Mysterious

The US/Canadian Borderland area in the far north of Minnesota keeps many secrets, among them, what or who lived there in the distant past. The SIM Crew spent a few days in this remote area searching for Sasquatch a couple weeks ago, and we stopped by an area known as “Grand Mound”. Mysterious, dark, and secretive, this park contains burial mounds. Yep, you read that right; mounds filled with bodies of the area’s indigenous peoples from centuries maybe even millenniums ago. Burial mounds are scattered in in several places on both sides of the border, but this one particular place holds the biggest of them all: The Grand Mound.

We have heard some pretty strange stories about the beings buried in the Grand Mound. Locals have told us that the ancient people buried in the mound were very tall and big people that stood over 7 feet in height. Some people think they are the ancient Squatch. These stories have been handed down from generation to generation, so is there a shard of truth to them? 

The mounds (yes there are others alongside the BIG mound) have been overtaken by trees over the years, and so the mounds are hard to discern; they look hills, take a look at the photos here.  The Grand Mound is HUGE to be sure, and to be honest there it gives me a creepy feeling.  Perhaps the beings buried there are watching us.

Another story that has come to us tells a tale that the people buried in these particular mounds were a cannibalistic people. It is said that when you go into this area now? Mosquitos will suddenly attack in swarms, and that these mosquitos are those cannibals now in another form, still existing on the blood of humans.  Interestingly enough, a couple of years ago we visited this site and were attacked by a swarm mosquitos and left immediately. This time, we went and walked the trail in this public place. Jerry had an ominous feeling about the area and would not traverse the trail.  But me?  I just had to with the others, ignoring his pleas for us not to go. Normally? I listen when he tells me he has an ominous feeling, but I ignored him this time because I so wanted to see what was down the trail.

 
Beautiful and serene it winds through a soggy area that was once the riverbed of the Bigfork River. The Bigfork changed its course over thousands of years, but the old riverbed is low-lying and prone to standing water. A majority of this land was underwater, and it reminded me of the planet Degobah where Luke goes to learn from Yoda.


Once beyond the standing water the trail was indeed beautiful, the trees and woods awe inspiring. The trail is said to go on for about a mile and winds between a lots of burial mounds. After walking for maybe a quarter mile, I was attacked by mosquitoes. They were all over me and I had to get out. Almost running through the trees, I was panicked – of course thinking of the stories of the cannibals and Jerry’s ominous feeling of dread – and so I was quite happy and relieved to reach the clearing, away from the bugs and OUT of the oppressiveness of the swamp.

The next day we visited the historical museum and visited with the historian there. While he shook his head at the stories we told him, he also admitted that it is unknown what people are buried in the mounds. The Grand Mound is ancient; the bodies at the bottom? could have been buried thousands of years ago.  The more recent peoples to bury their dead in the mounds were the Dakota and then Ojibwa, who came and gave the Dakota the boot. But before that? Truly? They just don’t know, and THAT? Is very mysterious.

I always believe there is a little bit of truth in all stories.  Were these people somehow related to Sasquatch? Were they cannibals? Or, were they just average size non-cannibalistic indigenous peoples, like the Dakota and Ojibwa? We will never know, but it is interesting to think about all the mosquitos we encountered there, and the fact that there have been so many sightings of Sasquatch in the area for many, many years.  I know that this land will never give up its secrets, and so I am left to imagine.

Supernatural? Oh yes, in every way.

An active few weeks.....

After a long, cold, difficult winter and a quiet time for supernatural investigations, our crew is once again hopping. We have had investigations on the calendar each weekend, exhausting and fun all at the same time and our hotline is just that: hot.  Tips and reports from people all over Minnesota.  On Wednesday we celebrated May Day, the Celtics called it Beltane, and it is believed the veil between the worlds is thin, allowing ghosts to move into our world with ease. Is this the root of all the activity? I believe it is, and the closer our investigations have been to Beltane the more activity we have encountered out in the field.

We investigated a north metro bar/restaurant in early April. The place is said to be haunted and employees have reported hearing footsteps on stairs, slamming doors, and being touched. We have found minimal evidence from our investigation there, though we did have some personal experiences. Can the creepy feeling, footsteps on the stairs be explained away as something natural? Perhaps. I do think there was someone there with us that night but only for a short time, and we’ve no evidence to back this up.

In mid-April we went back to the very active area near Walcott Mills that was used as a farm colony to train Faribault State Hospital patients in the art of agriculture. There were only five of us on this investigation – far fewer than we’ve ever had at that location before – and it was quite an experience. From the vacant land where babies have been laid to rest in unmarked graves to the old concrete buildings down the road, the supernatural energy was everywhere. I’ve often said this location? Perhaps the most haunted place I have been to and it draws me back time and again. When I step out of the car near the vacant land where the unmarked graves are, I can feel spirits everywhere. Almost too much to bear, it is fascinating at the same time.


  
It was at this location where a full bodied apparition of a man wearing a blue shirt appeared next to me on our first investigation of this place. This time around we heard voices, and repeatedly searched the woods and the road trying to determine where they came from, we came up empty handed. It was a cold night, and the day after a major snow storm here in Minnesota, so chances of someone being out there were slim. Our searches found no living people near us in the woods, so where those voices supernatural? We will know just as soon as all the data is reviewed from that night. Of course, I will share what I find at that time. Stay tuned ;)


Last weekend we invited to investigate a big, old mansion in south Minneapolis, built in 1900. Interesting and amazing, this old enormous historical house has secrets to tell, I just know it. We had some personal experiences, and I felt a few spirits around us.  We are now going over our data, and are finding some amazing things to reveal to the owner sometime later this month.

The Grand Staircase

The Dining Room

The SIM phone and email has been very active with reports. Folks in outstate Minnesota have been telling us about Bigfoot tracks.  The photo on the right shows these giant footprints in the snow, open it up and look closely, it is very intriguing. 

We have also had reports of strange lights in the sky, and of course ghosts. Our second Bigfoot Expedition will be in late May; we are headed for the borderlands once again, and me? I hope I get to see Sasquatch, eye to eye ;) Last year we found footprints that we think were made by a squatch, and this year we will camp in that very place, hoping, to find evidence of this elusive creature. Exciting stuff – all of it. Squatchin' though? Is my new favorite supernatural investigation, and fingers crossed that we actually find SOMETHING. Gee, I think we should have tshirts made just for the expedition, perhaps something like:  SIM Crew Gone Squatchin' – hey that sounds awesome, yes?

The SIM Crew turns 3!

This week Supernatural Investigators of Minnesota Turns 3! The SIM Crew began with our very first paranormal investigation at the vacant Stasius bar in northeast Minneapolis. In the past Jerry and Mae worked at Stasius for a lengthy amount of time and knew that several ghosts called the big building home. On that very first investigation, we came up with unbelievable evidence; the photo of the female ghost we had all seen over the years at Stasius, and some incredible EVPs.

 

 In the three years we've been a group, we  have done an amzaing number of paranormal investigations; we have amassed much evidence of ghosts in the form of evp’s, photos, and video, and we have experienced many unbelievable events.

In 2012 the SIM Crew branched out into other areas of the supernatural. We organized and traveled to far northern Minnesota where we went on a Bigfoot Expedition near the border of the US and Canada. We held a “Bigfoot Conversation” townhall event in International Falls, and on our expedition we did find some ginormous footprints that we believe came from Sasquatch. The prints lead down to the creek and beyond, but we could not follow them as the weather turned foul and we had to abandon our search. Another expedition is planned for this year, and we all have our fingers crossed that this time? We will come across Bigfoot, face to face ;)

 

What’s ahead? The SIM Crew will be holding several town hall events in locations throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, where we hope people with stories to tell us will and tell us about their experiences with ghosts, bigfoot, UFO’s, and whatever other supernatural subjects that may come up. In October Bigfoot townhall, several people regaled us with quite amazing stories, not just about Bigfoot but about their encounters with UFO’s. Our own Jerry grew up in Bemidji and had his own UFO experience, and that makes us wonder, what is it about northern Minnesota that attracts the supernatural? We HOPE to find out :)