Guest Author - Kris Baker

Urban Legends are great stories for around the campfire but do they also play a part in Paranormal Investigating? I interviewed Regan Vacknitz, Vice President/PR Representative/Researcher and Interviewer, of Auburn Paranormal Activities Research Team (APART of Washington) to find out if Urban Legends have a place in paranormal investigating.

Kris: Can you tell us a little bit about you and your hobby?

Regan: I am a 30yr old woman, living in Washington State, who began actively seeking spirits, entities and ‘ghosts’ roughly two years ago. I am a novice in the art of ‘hunting’, but I have been reading and studying the paranormal since I was roughly 11 yrs old. My husband and I started our paranormal group about 1.5 years ago.


Kris: Do you feel that Urban Legends play a part in paranormal investigating and why or why not?

Regan: I do feel that Urban Legends play a huge part in the stories we hear from clients who either email or call us. It seems a lot of “local lore” entwines itself into either their actual events, or stories they have heard from their peers or community.

Kris: What is your favorite Urban Legend?

Regan: Well, local Urban Legend that is my favorite is the story of a psychic that I grew up around. She was supposedly a Gypsy who swindled you out of your money, and cursed you at the same time. She was elderly, and lived in a small pink house down the road from where I grew up. She had a small sign outside of her house that said, “Palmistry, Tea Leaves, Dreams and Fortunes Told”. Stories as a child growing up from the older kids passed down to us younger kids were that if you looked at her wrong, she’d curse you. The kids on our street were known to run past her house when we walked to school.

As I grew older I eventually met her. She was a rather intelligent, gentle old woman who just had a unique flare about her.

My favorite famous Urban Legend would be the Black Eyed Kids. I am so intrigued about the reality vs. story behind these ‘sightings.”


Kris: Which famous Urban Legend would you like to investigate?

Regan: The Urban Legend I would love to investigate is the Black Eyed Kids.


Kris: Would you please share a local Urban Legend with us?

Regan: We had the privilege of investigating a local “haunt” or Lore. After receiving an email about a supposed "no faced" man who haunts the downtown Auburn area; mainly “A” street walking aimlessly, who doesn’t have a face, and who has been seen going into the walls of apartment buildings only to reappear coming out the opposite end, we began our research.
The story is that a former Slaughter, WA. land owner is angry and endlessly walks "A" St, up north and south, disgruntled over how ill developed the area has become. It wasn't his "vision" when he sold off chunks of his land. He is always "seen" with no face, skulking around the A St. area.
We asked "old time" residence (from Auburn, Slaughter and Stuck Washington), researched old news articles in the library and at the White River Museum, and talked to some of the local teenagers. From what we can tell the story so far has been just a nice "bonfire" tale for older adults to pass along to the younger folks. We did not deem an actual field investigation was warranted. We cannot say, with absolute, that "A" St. is haunted based on the lack of personal accounts or history. We have no findings for this email presented to us.

Kris: When and how did you first hear this Urban Legend?

Regan: We first heard of it from an email we received from a local resident who had heard the story as a child. Pondered it his whole life, heard random accounts from other residents, and needed help with investigating the legitimacy of it.

Kris: You researched this Urban Legend, what were your findings through research?

Regan: There were no findings, other than accounts from residents ranging in age from 12yrs old to 50+ years old, who had heard the story growing up. Usually weaved in tale from an older sibling, or relative near Halloween.

Kris: Did you investigate the Urban Legend? What were your findings if you did?

Regan: There were no findings, or physical tangible evidence to conduct an actual field investigation.

Thank you Regan for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.

If you would like to learn more about Regan and Auburn Paranormal Activities Research Team (APART of Washington) you can visit their website at http://www.apartofwa.com or email Regan at regan@apartofwa.com.