Do ghosts haunt Camp Floyd park?
Utah paranormal group says it has detected 3 or more
By Sharon Haddock
Deseret Morning News

FAIRFIELD — The manager of Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park is seeing his job a little differently this week.

Brendon Cook holds a flashlight for Barbara McBeath as she removes an Electro Magnetic Field detector from her suitcase during their visit to the Stagecoach Inn in Fairfield. The EMF device is used to detect the presence of ghosts.

Mark Trotter spent Friday night at the park with a group of investigators who say their tests indicate there are ghosts in the old schoolhouse, the Stagecoach Inn, the commissary and the cemetery.
"I'm really not afraid. I think it's neat, but I might think about it differently as I walk around," Trotter said.
Trotter accompanied members of the Paranormal Society of Utah as they conducted a nightlong ghost activity investigation — a follow-up to an earlier foray that they said indicated at least three ghosts were probably haunting the premises.
Society member Barbara McBeath said he heard about Camp Floyd from a friend who had recorded electromagnetic activity at the cemetery.
McBeath and her husband Roger, along with Jenny Nielsen, Barry Boris and Brendon Cook, all from Ogden, routinely investigate ghost reports at sites around Utah. Investigations have included prisons, hotels and schools. They have made more than 100 digital tape recordings of what they believe are ghosts and have a similar number of images captured by infrared cameras. Many are posted on their Web site: http://www.ghostpix.com./
"We have three voice recordings from here (Camp Floyd)" Barbara McBeath said. "One told us he was swimming. One said, 'Yes, you do!' when I asked if we had any ghosts in the room with us and one (tape), so far, is indistinguishable."
While the tapes from the Friday field test are still being analyzed, McBeath noted a dozen orbs of light flared across the camera screens during the visit and the electromagnetic field scanners flashed red — which she said indicates ghost proximity — at numerous points, including a back room in the Stagecoach Inn.

Lisa Harrell, of Saratoga Springs, who said she "just came along for the ride" Friday, seemed to be a ghost magnet. Everywhere she stood, the orbs hovered, the EMF scanners glowed red and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
The McBeaths said it is impossible to determine why someone like Harrell attracts the ghosts. They say ghosts tend to be illogical or unreliable.
"Ghosts do things on their own terms," Barbara McBeath said, "They don't follow any rules. They seem to be linked in some way to the area we're in, but we're pioneers in this."
What team members discover is sometimes disturbing to people. McBeath said some people become frightened and some believe that accepting the existence of a ghost means they are denying God. Others, she said, believe ghosts are evil.
"The ridicule almost stopped me," McBeath said. "But I lived in a house with ghosts when I was young. I thought everybody had ghosts. When I got older, it remained fascinating to me, so I finally said, what the heck."
McBeath says there is no reason to fear ghosts. "If you're not afraid of people, there's no reason to be afraid of ghosts."
She said she has had only one upsetting incident with a ghost. She recounted meeting a ghost in a mental institution that smelled so badly she became sick. She said other ghosts have hugged her husband and left white silk roses for her.
She and the others in the society hope to change people's preconceptions about ghosts. They say they don't want to exploit the ghosts.
"Why would we do this if we weren't serious about it?" said Brendan Cook. "We don't charge any money. We don't sell anything. If we were gonna fake it, I'd make sure we'd make some money at it."
The five spend plenty of their own money and invest a lot of personal time chasing down the reported haunters. They are unapologetic, but they do ask that those accompanying them on the outings to bridle their skepticism so that it doesn't interfere with their work.

A ghost orb appears to pass across the screen of Barbara McBeath's digital video screen. A dozen orbs were observed in last Friday night's visit.

When asked about proof, Barry Boris said:
"As far as proof? When you get a voice on the tape that shouldn't be there, for instance, a child's voice when you didn't know there were any children in the area, you pretty well know there's something unusual going on."
Barbara McBeath tells of a recording made at Fort Douglas where a child tells his mother he is afraid of the dark. McBeath said she had no idea she was in a room where the laundresses and their families had lived.
And it wasn't until she heard the Camp Floyd tape about swimming that she learned there was a swimming hole nearby.
The Paranormal Society members said they liked what they found at Camp Floyd so much they plan to come back for Halloween. They said they plan to invite the public along for that visit.