott decided to take a walk along the wall of the cemetery and see if he could get any pictures there and find a good vantage point to take pictures of the inside of the cemetery itself. About ten minutes later, he came running to where I was sitting. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he was being chased by a bat. I actually did see a small bat flying around his head but it
disappeared when Scott sought shelter under the roof of the mission.
There was the occasional sound of footsteps on the wooden walkway
surrounding the mission and constant shadows across the way but other
than that, it seemed the souls here were for the most part, at rest and
at peace.
Back to Mags’ house: On Sunday, Mags asked if I would bless her home. Mags walked with me as we attempted to send any entities towards the light. At some point, Mags looks at me and says..."Do you smell that? Do you smell
a fragrance?" I was stunned and said..."oh my god!" Because if you have
a successful blessing, you will smell a sweet fragrance, this indicates
that angels are now present in the home, protecting the family and the
home. Then Mags and I looked around the corner and it was Holl
putting on True Beauty Berry Blast perfume by Victoria’s Secret! We all had to laugh.
San Juan Bautista is rich with ghostly activity, it’s a smorgasbord
for ghost hunters! HPI, myself and Holly DeLaughter, would like to thank the town of San Juan Batista for being so hospitable, especially Mags!
We investigated the Cutting Horse, Daisy’s and Maggs’ private residence. Holly was so impressed with the energy of the town that she and Shannon are going back for round two! Now it’s time for us to evaluate that information gathered and see what we discovered. Make sure to check www.HPIparanormal.net to see if we caught any ghostly evidence!
You can see pictures from our trip at the link below:
http://ghosts.meetup.com/231/photos/
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Paranormal Investigative Reporter, Ghost hunter
Haunted and Paranormal Investigations International
www.HPI.paranormal.net
www.GhostGirls.net
WPRT Paranormal Radio - Content Editor
Email: JazmaPika@cs.com
www.wprt.com
www.alienseekernews.com
www.silversgateway..com
www.ghost-mysteries.com
www.yourghoststories.com
www.jazmaonline.com
www.ghostsandstories.com/paul.html
www.true-ghost-story.com/
www.trueghosttales.com/stories/
Paranormal Cellular Hotline: 916 203 7503 (for comments on this story).
If you have a possible investigation call: 1-888-709-4HPI
Copyright © 2008 Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Ghostwriter Copyright © 2008
all rights reserved.
