Subject: [SupernaturalFlorida] Friday Night's Special Halloween Investigation Report.... Date: 10/9/2005 1:57:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time From: LordOfThyNight@aol.com To: ParanormalBuffalo@yahoogroups.com, Paranormalflorida@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSociety@googlegroups.com, paranormalghostsociety@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSocietyConnections@yahoogroups.com, ParanormalGhostSociety@groups.msn.com, TheParanormalGhostSociety@yahoogroups.com, pgsociety@groups.aol.com, SupernaturalFlorida@yahoogroups.com Ghost Town Of Croom   This was going to be our hardest investigation of the night since the area was miles of national forest, trails, dirt roads and hidden things in the woods. I really did not know what to expect just that after my research I had various locations that we would check into.   By this time Jason was sleeping so I was driving and took a dirt road which led us into a state forest. The area was extremely spooky. The road was very hilly, bumpy, their was woods on both sides, no houses at all and I just kept traveling down it. I woke up Jason a few times and he just nodded off went back to sleep.   Eventually I found the area of the old railroad crossing their was just a giant X on the ground. I was sad cause their was no train tracks instead their was a bike and walking trail. They call these railway trails and I did not learn till later that this was roughly a 46 mile trail created by the state or rather CSX railroad. I think its one of the longest rail trails in the country.   Because the tracks were replaced with concrete I was a little sad cause the tracks at one time played a major role in the ghost town. Jason and I parked near the trail which the road split up at the old railroad crossing. We sat pretty much in the car opened up the cooler and we ate some food before our long hike.   Their was no cars it was just a lonely dark road with a lot of little dirt roads my car probably would get stuck on lol. So we grabbed our gear and took headed east first. According to my maps if I went east I would hit a historical house from the ghost town and the iron bridge.   Well Jason and I went east for almost 3 miles how I know this is that the trail has mileage markers for mountain bikers. It was real spooky walking down here. I mean the bike trail is very narrow in the woods its almost to quiet. A few times we hit some real major cold spots this was closer to the car. But the further I pulled away from where the settlement originally was the less active it became.   Eventually a few miles into the woods we heard grunting sounds I grabbed my sword turned around quick. They got closer and closer I figured oh boy its time to get myself some bacon for breakfast. I thought they were boars then all of sudden we stop wait and two armadillos chasing eachother like cats and dogs run right next to us. They are circling around us like crazy then they eventually go back into the woods. This is the closest I ever been to these creatures I was able to get a foot away at times and you betcha I started chasing them too. Sorry folks no bacon this time!   After awhile according to my maps the river was only a half of mile from the railroad crossing I knew we were off track so I had us go back to the car. It was just as long as a hike to where we seen the armadillos as it was to the car. Our walk back was rough a lot of hiking.   We made it back to the car and although your not supposed to take vehicles on the bike trail I did cause their was no way I was going to walk 46 miles. I decided to head southwest cause again a  half of mile either way was supposed to be remnants and where the town of Croom once stood.   I went southwest for awhile and did not see the split where the ghost town was. See at one time the split in what use to be the tracks is where it sat. But it appeared the area was just over grown so we missed it. Along the way we passed a picnic area and a few benches. Eventually I did turn around and with luck shining our spotlights out the window I found the split.   I got out of the car onto the bike trail and went threw an area that was blocked off like a dirt road. At one time the train tracks that were here split off into a Y the ghost town sat at that train intersection.   As we went past the wooden fence their was telephone poles rather then train tracks going for miles so you could tell at one time a train ran threw here cause no trees were present. To the left in the woods was supposed to be the ghost town but it was apparent nothing was left. You do get any closer to home then I did as far as finding the location of a settlement that has been almost wiped off the map.   This area was Croom and I could tell at one time houses use to exist here cause every so many feet their were clearings in the woods as if over a century ago houses were here. The ground was very flat and you could just tell that this was the site. It was not a comfortable area to be and their were many deaths here at one time.   We hiked back eventually to the car and I drove back east towards where we originally hiked in hopes of finding the iron bridge and house. We drove for quite a ways which led us to a country road and then the trail continued so we turned around and eventually I found a wood sign that said River Walk.   I figured yeah awesome we are going to find the iron bridge and the house little did I know it was just another obstacle for us or hardship. We took the trail and it was very overgrown and unused. It had a lot of pine trees and palmettos growing all over the place.   One of the giant pine trees was blocking the unmarked trail as it broke in half so we had to stray into the woods awhile to get around it. Eventually we came out to a dark river bank very heavily overgrown and the water was very black. I did not see the bridge or house and it did not look like this was the place where a train crossed the river. So again we could not find the iron train bridge but still this ghost town also thrived off the river so we were able to at least see it. Jason and I found a bullfrog that was bigger then my fist I think it was one of the largest frogs I had ever seen.   We hiked back to the car and I took us back to the old railroad crossing and we started to head on out of the Withlacoochee State Forest down the main road that cuts threw it. Eventually we finally reached pavement and I found the area of the Withlacoochee Trail. We were supposed to hike to a ghost town cemetery but the sun was getting ready to come up in an hour so it was time to head off.   We did take a break though around the Withlacoochee picnic area and trail head entrance. I had a run in with a spider as I was busy talking to Jason ran into a web with a giant fat spider. I got web in my mouth, all on my shirt, and the giant spider was crawling all over me I could feel it but dropped my light so I was pretty much swatting in the dark lol. Luckily I did not get bit but this was not a nice spider lets put it that way.   At this point we prepared for our journey back home and in some ways I was disappointed. Its an awesome forest to hike around in. But I was unable to find any of the remnants of the ghost town which are said to be scattered in the area. So their is a good possibility they were removed, hidden in the foliage, or we just could not find the right paths to them. The area is 152,000 acres and two settlements existed here which are no more so who knows. I do know that the bike trail is heavily used so if any members or anybody browsing my site have information on the iron bridge, sugar mill, house, and remnants then maybe I will plan a second trip here.   It seemed like when we first arrived the area was active you could hear movement, lots of owls that hooted, lots of cold spots etc etc but then as time went on the ghost for some reason lost interest in us. I think the strongest point of energy is near the old railroad crossing perhaps because on both sides within a quarter to half of mile is where the settlement was. But the further we went the less energy their was.   The area is pretty eerie very few people I am sure go back into these woods after dark. We did not get any bigfoot activity although if I recall their was a very odd odor for awhile in the area so who knows what was out their watching. But it still was a very nice hike and trip. I read some history on the place and their are ghost out here even if the remnants no longer exist.   In conclusion to the report it was a long night we did well over 10 miles of hiking a lot of blood sweat and tears went into this investigation. I cannot say we will do second trips here but I can assure you some photos came out of all three places.   It was a real rough drive home as the sun was coming up and we had over 10 country routes we had to take to get back into town. Getting home probably was a bigger challenge then getting the ghost to show up for a picture haha.   But this was our big trip for October and really an unforgettable one considering how far we traveled and how much exploring we did to bring everybody this story. I selected these places cause I thought they would be perfect for an October night nearing Halloween and all.   The one thing I wish we had was more investigators its amazing how much you can accomplish as a team. But it also helps to have other drivers, investigators, extra ears, eyes etc our investigations can be quite intense we go to the places most people tell stories about around a camp fire. Do you dare to venture with us? Until next time wait till next weekends investigation! Rick PGS Founder