Thanks Marti for the following write up.
Friday, October 13th, 2006, LaSpirts had the honor of returning to
Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium to provide a “Paranormal
Seminar and Investigation.” Beginning at 8:00 PM and ending
somewhere around 2:30 AM, the informative seminar along with a
post-seminar investigation, was an invigorating experience and a
complete success.
The Shreveport Municipal Auditorium was built in 1929, has a
square footage of 6,300, and a seating capacity for 3,007. The
Municipal Auditorium is known for its famous “Louisiana Hayride”
days, a weekly radio show during 1948-1960. The famous building,
placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, was
utilized during WWII. During that time it hosted USO shows as well
as providing sleeping facilities for military personnel and an
aircraft warning system in the basement. As mentioned in our
previous investigation write-up, the Municipal Auditorium housed
the coroner’s office and morgue in the basement for many years.
The 2 hour seminar was held in the auditorium to a group of 60 plus
visitors. The Board of Directors for Laspirits; Brad Duplechien,
Todd Weaver, Brandon Thomas and Mark Moore, provided the
informative seminar. The seminar provided a scientific
presentation necessary for enthusiastic ghost hunters
everywhere. It held its own in front of the famous “stage of stars”
and allowed the audience to view the exceptional teamwork and
comedic side of LaSpirts members.
Topics covered included “investigating the paranormal, the do’s
and don’ts of investigating, investigative equipment, and
debunking the evidence.” The power point presentation allowed
viewers to look and hear evidence gathered from past LaSpirits
investigations along with paranormal footage collected from
various investigation. The viewers were able to study footage that
appears to be of the paranormal but with simple debunking
techniques, reveals a natural explanation for the occurrence. This
means that evidence is then simply explained as a lighting or
background noise phenomenon. Our DVR and camera system was
setup in the lobby so that guests could view what was happening
throughout the municipal from a remote location.
Once the seminar concluded, a brief break took place before
LaSpirit investigators broke up into 5 teams of 12 plus guest per
group. IR Cameras were setup in all areas of the building and fed
into our DVR that records all the cameras simultaneously. The
investigation started with each team in a designated area of the
building with rotation every 30 minutes. Each team carried a digital
voice recorder and an EMF (electro-magnetic field) meter. A
Municipal Auditorium member accompanied each group to provide
directions and answers to questions regarding the history of the
famous building. After all groups had visited each area they were
then allowed to investigate on their own and use what they learned
in the field. We cannot thank the members and “friends of the
Municipal Auditorium” enough for accompanying LaSpirts and
providing factual information during the paranormal investigation.
The Paranormal Seminar and Investigation was as much a success
as it was an interesting, exhilarating experience. Special thanks go
to all the many guests that attended and the Municipal Auditorium
members, who provided their time and energy to the famous
building and LaSpirits team members. Special thanks are also
extended to the team members who worked so hard during the
event as well as behind the scenes, preparing the seminar and
setting up equipment.
Whether you are visiting the Shreveport downtown area or live in
the local area, please visit the famous Municipal Auditorium for an
unforgettable walking tour. Information regarding the famous
building can be found at their website at www.stageofstars.com.
