The Seance

We went to Cielo a couple of times after that, but the next really big event was the seance, which took place on March 25, 2006. I know the word seance makes it sound like a night of party tricks with a ouija board, but it was actually a very spiritual event. A couple who ended up becoming good friends of ours led the ceremony. They are professional mediums and very spiritual peolple, so it was handled very respectfully. There were about a dozen people there, including us and the parapsychologist, Dr. Taff. We all congregated on the 3rd floor where David had a large table set up. We all sat around the table, putting our hands on top of the table with our fingers touching the person next to us. I was sitting next to Taff with my back to the wall that would normally be the movie screen. The medium leading the seance was directly across from me. Jeff was not at the table as he was walking around with the video camera, filming.

First off, here are some notes I scribbled down as soon as I got home, which will serve as a general outline (and help me remember what happened):

"March 6, 2006, Séance at Cielo:

Ears popping as soon as we drove up

Heard whispering in my left ear, in living room before séance as well as during

During séance the back of my chair was repeatedly pushed or pulled on, my sleeve was tugged on, something touched the top of my head, rappings on table were heard,

People claimed they felt Sharon, Voytek, and possibly unidentified male spirit

Heard moans, voices, growls, footsteps above us, “someone” coming down stairs

Some people heard windchimes

Before séance I heard a youngish woman talking downstairs; other people heard this during séance, but among other indistinct voices I heard a man very clearly (though the words themselves eluded me)

Medium agreed that possibly Voytek wanted to speak thru me

Felt warm, gentle breath when someone asked to speak to Sharon

Smell of what I thought was a kind of floral scent, possibly lavendar, possibly soap; others smelled roses (this also when Sharon was being addressed)

After séance the medium and I thought Virgin Mary-roses-Voytek (Catholic)

Jeff heard growl on 2nd floor and confessed he’s always afraid of it

For the first time, at least in my hearing, Taff said he sensed the presence of a male spirit, not among the Tate crew, who was malevolent and had possibly been there many, many years before the Tates, etc. He said something wasn't right, trouble, etc."

These things were all jotted down in my hot pink notebook I used to carry around before I got my palm pilot. As it turns out, I should have stuck to pen and ink because that house can really drain your batteries.

I have a million things I want to say about that night, but to boil it down to the essentials, I'll just confess that the events of that night were so exciting to me, because it was the first time I personally experienced phenomena that I believe are unequivocally paranormal. Of course I've had weird experiences and I believe stories of contact that other people have had. I had been creeped out at Jeff's plenty of times. But those were, for me, just feelings. No less real because of it, but it's not the same as hearing voices and having your sleeve tugged on!

The thing that stands out the most, the thing I will never forget, is the singular sensation of my chair being jiggled. It was one of those chairs with a cushioned seat but a wire back, and if someone tugs on a chair like that you get a bouncy little spring effect. It was a light touch, gentle but very persistant. It was so obviously a "pay attention to me" tactic, and it was the same when I had my sleeve tugged on. And I believe the person doing the tugging was Voytek. Then I think it was intuition that led to this belief; now that I am so much more experienced with the house I have logical reasons for believing it as well. But the tugs, then, gave me the overwhelming urge to talk about Voytek when everyone else kept talking about Sharon. I felt that David was a little bit afraid of Voytek and enamored of Sharon, so he focused on her and everybody else followed suit. But I just kept feeling that little tug and I knew it was Votek. And even though I had told myself I was going to keep my mouth shut during the seance and just listen, I would hear everybody bugging Sharon with stuff when she seemed a bit sleepy to me; I know it sounds weird but what about this doesn't? Anyway, here was Voytek who actually had something to say, so I just kept bringing him up. More on our "relationship" later, but my point for now is that those tugs and touches really happened. Several times I checked to see if it could be one of the people next to me or even Jeff, but it just wasn't possible. Someone was touching me, but no one I could see.

We have video footage of the seance, and we got EVPs from it. So much happened that night, as I said, but I just wanted to distill it down to what changed me and my view of things forever. It was literally a life changing event.

And that was really only the beginning. Since Voytek took an interest in me I made sure to pay attention, because he had something to say and I was going to make damn sure people listened. Our investigation of Cielo intensified from that point on, not just because of my concerns with Voytek but because of the abundance of, yes, EVIDENCE that came out of that seance! I promise I'll figure out how to put up a link to our video and audio. Until then, I'll be continuing my narrative! PAX

[KAW]