Subject: [SupernaturalFlorida] Friday Night's Special Halloween Investigation Report....
Date: 10/9/2005 1:57:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
From: LordOfThyNight@aol.com
To: ParanormalBuffalo@yahoogroups.com, Paranormalflorida@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSociety@googlegroups.com, paranormalghostsociety@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSocietyConnections@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSociety@groups.msn.com, TheParanormalGhostSociety@yahoogroups.com, pgsociety@groups.aol.com, SupernaturalFlorida@yahoogroups.com

I am very sorry that this report is a couple days late however recently I received some terrible news so I been a little down about things that is why I have also lacked in sends. However as promised We did complete our excursion Friday night which was our special October Investigation out of town in western Florida.
 
Although we did not do a high volume of places the places we had investigated were very large with a lot of history as we traveled on over to the Gulf Coast the very first time. Let me just say we will be visiting the Gulf Coast much more often as we expand our reach into the sunshine state area. I really like the country look in western Florida its secluded, woodsy, lots of history and just peaceful.
 
When I plan investigations for my team or members I want them to look back and remember the things we often take for granted. So I try to throw in always some fun but I also want it to be an enjoyable experience. So Jason and I packed up a cooler I bought a sub and sodas that way halfway threw our investigation we could sit out in the woods listen for odd things and have food for the beast lol or us.
 
We had to leave much earlier to go out of town and I must say it had to be the weirdest night I have had in months just that everything that happened..... happened for a reason perhaps.  We spent a long night of driving, hiking etc around Fort Cooper, Dade Battlefield and to finish off the night the Ghost Town Of Croom.
 
I really enjoy just getting away on such adventures the only thing I wish is that we had more investigators. Sometimes our members browse our site and think its all fun games but honestly when you hike for miles in the middle of nowhere holding all your equipment, light, camera, EMF detector, recorder, sword, etc etc things can be quite challenging. So keep in mind these investigations were very difficult ones.
 
I think what is more difficult is trying to find locations. Sometimes in Florida roads are very woodsy, narrow, made of dirt and are abandoned with no names. Other roads have no lights so some roads are just pitch black surrounded by fog. Then when you map out locations in the woods sometimes you just cannot find them cause the foliage is so thick but all in all it was a good night and so our adventure begins here at.....
 
Fort Cooper
 
Jason and I missed a turn ended up 30 miles out of the way grrrr so many country routes. I almost ended up in a ditch cause the road had a severe curve and yes I was going very fast and it was dark but I pulled myself out of it with luck. A nice young lady at a nearby gas station let me borrow a map for sale to find our way back to civilization.
 
Eventually we found our way to the Fort Cooper woods so we grabbed our equipment and begin our hike deep into the forest. While I was grabbing my things out of the car I heard a lot of movement in the woods, felt watched, and heard a strange eerie sound which did not sound like an animal.
 
Jason and I started hiking down this road surrounded by woods. I did not notice to much out of the ordinary but the deeper we got on the road the more I heard movement which seemed to be following us quietly threw the woods as branches would break and you could hear rustling.
 
I think looking like one of those redneck priest in the woods really caught something's attention and please do not even ask lol. But the road had cold spots and behind us on a psychic level I sensed a man standing in the middle of the road with a kind of upset look.
 
We made our way over to a bend in the road which led to a picnic area. The woods were getting thicker and much darker. It was fairly quiet out here although these woods felt less welcoming then most places.
 
Jason and I came around a bend near some wood gates to a narrow trail in the woods. As we followed the trail their was a sign which showed us where to go to visit Fort Cooper.
 
At one time the one trail near Fort Cooper was a military road with a lot of history to it. As we were hiking their were a few owls in the area close by and of course those things at night are enough to give you chills.
 
We kept hiking passed by a few benches out in the woods including a grass hut so we took our time enjoying the little sites along the trail.
 
Eventually we came to the Fort Cooper site and were greeted with a giant tree. I sensed a presence around the tree perhaps sort of hiding watching. It seemed to be friendly just a little curious as to why we were here.
 
The area for fort cooper was obvious it was a giant clearing with a few trees unlike the rest of the woods. Nothing remained of the fort but their were bleachers for the reenactments that are done for the public.
 
Many of the trees at the Fort Cooper site were older and we found a wall made out of wood logs and spikes. It is not the original but it is an example of how the fort would have looked at the time. The wall of logs was fairly high enough to keep any Seminole Indians from getting in.
 
I was pretty excited cause the energy was very high on the fort grounds it was just humming with activity to me. Off in the distance I heard a branch snap really hard so I am sure we were not allow but the area was non threatening.
 
The thing about Florida is that its home to many ghost towns and forts. Most of those forts burned down, were destroyed, or are hidden deep in the woods. I know one fort that's on and island and you need a boat to get to it. So as you can see to be able to just hike to an area a fort once existed at is a real treat for us.
 
We started our hike back as we did not have a lot of time on our hands so rather then take more trails we retraced our steps to the lake. The lake was quite intriguing not swampy like a lot of Florida lakes and their was a swimming area. It pretty much stated swim at your own risk and that their are alligators in the water lol.
 
We found some paddle boats and canoes man if I had sometime Id been out on the lake paddle boating cause they were not locked up.
 
We walked along the lake shore for awhile found a playground and picnic area in a dark part of the woods. The whole place was rather gloomy. We seen a giant fish jumping out of the water multiple times so not a lot of ghostly activity.
 
On our way back Jason and I spotted a bunch of deer on the road they seen us jumped on into the woods. But we made our way back with ease. At this point we probably hiked at least 4 miles so it was time to get back to the car.
 
On the way back near one of the stone structures near the entrance I seen what appeared to be a deer but I am not sure. It had the same color and all but this was much larger then a deer and stronger looking. I only caught half of the body then it walked off into the woods. Most likely an animal but a very big one or who knows maybe it was one of these giant cats that people talk about down here you just never know.
 
We eventually made our way back to the car people like to drive past us and stare so we put on the tire changing act so we could unwind before our next investigation which was Dade Battlefield.