Although these first sightings offered some comfort, I was far from convinced. My inner battle between science and mysticism would prove to be a difficult game of tug-of war for several months. Nevertheless, I longed for proof of his existence and for confirmation that he was “alive” and at peace. In my desperation, I decided to stoop at nothing to open a line of communication with Erik regardless of how delusional I appeared to my family and friends. In fact, I even bought a “ghost hunting” set on Amazon to help me in my search. Before October 6th, I would have thought this was a sure sign of insanity, but afterwards, it was my lifeline. The kit came with all sorts of equipment, much of which I really didn’t know how to use for its ghost detecting purposes. It had a gauss meter, a temperature probe, an EVP listening device, an infrared motion detector and some other gadgets. That night, I placed the motion detector in Erik’s bedroom on top of his desk so that it would cover most of the space in the room. Then I closed the door and went to bed.

The first night, the alarm went off at around 4:00 AM with a sound so loud and annoying, it could have wakened the dead in all neighboring counties. I went up to his room, hoping to see my sweet boy in spirit form and discovered that the door was open. Someone else in the family had apparently opened it. so I suspected the motion detector was set off by one of our three cats. The next night, we set the motion detector again, this time reminding everyone to keep Erik’s door closed or risk being threatened within an inch of his or her life. I even made sure the air-conditioning to that room was off so nothing could be blown into movement. At exactly 1:01 AM (which happens to be the time of my birth), the alarm sounded loudly. I jumped out of bed, flew up the stairs, and stood before his closed bedroom door. I heard no movement within. When I opened it, I didn’t find Erik, but I did feel his presence strongly. His face, which popped clearly into my mind, had a mischievous grin that said, “Ha, I gotcha!” There was nothing in that room that could have possible set off the alarm: no bugs, no open windows that might allow a breeze to move something, no cats, no nothing. Only his wonderful energy and the feeling of having been the butt of a practical joke. So typical of Erik. At last, my skepticism had received its first significant dent.