BAYOU CITY PARANORMAL

Joe grew up hearing accounts of ghostly activity on his father's side of the family. His grandfather had built his home and business on grounds where a convent once stood and, allegedly, the house was built on ground where nuns may have been interred. So while the ghosts were not to be feared, encounters with them were still unsettling. However, Joe never experienced anything strange and grew up never really being interested in the paranormal.

In adulthood, when his wife suggested the house they had recently purchased was haunted, Joe was skeptical and perhaps dismissive. But one day he found himself alone with a strangely reacting dog in the house when he experienced inexplicable activity that propelled him to pursue paranormal phenomena. During his research he discovered there were groups that investigated paranormal accounts and began training with one where he took the initiative to develop protocols for conducting investigations. Along the way he forged friendships with other paranormal investigators, discovered they worked well together and eventually formed what was later to become Bayou City Paranormal.

As a Director of Bayou City Paranormal, Joe hopes to garner opportunity and advantage from encouraging practical physical methodology and metaphysical art while maintaining a healthy skepticism for a balanced approach to investigations. As a Case Manager, he is mindful of his role as the Client's primary contact and strives to justify their faith that Bayou City Paranormal will do all it can to fulfill their objective and help restore peace of mind and harmony. As a member of Bayou City Paranormal, Joe is grateful and proud to be working with friends who demonstrate a passion for the paranormal and an integrity for investigations in a warm, supportive and respectful environment.

Joe

Bettie

Helen

Irma

Rick

Rose

Dale

Barbara

Nancy

Matt

Chris

Paranormal researcher, UFOlogist and CRYPTOzoologist Rick Oestmann hails from the small town of Corpus Christi, Texas, born 1958. He has been involved in the field of paranormal research since the age of nine and has traveled to many states and Pacific Ocean islands. Some of the paranormal research expeditions he has participated in include the Hunt for Big Foot Blue Ridge Mountains, the Hunt for Stumpy Herndon Virginia and the Fire Walker phenomenon on the Islands of Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii.

Rick has also conducted paranormal research at various historical sites including Gettysburg, Manassas, Williamsburg and Harpers Ferry and is a member of Rhine Research Center Institute for Parapsychology (click to see Rick's bio in the institute's Directory of Professional Members), American Society for Psychical Research, The American Ghost Society.

Rick is an avid amateur astronomer/astrophotographer.

Irma Copeland has been interested in the paranormal since age ten. Her father had psychic premonitions, as did some of his ancestors from Italy and France.

"When I was a child I had vivid dreams that often came true. My father encouraged me to learn more, so I spent some time playing around with the Ouija Board — a short time; it really scared me when it moved! The dreams continue today. I have also discovered that I have sensitive/empathic feelings and have even been able to communicate with the other side."

Irma has been ghost hunting and researching the paranormal since 2005 and has investigated several historical haunted sites. History is another great interest of hers. "Every time I see an old building or object, I wonder what it must have been like 'back then'.

"I am always ready for a ghost hunt and meeting others with like interests."

Barbara has always been interested in the paranormal and afterlife, and enjoys meeting others with like interests who can help expand her gift of sensitivity. "I love visiting historical places, and can 'feel' the energies of past generations." A good ghost story is always preferred reading and she finds the history behind the story intriguing.

For equipment, Barbara uses a handheld camcorder, a K-2 with toggle switch, a digital camera, and sensitive tape recorder.

"As long as I can remember I have been able to 'sense' the past. Growing up, my bedroom was at the end of the hall that led from our living room. I was always nervous about even playing in my room during the day, but at night I would have dreams about looking down the hall towards the front door and seeing a white-outlined figure of a small woman standing just inside the door. She didn't appear to have legs, and seemed to beckon me toward her. I also dreamed several times that someone would enter my room while I was asleep and stand above me. I never actually saw anything while I was awake; it was just that nagging 'feeling'. I found out when I was 15 years old that when my parents built the house right after WWII, Dad's mother came to live with them for a while. She later moved in with Dad's brother. My room was her room. She died in 1956. I was born in 1962.

"While in elementary school, our class would take annual field trips to various historical places around Texas. I recall going to old houses, barns, etc. and being able to mentally visualize people living and working in the rooms. Some buildings felt warm and comfortable, while others felt cold and frightening. Certain 'warm' places I am still drawn back to, as though I am perfectly at home there. I feel I can close my eyes and hear sounds from long ago. I have often walked into rooms and felt presences around me, as if they are welcoming me.

"My mother died in 1989 after a lengthy illness (from smoking). During her last days she remained living at home for a while before going into the nursing home. I was with her in her hospital room when she left us. And yes, I felt her leave. Anyway, after several months of crying while driving to work and back home again, I thought that I would never get over the depression that had settled over me. One morning, as usual, I pulled out of the driveway and got about three blocks from home when I very clearly heard Mom speaking into my left ear. 'Baby,' she said, 'don't cry for me anymore. Be happy.' Suddenly, this intense warm feeling came over me and it was like the clouds parted so that the warm sun was shining on me — clearly not possible at 6:30 in the morning while it is still dark.

"Two of our children have lived in apartments that were haunted (in New York City and in San Francisco), and are now firm believers with some amazing stories of their own."

Dale has been a school teacher, a technical writer and an insurance agent. He is currently a dealer of high-end French and English antiques, “my favorite occupation so far,” he says. He has been a ghost hunter since 2009.

Dale’s psychic experiences began when he was a child. He would simply hear a soft voice calling his name. For most of his life he has been skeptical of reports of paranormal activity.

“A bunch of hooey, that’s what I always called it,” he says. “People would tell me their stories of angels and fairies and ghosts and what-have-you. I would just nod my head and try to say something that sounded supportive. After all, these were my friends. Even after I started doing psychic readings, I never did buy into the ghost stories — until I had a ghost in my own house.

“After I got out of the hospital (cancer), I decided it was time to try something new. I went online and for the first time in my life I looked for and answered an ad on the internet. It was this group of ghost hunters who was looking for a psychic to spot ghosts. I thought, I might be able to do that. Why not? I never had done anything like that before, but I figured, what’s the worst that could happen, you know? So for my interview, they took me out in the middle of some park. They wouldn’t tell me where we were going or give me any information at all.

“Just out of surgery, I could still barely get around. As it turned out, there was a sheriff there that night who objected to our parking on the side of the road. While the rest of the group was talking things over with the sheriff, I just sort felt like I should get out of my car and walk across the road. As soon as I closed my car door, something pushed me back against my car. I remember thinking, ‘Okay, maybe not a bunch of hooey.’ I had a really hard time making my way across the paved road, as if I were wading upstream. I just figured it was because I was still pretty weak from surgery. Once I got to the other side of the road I saw dozens of men in Confederate uniforms. It was pretty overwhelming, yet I thought it must have been my imagination because I had never heard anything about Civil War skirmishes anywhere around Houston. Later on, the group told me that the place had been the scene of a famous Civil War battle.

“Since becoming a member, I’ve experienced too much to be anything but open-minded, now. And on top of that, I’ve been really impressed by everyone’s compassion and professionalism. It’s just purely amazing how many people there are who need our help. So, we help them.”

Since joining Bayou City Paranormal, Dale has discovered he can “clear” houses and even communicate with ghosts and other-realm creatures. His favorite investigations are the ones whose purpose is to rid homes of paranormal activity. “Some of these people are just plain terrified,” he says. “it really feels good to be able to put a stop to that.”

Dale says his closed-minded attitude has been replaced by what he hopes is becoming a healthy skepticism.

My name is Nancy Lumpkins and I have always been interested in the paranormal. As a child I had several experiences that triggered my interest of things that were not the "norm". As a teenager I experienced the tragic death of a boyfriend. On one occasion I believe that I saw him. It only made me believe that much more in the afterlife and my search to find evidence of it.