Header Picture-Farnsworth House, Gettysburg, PA I took the above picture in the attic of the Farnsworth
House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on August 25, 2012. The house was present at
the time of the Civil War battle. In fact, the only citizen of the village
killed, Jenny Wade, was shot by a Confederate sniper from this very attic. The
Farnsworth House is considered the most haunted building in Gettysburg.
At the exact spot where the orb in the picture sits, a little blond haired girl sat during our tour. I was sitting right next to her. The tour guide told us that whenever a sniper was picked off they would drag the body into that corner behind the orb. As the tour guide in Confederate uniform talked, I kept noticing the little girl pressing up against her mother and looking over her shoulder. I assumed she was only getting scared by the stories. When we got up to leave, I hung back to get this picture. The girls mother asked me to touch her daughters hair. It was ice cold! The attic was hot and humid after a long day in August. I feel the lone orb sitting at the precise location as the little girl is evidence that some long dead soldier found the pretty little girl appealing.
That night we did the ghost tour (which we enjoyed), the seance (which was a waste of time and money), and dinner at the Farnsworth House (see picture on Team page). Someday I would like to stay in the Bed & Breakfast for there are many reports of cold spots and apparitions wandering its halls!
Gray Butte Cemetery #1
Our first investigation was at Gray Butte Cemetery in Jefferson County, Oregon. It’s about five miles down a gravel road between Madras and Prineville. Previous investigators have taken photos of ectoplasmic clouds at this location, so we were excited to get something similar!
It was October 14, 2011 and the moon was full. The only clouds of vapor we got were pictures of our own breath. We did get some orbs, however. I am including some pictures for your perusal.
It was October 14, 2011 and the moon was full. The only clouds of vapor we got were pictures of our own breath. We did get some orbs, however. I am including some pictures for your perusal.
Gray Butte Cemetery, #2-Halloween night
This is our second paranormal investigation about two weeks after the first. This is the one I refer to in my first blog.
Pioneer Cemetery, Terrebonne, Oregon
This is a little cemetery out in the country that is well manicured and still in use. I have a few acquaintances buried here. I got my first clear EVP here while talking to the grave of a friend who died in a car accident. We recently went back again and collected a couple more EVP's. On our third visit we didn't get anything.
Crooked River Gorge
A few miles from our house lies a deep canyon (500 feet deep) called the Crooked River Gorge. A few years ago a wider bridge was constructed for vehicle traffic along Hwy 97 and the narrow, historic bridge (in use since 1926) was left for foot traffic. Over the years quite a few people have jumped or accidentally fallen to their deaths. Since a Rest Area lies alongside the canyon, we decided to do a nighttime investigation. Since I am the one who is scared of heights, I was surprised when Roy seemed the most hesitant to investigate this canyon edge after dark--but in his defense we did forget flashlights (I do not recommend this). The traffic noise made EVP's difficult to obtain. At one point, I thought I heard a woman's whisper but could make out no words. We caught some interesting orbs.
Tumalo Cemetery
Tumalo cemetery lies alongside the road on the outskirts of Tumalo, Oregon. We didn't capture any EVP's and didn't get the impression there was any activity there. I found a grave of a young woman, early 30's, who lay buried near the two infants she apparently had lost. She had died within a few weeks of one of the infants. I did some research and found out she had belonged to a religion that prohibited medical care. They believed all sickness could be prayed away. What a waste!
Eastern State Penitentiary-Philadelphia, PA 8/25/2012
Touring ESP was a highlight of our recent trip east! We had watched Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters investigate this location and we were excited to realize the tours are self-guided. We collected one EVP in cell block 5. It sounds like somebody is saying, "Hey, Michael." In one of the other cell blocks, I crawled past the retaining bar and sat in the chair of insanity that Zak from Ghost Adventures sat in. This chair was supposedly used for punishment. Inmates would be strapped to it and left in the total darkness until they went mad. I didn't catch any EVP's, but I could feel the residual panic when I sat in the chair. I felt my heart speed up and my breath became shallower. No visual anomalies in any of the pictures that we are aware of--if you can prove us wrong, please do.
Gettysburg-Day One 8/25/2012
Our first night in Gettysburg we ate at the Farnsworth house, went on a Ghost Tour and participated in their Seance. The seance was only for show, but we did get our first look at an apparition during the Ghost Tour. As the tour group was standing on the edge of the Battlefield, Roy and I both saw a figure walking along a small one lane road leading into Cemetery Hill. Roy described it as a dark shadow. I thought it looked like the Predator when he was cloaked--in other words, I could see through it but it seemed to bend the scenery behind it. I watched it for more than 20 feet as it glided along the road. I was standing with a number of people as the tour guide talked, so I just stood there and silently watched it move along, continually wondering if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. I had no idea until later, that Roy was seeing it too. The following pictures contain some orbs, but nothing else as near as I can tell.
Gettysburg Battlefield
Six-thousand acres makes up Gettysburg National Park. The battle of Gettysburg lasted for three days and marked the beginning of the end for the Confederate rebellion. Team member, Roy, is an avid Civil War enthusiast, which made it easier to find the areas of the battlefield with the greatest casualties. (Most of the pictures have captions that appear when rolled over.) We got a whole lot of orbs, and I have included the most impressive. The sounds of the insects at night made EVP's pretty much impossible to hear. The last picture, taken in the daytime off Little Round Top, is also where we caught the EVP. Upon close inspection of the statue to the left, a swirling mist can be seen. We hope you enjoy seeing these pictures as much as we enjoyed capturing them!
The Hoffman Mansion--Gettysburg, PA 08/2012
The Hoffman Mansion was used as a Civil War Hospital. It lay just a few miles from Gettysburg and is known to be haunted. One young man told us he had the fire irons thrown at him once and many investigators had been chased out by the image of a Corpse Woman who apparently appeared to women only. We got some of our most compelling evidence at this location! In the EVP, a man's voice can be heard saying, "Henry" to my question as to whether anybody wanted to talk to us.
Sachs Bridge--Gettysburg, PA
Our first night in Gettysburg we heard mention of a covered bridge somewhere near the battlefield that was supposed to be very haunted. Sachs Bridge was crossed by both the Union and Confederate armies, and recrossed by the Confederates as they retreated on July 4, 1863. The number of dead and wounded were piled along the river known as Marsh Creek which flowed beneath the bridge. Legend is that three Confederate deserters were tried and hung at Sachs Bridge. Their bodies were left hanging from the rafters at the entrance to the bridge so anyone passing underneath would be brushed by the boots of the dead men as a harsh reminder to anyone else considering desertion. The original bridge was washed downstream by a flood in the first half of the 20th century, but a replica was reconstructed from the reclaimed wood. Reports of ghostly images of men still hanging from those rafters are many and varied. After some research on the internet, we were finally able to track down the bridge which is within sight of the Eisenhower farm. A large sign declared the place closed at dusk. We were disappointed until we realized that no one obeyed the sign. After the National Park Battlefield closed at 10 pm (which was strictly enforced), ghost hunters would convoy out to the bridge and hang out till late into the night. We didn't find anything very intriguing, but the bridge is beautiful and its history is colorful.
Abandoned House near Madras, OR
We returned from Gettysburg with a pile of pictures and recordings for review. I was high on the thrill of hunting the paranormal! Five days after we returned from Gettysburg I turned 40 and Roy surprised me with an abandoned house. We drove outside of Madras, Oregon and parked by the side of the road. Roy helped me slip through a barbed-wire fence and kept watch as I went and did an investigation all by myself. The house looked like it had been built in the early part of the twentieth century. No EVP's were collected. It was pretty quiet.
Private Residence
When a team of paranormal investigators gets bored they often appeal to friends and family for a place to investigate. When those friends and family come through the investigators are very grateful. This private residence is such a location. The homeowners went off to the movies while we did the investigation. The house has a known history of incest, debilitating sickness, and death. We thought it a good recipe for a possible haunting. Evidence was scanty, but we captured some of the most interesting orbs we have ever caught to date. I will include pictures and close-ups of the orbs, as well as a possible EVP. Our team had some disagreement as to whether this was a legitimate EVP. You be the judge.
Crooked River Ranch-Senior Center
I have a lot of affection for the following location. We requested the privilege of an investigation and they kindly permitted us to do so. It is the original ranch house to the area, built 1919. As a child, the church I attended would rent the place for potlucks. I remember running around the expansive lawn and going down by the Crooked River in the nearby canyon. We got a few interesting orbs, but no EVP's.
The above recording was captured in the first two minutes of our investigation. We were getting the equipment set up and hadn't yet taken the lens cap off the camera. We captured what sounds like a dry, cackling laugh of an old man. The original owner of the house died at a ripe old age, and the widow of the ranch foreman continues to live on the property. I am including the recording captured by the digital recorder, but it is much clearer on the video.
In the above video, the sound of a little girl's laugh can be heard as Roy is talking and descending the stairs. When we reviewed the digital recorder for the same time, it sounds more like she is singing. The digital recording is below.
Goldfield Hotel-Goldfield, NV
Before we were paranormal investigators we went on a road trip through Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.The drive between Las Vegas and Reno is a long, lonely road with some interesting mining towns along the way. We stopped off at the Goldfield Hotel with no knowledge of its notoriety among the paranormal community. I am including the pictures we took through the windows. In one of them I can see an interesting round mist near the top of the stairs. I can't explain it. Can you?