Land Acknowledgement: “I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.” - Duwamish Tribe
*If you are just getting here, please be sure to check out Part 1 of this 4-part Martha Washington Park series. Part 1 (re-post) and Part 2 are being released together this week. Part 3 & 4 will be published together at the same time next week. To make sure you never miss a post, please consider subscribing or getting the Substack app which allows you to easily read all previous posts together in one place.
“The forest is crackling with secret conversation.”
-Hannah Fries, Being With Trees
We begin our baseline sweep using a Mel meter and a couple of K2 EMF meters around the park. The Mel meter stays between 0-0.5 mG, occasionally spiking to 2-3 mG. The K2 does the same, spiking to light green / yellow in tandem with the Mel. It’s always fun when multiple devices spike at the same time. Usually a heavy indicator of some energy present.
We follow the fence line along a grassy path, making our way towards the rocky beach. More trees drape along the shore, golden reflections of sunset occasionally peaking through.
The park is relatively small and feels like it’s divided into sections - circular driveway, open field, grassy trail, beach, woods, apple orchard. After our baseline EMF readings, we begin another lap, this time adding a few ITC (Instrumental Trans-Communication) dictionary apps. They use sensors to measure environmental and magnetic signatures and then select words from a pre-populated dictionary based on the readings. Each app is different, but I’ve heard they typically have a 50-75% success rate.
When I investigate with other people, I like to use multiple ITC dictionary tools and see if we get similar words or phrases across multiple devices. At Martha Washington, I switch back and forth between the GhostTube and the Ovilus app while carrying a SpiritChat device (I’m saving up for a real Ovilus, but the SpiritChat is a more accessible alternative on Etsy). My companion prefers the free Ghost Hunting Tools app and has gotten a lot of success with it on multiple occasions.
I first heard about the free Ghost Hunting Tools app on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Our tour guide encouraged us to download it while we were outside on the Sun Deck. A few moments later, a fire alarm went off while we were in the ship’s original Radio Room, forcing us to evacuate. As we were leaving the room, the woman next to me showed me her Ghost Hunting Tools app which said “FIRE” and a moment later “LEFT” as she was leaving the room. My Ovilus app said “STRAIGHT” and a few others were getting instructions as well. It seemed like the ghosts were trying to help us find our way to safety.
(We found out later it was a false alarm, apparently a common occurrence on the Queen Mary. Were the ghosts just messing with us? Or keeping us out of the radio room perhaps?)
The park is quiet and missing visitors. We both notice a heavy stillness. Any birds sound like they are far away. No singing or chirping or final squabbles among crows. No scurry of squirrels or rustling of leaves. Just wind and silence.
We walk multiple laps around the park, integrating different sets of tools. As we walk the trail along the water, we notice most of the activity is centered around a fenced off area.
Our dictionary apps give us the following words, the theme is consistent each time we pass this location:
Ghost Hunting Tools: Terrible, Privacy, Beware, Moon, Fire, Block, Discover, Annihilation, Marine, Fish, Bracelet, Show, Visit, Sacrifice, Children, Brutal, Interest (x2), Chemical, War, Scared, Restored
Ovilus: Fear, Bones, Glove, Hours, Fast, Threat, Intention, Silent, House, Pierce, Away, Come, Remove, Pull, Burning, Minutes
At one point I hold a tree branch aside, so we can walk closer to the beach. Ghost Hunting Tools says “After You.”
Down at the beach, we get “Substance” and “Port.”
Many websites mention an infamous Madrone tree at the bottom of a set of “hollow steps.” We did find a set of concrete steps, climbing up a hill underneath a giant branch of a Madrone tree.
Rumors are running rampant about this particular tree. Reports convey it was used for everything from carefree climbing to hangings.. I read both that it’s still around today and that it’s been removed.
We were certain the tree was no longer present until we googled madrone trees to see for ourselves - the conspicuous branch reaching over the steps is clearly that of a madrone.
Is it the infamous madrone, or a more recently planted sibling? Our apps were quiet as we walked up the steps.
I turn on my GhostTube Seer and point it at the Madrone from a distance. You can decide for yourself if you think the tree is sinister or misunderstood (or both):
We enter the apple orchard, the giant rounds of mulch lining each tree feel like grave plots. We read later that the apple trees were planted in the 1920’s by the girls at the school.
I notice a strange pole with a thin tiny black bird house at the top. Glancing at the picture on the house, I immediately think “hummingbirds.”
Perhaps it is the consistent ominous commentary down by the beach, but the mood gets brighter each time we reach the field and walk along the driveway towards the giant oak.
We notice chalk drawings on the drive, a lighthearted contrast to the spookier woods. This place is full of light and dark.
I turn my app towards the chalk drawings and get the following:
We take one final lap around the park and down to the trail along the water. The sun has officially set and we stroll slowly through the dark.
We sense a fluttering of wings and look up to see a swarm of tiny birds dancing in the night sky, but we hear no chirping.
“Bats! Look up at the bats!!” Oh. That explains the tall skinny bird house and the bird-like logo on the front.
I am enthralled by the tiny bats who, at the first sign of darkness, burst into the night as though they are literally bats out of hell.. They dart about greeting each other, vibrating as swiftly as if they really were hummingbirds.
I recall a post on social media that I had seen the day prior and thought was funny enough to share in my stories. It seems a bit synchronistic now:
As we wrap up for the night, I’m taking a few final pictures in the dark just to see if anything shows up later. At one point I notice two crosshairs on my iPhone camera - one white, one yellow. I find out later this is particularly common if there is movement in the shot. I noticed a lot of movement between the two crosshairs - one would stay still and the other would move steadily towards the right.
As far as I know, there was nothing that could cause any movement in the shot. It is possible the camera was picking up bats in the sky but I was focusing it at eye level. Are the crosshairs so sensitive that they are picking up small bugs or leaves blowing? I doubt it because we should be seeing these all the time when taking pictures at night, or any time of day.
In the moment, I was so distracted by trying to take the picture that I didn’t even realize what was happening with the shot. I wish I had thought to grab a screenshot as evidence. Any photography friends out there, feel free to send feedback on this situation (debunking or validation) so I can keep an eye out for it in future investigations.
We leave the park to trudge up the treacherous hill to the bus stop. I turn around to say my goodbyes to the park and snag one last picture from GhostTube:
To be continued…
*This is part 2 of the Martha Washington Park series. Part 1 (re-post) was released at the same time this week, so subscribers should have received them both in their inbox. Stay tuned for part 3 & 4 which will be released together at the same time next week. If you would like to subscribe or get the Substack app to make sure you never miss a post, please click the buttons below.
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