The subject of ghosts has fascinated me for my entire life. My elementary school library had a small section of books about the paranormal, and I read every one of them at least five times. I memorized the details of the photos of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall and the Tulip Staircase. I could easily recant the stories about the Tower of London and Borley Rectory by age 10. I knew about automatic writing, seances, mediumship, psychokinesis and clairvoyance when other kids were working on their multiplication tables. There were hundreds of stories of everyday people who had extraordinary experiences. As I had relatively few of my own by the time I was 25, I guess I was a bit envious. I determined to set out in search of ghosts in order to find a bigger experience of my own. Little did I know what else I would find in my quest.

We started investigating cemeteries and the more notorious public ghosts in Houston. As the web site grew, we started getting requests for assistance with odd happenings at private residences all over the greater Houston area, and for that matter, the state. The first few residentials were just curious about what was going on in their homes. Soon, though, I was getting messages from people who were afraid of their own homes. I began to feel out of my league and had to fall back on our Lead Investigator. His personal history with the paranormal, and his experience with investigating it (which dates back years before joining Lone Star Spirits), made him a wonderful source of aid for these people. Add to that a few talented psychics and good bedside manner, and we began to see people become comfortable with their homes again. Then I discovered a better reason to be a Paranormal Investigator.

The "hows" and the "whys" of haunting phenomena still fascinate me. I'm confident that we will eventually have those puzzles solved. The question of validity, I have found, often has to be answered for each person on an individual basis. Many are reluctant to believe, but a first-hand encounter is usually enough to persuade the most skeptical among us. For myself, the validity question was answered when I had my first encounter as a child (minor as it was). Everything after that has been confirmation. Now I see the human element - the living who are terrified, the deceased who are confused - and helping them is as much of a reward as I can ask for.

I don't have what it takes to be a police officer or a firefighter. I don't have the patience or the stomach to be a doctor, nurse or EMT. Maybe in this, I can be of service to my fellow man. There have been moments after getting yet another obscenity-laden e-mail from a bored teenager, or listening to the latest round of arguments between colleagues that I have wondered why I should continue. Then I find an e-mail from a mother whose family is now sleeping peacefully through the night, and I remember why I keep going. I got into this to satisfy my curiosity, I stay to help.  

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