CountyNewsLIVE Gasconade County, Missouri

On Saturday night, a couple dozen paranormal experts and enthusiasts converged on Enoch's Knob Rd. Bridge in Franklin County, southeast of New Haven, Mo.  This is the group that held a "Vampire's Ball" at Lyndee's Friday night and held seminars all day Saturday in the Showboat Theater in Hermann.

This group definitely has a sense of humor about ghosts.  But, generally, they are not kidding around.

One of the people who helped put-on the Hermann meeting is Dan Terry, and on Saturday night, Terry took his colleagues to one of the area's best places for paranormal activity.  Terry is a local paranormal investigator/author who also happens to be Assistant Chief of Police in New Haven.  He knew the bridge area best and was the virtual guide for his colleagues.

"We're getting a lot of K2's at the end of the bridge," several said.  They held up little electronic devices about the size of a cell phone, with little green lights.

When their sensors lit up green, indicating paranormal activity, they weren't afraid; they were excited.

"I'm seeing big orbs over there," a tall man said to his companion.

Enoch's Knob Rd. bridge was built in 1902, and still carries traffic.  It's an iron truss bridge with a wooden deck.  It spans Boeuf Creek.  And it's the bridge where a man -- who was said to be climbing up on the truss system -- fell into the creek some 30 or 40 feet below, or jumped, and died.  His spirit, some believe, lingers there.

A group split off, left the bridge and walked some 100 yards north, along the creek bank.  A psychic -- who had earlier mentioned her prediction of a strong earthquake on the New Madrid fault by August -- came back to the bridge saying there was a lot of activity over where the other group was.

Overall, my novice friend and I sensed nothing especially powerful, except what we assume is the rotting body of a dead animal under the western end of the bridge (where the K2's were reading strongly). But we're not trained.  Nor are we total pessimists.

Terry said he was not a bit surprised there wasn't a lot going on, paranormal-wise.  "Too many people here tonight," he said.  "But tomorrow night, after all this energy from all these people tonight...all that energy could get released tomorrow night and a lot could happen."

Terry said the area from Hermann to New Haven, from the Missouri River to a point in northern Franklin County...he said, "You could draw a diamond-shape and the amount of paranormal activity in that zone is unbelieveable."  Especially, he said, in Berger -- the center of the diamond.  "Alton has nothing on Berger," Terry exclaimed.  "I've investigated three buildings in Berger, and I have requests to look at three more."

"Make that four," I said.

Truthfully, I don't know what I believe...except that I do believe there is a "spirit plane" of some sort.  A place where there is a lot of energy of past souls and past wisdom, and it is invisible.  I should have attended the conference in Hermann.  I should read Dan Terry's books.

As we drove-away from the bridge, slowly, I felt a desire to return Sunday night.  To see if Dan Terry's prediction comes true.