HANNAGAN MEADOW LODGE

ALPINE, AZ

AUGUST 9, 2008

Hannagan Meadow Lodge was established in 1926.  It has a history derived from both road building and cattle ranching in the Southwest.  The development of the lodge has been a labor of love for each and every owner, and they all strive to preserve its history and charm.  Its convenient spot on the Coronado Trail (Hwy 191) was a stopping point for travelers crossing the mountains in their early automobiles.

Twelve brave workshop attendees made the trek to one of the most beautiful spots in Arizona for a “retreat” style workshop and to seek the spirits lingering in the pines.

Lisa McD made a grand entrance into the parking lot of the Lodge and was noticed by all!  By 2PM the workshop crew had met in the lobby and began to check into their rooms.  Since this was a smaller investigating group, Debe decided to let some of the more seasoned ghost hunters have a hand on leading a session of the agenda.

Dale Smith led us out to the campfire ring where lots of rustic logs rest around a fire pit.  She felt this was the perfect way for the small group to get to know each other and asked us to tell everyone our name----what we enjoyed about ghost hunting and relate an interesting experience.  This definitely broke the ice and everyone was anxious to get back inside the lodge and make contact with the ghosts that reside there.

Debe’s session was a dowsing class.  Several of the group members brought dowsing rods of their own and Debe had sets to borrow out or purchase.  We practiced all sorts of dowsing exercises like writing your name on a card—flipping it over---mixing it up with six other cards and then asking the rods to find the one with your name.  We had bottles filled with sand and water, and we had to have the rods located the bottle of water.  She also showed us how to use the dowsing rods to communicate with spirit and how to dowse in a cemetery.

We all met for dinner in the Lodge restaurant and dined on delicious homemade entries while watching for deer in the forest across the road.  It was nice to see everyone socializing and preparing their tactics for the evening’s ghost hunt.

After dinner Deb Wilber gave a brief demonstration on setting up cameras in strategic places and had volunteers doing the tape down.  Cindy also set up one of her cameras in the day area on the 2^nd floor where we had gathered to do our workshop sessions.

Cindy Lee did her presentation on some of the encounters she has had being a nurse and seeing spirits on the job and she also had some photos for us to look at and analyze for her.  She told us of a trip she had taken in the South and all the paranormal happenings she encountered on this trip.  She had photos of the B & D where she was staying with some phenomenal photos she could not explain!

Lisa McD let us on a debate on the controversial subject of orbs.  We all know how exciting that first photo of an orb may be, but the experienced ghost hunter no longer accepts just any orb as paranormal.  We have learned through the years that most orbs are dust, moisture, dander or bugs.

We all met in the downstairs common area at 10:00 for a guided medium circle led by Lisa Ross and Emmerich Knoebl.  We gathered in a circle and tried to draw in the spirits that reportedly haunt the lodge. In our minds we reached out to The Lady of the Lodge, the children who played there, the Indian which has been seen riding his painted pony between the lodge and store, the dogs, and the ghost of Nora Mc Cafferty herself!

The lodge was quiet now.  The investigators had their cameras rolling and digital camera flashes brightened up the lodge and the areas outdoors. 

Justin Martindale, one of the first time ghost hunters with the group had this report on what was occurring out doors and he and Emmerich stood and talked.

“As far as the ghost dog I saw.  This appeared as a shadow that was running on four legs.  I saw this as well as Emerich.  We both then looked at each other and said, ‘Did you see that?’  The apparition was very fast and disappeared as quickly as we saw it.  I had also seen other shadows move out there in the front of the lodge, which is why I stayed out there so long.  Not that this may mean anything, but a fog rolled in at about 0230.  Cindy and I saw this, I doubt this was anything given that there was some rain earlier that day.  However, the fog disappeared in about five minutes as quickly as it came in. “

Was this the ghost of the dogs we witnessed on our last workshop at Hannigan’s? 

In the morning we all met for dinner and discuss the activity we had experienced throughout the night.  Soon it was time to make the long journey back to our homes and we posed for the traditional workshop group picture on the porch of the lodge