Last week Brian Heath, representing Paranormal Research Investigative Studies Midwest, spoke to the Gretna Optimist Club about his organization and their investigations in the Midwest with emphasis on the Villisca Ax Murder House.

Heath, who is a Gretna resident and a member of the Omaha Police Department, said he is a volunteer investigator for PRISM Group and has been a member for about two and a half years.  David Rodriguez founded the organization in 2002 and now has 10 members. 

When requested, the members investigate suspected paranormal activity. Heath said they primarily investigate suspected paranormal activity in private residences, but that they have occasionally investigated public buildings. The organization and its members are not compensated for their efforts.

Heath said he is the organization’s resident skeptic and he normally conducts pre-investigation interviews with the property owners before the group agrees to investigate a property.

The investigators employ low-light cameras, digital video and still cameras, infrared sensors, thermal meters, K-2 meters and digital audio recorders.

The organization has received its greatest recognition for its investigations of the Villisca Ax Murder House, in Villisca, Iowa. On June 10, 1912, Josiah and Sarah Moore, their four children, and two children who were spending the night with the family, were killed in their beds by an ax murderer. The murders were never solved. Visitors to the property have reported suspected paranormal activity including ghostly children’s voices and opening and closing doors. PRISM Group has recorded low-light images of an opening and closing closet door in the children’s bedroom and electronic voice phenomena (EVP). Heath then played the audio and video clips for the Optimist Club.

A local farmer, Darwin Lynn, who has restored the property, currently owns the Villisca Ax Murder House. Individuals and groups can rent the property by the night.

For additional information regarding the PRISM Group, visit the organization’s Web site www.doyouseedeadpeople.org.

Submitted by the Gretna Optimist Club