Spooky Stories: A Q&A With a Ghost Hunter

Maryanne Porter is a ghost hunter.

Porter, who lives on the west side of Watsonville, grew up in Aptos and was always intrigued by ghost stories. These days, she researches paranormal activity with her Santa Cruz Ghost Hunters team—her family, a retired police officer, a library researcher, a crime journalist and videographer.

“I’m finding that there is a lot of paranormal activity here,” said Porter, who took her ghost hunting to a higher level after her father died and was buried next to one of her friends, who had been murdered.

Using an audio recorder and other tools, she tracks ghosts in graveyards, creepy houses and even the Mount Madonna Inn, at the top of Hecker Pass outside of Watsonville.

She’s gotten recordings saying “We’re here; we’re stuck,” and once cleansed a

San Lorenzo Valley house of the ghost of a murder victim, helping the woman’s ghost be set free.

“That was creepy,” Porter said.

 Look for her this spring, driving around the county in her hearse telling ghost stories during Haunted Tours, her new business venture.

Watsonville Patch sat down with Porter recently to talk about her passion.

Patch: How did you become a ghost hunter?

Porter:  “As a little kid I was totally into it. I used to see things. My mom said ‘you just have a big imagination,’ the whole nine yards. … I think where it really hit off was I had a lot of people throughout my life who ended up passing away. I ended up just fascinated with the afterlife. … I wanted to see for myself what it was all about, if it’s just a bunch of nonsense, if there’s something more too it. “

Patch: Can anyone contact spirits?

Porter: I believe that everybody has some kind of intuitive or ability. I don’t like to use the word psychic… but I believe everybody has some kind of intuitive ability, some are just more tuned in than others.

Patch: How could one start ghost hunting?

Porter: “A digital recorder in a cemetery works really well. You can start out simple and work your way up. The first time you actually get something on a digital recorder or otherwise, I guarantee you’re hooked. You’re scared to death or you’re hooked.

Patch: People die every day in our county. Does everyone become a ghost?

Porter: “I don’t believe that everyone is here to haunt people. … I think it depends on the circumstances of that individual and how they passed or who they left behind.”

Patch: What do you tell skeptics?

Porter: “You have to go in with an open mind. Firs try to rule out the obvious and, if there’s nothing left, you have to look at the paranormal. I understand how nonbelievers wouldn’t believe it. It’s a hard concept … just have an open mind. … I’m finding more often than not that I can actually conclude that there is something to these stories.”

The story of Sarah Miller, an 8-year-old girl who died near where Mount Madonna County Park many years ago.

“She was the daughter of Henry Miller. She was riding the horse I guess the horse got spooked she fell off the horse and got crushed.” Porter explained.

People throughout the years have claimed they see her, even a park ranger who worked in the area.

“He believed Sarah Miller was haunting the Mount Madonna Inn because he’d go out there and all of a sudden the lights are on,” Porter said. “There’s no one there. He’d go out there again. The lights are on and no one is there. He’d hear cries for help and nobody is there. It’s hard to say the conclusion if that’s exactly her but there’s … something mysterious and unusual.”

Porter also once got a picture of an apparition of Henry Miller, Sarah's father.

“I don’t’ know how to describe it. Is there just an anomaly in the picture or is there something more to it.”

Patch: Is ghost hunting your profession?

Porter:  “It’s not so much a job. I don’t make money doing this. It’s just a passion of mine. It’s mostly to research history and to create a new concept for paranormal and history and hook it together, based on Santa Cruz County. I mean, if I had learned about this stuff in history class, I probably would have earned As.”

Patch: Have you ever been really scared?

Porter: “Not really. I think living people are more terrifying than ones that aren’t. I think a lot of them, they need help."

Tips from Porter how to tell if your house is haunted. First rule out that the house is creaky or old, then look for:

• Hot and cold spots in the house.
• Children or dogs are very sensitive to paranormal activity. They may look at things or bark at things that are not there.
• Unusual knocking (make sure it’s not rats) or sounds of people walking.
• Lights coming on and off.
• Cabinets opening or stoves coming on.

Learn more about Santa Cruz County Ghost Hunters and the upcoming Haunted Tours by visiting www.santacruzghosthunters.com.