A team of paranormal investigators who visited Fremont’s Barnard Park on the night of Saturday, July 29, allege that they caught on camera an otherworldly spirit walking by the park’s bathroom building.
The Rev. Dave Christensen and his team of three other paranormal detectives were at Barnard Park on Saturday for their third visit in five weeks, having previously investigated the claimed-to-be haunted park in late June and also on July 22.
Barnard Park, located off Military Avenue at the intersection of Clarkson Street, has long had a reputation as being haunted. The land the park sits on was a cemetery in the earliest days of Fremont’s existence in the 1860s and 1870s, however the deceased that were buried there were exhumed and relocated to what is now Ridge Cemetery as the town grew larger and more residents arrived.
The local legend surrounding the allegedly haunted park centers on the claims that five to eight bodies of the dead were not recovered and moved, and the spirits or ghosts of those former residents are who now patrol the park in the dark of the night.
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Those spooky suspicions were what drew 28-year ghost detective and founder of Phantasm Paranormal, the Rev. Dave Christensen, to the park with his trusty detectives of deceased debauchery.
The four-member team, which comprises only a portion of the Phantasm Paranormal ghost-hunting operation, claimed they struck the jackpot again on July 29, catching an alleged unknown spirit on camera adjacent to the park’s public restroom.
“Here is a picture from Saturday night that will blow your mind,” Christensen stated in an email sent to the Tribune after his efforts on Saturday.
The presence of the alleged ghost on July 29 came five weeks after Christensen and his team claim that a spirit talked to the paranormal detectives via what’s called an “electric voice phenomenon recording,” during their visit to the park on June 24.
Leslie Christensen, Dave’s wife, was present again with her husband on July 29. She explained what the team experienced a week earlier — on July 22 — claiming that the team’s high-tech digital cameras caught a male ghost on film, an apparition that nobody saw until they watched the video of the evening later at home.
“We set the static camera facing (southeast) toward the entrance of the park … it caught a spirit walking into the park. It disappeared as it walked toward us,” Leslie said. “It looked like a man in the camera. We didn’t see it visually, but the camera picked it up. I was very surprised to see it, I was like, ‘wow.’”
On the latest Saturday visit, Dave Christensen arrived at the park at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday and immediately began setting up his high-tech camera systems as well as an enhanced microphone which recorded — he said — sounds and possible voices not able to be heard by human ears.
A team of paranormal investigators who visited Fremont’s Barnard Park for the third time on the night of Saturday, July 29, allege that they caught on camera an otherworldly spirit walking by the park’s bathroom building. The Rev. Dave Christensen sets up his high-tech digital camera system which is used to film the spirits he locates.
Toking off a cigarette and wearing his trademark “FBI” logo baseball cap, Dave diligently set up digital cameras and tiny lighted balls around the park. The lighted balls, he explained, only glow when something touches them. Because he strategically places them in spots where nobody is present, when they begin to glow — he claimed — that signals a ghost is with them.
“You have to gain their trust,” he said, explaining the secret to connecting with the ghosts.
“That is the hard part. When we tell them, ‘We know you’re here,’ it kind of throws them off, like, they think, ‘how do you know we’re here. You can’t see us,’” Dave said of the potential spirits and ghosts he meets on his adventures.
A 28-year veteran of spiritual sleuthing, Dave said his most memorable experience with the dead came during an exploration of a haunted house in Kansas.
“We ran across a woman down in Atchison, Kansas, and she was on the second floor and had a white nightgown on. When you enlarge the picture, you can see through her,” he said.
The Rev. Dave Christensen, a ghost hunter with Phantasm Paranormal, provided this image to the Tribune on Sunday, July 30. Christensen claims the shadow apparition inside the circle he created is the ghost of one of the alleged spirits that haunt Barnard Park in Fremont. Christensen and his team were at the park for the third time in five weeks on Saturday night, July 29.
Dave said the reason he and his team showed up in Fremont was because of the reputation Barnard Park has as being extremely haunted.
“I heard it used to be a cemetery, and they were going to build houses here, but people said, ‘No, we’re not building here,’” he said of the park’s history. “Neighbors have been reporting seeing strange things over here, and that is what brought us in. The first visit (June 24) was better than the second one.”
Also present on Saturday were Dave and Leslie’s daughter-in-law, Angela McIntosh, and grandson, Will Ferguson, making for three generations of ghost hunters on the prowl for paranormal personalities.
Ferguson was armed with a fancy, and expensive, super-sensitive microphone, which he had attached via Bluetooth to his cell phone. On his phone is an app that deciphers and shows the sounds that the microphone is picking up which human ears cannot detect.
Will Ferguson, left, and Angela McIntosh, right, are team members of Phantasm Paranormal investigators. Both were on hand on Saturday, July 29, in Barnard Park in Fremont as lead ghost hunter, The Rev. Dave Christensen, spearheaded the search for otherworldly spirits that allegedly haunt the city park.
After only a few minutes of the microphone being activated, Ferguson expressed amazement at the digital display, which showed some sort of sounds being detected.
“One of them is talking,” Ferguson said of the readings on his cell phone app.
Dave said his passion for connecting with the otherworldly spirits and ghosts of deceased people has helped him communicate with his parents and ex-wife, all three of whom died decades ago.
“I’ve been able to talk to my mom and dad, who both passed away in my early 20s. I’ve been able to communicate with my ex-wife, who died seven years after we were married,” Dave explained. “I help people communicate with deceased loved ones … I teach them how to do it.”
To check out the team’s discoveries and read their full report on the three visits to Barnard Park, visit https://www.phantasm-paranormal.com and click on Barnard Park entry. The team welcomes new members, and a form for interested paranormal detectives is available on the website.
The 20 most haunted cities in the United States
Tombstone, Arizona
According to Smithsonian magazine, Tombstone got its name after prospector Ed Schieffelin was told the only thing he'd find in the area was his own tombstone. Instead, he struck silver and named the town to thumb his nose at the naysayers. However, Tombstone did indeed become a place where many men met their untimely demise. The location of the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Tombstone has a cemetery called the Boot Hill Graveyard named such for gunslingers and lawmen who died with their boots on. The Bird Cage Theater opened in 1881, and the rowdy gambling hall, saloon and brothel saw more than 26 men killed there, leaving the walls riddled with 140 bullet holes. Visitors have reported being touched or pushed by spirits as well as hearing music, laughter and yelling and seeing apparitions.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg was the site of the deadliest battle of the Civil War, with more than 51,000 casualties, including 7,863 dead, which would explain its concentration of paranormal activity. Visitors have spotted mysterious mists, floating orbs and apparitions of several soldiers at different hot spots on and around the battlefields. General John F. Reynolds, the first Union General killed in the battle, haunts a home known as the Reynolds Death House, while the Jennie Wade House is home to the spirit of the only civilian to die in the Battle of Gettysburg after being struck by a stray bullet.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco's Golden Gate Park was a common spot for suicides more than 100 years ago, according to SF Gate, and it's been the location of several sightings of a spectre known as the White Lady of Stow Lake. St. Francis Hotel is said to be haunted by the ghosts of John Barrymore, Fatty Arbuckle and Al Jolson, who died there mid-poker game. And then there's Alcatraz, the legendary prison in San Francisco Bay. Visitors have reported experiencing disembodied voices and cries and well as cold spots and an apparition of inmates such as legendary gangster Al Capone. The National Park Service has a lottery in which people can enter for the chance to stay in cells in the prison overnight.
St. Francisville, Louisiana
Dubbed the South's Most Haunted Plantation by Country Living, the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, had several circumstances that caused more than a dozen restless spirits to linger there. The plantation is rumored to be built on a Native American burial ground, and many slaves died there before the Civil War. One mistreated slave named Chloe is said to haunt the property. She fatally poisoned members of the family she worked for and was later hanged. A later owner of the house, attorney William Drew Winter, was murdered on the porch of the home.
Austin, Texas
The bustling Texas capitol is famous for its food, live music and concentration of sinister spirits. Comptroller Robert Marshall Love, who was shot at his desk in the state capitol building, is still said to haunt its halls, while the Governor's Mansion is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sam Houston as well as a young man who died in one of the guest rooms, prompting that room to be sealed for 40 years. The city's most famous spot for seeing spectres is the Driskill Hotel. The spirit of its namesake, Civil War Col. Jesse Driskill, is known to leave behind the scent of cigar smoke, while Room 525 is cursed by two women known as the "suicide brides," who were both on their honeymoons when they killed themselves in the same room 20 years apart. Despite the macabre goings-on, many celebrities have stayed here over the years, from Sandra Bullock to Michael Jordan.
Estes Park, Colorado
Estes Park, Colorado, is home to the Stanley Hotel, the mountain getaway that inspired Stephen King's "The Shining" after he and his wife stayed there in in 1974. On top of the eerie ambiance, the Stanley Hotel has several resident ghosts, including the land's previous owner, Lord Dunraven, who haunts Room 407, and founder Freeland Stanley, who appears at the bar, and his wife Flora, whose spirit is said to play the piano late at night. Guests who stay in Room 418 report hearing the sounds of children playing, while the spirit of a maid in Room 217 is known to unpack guests' clothing.
St. Augustine, Florida
The oldest city in America is sure to have seen its fair share of scandals and spirits. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, St. Augustine has more than 400 years of deaths and disasters. The city's Spanish Military Hospital was built over a Timucuan burial ground , while the Huguenot Cemetery was the final resting places for hundreds who died from a yellow fever epidemic. The St. Augustine Lighthouse is the city's most famous haunted landmark as several tragedies have occurred there, including a lighthouse keeper falling to his death and a construction crew member's two young daughters drowning nearby.
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts, is notorious for its witch trials, in which 20 men and women were put to death after being accused of witchcraft. A man named Giles Corey was crushed to death by large stones, and his spirit is said to linger at the cemetery as well as torment any sheriffs or police officers he encounters by pressing down on their chests. The spirits of Rebecca Nurse and Bridget Bishop, two women hanged for witchcraft, are also said to lurk among the living, with Bishop appearing as an eerie phantom lady in white.
St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Paul is home to some of the most supernatural spots in not only the state of Minnesota but also the whole country. The Palmer House Hotel has a "permanent, unregistered guest" in Room 207 named Lucy, one of many women who were abused and killed while employed at a brothel that occupied the hotel's current location. The nasty secrets of the Joseph Forepaugh House also left a mark. When Joseph got his mistress, the family's maid Molly, pregnant, he abandoned her and took his family to Europe. Molly committed suicide, and several years later, Joseph followed, shooting himself after returning to St. Paul. Then there's the Wabasha Street Caves, mines used during Prohibition that are haunted by three gangsters who were gunned down there.
Chicago, Illinois
A hub of organized crime and the site of a famous fire, Chicago has seen its fair share of grisly deaths that left behind unsatisfied spirits. The ghost of gangster John Dillinger is said to haunt the alley he was shot in behind the Victory Gardens Theater. Another mobster haunts Holy Name Cathedral after being shot and killed on the steps outside. There are still bullet holes left in the churches facade, and despite some attempts, nothing works when trying to fill them. Al Capone is said to appear as an apparition at the Congress Plaza Hotel, a place he frequented during his heyday. Finally, the lush Lincoln Park green space and zoo sit on the site of a former cemetery. Thousands of bodies were dug up and moved but some estimate there could be thousands more still buried in the area that aren't too pleased with their resting places being disturbed.
Alton, Illinois
At the other end of the state from Chicago is Alton, Illinois, which is known as one of America's most haunted small towns. The storied town housed a Confederate prison during the Civil War, and more than 1,400 soldiers died there from a smallpox outbreak and were buried in a nearby cemetery. The First Unitarian Church burned down twice, once in 1850 when it was a Catholic church, and again in 1901. In 1934, the church's young reverend hanged himself and his spirit is rumored to lurk in the building's basement. Before being turned into a factory, the Milton Schoolhouse was where a young girl named Mary was murdered. And the McPike Mansion and its cellar are home to several spirits of the home's former owners and servants.
Athens, Ohio
Now the location of Ohio University, Athens used to be home to the Athens Lunatic Asylum, a mental hospital that operated from 1874 to 1993. Now a university-owned building, visitors can still walk through the asylum's cemeteries where headstones bear patient's numbers instead of their names. Visitors to the institution itself, known for performing lobotomies, shock therapy and other practices, have reported disembodied screams and floating figures. One of the creepiest remains is a nasty stain on the floor, left after a patient named Margaret Schilling died there and wasn't found for over a month.
Portland, Oregon
Many people know Portland for its sustainability and food scene, but it also has quite the spooky reputation. The city has dozens of famously haunted locations, including the Benson Hotel, whose teetotaler owner's spirit is known for tipping over patron's drinks, and Old Town Pizza & Brewing, a restaurant located in the former Merchant Hotel that is haunted by a sex worker named Nina, who was murdered in the elevator shaft in 1880. The city also sits above what are known as the Shanghai Tunnels. This network of underground passageways was used for smuggling and human trafficking, and people report hearing the cries of victims who perished there.
Savannah, Georgia
A hub of smuggling, slavery, strife and secrets, Savannah is considered by some to be the most haunted city in the country. The city is said to be built on Native American burial grounds, which perhaps cursed the city with its fair share of cinematic tragedies. Bonaventure Cemetery, made famous by being featured on the cover of the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," has a statue of Little Gracie Watson, who died of pneumonia at the age of 6, that is said to cry real tears. The sound of voices and footsteps throughout the Hampton Lillibridge House are attributed to the crypt found underneath the home. The Marshall House hotel served as a hospital during the Civil War and two Yellow Fever epidemics, while the Olde Pink House Restaurant is said to be haunted by several spirits, including former owner James Habersham Jr.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Described as the world's first penitentiary, Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary is also one of the country's most haunted spots. Opened in 1829, this prison kept inmates in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. Tens of thousands of tourists would visit the prison, including famed writer Charles Dickens, who described the conditions as "cruel and wrong." Before its closure in 1971, more than 1,000 people died inside the prison's walls. Although executions didn't take place there, at least two guards and many inmates were murdered over the years, according to the Travel Channel. Philly also claims to have famous ghosts, including the spirit of Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton and writer Edgar Allan Poe.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Known as a hub for vice and Voodoo, it's no surprise New Orleans is home to many restless spirits. There's Voodoo queen Marie Laveau, who is said to haunt St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, one of the city's many above-ground "cities of the dead." Then there's the terrors that took place in the Lalaurie Mansion. Delphine LaLaurie imprisoned and tortured her slaves, and after a cook intentionally set a fire in the house, seven bodies were discovered mutilated on the third floor, some in cages, others chained to the wall. Visitors since have reporting hearing their screams or being attacked by vengeful spirits.
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
The small town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, has enough paranormal activity to get international attention and its own Destination America TV series "Ghosts of Shepherdstown." Known as one of the most haunted towns in the country, the oldest town in the state has multiple resident spirits as well as plenty of unexplained phenomena. The Entler Hotel is home to the ghost of Peyton Smith, who died in a duel with his best friend over a poker game, while the Yellow Brick Bank Restaurant has reported a spirit that presides over Table 25. The clock tower of McMurran Hall, a building used as a Civil War hospital, also has a watchful ghost who peeks through the shutters at the Shepherd University students passing below.
San Diego, California
The Whaley House in Old Town San Diego is considered one of the country's most haunted houses. Built in 1857 on a former graveyard and the site where a man named James "Yankee Jim" Robinson was hanged for stealing, the building was the home of Thomas and Anna Whaley, who themselves reported hearing mysterious noises before their family was beset with several tragedies. Their youngest son died of Scarlet Fever at 18 months old, while their daughter Violet committed suicide after her husband left her, revealing himself to be a con artist only after her money. Besides the house's spirits, including the apparition of the Whaley's fox terrier named Dolly, San Diego has several other haunted sites and hotels.
Charleston, South Carolina
Nicknamed The Holy City for its religious freedom, Charleston's colorful history has led to unwanted spiritual phenomena.The Old City Jail housed pirates and Civil War prisoners as well as Lavinia and John Fisher, hotel owners turned serial killers who poisoned and robbed their guests. Lavinia, who had been named America's first female serial killer, was executed right outside, and her spirit is still sighted by visitors passing her old cell. Junius Brutus Booth, the father of John Wilkes Booth, is said to haunt the Dock Street Theatre, while Room 8 at the Battery Carriage Inn is visited by a gruesome ghost known as the "headless torso."
Galveston, Texas
Many Americans forget that before the devastation of Hurricane Harvey or Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, with a death count of more than 8,000, nearly four times that of New Orleans. After the disaster, many spirits lingered in the city's harbors, the preserved Victorian houses and the building that served as a morgue after the storm. Galveston is also home to the Galvez Hotel, which is known for its "Ghost Bride." The spirit is suspected to be a young woman named Audra who hung herself after falsely hearing word her fiance had died at sea.
