Do you believe in ghosts? Well last night, I was part of a paranormal investigation of the Oman House and sat in on Séance.

Oman House, owned by David Oman, is supposedly the most actively haunted house in America. The house sits merely 150 feet from 10050 Cielo Drive, the location where Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by the Manson family on August 9, 1969. The mansion in which the murders occurred was torn down in 1994, and five years later, Oman’s father and he built their house on a nearby lot. Yet, in this house, voices were heard, shapes were seen, and even full body apparitions have been reported.

Numerous respected psychics and mediums have spent time on the property – Lisa Williams, Chris Fleming, and James Van Prague – and they all confirm the hauntings occurring at this location.

However, it is important to note two things starting out: the ghosts aren’t malevolent (although they do get mad and play pranks that annoy David) and there are far more ghosts there than just Sharon Tate and her friends. We heard about Sharon and her friends, ancient Indians that were buried under the house appearing on the hillside, and a little girl from the early 1900’s named either Gwendolyn or Mary.

We drove up to a sleepy neighborhood in Beverly Hills. Approaching the house, I was surprised at how normal it appeared. We were there to celebrate the release of Poltergeist on Blu-Ray. We were welcomed in, given a few appetizers, and given time to freely explore. They had some props from the movie, including the creepy clown doll from the son’s room. It was sitting on a glass table, so I pulled out my iPhone’s camera—and as I take the picture, the screen of my phone is distorted.

Not a picture over picture effect, no floating orbs, no screaming faces—but strange pink, purple, black, and white vertical lines. I have never seen this happen before ever on my phone, so needless to say, I was already pretty creeped out. An hour later, Oman welcomes us to his house, and I pull my camera again (after taking 50+ other pictures around the house), and the same phenomenon occurs. If anyone can offer any explanation to this, please let me know.

We were then split up into groups to start the investigation. Our first location was a basement and literal man cave for Oman: one wall is missing and the cliff-side is protruding into the house. We were introduced to the tools of the ghost hunter: a K2 meter (measures changes in EM frequencies), EVP Recorder (ask a question and then play back the recording to see if anyone answered your question), and a Mel Meter REM-ATDD (measures natural and man-made EMF frequencies and temperature changes).

As we explored four other locations, we used these tools to look for ghosts and to ask questions and see if we received any responses on the EVP Recorder. Although we did not hear any answers, we did have a unique experience in the little girl’s room (dressed to resemble the room from the movie). We were told that there was a spirit of a little girl who was often seen in the house, and a group before us at had some light activity. We were having fun, joking around, laughing—and then we noticed the K2 meter was spiking, much more than what was seen previously. Yet, when our guide would call out to her and ask her questions, she would stop as if she was shy. We ended up forgoing what the guide had planned and played with the little spirit. Her activity was repeatable and loved when we were singing or playing a piano for her.

We were later taken in the movie room and David showed us pictures of white mists, orbs, blue distortions, and other photographic evidence he claimed were apparitions on the property. Perhaps the most believable was a video taken of last March when Mike Fontaine and Russell Eaton of MyHauntLife.com (go check them out, they rock!) explored the house. The video shows Mike exploring the basement area, and as he turns to leave, a butcher’s block spins around and falls. It doesn’t just fall; it spins first without any disturbance to it. It’s a creepy video:

The evening concluded with a Séance. Strands from nearby pepper trees littered the table and three distinct candles burned. Twelve people sat at a table and the remainder sat around the edges of the room. We were asked to call out the name of a loved one when it got to our turn and the medium would attempt to contact them.

 

A K2 meter was set on the table and using that and the flame of the candle, we could determine if a spirit was with us. However, the K2 never spiked and the candles didn’t do much either. The medium supposedly contacted many ghosts that night, but often the details were wrong regarding the person she was contacting. She spoke to one guest for a while of how the deceased loved her nieces, yet later we find out she had none. For me, she spoke that my grandfather died of chest complications, possibly a smoker, yet that’s not how he died at all. I was a little disappointed in this aspect as it felt more like random guessing than actual contact.

For a release of Poltergeist, I truly applaud the authenticity of the event. I expected some cheap (yet fun) theatrics, but none were present—the event was real. Highlights were playing with the little girl in bedroom and taking those unexplained pictures on my phone. Every few months, Oman opens his house for an evening of ghost hunting. Keep your eye on his facebook page and maybe you’ll get your chance to play with a ghost—just don’t bring anything home with you.