JENNIFER JACKSON’S PORT TOWNSEND NEIGHBOR COLUMN: Ghost hunter to snoop Palace Hotel

WHEN YOU’RE RETIRED, it’s nice to have a hobby that gets you out of the house.

And if the hobby incorporates one of your passions, challenges you to learn new things and benefits the community, so much the better.

That is what former Port Ludlow resident Vaughn Hubbard has — in spades.

A retired Lockheed engineer, Hubbard is the founder, case manager and historian of Paranormal Investigations of Historic America.

The goal of the nonprofit organization, which does all work pro bono: to stimulate interest in Washington state history and increase visits to historic sites by riding the popularity of ghost-hunter-type shows on television.

“Our investigations encourage families to get out on a Saturday or Sunday and visit these historic locations,” Hubbard said.

“They learn about our fascinating history and may even hope to see a ghost.

“It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

Hubbard, who now lives in Monroe, plans to be in Port Townsend next month to conduct paranormal investigations of the Palace Hotel, a former brothel on Water Street.

He will arrive in the PIHA command vehicle — a black, commercially converted 2002 Ford Econoline van limousine, which Hubbard rewired to run his computer system.

He also is bringing an array of video and audio equipment, including a parabolic listening device that enhances sound, especially in the lower register.

“With headphones, we can listen to everything real time,” he said. “We can pick up voices and try to communicate back to them.”

A registered, nonprofit organization, PIHA spends approximately $800 for an investigation by Hubbard and a team of four volunteers, who put in between 60 to 80 hours of work.

The end product, besides publicity, is a DVD with paranormal evidence — photos, video clips, digital recordings — and a written report presented to the client, all free of charge.

As a result, PIHA only accepts two investigations a month out of the many requests Hubbard receives.

Last weekend, he and the team were at the McMenamins Olympic Club Hotel, a historic Centralia landmark turned into hotel, with a restaurant, bar and theater.

“There’s quite a lot of activity down there,” Hubbard said. “There’s quite a lot of activity in the rooms, too.”

Hubbard doesn’t advertise the exact date PIHA will be in Port Townsend — when he got first started doing paranormal investigations, the group he belonged to scheduled one in Pioneer Square that attracted hundreds of people, aborting the effort.

That group also took 20 people along on each trip, Hubbard said.

He started PIHA because he wanted to work with a small team of people who are primarily interested in the historical aspects of the work.

“I love history, and I really just wanted to go to the museums and historic sites,” he said.

“I also felt this was a good opportunity to exploit interest in the paranormal. There are more ghost-hunter programs on television about some old prison site in Pennsylvania than all of our historic sites in Washington combined.”

Although they don’t want spectators, the PIHA team welcomes owners and/or staff at the site — to participate in the investigation and use the equipment.

PIHA also invites local media to join the team, so that a visit generates publicity for the site and the community.

Most clients make copies of the DVD and sell them to their visitors for additional revenue.

“Our ultimate goal is to create documentaries on our historic sites for the History Channel or public TV,” Hubbard said.

The scariest site he has ever visited is the old train tunnel at Wellington, near Stevens Pass, where in 1919, two trains, stopped by a snowstorm for four days, were swept down the mountainside by an avalanche in the middle of the night, killing 97 people.

No tracks run there anymore, but a train tunnel built after the fact is accessible by car.

“If you go up there at night, it’s like a horror movie,” Hubbard said.

“We didn’t have an infrared camera, but a little boy showed up on the video.

“Practically every time we go up there we pick something up.”

Hubbard’s ghost-hunting hobby combines his interest in history — he is descended from the first Hubbard to set foot in the New World, and his grandfather helped build the Denny Regrade in Seattle — with an interest in electronics.

He also looks at paranormal activity from a scientific viewpoint.

“As an engineer, I know that there is energy all around us,” he said.

“Everyone has an aura. Once a physical body passes away, where does that energy go?

“Even if it dissipates over time, what frame of time are we looking at? Why does one place have more left-over energy than others?

“It’s an exploration.”

For more information, go to www.pihausa.com.

________

Jennifer Jackson writes about Port Townsend and Jefferson County every Wednesday. To contact her with items for this column, phone 360-379-5688, or e-mail jjackson@olypen.com.

More in News

Election security measures in place

Fire suppressant just one example

Ruby Speer, 3, of Port Angeles receives a treat from KaraLee Monroe of Kindred Collective as part of Thursday’s Halloween festivities in downtown Port Angeles. Hundreds of youngsters and adults made their way door-to-door in search of candy and other treasures. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Trick or treat in Port Angeles

Ruby Speer, 3, of Port Angeles receives a treat from KaraLee Monroe… Continue reading

Karen Huber, sister of Nash Huber, the owner of Nash’s Organic Produce, stands by large crates that hold various seeds that Nash sells to farmers. She said she’s mitigated alleged violations and concerns from property owner, Washington Land Trust, but the longtime farmer faces eviction from the property if he doesn’t comply with ending his lease agreement that goes through 2032. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Washington Farmland Trust could evict Dungeness farmer

Nash Huber helped preserve Delta Farm in 1999

Amy Seidewand chair making. (Lacey Carnahan)
Port Townsend Woodworkers Show ready for the weekend

Event dedicated to memory of woodworking pillar

Two ghosts dangle from a tree in the breeze in the 200 block of West 10th street in Port Angeles. Halloween events are scheduled today throughout the North Olympic Peninsula. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Ghostly visions

Two ghosts dangle from a tree in the breeze in the 200… Continue reading

Port of Port Angeles awarded $9.4M in funds

Will help move toward zero-emission goals

Potential defense workload changes could have ripple effects

Clallam, Jefferson counties brace for decision, expected in January

Leaders discuss rural reproductive health

Policy, funding and workforce shortages considered

There were no serious injuries after a two-car collision pushed a Chevrolet pickup truck into the corner of the Emporium building at the corner of Eighth and Cherry streets in Port Angeles. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Two-car collision pushes truck into building

A Chevrolet pickup truck collided with a building following… Continue reading

Two Totem Poles were missing from The Quileute Tribe’s 101 Building in Forks.
Sheriff’s office seeking information about missing totem poles

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is looking for information about… Continue reading

A recent snow is visible from Port Angeles on the Klahhane Ridge on Tuesday. The forecast for the rest of the week calls for high temperatures hovering about 50 degrees with a chance of showers and overnight lows in the low 40s. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Snowy peaks over Port Angeles

A recent snow is visible from Port Angeles on the Klahhane Ridge… Continue reading

Clallam County, Flaura’s Acres establish agreement

Utility Local Improvement District may be formed