Oct 30, 2009 1:51 pm US/Mountain
Denver Ghost Hunters Stumped by Arvada Occurrence
Written by Brooke Wagner
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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Matthew Baxter and Bryan Bonner make up the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society.
CBS
Bryan Bonner and Matthew Baxter, or simply "Baxter" as he's known, are paranormal claims investigators, or ghost hunters in layman's terms. For ten years, they've lugged cases filled with cameras, computers, seismometers, and electromagnetic monitors to reportedly haunted spots from the old Children's Hospital to the Stanley Hotel to Cave of the Winds.
"We want the truth. We don't want to keep building on an urban legend, because, obviously, if something's going on, we want to know what it is," said Bonner, founder of the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society. "We like to bring the reality into it. If someone says 'This is what's happening,' we want to go in and rule out everything else… and we usually do."
To be precise, Bonner and Baxter consider themselves skeptics, but not cynics. They both believe science is the key to unlocking the mysteries of ghost stories - yet they relish the inexplicable. They say they let every possibility - be possible.
"Once we've eliminated every other possibility, then there's only one left," Baxter said.
This Halloween, the two will be spending yet another night in a spooky house, filled with ghost stories. The Yak and Yeti Brewpub and restaurant in Arvada started out as a farmhouse in the 1860s. Time and time again, it changed hands. At one point, the matron of the house was an elderly woman named Cora.
"Her death was from falling down the stairs, so, often, that's who people think they're in contact with when anything happens here," said Bonner.
The Yak and Yeti's current owner hired the RMPRS to investigate creepy events he and employees witnessed at the restaurant. For instance, one employee said she saw a colleague walk down the stairs to the basement, even though the colleague was actually upstairs. Bonner and Baxter re-created the incident and concluded the image was nothing more than a reflection in a window. They systematically checked off the list of Yak and Yeti "ghost stories," explaining each one, until one night of surveillance with a full complement of cameras.
"Lots of employees locking up for the night would see someone in the hall and that sort of thing," said Bonner. "Of course, it's one of the only ones where, we come in with a cynical attitude of 'There's probably nothing here, let's just make him feel better,' and of course, we get incredible footage."
In that video, a chair clearly appears to move - on its own. Baxter said he heard a clinking sound coming from wall sconces in a small dining room upstairs.
"I got to the threshold (to the larger dining room) and the chair lifts out all by itself and balances on end," said Baxter.
At this point, after testing several theories, they don't know how to explain it. Bonner and Baxter find that question mark challenging and fun, not frustrating. In fact, it's the whole reason they do what they do.
"This is so imbedded in who we are, this readiness to believe - What's behind it, is there something to it?" said Baxter. "It's a puzzle. Just because we haven't figured it out at the moment, we're not pasting the paranormal stamp on it, but it sure is cool!"
In order to "prove" the existence of ghosts, Baxter and Bonner say an occurrence must be repeatable, which is difficult, because the researchers would need to be in control of the environment. Before RMPRS, Bonner was a photographer by trade, and Baxter is a computer and electronics expert, so they are trained to use a host of scientific gadgets, including a forensic light.
"We get a lot of places that have reported murders or blood stains that won't go away. We actually bought the equipment so we can look for trace elements of blood," said Bonner.
The two are always testing new techniques, and say their goal is to apply the scientific method in the most effective way possible.
"We're constantly looking for new toys and tools. This is the tip of the iceberg," said Bonner.
"This is why we're broke!" added Baxter, with a laugh.
Additional Resources
Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society
Jeff Peckman's ET Commission
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