Ghost hunt to investigate courthouse, benefit veteran charity

Lovers of the paranormal will enjoy taking part in an upcoming local ghost hunt featuring a never-before-investigated historic building.

After 15 years, a local ghost hunting group — Research and Investigation of the Paranormal — is finally getting the opportunity to investigate the Hood County Courthouse at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22.

“I worked with HGMA (Historic Granbury Merchant’s Association), the people on the square who helped run that, and they always said, ‘No way, it's not going to happen,' but this time, I had one of my team members send an email to the right person. She was very persistent, she got us in the door and the rest is history,” said Greg Stephens, founder and lead investigator of RIP. “Judge (Ron) Massingill was very gracious and very nice to us and he was all in. He put us on the docket for the commissioner's court, and we got a unanimous decision at 5-0.”

RIP, along with Wraith Chasers (Chris Smith and Mike Goncalves), will be investigating the first and second floor of the courthouse, as well as the Neely House, the Arts & Letters Bookstore and other locations — including a home that has never been publicly investigated.

“We're going to give the history of each location that we're going to investigate,” Stephens said. “It’s their hunt, not ours … They're going to be the investigators. We're just gonna be there to facilitate, guide them along and let them use our equipment.”

Attendees will get the opportunity to use an EMF detector, audio recorder, video camera and a structured light sensor.

“SLS, that's when the stick figures show up next to you,” Stephens said. “We were using that one at the Aston House one time and my son was looking at the picture of the actual owners of the Aston House and the figure jumped out of the picture and stood next to him. I almost did a backflip on that one.”

Stephens said the 130-year-old historic courthouse has never been investigated, and RIP is going to be the first to do it.

"It’s such a big deal, but doing it for the charity event is even better,” he said. “It's not just to go in for our own purpose; it's for the big purpose in what we're trying to do.”

VETERAN CHARITY

All of the proceeds from the ghost hunt will benefit REBOOT Recovery — a 12-week, spiritually-led worldwide ministry group that helps military veterans, law enforcement officers and first responders overcome trauma.

The program was initially started by husband-and-wife duo Evan and Jenny Owens in Kentucky, but has grown since it officially launched in 2016.

With nearly 300 course locations spanning 34 states and seven countries, REBOOT Recovery is the largest peer-led trauma healing program in the world, according to its website.

John Hosea, pastor at Stonewater Church in Granbury, launched a local chapter of REBOOT Recovery two-and-a half-years ago.

“We're the only ones in the state of Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma that offer all three programs: combat recovery for veterans, first responders and they also offer a trauma one that's open to everybody,” he said. “The whole point is to go back and deal with the traumas that we faced on the job, in the service and help them work through them. It's not a fix on the wall, but it's a way to learn different skills to help overcome PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts.”

Since Hosea started the local program, it has grown — even though the program isn’t advertised anywhere except through word of mouth.

“Veterans talk to other veterans,” he said. “If a program is good, people are going to talk about it, and that's how we've spread. It's led by those that have been there like veterans, first responders, police, fire, corrections, hospital workers, nurses and ER doctors, so we bring in the entire gamut to be able to reach those. We've had huge success and REBOOT itself has helped over 10,000 people since its start in 2011.”

“John himself was in the Army for a long time,” Stephens said. “He gave his life to Christ and is helping those who need help in the veteran community, so we decided to (pick them for the charity event) this year.”

Stephens retired as a first sergeant from the Army in February 2014 after 26 years of service.

“I love the Army and the military so much, and everything that we sacrifice for and so, I just want to keep giving back,” he said. “I have lost soldiers to PTSD, suicide, and everything else, and even though they know programs are out there, it's still hard to reach them at times, especially when alcohol is involved. So, whatever I can do to help bring awareness to that, that's what I want, and I use my platform to do that. Even though the ghost hunting thing is kind of wild and weird, you know, everybody else does car washes or other stuff like that, but we chase ghosts and try to raise money doing that.”

EMOTIONAL TOLL

Witnessing the emotional and mental toll that military veterans face daily, Hosea and Stephens are constantly reminded why they do what they do.

“The last time that I lost somebody about two years ago was one of my soldiers that I had in Kosovo,” Stephens said. “The young kid, right out of high school in the Army, went down there and stayed about five years and the guy got out, went to college, got his bachelor's (degree) and he went to go get a job and everyone shut the door on him because he didn't have any life experience other than the Army, and they didn't want to hear about the Army. They kept telling him, ‘Nobody cares about your service,’ and he got told that too many times, got drunk and killed himself, and that just motivated me to keep doing this more and more.”

But it’s not just veterans who can be affected; it’s first responders and those who work in law enforcement as well.

“If we can help them overcome that, it's what we're about,” Hosea said. “It's what we're trying to do. We don't care what church they go to. We just want to get them into a church somewhere.”

“That's the reality of vets, and all law enforcement officers and first responders,” Stephens added.

“These are the stories that need to be told,” chimed in Perri Parker, business partner and manager of RIP. “I can tell you of all three of us who are sitting here right now, we eat, sleep and drink what we do.”

“It's all about giving back,” Stephens added. “My hope never ended after I took off the uniform. Never does.”

TICKETS

Tickets for the investigation into the Hood County Courthouse and square cost $99 and a limited number of tickets are available. To purchase tickets visit texasrip.org/rebootrecovery online.

“I'm just excited for the success,” Parker added. “I love accomplishing a goal. I love the fact that we're raising money for a good cause. I feel like this is going to grow into bigger, better things for us, where we'll be able to raise bigger events and more money for veterans causes, and that's kind of what's really big for me.”