Want to hunt for ghosts? This Mystic Mom is who you should call

Photo: Denise Seah of Mystic Mom’s Paranormal team. Photo Denise Seah.

WANT TO HUNT FOR GHOSTS?

By Sue Reames

This time of the year thoughts turn to pumpkins, falling leaves, cooler temperatures, candy corn … and hauntings. I grew up convinced I had seen a ghost in my parents’ home. (It waved at me.) Today, after participating in “ghost hunts,” meeting seasoned expert paranormal investigators and learning from them and their friends has been eye-opening and mind-blowing. For example, I have been tapped on the arm by child spirits at Belvoir Winery in Liberty and caught amazing images on camera. At Shawnee Indian Mission I listened to a full-on “spirit box” conversation between one of my friends and the ghosts of French soldiers who had been stationed on the site!

Browsing the internet for local paranormal investigations, I happened upon the name of a local paranormal research team: Mystic Mom’s Paranormal. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to chat with researcher, Denise Seah. 

Seah is founder of Mystic Mom’s Paranormal Team. She grew up near Unity Village in a haunted house where her family experienced paranormal events. She always had a deep fascination with history, especially the Civil War and Victorian eras. It seemed natural that she would enter the field of paranormal research. She was featured on “My Ghost Story” on the Biography network. 

When asked about her experiences leading ghost hunting tours of the Wornall and Majors homes, Seah said that both locations have multiple layers and textures of paranormal activity connected to the Kansas City area. “Ghosts and spirits are everywhere,” Seah states firmly. “We just can’t always see them.” Offering tours of these sites allows participants to see them as beloved homes whose ghostly residents do not want to leave. 

She is quick to point out that research is a key element of paranormal investigations. It is important to have a list of names of previous residents as well as knowledge of how they lived and died. Checking local records, deeds and newspaper clippings gives investigators tools to address the spirits encountered in an investigation.

Seah says that many paranormal researchers get involved because of the historical aspect and they work for the preservation of historical buildings. They continue their quests via public tours to share the history of such sites and to raise funds for maintenance and restoration. Examples of this are Belvoir Winery/Odd Fellows Home in Liberty and the John Wornall House. Some researchers are investing their own money by purchasing similar locations to prevent their destruction.

Asked for advice on hunting for ghosts, she recommends first participating in a tour with
an educated and conscientious guide and adds “When doing a tour, be very careful not to taunt
the spirits. Offer a level of respect for those unseen residents.” Cemeteries tend to be the most haunted locations, but the peacefulness of such locations may attract spirits who search for rest.
“I never reveal the locations of haunted cemeteries,” she says. “If you want to investigate a
cemetery, do not taunt the spirits. Instead, show respect for them and show respect for the living
family members whose loved ones are buried there.”

She is often asked if she offers to help spirits “cross over.” She uses a spirit box, a device
which scans the airways at high speeds. Spirits can manipulate the words and phrases picked up
on the device and talk through it to the researcher. If Seah hears a plea for help on the device, she
stops and prays for the one who is asking. She does not urge them to “go toward the light” or “to
cross over” unless the spirit requests it. She believes that God has provided all humanity with
free will, and it is possible that the spirits have made a choice to stay beyond their death. “Ghosts
don’t wear watches,” she points out. In other words, spirits may not know how long they have
been in a location…nor care.

While it is important to research a site before investigating, Seah emphasizes that it is important to arm yourself with a peaceful, centered attitude as protection from harmful spirits. It is a lesson she learned the hard way on an investigation in California. “I’d had a bad day and, standing in the known vortex of spirit activities below decks, I challenged the spirits to give me an experience I would never forget. What happened was witnessed and caught on film.” [The episode is available on the internet: “My Ghost Story”, season 6 episode #72, “History Never Dies”.] She continues, “After that horrible incident, my health began to deteriorate and it was more than five years before I was back to normal. Whatever that spirit was, it still nudges me to this day. So be careful.”