written by Debra Pickman May 2008
My dedication to this site and to the divulging of only well documented facts and well researched theories of that Sallie house case has never been reinforced more than it was today when a friend emailed me a link to an article (book excerpt).
The article was co-written by an investigator who investigated the house three times about three years ago. Interesting enough he states in his article a lot of falsehoods, hearsays, and complete BS. I questioned the integrity of this investigator years ago when he wrote something concerning the house. I was at the house during some of what he wrote concerning that investigation and others I know were part of the investigation on the second day of the event. Amazingly, it was agreed by all other witnesses to the events described that his written version of the events were sensationalized to an quiet an extreme.
So now this same individual is writing a book on the case. I will say that he isn’t the only individual to have investigated the house a time or two and self proclaimed themselves as knowledgeable about what is going on there. In fact it is quite amazing how many feel they know exactly what is going on at the house after such minimal contact, research or investigation.
So for those members and site visitors who may have run into this article and wonder about the truth and facts that it might hold, let me list the following corrections.
The story of Sallie being brought to the doctor’s office, which is said to be located in the lower portion of the house, with an appendicitis. It continues that the doctor started surgery before she was completely sedated and she ultimately died on the table with a hateful look in her eyes. This story was COMPLETELY fabricated by this investigator during his second press conference.
The fact is, at this referenced period of time, the house was occupied by the doctor, his mother and his sister Agnus. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs and the living room downstairs completely open to the dining room to become one large room, then there is the kitchen. The house is not close to being large enough to have a physician’s office in it, there is no separate entrance for an office, and no single downstairs room or area that could have been cordoned off to call an office or an operating room. This part of the house would have undoubtedly been used by the family member as living. It is not logical to think the doctor would claim the lower portion of the house for his practice and make his family stay in the rooms above.
As far as the entertainment factor of the referred to article, the sensationalism and colorfully descriptive words, such as, “incompetent doctor”, “hysterical panic”, “pain and anguish”, “her innocent blood covering the doctor” are alluring.
Now for Sightings’ initial involvement. We did not contact them. For months prior, we had been in touch with a Barbara, a private psychic, who grew up in Atchison but had since moved to California and lectured at one of the colleges. It was here that she shared some of the finer points of our story working hard not to reveal our identities, and it was at one of these lectures that she was approached by several different individuals of various media associations.
At this point she contacted us to tell of the interest and asked if we were interested. Tony and I discussed it, and fought over the idea of going public or not. I thought it would help, Tony didn’t want to be in the public eye. In the end we agreed that it may be helpful to have outsiders figure out what was happening in our house. After about a week of deliberation we told Barbara it would be agreeable to give our contact information to Sightings.
This article goes on to show how inept the writers are at attaining or sharing factual information when they can’t even get the 1st hand information correct. Contrary to what is written, the Sightings group had plenty of paranormal activity and experiences in the house, otherwise what would have enticed the crew to come back five times and the Sightings viewers to cause the show to get the highest ratings of all time?
It could be said that we and the film crew sensationalized all the experiences, but when the show host came on site during their 2nd investigation, the claims being made we still compelling enough to continue the research and bringing in or more equipment and investigators to make sense of it.
Let it also be said that although Tony was monitor by multiple cameras and people during each of the Sightings visits, he was never hooked up to monitors during any investigation to the house.
In this above mentioned article it is said that the Missouri River cradling one side of the city is responsible for a high number of lightning strikes generating a paranormal battery source for spirits to draw their energy needs from and that is why the town is so active. I will admit that the Mighty MO is likely associated with several active underground water tributaries and could contribute to the paranormal activity, I must say that it is not a fact that the town gets hit with a high number of lighten strikes. Tony and his family has lived in Atchison all their lives, and after reading this statement no one would an iota of credibility to that claim.
Lastly, this writer introduced the idea early in his article, that the town searched him out and invited him and his group to investigate the town. The fact is this investigator came to town uninvited, and called a press conference to draw attention to his activities during his two day stay. It seems that this writer enjoys making up stories to further sensationalize his theories and short term association with the Sallie house and the area, and gently tries to push the truth out of public sight.
Readers beware of what you read. Know you have a source to consult for all of those outlandish and illogical stories and claims people who want to gain notoriety and attention offer you.
Special note: Readers may notice that I have not mentioned the article’s writer, the website link or the name of the investigator. That is because the person in question has threatened legal action for slander if I said anything negative about him or bear witness against him. It is not my intention to tie up my time with a meaningless battle of wills; especially for bringing truth to those who may not know what they are being presented with. So there it is. No names, no trouble. The importance of this article is simply addressing the errors and misrepresentations in an article that was recently brought to my attention.