It’s that time of year when spooky fun is a favorite for kids and adults alike. The King Solomon Lodge 10 in Leavenworth, Kan. is inviting the public to join in on a presentation by L & M Paranormal, which will provide a night of mystery and thrills.
Leah and Mike Rivers during an Old Abilene Town paranormal investigation.
Mike and Leah Rivers started L & M Paranormal in January 2023.
“We have always been interested in the paranormal,” Mike said. “However, in April of 2021 Leah had a series of aortic aneurysm ruptures. She was rushed to the hospital where her heart stopped twice (for a combined total of 14 minutes.) She would spend the next five months in the hospital until she was sent home to recover for the next two years. Leah would undergo approximately 12 surgeries repairing her abdomen. Leah had experienced an NDE (Near Death Experience). After recovering from her surgeries Leah knew she had a deeper purpose and decided to pursue paranormal investigations, to help others here in the physical world and on the other side in the spiritual world.”
The Rivers are excited about sharing their experiences at the Mason’s event, which will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at 423 Delaware St. in Leavenworth, and hosted by Meagan Love and Danny Debonaire. The event will be an opportunity to help raise funds for renovations to the lodge.
The Rivers have already conducted a paranormal investigation of the lodge and will highlight some of their experiences at the event.
Mike explained the difference between paranormal investigators and ghost hunters and experiencers.
“Paranormal investigators want, and search for factual information and real findings which deal with real people and real lives. Ghost hunters and experiencers are in it for the thrill of the scare and usually do it to be a paranormal entertainer. Each has their own place and there is nothing wrong with either one, just do not use someone’s home as your paranormal scare.”
In their first year, the Rivers have done 22 investigations so far.
For people who are experiencing a paranormal experience that is stressful and frightening, the Rivers calmly listen to them and always take every claim seriously and keep it confidential. “Most clients want to be validated and sometimes want the activity to stop,” Mike said. “If we are able to provide what they need, we do so, if not, we find someone who can. Bottom line, they will always be taken seriously and never left without help and validation.”
The Rivers’ ultimate goal in helping people with these kinds of experiences is to let them know that they are not alone. “They will be validated, not all activity is paranormal and if it is, not all spirits are evil. Ghosts were people once too,” Mike said.
For the Rivers, interesting experiences have been numerous when people call them for help.
“We have had several interesting experiences, but the one that was the most interesting was an old family farmhouse,” Mike said. “The farm dated back to the 1800s and it was part of the Homestead Act, never left the family. We encountered children and Native American spirits. We found that the Native Americans do not want to be seen or heard or recorded. It left you with the feeling of ‘get out of here’, we have answered enough questions. We were able to back everything we found with a family history.”
The most common reasons people call the Rivers for help is because they are terrified of noises or strange things they catch on their security cameras. They usually have children and want to know if they and their children are safe.
Some of the investigations have left the Rivers feeling uneasy, and they will be discussed at the event at the Mason Lodge.
“Mike recently investigated the Masonic Lodge in Leavenworth, and his uneasy experience occurred in a stairway at the end of the night,” Leah said. “He started to feel uneasy and nauseated, we had to call it a night. He has never had an uneasy feeling or been scared. Sometimes, spirits who try to reach out or want you to leave will let you know by making you feel this way.”
The Rivers have adopted the Sacody Method from Cody Desbiens and Satori Hawes of The Paranormal Couple’s Haunted Museum. Both have appeared on the Travel Channel’s ‘Ghost Hunters’ and ‘Ghost Nation’.
The Rivers find this method useful for amazing results with tapping or knocking, or even stomping noises.
“They will use a device sometimes that lights up for yes or no questions,” Leah said. “They refer to it as the Tap Method. “Mike and I adopted it as the Sacody Method because of their names, and they started it so they get the credit. Mike and I join hands or connect arms and combine our energy for the spirits to use so they can communicate with us clearer. This is just another tool we like to use with spirits who are not responding to the typical equipment we use. It has come in very handy in a few of our investigations helping us find out and confirm the names of the spirits we are communicating with. We ask yes-or-no questions and run through the alphabet to spell out answers or their names. If you have seen Cody and Satori use it on Ghost Hunters, it really works and it does take a lot of time, patience and energy, and well worth it as a tool for any investigator.”
One paranormal event has left the Rivers completely puzzled. The couple’s Youtube channel featured the house of a friend of theirs, Sarah’s House. The friend had reported unusual sounds and activity.
“We went in and were able to validate all of her claims, but not pinpoint any factual information to back up our paranormal findings,” Leah said. “Her house is full of people and activity, nothing is malicious, they are just there, in and out and doing their thing. Some of it is intelligent, and some of it is residual.”
Sarah’s House is in the top tier of the most haunted buildings, homes and places they have ever visited. The list also includes Malvern Manor and Villisca Axe Murder House, both in Iowa, Missouri State Penitentiary, the 1889 McInteer Villa, in Atchison and Old Abilene Town in Kansas.
Halloween is the busiest time of the year for a paranormal investigation team. “We are a husband-and-wife team with five kids, they all dress up and have fun,” Mike said. “The whole town we live in is like a Halloween story book and we are complete with a headless horseman that walks the streets on Halloween.”
Mike loves Halloween despite the fact that he experienced one of the spookiest incidents in his life when he was investigating an old carriage house in Old Abilene Town. “I was at the top of the stairs to the loft and I started asking questions, and plain as day a voice said, ‘GEEEET OOUT.’”
Tickets to the upcoming event include a spaghetti dinner and dessert with a silent auction along with the presentation by L & M Paranormal, complete with a tour, all to benefit restoration efforts on the lodge. Tickets are available at ticketstripe.com/events/1036945.