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KFMB News 8 San Diego

Voices of the Dead Interview with Beth Shelburne and Bonnie Vent the "Spirit Advocate (sm)"

Do We Really Hear The Voices Of The Dead?

Last Updated:
02-08-05 at 8:53AM

We Really Hear The Voices Of The Dead?

It may be another case of "caught on tape.” NEWS 8 was contacted by a local woman who claims she recorded an EVP at a well-known haunted spot in San Diego. The paranormal experience of electronic voice phenomenon or "EVP" is the process of capturing unexplained voices on tape. It recently made news with the movie "White Noise." NEWS 8's Beth Shelburne went to the Villa Montezuma to investigate. So you be the judge, can we really hear the voices of the dead?

Villa Montezuma was built in 1887, but its legend is still evolving. The Victorian mansion was designed by an international celebrity and eccentric. Jesse Sheperd was a musician, author and a spiritualist who believed he could channel spirits of the dead.

Bonnie Vent calls herself a "Spirit Advocate". She regularly researches paranormal activity in San Diego, and she's been visiting the Villa since 2000.

"I've seen columns of white light coming in through the conservatory. I've seen lights on in the copula where there is no way there can be a light on because there is no bulb in the socket and the circuit breaker is off," said Bonnie.

Buddy Horne has stories too. He was the live-in caretaker of the property for six years.

"You hear the wood creak behind you and you turn and you expect someone to be there and no one’s there,” explained Buddy.

Stories also include sightings of an elderly woman and a tall man in a suit. Those accounts and a strong sense of psychic urgency brought Bonnie back. On her second visit in 2000, she was interviewing the assistant curator about the home's history, when she captured an unexplained voice on tape.

"Actually it happened quite by accident and is typical with EVP, you do not know that your capturing it while you're capturing it," continued Bonnie.

Since then the EVP has been authenticated by well-known ghost investigatators, and Bonnie is still trying to decode the message.

"We don't know who it is. We know it's a female voice. We also know that she was talking to someone else,” noted Bonnie.

The first time Bonnie Vent toured Villa Montezuma, she says she felt a hand on her back when no one was there.

"And I kept feeling this sensation," Bonnie said.

Bonnie feels, sees and hears unexplained things all the time, and she uses her ability to research hauntings in San Diego. That's what she was doing in October of 2000 while interviewing the assistant curator of Villa Montezuma using a tape recorder.

"The assistant curator was standing by the window,” explained Bonnie.

He asked Bonnie to move so he could open the door for a tour group.

"And you can hear my footsteps coming over standing next to him,” Bonnie continued.

And then, on the tape you hear this:

"I can't believe we live here..."

Bonnie didn't discover the mysterious voice until days later. She played it over and over and thinks the voice says "I can’t believe we live here."

"An awful lot of people have come in and out of this house when they were alive. Uh, if they happened to be fond of it, which I certainly am. I'm very drawn to it. They may choose to come back from time to time," Bonnie said.

Another reason they may choose to come back, according to Bonnie, is because Villa Montezuma was created to channel psychic energy. Its designer Jesse Sheperd included spiritual details like metal plates, rods and gargoyles to help bring in supernatural communication.

"So we don't know who she was talking to at the time and so to me it's still an open investigation open mystery," Bonnie added.