On December 29th, my sister Julie McVey and I had an appointment to conference with Ray Feurstein and his lab in an attempt to communicate via his lab equipment with our loved ones who have passed, Randy (my stepdad), and my dad Richard. I was concerned that his equipment wouldn’t work well with me in the group because my house is too active and we never know what to expect. I joined first and after I connected to Ray in a video conference, his equipment began malfunctioning. He said it had never happened before. I thought maybe my dad was messing with the equipment since he turns on the radio at his friend’s house. I had Morgen come and see who it was, and she said it was a man with a beard. Ray said his house was built by a guy with a beard, and maybe it was this person? We didn’t have success talking to our loved ones. We only got a word here and there that would have been from them, but Ray said there were too many spirits trying to talk at once, and in essence they were stepping on each other. His equipment was turning off and on by themselves as well, and the altitude and barometer were moving. Ray’s lab is extensive, with multiple “spirit boxes” translating what is being heard in speech to text software. He really has built a great lab. You wouldn’t think the altitude of a stationary computer would change, but when dealing with the paranormal, it certainly does. After we disconnected from our session, Ray experienced continued activity at his house with his television upstairs turning off by itself.

Fast forward to last Friday (January 7th, 2022), Morgen and I were eating breakfast at one of our favorite places in town call Junkyard and a string of my dad’s favorite songs started playing. Songs always play when I’m at Junkyard that remind me of my dad, but they are popular songs and anyone could have played them. Songs like “Hotel California”, or “House of the Rising Sun” are liked by everyone. But this time, those songs played along with a less known song called “Long Tall Woman in a Black Dress” by The Hollies. I remember my dad telling me that particular song was his actual favorite, so I said to Morgen that I felt like my dad took over the jukebox, and she said he did. He was sitting with us for breakfast. That made me tear up. So, I tried again to find out who messed with Ray’s equipment by asking her. She said, “Charlie.”

“Charlie with a beard?” I ask while I google Charles Manson. I show her the image on my phone.

“Yes, that’s the guy.” She said.

“Why would Charles Manson be at our house?” I ask.

“The Knolls feels like home.” She said.

“I get that he ran around our neighborhood, but he lived at Spahn Ranch which is a mile away. So why our house specifically?”

“He squatted in our guesthouse when it was vacant with the family. He doesn’t want any publicity.” She answered.

“Well, if he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s at our house, why did he tell you his name?” I asked.

“He didn’t. Other ghosts said it.” Ghosts have ratted people out in the past, so I wasn’t surprised when she said this.

“So, that’s who is in the guesthouse this past month, sliding the bedroom door and looking like a shadow?” I was so overwhelmed at the thought. I had woken up one night and seen a bearded guy floating over the other half of my bed, and it was Charlie. He was glowing green and see through. He looked about thirty years old, with longer hair and beard and no forehead tattoo. No wonder he popped into my head when the first medium came to my house and told me someone did a satanic ritual in my guesthouse. He was there. Morgen assured me that he wasn’t doing anything bad but of course I was concerned that he might manipulate her since she’s exactly they type he would’ve loved to have in his family. His real talent was manipulation.

She told me not to worry. “He’s a prankster, and he’s not that cool to live with, actually.” Maybe Charlie would have had his hands full trying to manipulate a modern day teen.

We could’ve gotten rid of him at any point but since he wasn’t doing anything bad, we lived with Charlie for awhile.

Down In the Lab, Journal Entry 1/12/22