Ghost tour digs up vivid history, not the dead

  Home to the Territorial Prison, Yuma is certain to have a few skeletons in its closet that paint the town with a colorful - if not a cursed - past, say some historians.

   Yuma Spirit Hunters, an organization of paranormal investigators, examines the town's unique history that included the prison, which for 35 years was home to more than 3,000 prisoners. One of those prisoners is said to haunt historic Old Town, blaming the city for condemning an innocent man.

  Don Swain, a park ranger at the Territorial Prison State Historic Park, leads a Ghost Hunter Tour today (Friday) and invites everyone to the place of public hangings to learn the legends of Rosie the street walker, if she was real or ghost; how Martinez Lake got its name; and how coffins made their way down Main Street nearly 100 years ago.

  "The tour is Yuma's history with a twist," Swain said. "We show old photos, electronic voice phenomenon - hauntings we can't disprove because there is no physical explanation."

  The tours have been conducted since 2001, but Swain has been involved with paranormal investigation since 1983. The tour is in no way an attempt to prove the presence of ghosts but intended to have a lot of fun.

  There are no staged re-creations with a cast of extras covered in sheets to gin up excitement. The real terror is buried in the legends he recalls that are supported by history.

  While guiding his guests through the past, Swain plays recorded voices and displays "ghost" pictures that can't be explained away as "orb photos" with a big ball of light and are obvious fakes, he says. 

  Swain, who also investigates buildings for hauntings, said 99 percent of the time they prove to have no factual evidence. Yuma Spirit Hunters are a seriously inclined group of investigators who have no resemblance to the theatrics of the popular movie "Ghostbusters."

  And unlike the Hollywood version, Spirit Hunters never charge a fee for investigation but do rely upon electromagnetic field detectors (used in aviation work), thermal temperature scanners (used by air conditioning technicians) and infrared photography (as used by security systems) in an attempt to document phantom-like activity.

  Although none of his investigations has turned up a haunted house, Swain noted, most photographic paranormal activity can be explained away as merely capturing the presence of dust particles or insects that are often present no matter how clean a home.

  "I've been doing this a long time and I don't think I believe in ghosts but I've seen some things I can't explain."

  The "ghost" in question was a suspected haunting at a commercial business in which a chair moved under its own power to a conference table as if somebody sat down in it, he explained. Although he did not witness it for himself, he does have a video of the phenomenon and it can be seen at their Web site: www.spirithunter.net.

  "When we go in to investigate a house, we go in to disprove everything people tell us," Swain said. "That way it keeps us grounded so we're not jumping at every shadow. But if we can't disprove something, then it's got to be paranormal at the time, but that doesn't mean there won't be a physiological explanation sometime later."

  The Ghost Hunter tour season resumes this month and will continue every first and third Friday until April. The tour begins at 7 p.m. and departs in the parking lot across from the historic Lee Hotel, 105 Main St.

  It will include a stop at the corner of Madison Avenue and 3rd Street where Martin Ubillos, serving a life sentence at the Territorial Prison, was the only prisoner executed when he was hung on June 16, 1905 for murdering his cellmate.

  "Hauntings are the 'in' thing now - you can turn on any TV channel and find something about ghosts," Swain said. "I met the original 'Ghost Whisperer' who is the model for the Melinda Gordon character and now a technical adviser to the program. She is a very nice lady but she doesn't look anything like Jennifer Love Hewitt."
  There are no reservations required for the Ghost Hunter Tour but there is a $10 fee. Swain asks everyone to bring a camera with a flash, an audio recorder - and an open mind - to ensure a good time.

---
William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.