The hauntings of Astoria

Posted: Friday, May 11, 2012 10:00 am | Updated: 11:08 am, Thu May 10, 2012.

Many Astoria houses and buildings are believed to be rife with the restless spirits of the dead. A while ago, Portlander ROGER CLOOTEN (formerly of Seaside) of NW GHOST RECON (www.facebook.com/nwghostrecon), paranormal investigators, went searching for ASTORIA’S GHOSTS in the tunnels under the city.

A little background: Roger’s group investigates hauntings and electronic voice phenomena, quite a few of them for CLYDE LEWIS of the GROUND ZERO radio show on KXL in Portland, using video, sound and full spectrum photography equipment to document their findings. A psychic is on staff, and they consult with a paranormal scientist and an electronic engineer, as well.

“I do this because I want people to know the paranormal is real,” Roger asserted. “It’s not a joke.” He would like people to look at the paranormal scientifically.

Roger’s first reaction to Astoria’s underground, not surprisingly, was “it’s disgusting down there.” He took a camera, and went in from the basement at GODFATHER’S BOOKS, at the intersection of 11th and Commercial streets, and headed south, to 11th and Exchange streets.

And yes, he believes it’s haunted. He sat there under the street looking up and down each tunnel, and something caught his eye. It looked like a woman standing there, “a shadow person,” he said. He told the Ear he saw other apparitions, too. One photo is pictured, and more are here: http://tinyurl.com/tunnelast

Are there ghosts in the tunnels? Since it’s commonly believed that several houses and buildings around town are haunted, why not?

— Elleda Wilson

Reprinted with the permission of The Daily Astorian of Astoria, Oregon