The weather could not have been more frightful, terrible, unaccommodating and spooky, the night of December 1, 2008 as we approached our destination, Pinky’s Bar and Grill. Located at the Verona Village Resort on the beautiful Sacramento River a few miles north of Sacramento, California, we had been told the place had stories to tell. Nestled directly on the water in a little hamlet called Nicolaus, it should not have been a chore to get there from our Gold Rush Ghosts Paranormal Headquarters in Placerville, about 30 miles away in the heart of the Gold Rush Country. But this day was different. This investigation, headed by major ghost hunter with GRG Judy Cooper, was to prove there are still goose bumps available even for seasoned investigators. Even before cautiously driving to the location unceremoniously slow in the unexpected fog, we knew this one would be a serious ghost hunt. Fog was coming in at a fast pace, the winding road barely visible from the driver’s seat, which was occupied by the owner of Gold Rush Ghosts, head investigator Robert Reppert. White knuckle passengers unable to see anything outside the windows and silent in the back seat were Gold Rush Ghosts investigators Judy Cooper, Liz Harrison, and Bob King. I was riding shotgun in the front next to Reppert. Following us to join in the investigation were more GRG paranormal investigators, Danielle Carpenter, Cat Noble, and Laura Martucci. Only persons missing were famed paranormalist Gina Lanier and Ricardo Pustanio from www.hauntedamericatours.com. We knew they would have LOVED this investigation, and we would have been honored to have them aboard. FOG! Crazy as it was, we knew that FOG was exactly what was needed to promote the right amount of moisture for the assurance of ectoplasm and we had carefully packed our gear, ready for this investigation. The fog, hard and frightening to drive in, was now taking us to our destination, and we would be there under the hospitality of owners Matt and Debbie Lovette, who had given us free range of their place. Cooper had done well as she was the one who found this haunted spot, and she had already done her homework.
Gold Rush Ghosts Paranormal insists on a pre-investigation prior to the crew going out, making sure there is actual activity before alerting our experts. Cooper had previously gone out to measure electric sockets in the walls, heating ducts in the floor, she had done a complete floor plan so that we did not get excited over false readings from electrical and other natural things that could be misconstrued as paranormal activity. From her pre-investigation she shared with us what she had been told about the history of the building. “The restaurant and bar was formerly known as Verona Joes or Joe’s Place. Back in the late 1930’s a Swiss immigrant named Joe Swissig built the building. The locals loved him, so much so, that to this day there is a tile on the floor at the front entrance with his picture on it. After he passed, the place changed several hands until Matt and Debbie Lovette took it over in 2007. For years they had heard that strange activity was going on in the place, especially after the death of Joe.” Enter Gold Rush Ghosts Paranormal, hopeful to get a serious read on the activity and if so, to shoot it for our television show Investigating the Unknown.
“It didn’t take long for the new owners and their employees to start noticing strange happenings” Cooper continued from her pre-investigation. “On tape Robert ‘Bob’ Powell, one of the cooks spoke of hearing bottles clinking and things being moved around, especially at the place at the bar that Joe was known to sit at while alive” she told us. The cook spoke of always hearing strange noises, and told of other people that had mentioned seeing reflections in the windows of people that aren’t there.
One of the owners, Debbie, was happy to relate her stories to Cooper as well. “The jukebox will suddenly start playing. It’s a state of the art jukebox, and it is very difficult to bring up a song, which makes it even more impossible for it to start by itself.” Her husband Matt admitted to seeing someone sitting at the end of the bar, and when he looked again, the person was gone. He told her that on several occasions he double checked himself to be certain that his eyes were not playing games on him and yet he still saw someone sitting at the end of the bar when clearly there should not have been anyone around. On second glance…the entity is always gone. Rather unnerving. The couple told of a morning when they came to work and the padlock had been undone and the chain that holds the door closed being loosened. The door was wide open. They checked everywhere, but nothing was missing inside the building. Everyone that Cooper spoke to had a story to tell, and/or felt the impressions of a presence. All had that feeling that they were not alone when in the building.
As we arrived at our destination it was obvious that Pinky’s Bar & Grill was not one of your typical boring buildings. As we drove into the parking lot we were greeted by a three story edifice, wood planks, a building of strange cut-outs, in-and-outs, misplaced windows, and cubby holes. Obviously these are all components that attract the paranormal. Cooper had been told that the ropes that surround the walkways are from old boats, and so naturally our first concern was to go up the deck and look out onto the water. The fog was tightening around us now and we hung over the deck to try and see something. The outline of an old Japanese Trawler was slightly visible, moored at the waters edge, just outside the building. We were told a man had died on that boat. Certainly it was clear the boat would never make another trip, the sail had obviously been cut off, later we found out it was because it could not fit under the Sacramento Bridge when it entered the river. Beyond that it was old and untrustworthy. In the fog those of us who are psychic saw the deceased sailor exit the boat, and our investigators scrambled for their cameras for what we could capture in this visibility. It was going to be quite a night!
Leaving one cameraman behind to film the events on the water, we decided to go into the building. As you enter you immediately pass the original bar on the right, with its old coins and pictures laminated in the wood. After a large space in the middle of the building which is now used as a dance floor, there is the new bar on the left. We looked at the original port holes from old ships that are used as windows. Interesting! Looking back outside, the river visibility has completely left us for the fog. It was an eerie feeling, creepy even to seasoned investigators. We pulled our jackets close to us and buttoned them. Those of us that had a scarf pulled them up over our heads. It was clear there were entities brushing past us. It was cold. We could literally see our own breath in front of us. We laughed at each other, voicing that it would be much easier to track fast moving and elusive spirits if that were their case as well.
To start the investigation we took out our meters and began looking for the main energy on the bottom floor of the building. There appeared to be little activity at the new bar, but energy was found to be centered at the old bar and the small rooms beyond it. Matt offered to show me the utility room which is down the hall and to the right behind the old bar, the room that houses needed equipment and containers. When we approached it was obvious most everything in the room had been scattered, thrown about and on the floor. Strange, because the rest of the building was clean and tidy. Matt was to tell me that whenever he enters the building he finds things have been moved and thrown around in this room. Seemed like a good time to interview Matt and Debbie about their new business, so we took a few photos and Robert set up the mikes to continue recording their stories.
“My sons and I were cleaning up the building and saw three men outside our window on the deck walking around.” Matt told the camera. “I had the boys go outside to tell them that we were closed but no one was there!” Matt said. “The men just disappeared.” His wife Debbie added “Customers always talk to us about reflections in the window when no one is there.” This was a good reason for us to check out the windows. It is not uncommon for there to be strange shadows in old glass because of the imperfections. In this case we could find none.
As the interview continued, the rest of our crew took the FLIR and other meters and continued to scurry around the bottom floor looking for paranormal activity. Bob King, head video photographer was to tell us, “We filmed in the crawlspace of the basement. At the séance, I felt strange activity. I felt we were being watched and I felt like hair was standing up on end. We had an EMT meter, and the spikes were heavy on the second and third floor.”
Because I always get the best, or worse, it was my job to be first on the second floor. When climbing the stairs I had the feeling I was going to fall backwards. I quickly balanced myself and my breathing became labored. It is an interesting fact that most psychics are asthmatic, and this was the feeling I had on my way to the second floor. As I approached the second floor I felt a vortex waiting me at the top of the stairs, and it was clearly going to be of major proportions. Yes, the meters confirmed the center of the portal to be directly on the top of the stairs, and as a precaution I stopped one more time to secure my balance so I did not fall over the captain ropes that separated the floors. I called for back-up because all meters were off the charts and I knew that everyone would want to experience that vortex. Cameras were set up from this point so all activity could be recorded from the TV screen on the first floor. When we later viewed the tape, the orb activity was quite pronounced, and there was a strange phenomena. I would liken it to ‘Morse code’ quick dots of activity, and then longer dashes. It was clearly proving to us that there was spirits and imprint ghosts on the second level. For me, always quickly sidelined, I found it entertaining that the owners had put a stripper’s pole on the second floor, and to lighten things up, I took my leave of the investigation at hand to try my luck at it. Sure, I can still boogie, cool! The old gypsy never leaves the girl, and it was a surprisingly fun interlude. However my dedicated crew was fast to bring me back to the investigation, a door slamming on the stairwell that heads to the third floor, a lookout tower. No one was around to have caused this from a living standpoint. I entered the stairs and immediately saw something jot about and go into the wall on the right. It was noted by one of my crew that to that side it had been haphazardly boarded up. I clearly recognized this as a place where old equipment had once been stored, and where kids playing pranks hid from their parents. It would be fun to take those nails down and see what is there now. Certainly mostly old memories.