© Justine Frederiksen/Ukiah Daily JournalCalifornia Haunts Lead Investigator Kat Trevena sets up a camera Saturday in a Ukiah home the family believes is haunted.
But what De Los Santos caught on camera scared him much more than prowlers, as he believes the footage shows his home is being haunted.
"I get chills talking about it," De Los Santos said, describing the weird occurrences that have been escalating at his house on Warren Drive: the dog barking for no reason, doorknobs shaking, furniture moving and, worst of all, the faces and demon shapes he sees hovering in his backyard in the camera's footage.
"I turned it off, I didn't want to see anymore," he said of the images, explaining that he immediately called a priest and asked him to come bless the house.
De Los Santos said the blessing "helped a little, but not to where I'm satisfied," describing the scariest encounter as when he felt and heard something big behind him when he went outside to investigate noises.
"The motion detector light did not go on," he said, adding that he got chills up his spine and goosebumps when he heard grunting and saw the bushes move.
Others have had unsettling encounters in his home, so much so that his sister-in-law won't come over anymore and he won't allow his kids to sleep in their rooms, where a lot of the activity seems to be centered around.
When the blessing did not solve the problem, De Los Santos turned to paranormal investigators California Haunts, an organization founded by Charlotte Kosa and based in Sacramento.
Kosa said her team began by visiting the family the weekend of July 6 for a "preliminary investigation,² which she said is primarily done to evaluate the people requesting help.
"There's a lot of crazies out there, so we meet with people first to weed those out," said Kosa, who returned the following Saturday with two investigators and plenty of equipment to investigate whether the house is haunted.
"We're here to help people," said Kosa, explaining that at least four night vision cameras would be set up inside the home along with other devices designed to pick up EVP -- electronic voice phenomenon -- and conduct thermal imaging of the walls. A psychic was also brought along.
Sometimes, strange noises have simple explanations, Kosa said. She always asks her clients if they have old, thin windows that easily rattle.
"We keep an open mind and look at all the possibilities," she said, adding that her team typically spends three to five hours in a home collecting evidence. "We're very thorough."
Not knowing what is going on and imagining the possibilities is usually what scares people the most, Kosa said, adding that TV shows which usually point to evil sources of hauntings exacerbate the problem.
"Usually, (the spirits) are family members," said investigator Karen "Mickey" McIntyre, who, along with Kosa, said she grew up in a haunted home.
McIntyre guessed that about "83 percent" of haunted homes are being visited by spirits who mean no harm.
Kosa said she does not charge clients for her investigations, but does accept donations. Kosa said Tuesdayshe had no yet reviewed the evidence collected from De Los Santos home as her team had an emergency visit elsewhere Sunday.
my "hit" is that the living children, themselves, are telekenetic. this happens more frequently than people realize... that's why the phenomena seems to be centered in the kid's rooms and bikes and stuff...
doesn't mean the children realize what's happening, either...