Hello and welcome back to The Legend Queens! We’re so excited and grateful that you decided to open this second chapter of Season 1.
Today, Amber will walk you through The Estes Method, a specific and relatively new way to communicate with spirits. Then, Austin will discuss what happens next in Hellier. If you haven’t already read Chapter 1, we recommend doing that first! Otherwise you may be a little lost.
Are you comfy? Settled in? Good. Let’s get started.
The Estes Method
Written by Amber Brevig
Imagine this: You and your friends are hanging out in your living room. You’ve always felt like this house was creepy, but you could never quite put your finger on why (and never really wanted to investigate further). You’re all sitting around drinking during one casual Tipsy Tuesday when you collectively hear distinct footsteps upstairs... but you all know no one else is in the home.
A brave (also read as “dumb”) pal calls out “Hello?!” and starts to make their way upstairs. Slowly, inching up your staircase with a glass of cab sloshing around in hand, continuing to call out, “is anyone there?!” The rest of your friends follow closely behind.
Suddenly, you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you get a shiver down your spine. Quietly, but clear as day, you hear a calm, raspy, commanding voice whisper right next to your ear, “Now that I have you… alone….” but when you whip around you find you’re by yourself in the room.
You move out immediately, obviously. But that voice haunts you the rest of your life.
Now, does that happen in real life? Not really. Hollywood would love for us to believe that ghosts physically speak to us through thin air, but way more commonly ghosts speak through something. They tend to prefer to have a conduit of some sort to really make contact with the physical world.
That’s where the spirit box we mentioned last week comes into play. The P-SB7 (aka Paranormal - Spirit Box 7; a commonly used spirit box created back in 2009) acts seemingly like a radio on steroids.
Here’s how it works: The spirit box rapidly flips through AM or FM radio stations to pick up different radio frequencies. This process consistently produces white noise (that can be exceptionally disorienting to people who aren’t used to it). Anything that *isn’t* white noise is often audio coming in through various radio broadcasts. However, this method of spirit communication became popularized because of the voices that come through which don’t seem to be connected to any particular channel.
Typically during a spirit box session, a few people will sit around the device as it cycles through AM or FM radio on speaker for the whole room to hear. Participants will ask questions to any spirits in the room. Any clear audio that comes through the device is considered to be a response, and it is believed that spirits are manipulating energy around the boxes to “speak” through them.
Many of these responses don’t have anything to do with the questions asked or are too jumbled to properly comprehend. Additionally, having multiple people in an excitedly charged atmosphere tends to create “group bias” where one person may *think* they hear a response that makes sense, and the others jump in to corroborate because they want to believe in the communication they think is occurring in the moment.
After several years of using the box on its own, a few paranormal investigators began to experiment with different ways the device could be utilized. Here enters the Estes Method - a unique way to use the P-SB7 to create both a more distinct conduit and a less biased atmosphere.
The Estes Method’s Origin Story
The Estes Method originated in Estes Park, Colorado (home of the infamous Stanley Hotel) and was first used by Karl Pfeiffer, Connor Randall, and Michelle Tate in “Spirits of the Stanley” in early 2016.
During this first session, Connor Randall listened to the SB7 through headphones instead of aloud as in usual spirit box sittings. Karl and Michelle sat in the room with Connor while he listened to the constantly flipping radio frequencies.
In this first iteration of the experiment, Karl and Connor seemingly have a back and forth conversation about Michelle which leads Michelle and team to believe that this entity was actually a familial spirit of Michelle, meaning someone that she knew who had passed and was hanging around her, who was trying to communicate. Michelle confirmed that some of the things said in the session also lead her to believe the ghost was familial and that she believed it was actually one of her friends who had passed away.
If you have a few minutes, you can watch this first Estes Method session below (also note, in the first three minutes of the video, Michelle was apparently scratched by an entity which is referenced during the spirit box session):
In the video, you can see that Connor is just using basic wired earbuds to listen to the SB7. So I bet you’re thinking… couldn’t he just hear what Karl and Michelle were asking him? Or, if not hear, couldn’t he see their mouths move and get a basic idea of what they were asking by reading their lips?
How It Has Developed Since Then
Since that first session at the Stanley Hotel, the original Estes Method team has spent hundreds of hours experimenting with it and tweaking it to perfect the technique and learn all they can from it. Planet Weird gives a detailed step-by-step on how to properly utilize the Method, but here are the two primary tweaks that have changed the authenticity of the process.
1. Wearing Noise Deafening Headphones
That makes sense, right? Reducing the ability to hear the people asking questions allows the conduits to listen better to any noises coming through the spirit box and limits the possibility of influencing the results of the sessions by accidentally hearing the questions being asked.
2. Wearing a Blindfold
A simple fix to an obvious issue with the first experiment - you can’t read lips if you can’t see them in the first place!
So How is it Being Used Today?
In Episode 1 of Season 4 of “Kindred Spirits”, Amy Bruni and Adam Berry, two paranormal investigators, use the Estes Method (which they refer to as the “spirit-box experiment”) in an allegedly haunted school house (Farrar School House) in Iowa. The owners of the property felt that there had recently been a shift in the paranormal activity to something much darker and more sinister than the spirit activity which was usually on the grounds.
On the first night, Adam and Amy use the Estes Method in a classroom where the dark entity was previously seen by the schoolhouse’s groundskeeper. Amy put on her mask and noise defeaning headphones, plugged into the SB7, and began to relay audio derived from the device. If you don’t have Discovery+ (because who needs another subscription, am I right?), here’s a rough transcript of the session:
Adam: We just want to find out who is here with us. We’re looking for any information about a really tall shadow figure. Do you know who that is?
Amy: I died. The Farm.
Adam: You died? On a farm? Can you tell me your name? Are you shy? Scared? Who is the tall shadow figure that they’re-
Amy: Finally
Adam: Who’s that? Can you tell me?
Amy: No
Adam: That’s who we’re looking for. Does he hide from you?
Amy: You know. Cut him. Believe me
Adam: I’m hearing you and I believe you but I don’t know what you mean by cut him.
Amy: Listen
Adam: I’m listening We are here to help you
Amy: He’s warning you
Adam: Why is he warning Me?
Amy: Next
Adam: Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Amy: Make it right
Adam: Okay what is it we need to make right?
Amy: April
Adam: Okay. Is that a person or is that a month? What’s April?
The spirit messages go dead (do you see what I did there?) after that. Now, keep in mind, Amy can allegedly neither hear the questions that Adam is asking nor see his lips while he is asking the questions.
The next day, Amy does some research onto the property and actually finds that “in 1975, 5 miles from Farrar, a man named Terry was murdered on his farm. His throat was cut and his body wasn’t discovered until April.”
Now, this does seem like it could be a hot reading on the schoolhouse. It’s possible that Amy and Adam could have researched the facility and the surrounding area beforehand and staged the spirit box questioning session. However, we don’t have any evidence of this aside from the eerie correlation to the information provided during the session and the history of the surrounding area.
And while this seems like a crazy coincidence, this is just one example. A quick search on Youtube shows that there have been dozens of different videos and hundreds of hours of experimentation to corroborate the possibility that the Estes Method is a true means of spirit communication.
What do you think? Would you sit as a conduit during an Estes Method session? Let us know in the comments below!
Hellier Chapter 2
by: Austin Charles Bolkcom
Before we dive into the new and improved Hellier crew arriving onto the scene in 2017, let’s rewind back to 2013 for just a moment to give a little more background and context for the scene to be set. How were the Newkirks so sure they could find the place where these strange events were taking place? How did Karl and Connor fit into this strange tale?
Rewinding back to 2013, through a weird string of synchronicities, the couple found themselves close to Hellier and the temptation was just too much for them to resist not looking into the town to see if they could get any of their questions answered. They were only a couple hours away so what would be the harm of them just checking out the town and talking to a few of the locals. Within hours most of their suspicions had been confirmed and they left with even more drive to get this mystery solved.
In a town as small as Hellier, where the population dwindled under a thousand people, there are typically hubs that are the cornerstone of the town. The one in Hellier happened to be a gas station, a pizza place, and also a grocery store. Greg did what anyone with an investigative wit would do, he started to ask the locals questions surrounding the details provided by Christie. Quicker than expected, Greg was being surrounded by locals telling them of strange occurrences they’ve had while living there with Dana in the car listening in on the mic she had attached to him. Christie wasn’t the only one seeing these little goblins on their property and wasn’t the only one who’s been terrorized by them.
The locals tell Greg that most of the properties in town have abandoned mine shafts just on the outskirts, others tell Newkirk about UFO sightings that have lasted hours in the middle of the day only for the news to say it was a google satellite and procured a completely different image than what the residents saw, and a child even draws a picture of the little goblins she’s seen not only on her property but also over at friends. Not to the surprise of Greg, the drawing looks eerily similar to the pictures depicted in The Hopkinsville Goblin case. The only real difference is the quality of a child’s drawing versus that of a professional sketch artist.
The two were doing some preliminary groundwork of the town, its locals, and the amount of validity they could attach from the emails to real present life. Greg and Dana felt like they had found where they were supposed to be for this investigation to unfold, it just wasn’t going to be at this given time. But before the two would leave town they would take a little drive around, with the hopes of finding the home David Christie had described in his emails. They knew that he wouldn’t be there anymore, and in fact were told from the locals that a man by that name never lived here, but they still wanted to see if they could find a place that would match the description. The two ended up finding a home matching the exact description that Christie had given them, down to the tool shed just off to the side of the normal housing structure. The place had looked abandoned with even greenery starting to creep through the cracks. Maybe driven by personal confirmation bias but the Newkirks believed this to be the house that these events had unfolded from. Christie being real, or fake, wasn’t their concern because all the pieces of this strange puzzle were starting to come together. Even if the final image was a bit fuzzy, they could see the edges of what was poking through to be shown to them.
That image wouldn’t become clearer till Connor Randall & Karl Pfeifer joined the Hellier team.
One night while listening to a podcast, Karl hears the story of the Hopkinsville Goblins case come up and is immediately reminded of this article he had seen on Greg and Dana’s website. Having previously encountered the two while doing some work for Spirits of the Stanley Hotel, Karl had heard about the emails that had reached their way to Greg. Strangely after he had listened to the story finish up, the exact article from Week in Weird (WeirdHQ.com) popped up on Karl’s feed. Karl interacted with the post and said how weird it was that he was listening to an episode regarding this case and for them to post it on their twitter at the exact time. The two responded saying that their articles get posted at random from the archives and had just happened to post when he was online.
Another coincidence? Or a strange batch of synchronicities to bring the two teams closer together to start to unravel the mystery of Hellier and David Christie? Greg did note to Karl that their website had over 1,700 articles at the time, adding even more strange into the bringing together of these teams.
It seemed like some force was trying to bridge the four together to create a collective team of wit and investigation to tackle this thing from more than one side and perspective. Greg and Dana even stating that they are on the older side, they tend to be less skeptical and want life to throw as much weirdness at them as possible. Whereas Karl and Connor seem to be more reserved and take everything with a grain of salt.
Finally arriving in Hellier in 2017, Newkirk and Co find that their presence isn’t welcomed as much as last time. Greg and Dana noting right away how the energy felt different in the area and it didn’t feel like it wanted them there in the town. These feelings seemed to take manifestation as the group hung around the same gas station/ grocery store/ pizza parlor they had first arrived at back in 2013 but this time with a varying result.
When Newkirks had first arrived in Hellier it seemed like they had no problem getting the locals to speak to them, having about two dozen people populating the space within a half hour giving the two all kinds of stories and details surrounding the area. This time around it seemed like the group had to almost pull teeth to get anyone to talk to them, and the conversations they had this time didn’t reveal anything new going on or telling them any new information they didn’t already have. In fact, some locals even went out of their way to tell the group to watch who they talk to around Hellier and who they trust taking them into remote parts of the woods/mountains. Others denying any stories of anything strange happening around the town all together making everyone start to second guess themselves if they were even in the right place to begin with or if there was still something to investigate.
Feeling misguided by the locals and feeling unsure of their direction forward, the group decide to head back to their hotel to rethink their strategy moving forward. When they arrive to their hotel, they all come into Greg and Dana’s room to collect their thoughts. Being a practitioner of Wicca, Dana is very familiar with the art of tarot and the insights it could bring into a situation where all seems lost. Greg confirming this saying that even if people don’t believe in the power of tarot or believe there is any mysticism behind it, the cards have a way of getting you to think about something using imagery and symbolism to get the thought process rolling.
This is a really shitty reading
-Dana Newkirk, laughing
Through this reading, the group comes to a few conclusions:
The group is being given information that is being controlled and filtered to them from the manipulation of the sender (The Hierophant & The Devil)
The group is focusing on something that has already been, is done, has passed. But there is still something to find if they just look behind them (Five of Cups).
Someone is pulling the strings (The Devil).
An uncomfortable reading for an uncomfortable place.
This town is an open window.
—Connor Randall
Connor concludes that even though they might not be in Hellier for the original reason as intended, that through all four of them researching through the years, they can conclude that there IS something strange happening in this town. Even if it isn’t goblins anymore. He further suggests that maybe the phenomena was to bring people like them to Hellier to investigate because the locals have all grown numb to what is happening around them and don’t consider what is happening to them as strange. Stating it takes an open mind to see what they’re looking for and given the demographic of the people living in Hellier, that didn’t seem to happening with the local population.
Tired from a day of traveling and disappointments, the group goes to their separate rooms to rest for the night hoping that when they woke up they’d have a breath of fresh air to renew this case they’ve dived into for the next few days.
Their next morning wouldn’t bring them much peace or relief as they seemed to be getting dead end after dead end. Shortly after checking out, the group decides to call up local police stations and news stations to get any information they can about the town regarding any of these occurrences from Christie’s emails or regarding any information they’ve been given by the locals.
The police departments didn’t even seem to be reachable in Hellier. Trying several different phone numbers and extensions, the group is continuously met with no one answering the phone or the line not being connected. Leaving numerous messages where they could, with no returns. The local news station seemed to be completely not interested in what the crew was doing, Greg stating that after his years of research this was an oddity. Most journalists jump straight up at the chance to talk to paranormal investigators or at least to give them some answers into what they’re looking into. After the news station proved unfruitful, the group was also directed to radio station for the area. They seemed to be just as uninterested as the police and the news station. All four feeling blown off and the locals making it seem as if they don’t want to admit anything is going on.
At the moment giving up on trying any official sources of information, Hellier Co. wants to try and find Christie’s house again like Greg and Dana did the first time they came and did some groundwork back in 2013. Quickly though they realized that it would be hard to find this house again due to the amount of trails and off roads that occupied the area. They didn’t have his location saved and were going straight off of memory and footage they had from the past. As well as most of the houses they came across fitting very similar descriptions: mines off the property, sheds by the main house, abandoned properties. Wary of their next decision, they ahead with asking people they drove across wondering if they ever heard of David Christie or of strange footprints coming out from the mines.
Again, there doesn’t seem to be anyone in this town that knows an inkling of who or what David Christie is. But this time they did finally get some information of stirrings around town and what was going on. While having a conversation with one of the men they talked to, the local described how people would talk about how they could hear a baby crying. Immediately Dana chimes in with a loud “hmm” and seems to be interested in this new piece of information they got.
Dana states that there is a common theme of trickery among fey, elementals, and nature spirits who try to pry on primal human emotions and will mimic the cry of a baby in distress, hoping that some passerby will lurk into their dwelling to be taken or spirited away. Your instinct as a human being is when you hear a baby cry, you will go toward the sound to aid them. With this in mind, the group feels a little more energized to continue their journey know that they have more of an idea of what they might be working with in the given area.
Given the information over the last 24 hours of them being in town, they had more footing than they did when they arrived into where they should be looking and how. They could conclude together that: this phenomena, whatever it is, is happening around mines and caves, the locals have tons of stories about occurrences happening in these areas, and the woods were right there so why not go poke the bear and stir the pot for some activity to happen.
And that is where we will pick up for chapter 3…. The group conducting experiments and confronting the phenomena….
(Sources)