Episode Postmortem: "Woman in the Window"
Tuesday February 12, 2008 8:49 AM
Case File: 2006.12.28F
Code Name: "Woman in the Window"
DIRECTOR'S LOGS
These logs have been condensed and edited, but to the best of our ability, they remain an accurate account of the case.
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONNECTION
According to the family, only two people have seen the apparition: Larry and Brandon. Both Larry and Brandon happen to be African Americans. Since we didn't have any African American investigators on hand, we brought in my long-time friend, VJ, to the property. We told him very little about the haunting. He participated in DEAD TIME down in the basement, and according to him, he felt the presence of a female spirit.
The big question we had at the beginning was, "Why is a spirit only appearing to African Americans?" Was the spirit a racist? Someone who did not approve of African Americans coming in to their home?
Both CJ Sellers and historical research suggested another theory. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that there were young men sneaking on to the property to visit the girls?
The thing that's interesting is the "real world" equivalent. Larry admitted to us that he felt slightly shunned from the family. Whatever those reasons are is between Larry and the family. Nevertheless, it's hard to deny that the ghostly woman in the window tale could be a great metaphor for how Larry was feeling with the actual, living family.
JON FORD & HISTORICAL RESEARCH
Historical research was very important for this case. We needed to find out who this "woman in the window" was. We got in contact with Jon Ford, a curator who was an expert when it came to the subject of the Underground Railroad. His staff was also very helpful to us in trying to track down previous owners. Through our research we feel that we found the identities of the previous owners. Jon Ford felt confident that the particular owners in question were likely abolitionists, which meant that they could have been part of the Underground Railroad movement. This was both exciting and confusing to us at the same time. The biggest problem I had at that point was the motive. If there really were spirits there, and if we knew their identifies, why would abolitionists have a problem with African American men? Again, we later came up with another theory that had to do with being romantic out of wedlock rather than race.
Through historical research, we learned a lot about the house. We also dug around the crawlspaces to see if we found anything worthwhile. We found a lot of dated materials.
LARRY & CJ'S POSITIVE I.D.
Both Larry and CJ were handed a series of photographs. We put the photo of the alleged former owners in a mix of other photographs that didn't have anything to do with the home. Both Larry and CJ made a positive I.D. on the photograph that was found on the property of the former owners.
I found this to be a wonderful piece of evidence.
THE DEAD TIME TELEPHONE RING
Interestingly enough, when we first heard the telephone ring, I thought out of annoyance that it was a member of the film crew who forgot to turn their phone off. However, everyone was adamant that all phones were turned off. So what was it that we heard? Upon reviewing the sound, it sounds like an old-fashioned telephone ringing. We searched the entire house for the sound. In the middle of the investigation, we heard a phone go off. It was the families main phone line. It didn't sound anything like the sound we picked up on our recordings.
Out of everything that could have happened, why did the sounds of a telephone ring manifest? That's the beauty of the supernatural; we don't know. The family is very positive that they do not own an old-fashioned telephone. During the remainder of the stay we never heard the sound again.
LETTING THE SPIRITS STAY
Both CJ and the family were very certain that the spirit(s) at the home were not harmful in any way. According to CJ, they wanted a place in the home and they wanted to co-exist. It was slightly emotional for Larry, since he felt rejected by both the living and the dead in the home, but I think Larry came to an understanding about the spirit he saw.
We almost always defer to the clients when it comes to dealing with the spirits. Because the family did not have a problem with the spirits being active at the home, we did not take any action.
UPDATE:
We occasionally phone the family to check for updates. According to them, they are doing well and they experience phenomenon from time to time but they are not frightened.
Comments (6)
Ryan,
I really liked this episode, it was very interesting when you found the items in the tunnel opening so many doors for you to track down such positive info. But I have to say that I feel very strongly that the lady in the window was not upset with the young couple, I feel that is more of a psychological manifestation of Larry's conscious with regards to his living situation and his girlfriends family's reaction towards him related to this event. Instead, I feel that she is trying to get him to hide, to run into the tunnels so he can keep moving and not be caught. I understand the reasoning with the moralistic theory, I just disagree in my judgement of what I saw and with what I feel. With everyone feelng no animosity and even Larry being comfortable now, I think that she was only trying to protect him rather than run him off. He was only frightened because of his lack of knowledge of the paranormal and most likely an underlying guilt in his subconscious. I think that once the family came to terms with the new family unit including Larry, the fear in him went away. This is just my perspective on the episode.
Thanks,
Stacey
Posted by Stacey Andrews | February 12, 2008 3:54 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 15:54
Why is it that just because only African Americans can see the spirit you firstly assume it could mean that the spirit would be 'racist' or against them in any way.
Professionalism might point to saying the spirit could be there because she feels connected to Larry and his situation. As part of the railroad perhaps Larry drew her energy there for support. Perhaps she went through the same thing he did...
Just because African Americans are involved doesnt automatically mean its possibly a racist event. That in itself is racist.
Posted by Anonymous | February 12, 2008 5:00 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 17:00
I'm sure that many would consider seeing a ghost a terrifying event. Along those lines, I think many believe that ghosts, when they do show up, are trying to scare is some way. Thus, if a ghost is only manifesting to African Americans, to many, it would practically beg the question, "why is this ghost trying to scare African Americans?"
Considering the possibility of a racist ghost isn't racist in itself, especially considering that they're conducting research and that many questions need to be asked. Labeling that question as racist is almost like calling hate crime laws racist for holding violators to different standards just because some victims happen to African Americans.
Posted by goodtremere | February 12, 2008 11:20 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 23:20
Ghost dont show up to scare. Thankfully youre not a part of PRS as well to not only ask firstly if its a racist thing.. but to put in the question of why is it trying to scare them.
no the posibility of a ghost isnt racist in itself.. but why does it have to be firstly assumed it is racist simply because african americans only can see it. thats what im saying. if many questions need to be ask.. open up the options and dont only focus on "why is the ghost being racist by only appearing to two african american guys"
by saying that doesnt mean i labeled everything in the whole world racist. just this situation. if you opened up your mind and shut your ass you might see that.
Posted by Anonymous | February 13, 2008 2:20 PM
Posted on February 13, 2008 14:20
I also liked this episode, but i seen something during the dead time that noone from paranormal state ever mentioned. in two scenes during dead time when c.j. the medium and larry the witness to the "woman in the window" are sitting on the bed there is half of a womans face on the left hand side of the screen. the face is clearly a womans and is transparent but you can see it clearly still, it is either the woman in the window or a reflection of some sort, but i dont see how that would happen. check it out and see what you think.
Posted by Justin Olsen | February 13, 2008 6:27 PM
Posted on February 13, 2008 18:27
I found this episode to be very interesting as well. The thought of the ghosts being racist should really not have been an issue due to the fact that it really didn't appear they were there to frighten anyone. Just because the only ones to see it happened to be african americans doesn't necessarily translate to racism, so I have to agree with that part. I thought it was really interesting that the family decided to co-exist with the ghosts instead of trying to make them leave. They didn't seem negative in any way and the fact that by the end of the episode Larry and the family seemed to have developed a deeper understanding of each other and felt more comfortable together is the best thing to have happen in the episode. I cannot assume to guess why the ghost is there whether it be the way they feel about the young couple living together out of wedlock or just plain and simply having some other reason that is totally harmless to all involved. I am glad that you guys keep in touch with the families you help because I believe it shows them that you do care about them and not just making a television show. Thanks. ~Jaded One~
Posted by JadedOne | February 14, 2008 3:09 PM
Posted on February 14, 2008 15:09