SN&R receives news alerts and press briefings from every corner of life in the Capital City; and, in one case, possibly dispatches that involve the shadowy veil beyond life.

These missives are sent out by local researcher Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective. Roberts monitors the Sacramento Paranormal Haunted Hotline, which can be reached at 916-203-7503. He’s also a writer for Phenomena Magazine and Paranormal Underground Magazine, as well as the author of a number of books on the supernatural.

The paranormal P.I. regularly emails out summaries of suspected hauntings he’s called to confront around Sacramento. With the Halloween season at hand, we thought we’d review a few of those reports.

North Highlands 

Roberts has been documenting his adventures with the other side as far back as 2007, back when he was called to a house in North Highlands for where the occupants were noticing smells, sights and movements that didn’t make sense. 

Roberts and his team brought out infrared cameras, a video recorder, a temperature gauge, an EMF detection meter and various types of digital recorders. There were plenty of odd happenings to look into.

Roberts documented that the family – who wished to remain anonymous – had smelled cigarette smoke in the house, though no one was allowed to smoke in there; and had even found tobacco ashes near their toilet. From there, the evidence got weirder.

“They heard loud bangs from the pots in the kitchen,” Roberts wrote in his dispatch. “Their small child had blankets moved off of him. The blankets moved from the bed to the floor on its own. The whole family sleeps in the living room together, because they are afraid of their own home surroundings … They have seen shadows crossing the walls … in the master bedroom, objects have moved on their own accord, such as hats or a basket … The mother goes on to explain how the TV has shut off on its own, and then came back on – and, at times – the channels change. In the kitchen, she has heard the freezer door open and the jiggling of ice cubes. On the stove is a picture on a stand, and the stand is knocked off on its own.”

Roberts added, “The daughter and mother have witnessed the knocking down of the picture in the picture frame.”

A member of Roberts’ team named Janet sensed that there was the spirit of a little boy in the house, one who was “playful” and might have been about 7.

“She also felt like there was a relative of the family in the house and that he had been shot,” the team’s report detailed. “The family of the house confirmed that what Janet said was true. Janet felt shivers, discomfort and she almost felt like crying. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt a sense of sadness in this house. Janet believes there are three entities in the home, but the third one was never identified.”

Oak Park

Roberts points out that, because Oak Park has many homes dating back to the 19^th century, it’s sometimes referred to as a neighborhood of wandering spirits.

The HPI team was wondering if it was about to meet one when it was called to the home of Martin Purtill and Dawn Parmeter. The two were living in a dwelling that was built during the era of the Roaring 20s.

“Dawn, with her bright smile, brought out cut-up watermelon, Chai tea, cherry tomatoes and homemade chocolate chip cookies for the investigators,” Roberts recalled. “The occupants have told me that they have witnessed moving shadows and feeling weird energy in the storage house. Dawn stated that, at times, she feels she is being watched from the window of the barn.”

Dawn and Martin were also encountering “cold spots” in areas of their home, not to mention in the backyard. Even more disconcerting, they’d noticed their cats hissing at empty spaces and trying ward off something that their owners could not see.

“[Dawn] describes how the storage house always seems damp, dark and muggy,” Roberts wrote. “She explained to me that, at one time she, was shocked to see the fan start moving and go into full speed –and it was unplugged!”

Roberts added, “Martin relates to me that one of the strangest incidents was when a small TV in the backroom, that was unplugged came on, and there was the distinctive ‘white noise.’ They heard people talking through the TV set.”

Elk Grove

Roberts’ team has been out to the south part of Sacramento County, too. One case that comes to mind involves a “beautiful house” where some not-so-beautiful things were allegedly going on.

Roberts and company arrived at the address to meet its current occupant, Racquel, who had reason to believe that the previous owners have been experimenting with a Ouija Board. Either way, Racquel’s problems in the structure had been going on for seven years at the point. Specifically, her children were terrified because they had been seeing “entities.” By the time Roberts arrived, a different paranormal investigator had already shared a suspicion with Racquel that the house had “a portal” in it.

“Her child looked in the mirror and his head was turned when the child was looking straight forward at his reflection,” Roberts typed in his case file. “[There’s] handprints on a large mirror. The children cannot reach this mirror and Racquel and her husband have no idea how the handprints are getting on the mirror.”

Roberts also mentioned that a large painting on the hallway wall was reportedly thrown to the ground. He ultimately conducted a Roman Catholic house blessing. During those rites, Roberts started feeling “extremely dizzy.” The investigator soldiered through the disorientation and finished the blessing.