Of course, none of these things are actually true.

Now, we at the Northeast Spectral Science Society have never been shy about pointing out folly where we see it. I could wax poetic for pages on end regarding all the myriad misconceptions we have to overcome as legitimate researchers, but I’ll spare you the bulk of the rant and concentrate on only one.

I’ve noticed that, of the points above, the one with the most lasting momentum is surely the final one: the impression that you must investigate at night. We’ve met a lot of investigators during our travels, and even some of those who otherwise have their heads on straight tend to insist on conducting the bulk of their research at night. Why? Because that’s just the way it’s done.

Again, why? What reason is there to look for ghosts only during the hours between, say 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM? Are there credible, fact-based reasons? Dead Time and the Witching Hour, you say? In what time zone? Do we have to calculate for daylight savings?

A much more constructive calculation for your research purposes would be this one: on a case by case basis, when is the activity reported to occur? If every evening upon finishing her nightly cup of herbal tea the homeowner hears footsteps in her upstairs hall, then you’d best conduct your investigation right after Letterman. But if she heard them immediately following her second cup of coffee in the morning, it would certainly be better to investigate then. If you’re in pursuit of the legend of the mysterious light goldenrod yellow lady at your local churchyard and she supposedly makes her rounds at 7 PM, why would you set up your vigil at 3 AM? If waitstaff at the haunted inn see phantom diners from just after brunch straight through cocktail hour, that is when you should go, not four hours after the cheesecake is gobbled and the brandy is gone.

There are, of course, specific advantages to performing one’s research during the evening hours which can not be ignored. For the case of a commercial investigation, for instance, nights may be the only time an investigator has full access to the location; an investigation during normal business hours would be an inconvenience to those conducting said business and would be nearly impossible for the thorough researcher to control all of their variables. Other public places may pose similar daytime challenges, and in these cases, for the reasons stated above, we would recommend nighttime access.

But all of these reasons are matters of practicality, not preconceived notions regarding some magical hour of the day or night in which paranormal occurrences are said to be prevalent. There is, as yet, no indication that any such time exists, and no evidence of a universal “thinning of the veil”, so to speak, based on a linear time schedule. In fact, the majority of the data we’ve collected seems to point to a variety of other factors as either amplifiers or harbingers of anomalous activities, such as weather, planetary and moon cycles, and the human influences present. Time, on a general scale, seems to have very little to do with it.

Where ghosts and spirits are concerned, darkness has always been a part of the show, from the low lights masking a séance leader’s parlor tricks, to midnight ghost walks through ancient cities, to the startled reactions of modern ghost hunters in the green glow of IR lights. Darkness is used to create drama in popular television shows and presentations. It adds to the theatrical sense of impending danger, and sparks anticipation in the viewer that something unexpected could happen at any second. However, we, as legitimate paranormal researchers, are not here for the drama, but instead for the truth…whatever time it may occur.

HISTORY:

From 1903 to 1933, the rural west side of the town of Rutland, Massachusetts was the home to around 100 prisoners suffering from tuberculosis. These prisoners were transferred to the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital from their cells in neighboring prisons to participate in a revolutionary rehabilitation experiment. Taking cues from the first public tuberculosis sanatorium in the nation, nearby Rutland State Sanatorium, prisoners were prescribed a regimen of hard work, healthy diet and fresh air in the hopes that their health would improve through the duration of their sentences.

With superintendent William Turner at the helm, the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital strove to be a self-sufficient operation. Prisoners were involved in the construction of the hospital and other buildings on the property, and were assigned the duties of raising livestock and tending crops both for their own use and for sale. Prisoners staffed the 100-bed hospital building; even some of the doctors were inmates.

By all accounts the prisoners were treated fairly and thrived under Superintendent Turner’s care. Many had arrived near death, but regained their strength and health through his unique approach.

In 1934, the State of Massachusetts reclaimed the land as part of the Quabbin Reservoir project, and shut down the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital for good.

An excellent gallery of historical images from the prison camp can be found here.

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

The 980-acre tract of land which once comprised the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital is now a part of the Rutland State Forest. Many vestiges of the former Prison Camp remain, including the foundation of the main hospital, a four-cell solitary confinement building, the foundation of the warden’s home, a vegetable storage cellar, an underground drainage tunnel, a small cemetery and several other partial foundations and structural remnants.

The forest is open to the public, and is used as a general purpose recreation area for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders and, during the Fall season, bird hunters. There is also evidence that the area is used as a party spot, including graffiti, beer bottles, discarded paper, the remains of campfires and a few spent paint balls.

Of the many visitors each season, some report strange happenings, from feelings of heaviness to outright dread, voices and physical contact.  One legend states that a full body apparition has been seen in the vicinity of the foundation of the warden’s home; this apparition is believed to be the warden’s wife.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

We first began our research at the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital in October of 2008.

Day 1:

On that beautiful Fall morning, Chris, Rob, Sue and I ventured out along the maze of dirt roads and gated paths off of MA-122 armed with only a GPS and some vague directions obtained from the dustiest corners of the internet.  Somewhere along Prison Camp Road there would be a prison, and we had been assured we would know it when we saw it!

After a backtrack or two, we did indeed find it.  The solitary confinement building – a rainbow-graffitied white stucco edifice commonly called the “stone house” – appeared on our left, a short way after the intersection of Prison Camp and Intervale Roads.  We parked behind it, grabbed our gear, and set off to scout the grounds of the camp.

Our first trip did not yield much in the way of experiences or evidence, but it did leave a powerful impression on us that this was a location to be explored much further.  Upon returning home, we retired to our respective corners and commenced on some more thorough historical research.

Day 2:

With new research, maps and a full battery of equipment in hand, we returned the following weekend with a complete crew, adding Aaron and former NESSS investigator Jean to the previous weekend’s lineup.   We explored the solitary confinement building first, starting with baseline EMF readings, then performed a communication session within the cells.  Aside from Sue’s strange feeling of claustrophobia within one of the cells, we experienced nothing out of the ordinary there.  None of our instruments recorded any anomalies or deviations from baseline.

Next we ventured up to the vegetable storage cellar, a concrete building half buried in the side of a hill.   We investigated this building as we had the solitary confinement cells, with no anomalies to report.  Up the hill from the vegetable cellar, we found another stone foundation, believed to be the remains of the chicken coop.  Other than a lost battle with the thistly undergrowth, we experienced nothing worth reporting there either.

Walking back by the solitary confinement building and further down the path, we came upon a concrete platform and several more foundations, once part of the cattle and dairy operation.  Our investigation of this area returned nothing of interest.

Directly behind the solitary confinement building, we found the remains of a drainage system in the form of a 30 or so foot tunnel directly under the ground.  Intrepid explorers to a man, we ventured below.  We found plenty of graffiti and moss-covered walls, stagnant water and rough footing, but alas, nothing out of the ordinary.

We then decided to head up to the main hospital, an immense horseshoe-shaped cellar hole about a quarter mile up Prison Camp road on the right.  We investigated several spots around and inside the foundation, taking EMF readings and photos.  We concentrated on communication sessions here, since this was the prisoners’ primary residence while imprisoned at the camp .  Unfortunately, neither our photos nor our recordings revealed anything anomalous.   We noted no deviations from baseline on any other instruments.

A short way back down from the hospital, we found the foundation of Superintendent Turner’s home.  It was around this foundation that witnesses had claimed to have seen an apparition of Turner’s wife.  We performed our usual communication session and took photos in and around the foundation using several different cameras.  Later examination of the photos revealed nothing of interest.

Exhausted, we left the camp for the day and returned home.  It had been a long day and we were satisfied that we had thoroughly investigated everything we had set about to see.

Day 3:

Perhaps a lesser group would be deterred by the lack of concrete evidence on our initial trip and give up on such an unyielding location entirely.  But we at the Northeast Spectral Science Society have a policy to reserve judgment on ANY location until we’ve investigated and researched it thoroughly.  As a group, we felt that we were not done with Rutland, and we hoped that it was not yet done with us.  We found the camp to be fascinating and thought that perhaps a change of tactics would bring about a change in luck, and vowed to return under different conditions.

Since the middle of a New England state forest is no place to be during the worst of the Winter months, we put off our return trip to the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital until April of this year.  Given the vast area we knew we would be working with, we decided to bring in other investigators to help with our search.  NESSS investigators Chris, Sue, Rob, Aaron and I were accompanied that evening by 9 members of the Western Massachusetts Paranormal Meetup.  We met beside the solitary confinement building, split into two groups and set off in opposite directions, into the crisp night.

Both teams investigated the major locations in turn, hitting the main hospital, the solitary confinement building and the vegetable cellar.  We concentrated on communication sessions and EVP work, since the cold, damp air was unforgiving of flash photography.  Though many members of both groups had personal experiences, especially inside and around the solitary confinement building, we came away from the investigation without a whole lot of concrete evidence.

None of the NESSS investigators present obtained any interesting anomalies on our recordings, however one of our guest investigators did come away with one potential EVP.  We hope to be able to examine this recording fully in the future, and with her permission, share it with our readers here at a later date.

Some of our guest investigators noted photos of possible interest, but our team has since been able to rule these out as naturally-occurring anomalies, brought upon by the combination of camera flash, breath exhaled into a cold night and a high moisture content in the air.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES:

Several of our guest investigators found that they could not or would not go inside one particular cell of the solitary confinement building – the very same cell where Sue had experienced claustrophobia during our first visit.  Though we are not in any position to completely rule out the possibility that a negative entity or force has taken up residence in this cell, an alternate theory regarding our natural, psychological reactions to such a place emerges upon further contemplation.

The particular cell in question is the very cell that has somehow escaped the ravages of time un-breached – the only one of four that has not been outfitted with a ragged skylight by the dual destructive forces of erosion and neglect.  This final cell is the one most strongly able to imbue the investigator with a feeling of confinement and the sense of what it must have been like to be sentenced to time in the cold silence of the stone house.

CONCLUSIONS:

We can not, at this time, definitively state that the Rutland Prison Camp Hospital is haunted.  However, we are not yet ready to rule it out either.  We were unable to find any natural causes for any of the reported activity, and were unable to replicate it during any of our visits.  The wealth of personal experiences during our third visit, though inconclusive, have encouraged us to begin planning a fourth visit.  Though we would normally try to replicate the conditions under which these things were experienced as closely as possible, it is unlikely we will be able to go during the evening hours again due to the current unavailability of evening permits.

By a strange mix of circumstances, we were unable to visit the cemetery on the grounds during any of our visits to the camp.  This also remains one area we’d like to investigate in the future.

Though the forest is open to the public during daylight hours, we very strongly discourage any other potential investigators from trying to enter after dark without proper permission.

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Below is a report of our investigation.

HISTORY:

Our research on the history of the home was mostly unsuccessful.  We were unable to find a definite date of construction for the home, nor could we locate anything stating who had built or first lived in it; the records seem to have been lost in the floods of the 1930s.  However, we did find out from the local historian that there was a suicide in the home some fifty odd years ago. The distraught individual hung himself in the basement of the building after his home life had gone awry.

Unfortunately, the historian was unable to provide us with any other details concerning the property.

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

Our client pointed out two locations in the home where feelings of being watched and heaviness were prevalent. One area was a narrow hallway on the first floor, and the other was in the hallway on the second floor at the top of the stairs. Also in the upstairs hallway footsteps were reportedly heard during the night and the tenants were unable to explain the cause.  One of the residents claimed that books had been pushed off of a small book shelf onto the floor.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

Katie, Rob, Sue, Aaron, Rick and I were the investigators for this case. We investigated for two nights.

Evening 1:

During the interview, Aaron, Rob, Rick and I took preliminary EMF baseline measurements in each of the rooms. We plotted camera placements and mapped out the home while Katie and Sue interviewed the client.

Static cameras and audio recorders were placed in three locations: the attic, the bedroom where books fell to the floor, and the upstairs hallway where the mysterious footsteps were heard.

After we set up our remote monitoring equipment we split up into two teams.  One team covered the upstairs and the other the first floor and basement.    Our first course of action was to note any EMF readings which differ from our previously determined baseline readings.   For this we used two different EMF meters – a Lutron EMF-822A and a MEL 8704.

The evening started off with the first floor team experiencing KII activity in the living room and, high measurements of 2.8 mG from both the Lutron and the MEL.  We took photos and began to ask questions of any ethereal beings that may potentially have been present using our standard communication session procedure.  Unfortunately nothing of note transpired.  For ten minutes, the unusually high EMF persisted, then ceased.  We  continued our communication session and an hour later the KII lit up once again.  The other EMF detectors registered the same high numbers as before and in ten minutes’ time the activity ceased.

We noted the time,  and then moved into the kitchen for another communication session.  Nothing unusual occurred during our time there.

We then moved into the basement.  The basement area of the home posed a challenge.  While investigating we noted areas in the middle of the floor that were giving off unusually high EMF readings.  Stranger still was the fact that any wiring in the areas in question was not live. The readings fluctuated wildly from a low base line 1.0 mG to as high as 23 mG.

We did notice that there was a heavy load-carrying wire approximately ten feet away, however the client pointed out to us that none of the appliances that utilize this line have been turned on since we entered the home.  We spent some time noting where the high EMF fields were.

After a while, both investigation groups reconvened on the first floor and discussed what, if any events took place.  It was at this time we decided that maybe switching areas may provoke some sort of activity.

I informed the second team of what had occurred in the living room and told them to note the time should any KII activity take place.

Nothing of note occurred while my team took our shift upstairs.  The team on the first floor, however, told us that the KII had lit again twice during their session.  The first was exactly an hour after our last event and the second was an hour after that.  There seemed to be a pattern emerging.  As it was getting late, we decided to let our client get some sleep, and scheduled a time to revisit his home and this case.

Before leaving we informed the client that we would go through the evidence collected and relay our findings when we returned.  As is our custom, we also communicated to our client that if anything should happen before our next visit to please make note of the phenomena.

The week transpired without incident.

Evening 2:

NESSS members Katie, Rob, Sue, Rick and I were on hand for the second evening. Prior to arriving at the residence, we decided that a more passive approach may spark some sort of activity in the second floor.  We arrived and conferred with our client, and were told that no further activity had occurred.

Rob and I swept the apartment for EMF readings and each location’s measurements coincided with those of the first evening, including the basement.

We decided to place two static cameras in the upstairs hallway and place an audio recorder in the bedroom where the books had been knocked down. We figured it may be best to stay together on the first floor and conduct  EVP/Communication session, and then investigate the basement for a while.

During a walk through the basement, Rick again took note of  the large electrical line in the rafters.   Our notes indicated a small EMF measurement of 1.2 mG emanating from this line, and the field dropped off to nothing within inches.  However, this time, the field measured a value of more than 21 mG and sustained a very high field up to 10 feet away. We also noticed that the power line was directly below where the first night’s KII and EMF activity occurred on the first floor.  Quickly, Rob and I went back upstairs and measured from the floor up to a height of five feet.  The field sustained a strength of 21 mG several feet from the floor!  From this,  we were able to determine that the power line was indeed the source of our first night’s EMF anomaly.

We surmised that the periodic running of the neighbor’s refrigerator was the source of the sporadic high EMF, which inspection of the fuse box did confirm.  It was lucky for us that we happened to be standing just below the line when the fridge kicked on, or we may never have discovered this.

The rest of the time spent at the client’s home passed without any unusual occurrences.

CONCLUSIONS:

Review of video footage and audio recordings revealed nothing out of the ordinary.  We were later informed that a smudging was performed at the home the day before we arrived.   We were unable to determine whether or not this had any effect on our investigation.

We have kept in touch with this client and there have been no further incidents.  However, should they experience anything in the future,  we will be more than happy to re-investigate.

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NESSS Message Boards – www.nespectralscience.com/forum

We know you have a lot of options when it comes to paranormal message boards, but we hope you will find ours to be fun, informative and a little bit different than the rest. We’re hoping to create a community rather than just a forum, a place where investigators, researchers and other paranormal enthusiasts, be they new to the field or with years of experience behind them, come to share ideas, get positive feedback, and participate in peer review.

Registered members of the message boards will have advance notice and exclusive access to many of our upcoming events, including educational seminars, hands-on investigations, and community functions.

You can browse the message boards any time, however most of the best features, such as the peer-review board and the researchers’ corner, are only available to registered users. Registration is painless and free – simply click one of the registration links or the big button with the keys on it, quickly create your profile, then start posting!

We look forward to seeing you there!

I swear, if I hear or read the above statement again, or any of its nauseating permutations, I’m going to scream!

A show of hands: who here remembers anything from their high school science classes? I’m talking about real lab classes with real experimentation.  Anyone?

I don’t exactly see a sea of hands out there. Given the state of the paranormal field today, that doesn’t surprise me too much. So, for those of you sitting on your hands and hoping not to get called on, allow me to present a refresher course on the scientific method, truncated down to a single paragraph:

The scientific method consists of gathering observable and empirical data, then proposing a hypothesis for the review of one’s peers.  All experiments must be conducted objectively, and must be well-documented, shared, and repeatable.  A hypothesis must pass multiple tests (by multiple researchers) before it can be considered a theory.  It must be even more thoroughly vetted before it may be considered scientific law.

Well, then.

We, as researchers of the various types of anomalous phenomena we like to refer to as “Paranormal”, are bound to a conscientious adherence to objectivity. We have to separate ourselves and our emotions from the experiment.  We must maintain a strong scientific detachment. This objectivity precludes us from making statements to the effect that we are here to prove something based on what we want to be true.

I understand what it’s like to stand on a precipice, below which lies a new scientific paradigm.  I understand the desire to justify our endless hours spent in the pursuit of answers.   I understand the drive to find the perfect piece of evidence that will bring what we do to the attention of the masses and pull the merry band of fools and daydreamers we call colleagues out from the fringes of science and society and into the mainstream.  These are my dreams too.

I wholeheartedly encourage investigation, experimentation and gathering endless amounts of data with gusto.  But if we are to do this, we must do it right.  We will never prove anything, so long as we have something to prove.

“No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.”

-Albert Einstein

KAPS Podcast

Pro-Measure

You can also see the MEL-8704 in action during both videos of our investigations at the Abandoned Tunnel

Katie’s articles get published!
NESSS investigator Katie, prolific writer of feature articles here at www.nespectralscience.com and elsewhere, has had some of her articles published and linked to around the web. We would like to thank Jen from PRRS and Patty from Ghostsamongus and The Beyond for helping to get the word out about the work we’re doing here at NESSS.

PRRS – News & Events

Ghostsamongus

The Beyond

The Anomalist (Katie’s article appeared on December 26th)

The Northeast Spectral Science Society would like to thank all our supporters for making 2008 a great year for us, and we look forward to working with all of you in 2009.

Although outwardly I appear perfectly normal (but for what some would call too many tattoos) you will frequently find me in a cemetery. I enjoy researching, writing about and photographing cemeteries, for both the ever-present invitation to walk through history, and the peaceful quality native to beautiful old New England burying grounds.

As such, I take what may be an unpopular stance among so-called “serious” paranormal researchers who tend to look down upon those who hang around in cemeteries looking for ghosts. Though I have never encouraged hanging around a cemetery after dark without permission or otherwise trespassing against posted guidelines, I certainly think a budding ghost hunter could choose many worse locations to investigate.

When discussing why certain places are haunted, the most prevalent theories state that the deceased will haunt a location based on the strength of their emotional tie to it. In light of this, I don’t believe that cemeteries are usually haunted by the spirits of the dead buried there.  The dead have no real emotional or habitual ties to the cemetery, and wouldn’t naturally choose or be drawn to haunt it – excepting, of course, the ghosts of my fellow taphophiles and perhaps the caretaker!

However, I have obtained some interesting “anomalies” while investigating cemeteries, both during research conducted by the Northeast Spectral Science Society, and while wandering out on my frequent daytime photography trips.

But if cemeteries are not haunted, as so many studious paranormal investigators are so quick to claim, how can this be? Well, barring any as yet undetermined natural causes falling outside our extensive battery of debunking methods, we have to assume that something paranormal is indeed present.

Though the interred don’t really care, there is without doubt a strong emotional imprint left by the LIVING who visit these cemeteries. This can potentially lead to what may be a residual haunting, or a memory stuck in rotation like a CD player on repeat. These memories play whether our gadgets and gizmos are there to record them or not.

Additionally, the burial customs and rituals of so many cultures tend to perpetuate the heavily symbolic nature of the process of death.  Our subconscious minds tend to revere the cemetery as a highly charged and mystical locale, whether we are consciously superstitious or not.  I believe this charge can act like a beacon to entities who feed on fear or sadness, leading them to stick around.

Taphophile or not, we shouldn’t ignore the possibility of cemetery haunts or leave graveyards out of our research schedule. Though many of the ghost stories and legends may be based on flights of fancy, there’s a chance one or two of them just might be true!

HISTORY:

This abandoned and neglected tunnel stretches nearly a quarter mile under a once-booming factory town in New England. Having seen its last train in the late 1950s, and stripped of its track in the 1970s, the tunnel now stands empty.

Or does it?

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

Reports of eerie feelings and strange phenomena abound, including the sensation of being watched or followed and the perception of cold spots. The sounds of an oncoming train have been heard, as well as other strange noises. Humanoid shadows have been described. The illusion of walking without progress has been reported, as has the feeling that it takes longer to reach the end of the tunnel than it should.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

Since members of the Northeast Spectral Science Society investigated the tunnel over the course of several nights, and in several different configurations, we will be breaking our report down by days for simplicity’s sake.

Day 1: August 16, 2008
Investigators: NESSS members Sue, Rob, Chris and I.

Though Chris and I had explored the tunnel once before, this would be a first experience for Sue and Rob. Since this was sort of a spur of the moment excursion, we went with minimal equipment. We had a DSLR camera, two point-and-shoots, two voice recorders and a K-II. We set up outside, then began our journey into the depths of the tunnel.

We set about debunking some of the activity we had heard about, starting with the sound of the train. We found if you stand in a certain spot around the middle of the tunnel and wait for a car to go by on the road directly overhead, the vibrations sound like the rumbling of a train approaching.

We were able to explain many of the auditory phenomena, as well. The tunnel is one large echo chamber. Between the pigeons roosting, the occasional bat, and the constant dripping of water which leeches through the granite and onto various debris on the tunnel floor, it was very seldom silent.

Since we were able to debunk so many of the reports, and we had very little K-II activity and no personal experiences, we were ready to call the tunnel completely inactive. That is, until we went home and listened to our recordings.

We decided to leave both recorders running for the entire time we were there, just over two hours. Though we stopped for frequent communication sessions, it seemed as though whatever was there that evening was interested in chatting throughout. Our extensive collection of EVPs is below.

Something seems to whisper “what the?” about 1 second in. Sue did hear something at the time this was recorded.
2008-08-16-tunnel-01

Something is talking in the background, though we can’t quite make out what it’s saying.
2008-08-16-tunnel-02

A child’s voice, unintelligible.
2008-08-16-tunnel-03

A little girl saying “come quick” about 2 seconds in.
2008-08-16-tunnel-04

A child or infant laughing.
2008-08-16-tunnel-05

A male whispering “don’t go”?
2008-08-16-tunnel-06

A voice in the background.
2008-08-16-tunnel-07

A female humming.
2008-08-16-tunnel-08

A male moan?
2008-08-16-tunnel-09

The same moan, different recorder.
2008-08-16-tunnel-11

One of us asks why the wall is crumbling, and before Chris can answer, something else does.
2008-08-16-tunnel-10

Day 2: August 30, 2008
Investigators: NESSS members Sue, Rob, Chris, Jean and I

All in all, day two seemed a bit quieter than day one. We brought NESSS member Jean along for his first tunnel investigation. We also brought with us a different strategy and some extra equipment. In addition to the voice recorders, cameras and K-II we used on day one, we also used a video camera with headphones for live-listening, and the Lutron EMF-822A EMF meter fitted with a light so we could read it in the darkness.

The following recordings, though not technically EVPs because we heard them at the time they were recorded, are still worth a listen. They illustrate some of the activity we did experience that evening including banging and rumblings.

In this recording, you can hear a rock skipping across the ground before striking a metal piece of debris, as if it had been thrown deliberately.
2008-08-30-tunnel-01

Again, something much larger than a water drop strikes a metal object.
2008-08-30-tunnel-02

A rumbling or a groan. You can hear Sue’s reaction to this, also.
2008-08-30-tunnel-03

Day 3: October 25, 2008
Investigators: The full NESSS team – Sue, Rob, Chris, Jean, Aaron and I

Day three posed many challenges. Due to the team’s hectic schedules, we had to take the opportunity to investigate the tunnel where we could get it, even though it was pouring outside and nearly midnight when we arrived. After wrapping our equipment tightly in plastic bags, we trekked up to the tunnel. We had promised NESSS member Aaron we would take him up there for his first experience, and we wouldn’t be deterred by a little rain!

Throughout the evening, we were plagued by thick banks of fog rolling through the tunnel. All our photos are suspect because of these conditions. However, we did come away with one EVP, below.

Sue asks if anyone present is bothered by the lights, and something seems to talk over her. We think it sounds like “that’s OK”.
2008-10-25-tunnel-01

It should be noted that both Chris and Sue saw what they describe as a white mass moving along the roof of the tunnel toward where we stood. Both Rob and I snapped photos, but caught nothing. At this point, we don’t have any theories or conclusions regarding this experience.

Day 4: November 7, 2008
Investigators: NESSS members Chris and I, along with Western Massachusetts Paranormal Meetup members Sandy, Tanya, Ralph, Gary, Chris and Chris.

Since the NESSS team enjoyed our investigations of the tunnel, we decided to take a few members of the Western Massachusetts Paranormal Meetup with us. We had a total of eight, and went about exploring the whole tunnel, then set up for communication sessions in a couple of spots the NESSS team had found to be interesting during previous trips. Though we had a large group, we decided to stay together throughout our investigation. The tunnel is quite long, but has a tendency to echo, and we didn’t want to pollute our EVPs.

That night, everything seemed quiet. We got a small period of K-II activity at one point, but no other EMF fluctuations at any other time, on any device. None of the investigators present that evening had any anomalies in their photos, and our audio recordings came up empty. Nobody reported any personal experiences.

Day 5: November 8, 2008
Investigators: NESSS members Sue, Rob, Chris and I

Day five was supposed to be another investigation with members of the Western Massachusetts Paranormal Meetup, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it ended up being just four members of NESSS – the same four present on day one. As dull as day four had been, we didn’t have high hopes upon entering the tunnel one last time. But we were to be pleasantly surprised.

We walked the length of the tunnel and back before setting up in key spots for communication sessions. We had quite a bit of K-II fluctuation, and a few spikes on the MEL-8704 EMF meter during the night. The MEL-8704 also has an ambient temperature probe, and we noted a couple of small temperature fluctuations as well.

Though each member of the group experienced auditory phenomena, only one such instance translated onto our recorders. I ask if whatever made the K-II blink can do it again, and it sounds like something whispers “no”. (Interestingly, though, the K-II did blink again. Playful? Sarcastic? The jury is still out.)
2008-11-08-tunnel-01

During our communication sessions, the group utilized two Sony Night-Shot camcorders on tripods positioned to take in the entire scene, a bit of a different approach than during our previous four investigations. The results of our video recording have been summarized in the two clips below.

The Tunnel Part I – The Four from NESSS on Vimeo.

The Tunnel Part II – The Eight from NESSS on Vimeo.

I’ve also included a few of the photos from the migrating mist featured in Part II for your examination below. These photos illustrate the movement of the mist around our group in conjunction to the cold spots several investigators felt. Please note that none of us saw this mist while it was happening. Although we are hesitant to call it paranormal, we did feel it should be included for your consideration. All were taken with Rob’s camera, a Sony DSC P200 point-and-shoot. The flash fired in all photos. The EXIF data for all photos was the same: ISO 400, 7.9mm, f/2.8, 1/30 second. Click to open full size.

1:33:26 AM – We begin to exit, no mist present.

1:41:40 AM – Chris begins to feel cold.

1:42:59 AM – Mist visible around Chris.

1:43:52 AM – Mist still visible.

1:44:35 AM – Mist has dissipated.

1:46:36 AM – We commence walking toward the exit.

1:48:49 – Sue notes that the Ankh cell-phone strap in her back pocket was tugged. A mist is visible.

1:48:55 – Mist still visible.

1:49:01 – Mist still visible.

1:49:08 – But for a few moisture “orbs” the mist has dissipated.

CONCLUSION:

Though we can’t definitively say the abandoned tunnel is haunted, we will say that this case deserves much more study. We’ve noted anomalies nearly every time we’ve visited. Though we cannot say that they are unequivocally paranormal in origin, we have removed many of the normal, natural causes from the equation and these anomalies still remain.

The Northeast Spectral Science Society has plans to resume our research within the abandoned tunnel in the spring. We hope that this case may lead us to the answers we all seek.

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(Ed. -  At this time, we are not going to publicly reveal the exact location of the tunnel due to concerns over vandalism and safety. However, paranormal researchers and groups are invited to email us privately to discuss this investigation report and the feasibility of conducting their own.)

HISTORY:

Research on the residence provided no clues for a cause of paranormal activity. We discovered the house was built some time in the 1940′s on a previously unused plot of land. There were no suicides, murders, or unusual deaths tied to the home. However our research did reveal that there was one accidental death in the 1980′s that occurred outside in close proximity to the residence, but not in it.

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

During our preliminary interview, the client described several different unusual phenomena. Feelings of paranoia, nausea, sensations of being watched, heavy foot steps in the attic, disembodied voices, movement of beds, sudden temperature changes and the appearance of a shadowy figure. Also one of the residents claimed to have written a message on a piece of paper in Latin, a language she was not fluent in, after waking from a strange dream. The exact content of the message is unknown, and unfortunately the paper had been thrown away before we were able to examine it.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

We investigated this residence for two nights.

Day 1:

The first night Katie, Sue, Rob, Aaron, Jean and I met with the client and spoke with her and the other residents at length regarding the activity they had experienced.  She stated she was willing to have us start our investigation right away, so our group toured the residence, plotting camera placements and the investigative strategy. Our team decided to place cameras in the living room, the attic and the small computer room at the rear of the residence. These were the areas the client described as the most active.

Jean and I took EMF readings throughout the residence using a Lutron EMF-822A to establish base line readings. It was at this time that we discovered the client’s home was being bombarded with unusually high EMFs. We detected fields ranging in strengths from 1.2 mg to as high as 26.8 mg and radiating as far as six feet away form the walls. Many of the areas where activity was reported were within areas where our baseline EMF measurements were very high. After our preliminary scouting was finished and cameras were in place, we split up into two teams of three, and began our investigation.

Our teams concentrated on separate locations for a predetermined time and then rotated locations. Each team conducted communication sessions in each area of reported activity. With each change of location team members would communicate any phenomena, explainable or not to the other members.

A few hours into the investigation, one of our teams set up for a communication session with the residents, and gave them an opportunity to confront what ever may have been in their home. During this session, one of our team members and two of the occupants noted a sudden cool breeze. We were able to determine that a poorly sealed window was the source for this occurrence. The rest of the session proceeded without further incident.

While in the attic, one of the teams did note what sounded like footsteps coming from the staircase leading to the attic. However, we were able to explain the sounds. Earlier we heard children playing in the apartment downstairs, and the apartment building’s walls were poorly insulated. These factors led us to the conclusion that the sound was echoing through the walls and into the stairway leading to our clients upstairs apartment and attic. Later during our evidence analysis we timed our digital voice recordings against the audio recordings from our video cameras and determined this to be the likeliest cause for the disembodied footsteps.

During one of our communication sessions, our K-II meter lit up in apparent response to Katie’s questions. Though we tried to duplicate the activity, we were unable to, and were also unable to determine if the K-II activity stemmed from an ethereal source or from a surge in the faulty wiring in the home.  Later review of video and audio recordings from that session did not reveal any corroborating evidence, so we are unable to decisively call this occurrence paranormal.

Before concluding for the evening, we communicated our team’s general impressions to the client and our recommendations concerning the high EMF readings, and set up for a follow up investigation the next week.  We also told her to get in contact with us should anything occur during the week.

The week passed without incident.

Day 2:

NESSS members Sue, Jean, Rob, Aaron and I arrived at the residence at midnight for our follow-up investigation, as the client had stated that much of the activity she had experienced had occurred in the middle of the night.  Aaron and I took more EMF readings with the Lutron EMF-822A and compared the measurements against those from the previous week. Our measurements coincided with little or no variance.

Again remote cameras were set up in areas of claimed activity and we split up into two teams and set about our investigation. Our teams conducted EVP and communication sessions in the same manner as the previous week. In one of the rooms, Sue stated that she was having difficulty remaining in the room due to unexplainable heavy sensation. This feeling escalated to a headache and we ended the session. Later, Jean and I returned to the room and conducted an EVP session. Both of us were live-listening through digital recorders and noted hearing a young girl’s voice, but were unable to discern the words. Unfortunately the voice was not captured on either recorder, for reasons that remain unexplained.  Neither of us could find a normal source for the voice.  Our clients, though in the home during our investigation, were quietly sitting at the opposite end of the house.

Other than the previously mentioned event, both teams noted different phenomena throughout the evening, but were able to identify them as normal in origin. Later review of audio recordings revealed that, because of the poorly insulated walls, sounds from the street outside could be heard often at times in a volume mimicking whispers and at times even ethereal-sounding voices.

We were also able to determine that the shadowy figure was in fact shadow coming in through the front window. The street in front of the residence ran from east to west and was heavily used. A tall tree in front of the home would cast a shadow on three different walls when a large truck heading in a westerly direction passed by the residence. The feelings of paranoia, being watched and nausea we could only attribute to the high EMFs in the home. We were unable to duplicate the sensation of the beds moving or shaking, though while in one of the bedrooms Sue did experience a mild vibration on the bed.  We determined this was likely caused by a passing truck. Many of the sudden temperature fluctuations were a result of drafts coming in through uninsulated windows.

Before departing, we once again communicated our initial impressions and set up a time and date for the following week to disclose our findings.

Our team analyzed and re-analyzed evidence collected from both investigations. The recordings from both day’s communication sessions came up empty. Also the remote cameras placed in different rooms came up empty, except for one that was placed in the attic. While analyzing video from this camera, Jean noticed a motion blur in one frame of the video which we were unable to explain.

CONCLUSIONS:

We determined that the client’s home was not actively haunted, but may have a residual presence that was not malevolent.  We also advised her to speak with her landlord regarding the unshielded wiring.  We also gave her a short list of steps to take, including attending to the drafty windows and moving the beds away from the higher EMF fields.  We recommended that she affirm and imprint her presence with fresh paint and new furniture, and suggested she go through with a party she had planned as a way to impart positive energy into the home.  She seemed satisfied with our explanations for what was causing her experiences and explained that after our first visit the “activity” almost ceased.

Group members keep an open line of communication with this (and all) clients in case of any further problems.

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HISTORY:

Dana was a small community first incorporated in 1801 and located in what was once the Swift River Valley. The town (along with three others) was taken by the state in order to build the Quabbin Reservoir to provide drinking water for Boston and its growing suburbs. State officials quietly maneuvered in Boston for a few years before informing residents of Dana they would have to move.  Though they took their case all the way to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, residents were eventually forced from their homes, and paid only a fraction of what their land was worth.  By 1938, the town was completely dismantled, leaving only cellar holes.

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

During our research, the majority of claims we ran across were second or third hand: “My friends brother said he heard a mans voice telling him to leave when he was at the common” or “My cousin told me that he saw a woman walking down the road toward him and vanished before he could get a good look at her.” These were not the only two, there seemed to be a vast number of accounts. Unfortunately we were unable to find anyone who, themselves, experienced any unusual phenomena at Dana.   We decided to investigate anyway, to see if Dana’s deceased still roamed the land they once called home.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

Katie and I first visited Dana in May of this year.  Our intention was to perform a preliminary investigation and scout for locations of interest. We walked on toward the common carrying our K-II EMF meter, a Sony ICD-P620 digital audio recorder, and a Olympus D-435 digital point-and-shoot camera. Our plan was to attempt communication sessions around foundations and the plot where Dana’s cemetery was once located.

We stopped at each of the foundations along the road, first introducing ourselves and then proceeding with photos, taking baseline EMF measurements and ending with a communication session.
There was no unusual activity while at any of the sites, however while reviewing photos from our investigation we noticed an unusual creeping smoke or mist in two photos. Neither of us saw any fog, either at this location or at any time while we were there.

We are not certain this photographic anomaly is paranormal in nature, but we have included both photos below for your analysis; click to open full size. Both were taken with an Olympus D-435 point-and-shoot camera with a 6.1mm focal length, an aperture of f/2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. The first photo used an ISO equivalent of 150, while the second used an ISO equivalent of 142. These photos were taken only a few seconds apart. If you have an opinion on these photos, please leave a comment or email us directly.

Though we did not come away with any conclusive evidence, Katie and I enjoyed our trip to Dana, and decided to schedule another with the rest of the Northeast Spectral Science Society.

Our next visit took place in August, and this time Katie and I were joined by NESSS members Sue and Rob. We repeated our previous route, visiting the same locations. This time we used a Lutron EMF-822A for our baseline EMF measurements, leaving the K-II to be used strictly for communication sessions. During these sessions Katie and Rob extensively photographed each location, while Sue and I attempted to initiate some sort of contact with any ethereal presence.

None of us experienced or noted unusual phenomena during the day. Later review of the evidence collected revealed nothing unusual. We decided to give Dana’s haunted reputation one more chance and planned another visit. This time we were bringing a larger and more diverse group; hoping the change of faces and techniques would trigger something we were unable to.

On October 25th, NESSS members Rob, Katie and I met with Western Massachusetts Paranormal Meetup members Anita, Rick, Gary and Chris. The plan again was to visit each location, take EMF readings, photograph and attempt communication sessions.

The day seemed to be an instant replay of the previous visits. Our team photographed, monitored for unusual EMF readings, listened, recorded and conducted communication sessions at each location of interest. During the investigation, we were unable to note any higher than normal EMF measurements or any visual phenomena. Later review of recordings and photographs left us with no tangible evidence.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES:

During our communication session at the site of the old cemetery, Meetup member Rick reported hearing a voice twice through his parabolic microphone. He reported hearing this when Katie was asking questions pertaining to how the spirits felt about having lost their homes. The voice only replied with one word – “Pride!” Rick was not the only one to hear a disembodied voice, as I also heard something while live listening through my digital audio recorder. Unfortunately, our later review of the recording revealed nothing; any voice that may have wanted to be heard was drowned out by the strong wind blowing on the microphone. Rick, however, does have a copy of his recording.

CONCLUSIONS:

Right now, we are unable to call the former township of Dana, Massachusetts, haunted. However the EVP that Rick recorded renews our interest, and we will be going back when weather permits.

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