Some of us enjoy a good a book club discussion, but others would rather chat about the latest UFO sighting, or debate why zombie movies are better than vampire movies. Indeed, when it comes to interests, the adage “to each his own” rings invariably true. And luckily, whatever your fancy, you don’t have to look much farther than our own back yard to find folks who share your mindset. Our neighborhood is full of groups that cater to the not-so-common niches. These are just a few of the unique neighborhood groups meeting on a block near you.
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GROUP: Phantom Hunters Ghost Investigation
ORGANIZER: Blaine Shoquist
ESTABLISHED: November 1999
BOOGEYMAN NIGHTS: In his childhood home, Shoquist says he encountered apparitions in the kitchen, saw footprints on the ceiling and was pulled off of his bed in the middle of the night by ghosts. “I was so scared, I would not sleep without a light until I was 25 years old, so I decided to face my fears by starting a ghost group. I feel like every investigation we do, we help people, but we also help ourselves get past our fears.” And no, the group doesn’t charge for its services.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: To find ghosts, the Phantom Hunters use gadgets such as thermal scanners, “used in the real world by air conditioning people,” to perform temperature readings, Shoquist says. “Ghosts, when they try to form into an orb or an apparition, take all the energy around them, so if it drops to 50 or 40 degrees for no reason …” The investigators also lock the doors, make sure no one else is in the building and conduct walk-throughs with video cameras and audio recording devices.
FINDERS, KEEPERS: There’s no easy way to get rid of ghosts, Shoquist says. “We’ve tried to do that, but sometimes they can be pretty stubborn. It’s like working with kids.” Many times, the owners themselves have to do the purging, he says. “People can tell them, ‘You don’t belong here. It’s time to move on.’”
IN BETWEEN WORLDS: Ghost investigators have different viewpoints on what happens when people die. Shoquist believes that “people do move on to heaven, or whatever your belief is,” but some choose to stick around because of unfinished business — “lives are cut short by murder or suicide, and it wasn’t their time, and they chose to stay here because of something they loved so much — an heirloom, a property, a person … so if a house was just built, it could be the land where their house once was, or if you buy something from an antique store or an heirloom is passed down, a spirit can attach itself to that property.”
SPIRITS AT SNUFFER’S?: The Phantom Hunters have investigated Snuffer’s on Lower Greenville multiple times. “I think a man was stabbed in one of those bathrooms, and that’s why Snuffer’s is haunted. Lisa felt a woman’s presence, too, and we found out a lady was murdered in the parking lot. We did get a face in one of the antique mirrors, and got some EVP (electronic voice phenomenon). We met Pat Snuffer, and he was very fascinated by it.”
WHO YA GONNA CALL?: “Oh yeah, we’ve been compared to Ghostbusters, but we don’t have the car — sorry. That would be cool. We get a lot of skeptics, just like there are skeptics of UFOs, but that’s what I love because that’s their opinion. No matter what category, there are always going to be skeptics.”
WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM, AND WHEN: The Phantom Hunters don’t meet regularly except when summoned for a job. Last year, they investigated 11 locations throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN THE HUNT: Anyone is welcome to tag along for one of the investigations. Someone might even hand you an electromagnetic field meter. Visit their website at thephantomhunters.com to find out more and e-mail one of the group members.
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GROUP: Society for Creative Anachronism, Barony of the Steppes
ESTABLISHED: The worldwide society was formed in 1966; the Dallas-area barony (part of the larger Texas-Oklahoma Kingdom of Ansteorra) has officially existed since 1975.
ORGANIZER: Jay Rudin, or Don Robin of Gilwell
MERRY MEN AND WOMEN: A non-profit educational corporation, the society recreates the arts, skills and traditions of pre-17th century Europe. Some members regularly meet at Tietze Park for rapier practice, but activities also include archery, costuming, metalwork, poetry, music and more. “The goal isn’t just the activity,” Rudin says. “The goal is to understand who you are and who people are and have been. Anything they did then that we can find a way to do, we’ll do.”
EN GARDE!: When fighting, fencers can pair a rapier with a dagger, cloak, shield or even another rapier, but the objective is always the same — defense. “The goal is to stay alive. First, don’t get hit, then hit him. Think about it — a tie is a loss if the blades are real.”
SAFETY FIRST: Rubber-tipped epées and foils, three layers of blade-proof linen, neck guards and fencing masks all contribute to the society’s perfect safety record since 1966. “People have gotten hurt, but no one has ever died doing this. It’s far safer than high school football, ping-pong and other sports where people have died.”
HEAR YE, HEAR YE: People are drawn to the society for all kinds of reasons, Rudin says. “When I first joined in the ’70s, every single member had read ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ The thing is, the ability to dress a little different, people enjoy it. That’s why we have Halloween parties. You show up, and either this is what you’ve always wanted to do when you first saw ‘Robin Hood’ when you were 5, or it leaves you cold.”
WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM, AND WHEN: Rapier practice begins at 7 p.m. every Tuesday night, and other society activities are listed on the website, stps.steppes.org.
HOW YOU CAN SUIT UP: Simply by showing up. “If you’re interested, we start by giving you a waiver, and then we’ll give you loaner gear and teach you to be safe.” Among the Tuesday night crowd are society members who hold the highest rank for fencing, signaled by a white scarf tied around their left arm.
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GROUP: The Dallas Unidentified Flying Object Group, est. 2006
ORGANIZER: Andy Morgan
SOUND OFF: Morgan says the point of this group is to generate public discussion. “We encourage everyone to ask questions and talk about what’s not normally talked about. We want to get these topics out in the open and start an intelligent, open-minded dialogue. This topic should no longer be limited to fringe groups, but rather we should encourage public forums to take a serious look into this tragically confused topic.”
WHO’S OUT THERE LOOKING TO THE HEAVENS: Really anyone who believes life may exist in other places besides our planet, Morgan says. “It’s not exactly a tightly knit or easily defined group of people. I would say anyone who has any interest in the subject of life outside our planet falls into this general community of enthusiasts. It’s a loose community of people from all walks of life.”
BEAM ME UP: Sci-fi flicks are fun to watch, but Morgan says they don’t have much to do with his club. “I don’t see Hollywood films and TV dramas as accurate depictions of what goes on in outer space. My understanding is that no species, from whatever planet, would be allowed to roam the galaxy, wreaking havoc and fear on others. Scenes from “War of the Worlds” and “Independence Day” come to mind! We live in an age where TV and film have saturated our thoughts and imaginations so much that I often wonder how much we’re suppressing our own creativity and intuition when it comes to subjects like UFOs and ETs.”
WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM, AND WHEN: Various neighborhood locations, including Café Express, Whole Foods, Half Price Books and the Cosmic Cafe. The group typically meets about once every two months.
HOW YOU CAN GET ON BOARD: Go to meetup.com and create a free account, then do a group search for The Dallas UFO Group. “All our events are free, and there are no membership fees. There is no obligation to sign up online, but the meetup.com site is a helpful forum for organizing and contacting people.”
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GROUP: The Dallas Horror Movie Club, est. 2005
ORGANIZER: Lloyd Cryer
NEVER SAY NEVER: “When I first started this club, I had people tell me this would never work in Dallas,” Cryer says. “These horror film festivals and clubs are big on the East and West Coasts, but not in the South.” Cryer, however, proved those nay-sayers wrong. He has organized Texas Frightmare Weekend, a local horror film festival, for the past three years, and his 70-plus member group is steadily growing. “There was a real lack of any social outlets for people who like horror films, and I feel I’ve created one, which feels good.”
WHO’S GOT THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES: All sorts of folks, Cryer says. “We have some people who love the special effects and technical side of the movies, some love the thrill of the plot, and some love how this genre reminds them of the days of drive-ins. We even have some people who just want the free movie pass because they like getting free stuff. We call them ‘pass holes’ as a joke, but even they’re welcome.”
WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM, AND WHEN: At various movie theaters, including a few in our neck of the woods, such as Inwood Theater, AMC at NorthPark and the Angelika at Mockingbird Station. There’s typically one free screening a month.
HOW YOU CAN GRAB A SEAT: Check out the Meetup group. If you want information about the annual film festival, visit texasfrightmareweekend.com
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GROUP: The Dallas Transmission Meditation Group, est. 1986
ORGANIZER: Betsy Whitfill
NOT THAT TRANSMISSION: “I get phone calls asking if we repair car transmissions,” Whitfill says. “I always get a kick out of that mix up, because we’re certainly not that sort of transmission.” Instead, she says transmission meditation is a combination of Karma and Laya Yoga. It’s based on the idea that the energy around us can be sent through a person’s charkas (or energy center) and then transformed into a positive force in the world. “We work like electrical transformers in the sense that we are converting and transferring energy. This is a meditation for the new Age of Aquarius.”
CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE?: This group certainly hopes so. The whole point of transmission meditation is to help the world be a better place. “We consider this a service to our society because we’re trying to do away with things like war and famine,” Whitfill says. “I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years now, so I have a lot of positive outcomes: everything from the falling of the Berlin Wall to a more environmentally conscious society. But this meditation also helps you grow spiritually, so it’s a great way to help yourself, while helping others.”
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME: Unlike other forms of meditation, Whitfill says this type is intended for a group. “The energy from this is so potent, it can only be done as a group. If someone attempted it on their own, it could ruin their health.”
WHERE YOU’LL FIND THEM, AND WHEN: At Whitfill’s Lakewood home Sundays at 2 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. Most meditation sessions last about three hours, but beginners typically start with one hour. You can also watch a free presentation and try out a session at Half Price Books off Northwest Highway and Central Expressway every third Friday of the month at 7 p.m. in the community room.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN THE CIRCLE: Drop in at any of the free presentations at Half Price Books, contact Whitfill at 214.328.2124, or visit the group’s website at transmissionmeditation.net.
