Savannah or Bust—Part Deux: Orbs, orbs, everywhere!

Creepy vibes, Benjamin, and orbs galore…Don’t get much better than that!

Let’s start with the basics and a full disclosure here… I was never a fan of orbs. I felt they were the ‘lazy man’s out; the easiest way to ‘prove’ to friends and family that ghosts exist without having actual proof. I have seen tons of orbs— both in photos and in real-time— just flying about, occasionally diving seemingly through the ceiling or floor…

Or through a person😳

But, truth be told, I’ve always chalked them up to reflections or dust. All that changed when we visited the Brentwood Restaurant in Little River, SC.

Yes, indeedy, my friends. I readily admit to being a card-carrying member of the ‘It ain’t supernatural, dude... it’s dirt,’ club, whose members ascribe to the theory that orbs are merely tricks of the light, camera malfunctions, dust particles, or insects.

Speaking of Supernatural though…I miss my boys💔

Sigh. But, the orbs, though…

These glowing, zig-zagging balls of illumination, I reasoned (before I saw the light—pun intended😁) were more than likely reflecting the torso of a kamikaze gnat or blood-thirsty mosquito rather than representing the energy of a wayward spirit.

I think I was wrong. Yep, I said what I said.😏

Because remember this, my friends…in every paranormal investigation, the first step to an airtight answer is to first record the evidence gathered, then look for a logical, scientific, or rational explanation for it.

Once you do that, once you have dotted all your ‘I’s and crossed all of your ‘T’s’, what is left is the unusual or irrational explanations.

What is left is the supernatural; what is left is the Brentwood Restaurant.

When Cyndi and I went into the investigation of both Savannah and Brentwood, we went in with the assumption that anything we witnessed was NOT necessarily a paranormal event.

At least until we proved it otherwise.

After all, if a person claims that every shadow, every flash of light, and every disembodied voice stems from the ghostly realm, it kind of diminishes and invalidates the true hauntings around us.

So you go in, eyes wide open, expecting nothing. Then, you pick apart what evidence you have in front of you and try to debunk it. Finally, when you throw away the endless possibilities— that the orb you are seeing is the result of car headlights or dust on the camera or flying little no-see-ems—you’re left with the conclusion that what you are seeing (or hearing) is not of this world.

But, as often happens, I digress. We’ll get back to the Brentwood Investigation, after a word from our sponsors.

Not really. Just always wanted to say that🤣

Anyhoo, the sheer amount of orb activity in that building was staggering. Within five minutes of the tour, we had witnessed dozens of orbs dancing around the building. But, interestingly enough, it wasn’t just the orbs that kind of wigged me out. The entire building gave off a weird vibe.

And, along with that, it gave me something else.

I swear I’m not losing it here, but stepping through the doors seemed to make whatever on-point intuition or psychic ability (uncontrolled, as it were) I have more powerful. The place was virtually humming with energy, and I think (though would never swear to it in a court of law) it made all of my senses stronger.

Like some kind of freakin’ Twilight Zone shizzle.

But, my lips to God’s ears, I found myself knowing things about the building’s history—things I shouldn’t have known. And my girl, Cyndi, was feeling those creepy vibes, too, especially when we were in the upstairs bar area, as well as in one of the bathrooms on the main floor.

The shot below is a still of an orb as it dives at her, trying to steal her soul.

Or, it had finished in the bathroom, washed up, and was just leaving. (New idea for the next blog…”Do Ghosts Poop?”)

This orb( top left ) was in the bathroom and came straight at Cyndi!

The stories about paranormal events experienced by the restaurant’s patrons and staff vary. Some claim to have been touched; a few swear to having seen a male face in a mirror upstairs. Others report having heard voices in the night or feeling a general unease whenever in the building. When we first arrived, despite my brain trying to fight it, I was overwhelmed with ‘knowing’ some of the history of the place. I told our guide what I could see in my mind’s eye—a young woman with a disfiguring facial scar, a person we will call “grumpy old man” who hung out in a dark corner near a closet, and a little boy and girl running around, playing tag and hide and seek, much to the dismay of grumpy, old man.

The reveal? So, it turns out that the staff actually do complain about an angry, older male lurking about. He generally keeps to the shadows, in the particular corner that wigged me out, but will occasionally stomp around the building, making people uncomfortable. And a psychic who visited the place not long ago told them she felt there was at least one child present.

Oh, and the disfigured girl I saw in my mind? Apparently, there were twin girls who used to hang out when the building was a boarding house. At some point, there was a fire in the building. Could the girl I saw with the scars on her face have been a victim of that fire? Inquiring minds want to know!

The still pics I have here do not do justice to the abundance of orb activity. I am still going through the video, photographic, and audio information we amassed from the places we visited during our trip. Once I gather all the evidence, I will post it on my website.

This is a still shot of one of the largest orbs I’ve even see. Brentwood dining area.

So all of this begs the question…what, exactly, are orbs? I mean, besides celestial bodies in space or really big eyeballs?😁 Are they the energy of a lingering spirit or the result of residual activity in a place with a dark history? Or, perhaps as some suggest, could orbs be portals or doorways used by spirits to enter our world? Most importantly, how can you distinguish between a speck of floating dust and an actual paranormal event?

The easiest way, IMO, is to futz around with the lighting in the photograph. Orbs shine from within, creating their own self-illuminating light. So, if we take light away from a picture, everything within that photo should go dark. If it doesn’t, if an orb remains lit after you diminish the lighting, that means it is something that has created its own light (or so I’ve read.) Below is a perfect example of that.

My house in NJ was, and still is on occasion, very active spirit-wise. Word on the street is that the land was all part of a large Indian burial ground. We also have a cemetery right down the road (quiet neighbors😜) that is filled with many of the dead. Some graves are quite old, actually.

So, activity has always been almost cyclic there. We would have a bunch of stuff going on, then nothing.

As if they went on vacay or something. (Blog idea #2…”Haunted Hijinks…A Travel Blog of the Dead.”)

Somebody write these down…this is gold!

Anyway, one evening, my son snapped a bunch of pics in the pitch dark after he heard movement. (He had been asleep and the ‘whoosh’ noise, which sounded to him like corduroy pants, woke him up.) There were several orbs captured, but this was the best example. I minimized the lighting until the picture was much darker and still, the orb kept glowing.

Yeah, my ghost wears corduroy pants. So retro.

So, how about our nighttime investigation of the Savannah Theater? Said to be one of the most haunted theaters in the US, I can say with certainty it did not disappoint! Unfortunately, the stuff that happened is all on audio or video, which means I cannot show it here. Or maybe I can, but just don’t know how.

Admittedly, not a stretch for me. I suck at technology.

I will, however, put it all on my website so you can analyze it for yourself.

There is one audio in particular that gave me the willies. Cyndi and I were backstage, in the pitch dark, when suddenly, she felt someone touching the top of her head. At the same time, I felt a light finger drag down the side of my neck. Talk about goosebumps!

On the recorder, you can hear me ask if someone is touching Cyndi. Then I say, “What’s your name?” and I swear on my children’s eyes (or orbs lol) that we got a response.

I know what I think it says; I am interested in y’all hearing it and telling me what you think it says.

In another room, we had a REM POD set up. This is a device that will light up in the presence of spirit. It is also a good tool to use when trying to communicate with them (Ex; “ Is Benjamin here?” and the thing goes nuts!)

Benjamin was a little boy who was killed during a stampede when the Savannah theater caught fire. He is said to be there, hiding things, giggling, touching people. You know… generally doing what an ordinary ten-year-old boy would do…only, as a ghost. Below is a still of the REMPOD going bonkers when we asked if Benjamin was with us. (For reference, the guides told us that there are many investigations where the device remains quiet. For whatever reason, the night we were investigating, the thing was off the hook.)

REMPOD lights activated when we mentioned Benjamin. Also, take note…the EMF detector on the right is also lit up, indicating the presence of a spirit or spirtis. Here, we see 3 or 4 lights lit. For reference, there should only be one, the first light, lit up.

Another interesting thing (interesting is probably the wrong word choice, but I try to avoid any “Holy s*@t language on the blog. Go figure 😎) was that when the tour guide lifted an empty bottle of champagne and joked about a staff celebration the night before, the spirit box app on his phone said “cheers.”

AT THE PRECISE MOMENT HE PICKED UP THE BOTTLE.

That spirit talking app (which, tbh, I am still on the fence about) also gave us a number (7) when we asked how many people were in the room at that moment. There were only five of us.

But we’d been communicating with 2 spirits, Benjamin and a fellow named Bill. Fun facts with math!

The other thing I wanted to mention is how one of the people in our group was forever in need of a newly-charged battery for his video camera. He went through 3 fully-charged batteries in about 2 hours.

Unheard of. But, in case you didn’t know, ghosts make a mad grab for energy or electricity when they want to communicate, so battery drain or burned-out lightbulbs is not uncommon.

Finally, what happened in the Marshall House Hotel?

We had the laptop camera going every time we left the room, trying to catch something. We captured too many loud bangs to count, and what sounded like coins jingling or twirling on a desk. We had no video evidence, nothing manifested in our absence. Be we did have flickering lights, groaning, a few sounds that were pretty close to screams, and some hushed talking. We tried debunking all of it, as it is a running hotel and there were other guests.

However…

We paid special attention to the sounds we made in the hallway and outside the door when coming back from an adventure. You could definitely hear us, but the sounds were just muffled belly laughs (because we are a fun couple of gals😁) until we opened the door. Then, our conversation was crystal clear. The Marshall House owners would be happy to know the place is very well insulated.

A comforting thought, until you realize what that statement truly means.

It means that the voices, the bangs, the groans—all of it came from inside the room.

Where we had to sleep. Oy.

Beautiful hotel and an amazing experience with one of my dearest friends. Can’t wait to go back!

That wraps it for this time, gang. Keep an eyeball (orb) out for the audio and video evidence on the website. Once it is up, drop me a line on what you think the voice says in the theater (when I asked its name.) And, as always, if you have a place you feel needs investigating (and we won’t get arrested for trespassing!), let me know.

At the end of May, I will be traveling to yet another paranormal hotspot, Gettysburg. I’ve booked an investigation with a few of my posse and will let y’all know how things turn out.

Till next time, send me your video or photographic evidence of potentially paranormal phenomena, and we will get her up on the site!

Peace out, scuba scouts!

—Q