Local ghost hunters think they’ve spotted something peculiar on footage shot at the Brookdale Inn.
Under the glow of the Brookdale Inn and Spa’s chandeliers, Renaldo Williams (wearing cap) examines his electomagnetic field monitor for spikes of energy Jan. 17 while Shelly Crowley and Ed Hayes lead the way, snapping photos of every corner. The group of paranormal investigators sought evidence of ghosts stirred up by renovations of the old lodge. After reviewing infrared footage shot by Bruce Bellochio, they think they’re on to something. Amanda Matthews/Press Banner
“We got some stuff — it’s absolutely unbelievable,” an excited Erich Breger said five days after his paranormal investigative team walked the Brookdale Inn and Spa on Jan. 17.
Brager described what the group caught on tape as a “stargate,” similar to portals in the science-fiction thriller.
On the team’s first walkthrough of the lodge at about 10:30 p.m., two members of his team seemed to get fuzzy or out of focus on the film, even while the surrounding picture remained crystal clear.
“It was like they were walking into some plasma thing,” Breger said.
Ed Hayes and Shelly Crowley, the team members who led the first walkthrough, both moved in and out of the anomaly that was caught by cameraman Bruce Bellochio using an infrared camera.
“I had some of the heaviest feelings I’ve had in my life before,” Hayes said after the walkthrough.
What was this group of moonlighters doing that Thursday night?
The group was searching for the evidence of paranormal activity in the inn after Boulder Creek’s Breger, the fleet manager at Ocean Honda in Santa Cruz, heard recent reports of shadowy figures.
Shelly Crowley shines a light through a glass partition that separates the Mermaid Room from the pool. A woman died in the pool in 1972, and her ghost is said to wander the rooms of the resort. Amanda Matthews/Press Banner
The investigation started when a waitress told Breger she saw shapes break through a plane of light while she was working.
Breger and Hayes believe the recent change of ownership and the remodeling that is taking place at the inn, formerly the Brookdale Lodge, has stirred spirits that are rumored to lurk there.
Six-year-old Sarah Logan, the daughter of the original owners of the Brookdale Lodge, died in the creek that runs through the Brook Room. Her ghost is rumored to walk the halls
In 1972, a woman reportedly died in the swimming pool that faces the mermaid room, and her ghost is said to wander the rooms of the resort.
Breger said there have been nine reported deaths in the history of the lodge.
“If there is a place for trapped spirits, this could be one of them,” said Hayes, who has yet to have a sighting, despite several junkyard investigations with Breger.
Breger’s team is Renaldo Williams, Brandi Sause, Crowley, Hayes and Bellochio.
The team tries to summon spirits through a Ouija Board. Amanda Matthews/Press Banner
“I chose people I trust with my life,” Breger said.
He and his team filmed the two-hour investigation Jan. 17 that cumulated with a Ouija board experience as four members of the team tried to contact any spirits in the building.
“Our intentions are nothing but good,” Breger said during the investigation. “We want to communicate with any kind of good entity that wants to manifest itself here.”
Breger said he’s been investigating paranormal activity with his team for about two years. They have already made an amateur film of their exploration of junkyards, which Breger said is where spirits often will be, especially around wrecked cars where someone died.
The recent investigation might not have taken place if Brookdale Inn and Spa General Manager Andy Poon had known about it ahead of time, though.
“The whole thing is a misunderstanding,” said Poon, who said Breger asked one of his staff, but never got the OK from him. “It is not something we actually support.”
However, he is not going to pursue it further.
“It is not really a big deal, so we just let it go,” he said.
