Debra's Thoughts
Report by: Debra Pickman
When we moved from the house in October of 1997 an into a rental house a few blocks west, things seemed to quiet down. Although not completely without incident, after a few more months we had no activity whatsoever. It seemed that we were finally able to close the book on a horrifying chapter of our life. Living for almost 8 years without having anything to do with the house was a blessing for Tony. I, on the other hand craved answers for all that we had gone through.
Slowly, more interest in the house came by way of paranormal investigators, television shows with a paranormal side, and haunted tours put in place by the city itself. Still interested in the “why it all happened” I began taking part in the investigations that were being done by other groups and sharing photos and our experiences with them in hope that together we could make sense of the situation.
Over the next several years, I also grew very concerned that we were never able to determine who “Sally” was. Although some had thought they located a little girl named Sallie, their research was incomplete. To this day it has never been determined, who Sallie was, or is. Moreover, this looms over everyone interested in this case.
Through the early years of different groups doing investigations, however, and mostly by way of EVP, we were able to shed a little more light on specific questions, ultimately opening up even more questions. Much of what we got however still did not make much sense or give us anything concrete as far as theories or evidence.
This is about the time in which, rumors got started and stories began to circulate on the circumstance under which “Sallie” died. It was also a time in which the city got involved, setting up a haunted trolley tour in which they ran with an unsubstantiated story of Sallie dying under a Doctor’s knife. This story was retold and even expanded on over time. It was even published in several books, but remains to this day unconfirmed.
This was frustrating for Tony and I, as the historical documentation was not able to corroborate the stories being told. This in itself bothered us greatly, me more so than Tony, but to which I did not know how to change. That is until about 18 months ago when this website was created to give anyone looking for answers, a place to go to get the facts.
Over the last 3-4 years, as my involvement and interest in investigating the house increased, things have changed greatly concerning the understanding of this haunting and the experiences we had while we lived there. Most of this has come in the way of both independent and collaborative investigations, research into the historical and documented portion of the people connected to the house and by the way of theories we and others have entertained and experimented with along the way.
It is through our research and sharing information and experiences with other groups, along with their own investigative efforts, that we have felt the need to amend or completely change many of what we have all thought as the “Rules” of the paranormal. This statement is made knowing that although our theories will likely be challenged by many in the field, other will yet embrace them an use them as a basis for their own theories and experimentation.
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