RETURN TO STRAWBERRY HILL - ACTIVE CHAPEL

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During our first investigation at the Strawberry Hill Museum, Dave Bryant found an unexplained electromagnetic field (EMF) reading of 2 mG in the Chapel. He was unable to locate a natural source for the reading. The Strawberry Hill Museum is so large and we had so many paranormal stories to investigate, that we didn't have time to follow up on this anomolous EMF. But this 2nd investigation was our chance follow-up.

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For our first vigil, Dave, Laura, and I settled into the Chapel. Francie had informed us that around 5 years ago a group of psychics had toured the Strawberry Hill Museum and had described "sensing" spirits sitting in the pews in the Chapel. So we each chose a pew to sit in...and settled in for our vigil.

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We had positioned a stationary IR camera at the back of the Chapel, Laura was operating a hand-held video camera, we had a stationary digital audio recorder near the front of the church, and I was holding a digital audio recorder. Dave was operating a Gauss Master EMF detector in the hopes of finding another anomolous EMF reading in the Chapel.

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ANOMALOUS EMF READING IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM About three minutes into our vigil, the Gauss Master EMF detector began giving an audible alert that it was detecting a low level of EMF among the pews. The reading was around 1 mG...occasionally rising to 2 mG. Dave moved the detector up and down and all around the area where he was getting the reading in an attempt to isolate its source. Usually we are able to locate an explainable source for EMF readings...such as power conduit running through the floor, walls, or ceiling, an electical outlet in the wall, an electric appliance, or other source. Click here to listen to Dave initially bringing the anomalous EMF reading to our attention.

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THE FIELD WENT AWAY AND THEN RETURNED Dave walked around the Chapel seeing if he could pick up any similar EMF readngs. He was unable to locate any others that were unexplainable. When he returned to the location of the anomalous EMF reading it was gone, but within a few minutes it had returned.

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CONFIRMING DAVE'S FINDINGS At this point Dave was convinced he had done everything he could to locate an explainable source for these EMF readings. I took the EMF detector in order to confirm his findings. The low level EMF existed within an area 3 to 4 feet across and 3 to 4 feet high. The bottom of this area was about 4 feet off the ground...and the top appeared to be several feet from the ceiling. I stood carefully on the pew with the EMF detector to ensure the EMF was not coming from above us. I was able to find the upper limits of the unexplained EMF field...and determined there was an area above the field where no EMF readings were detected. We had taken photographs of the area hoping to capture something interesting on film.

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RECORDING AUDIO WITHIN THE EMF FIELD At this point, I handed the EMF detector to Dave and stood on the pew with my digital audio recorder. I held the recorder up in the field and asked questions in an attempt to capture electronic voice phenomenon (EVP's). I had positioned myself bascially within the area where we had received the odd EMF readings. At some point I faintly heard what sounded like male voices singing a hymn...or a chant. I immediately asked Dave, "Did you hear that?" This audio clip has the recorded sound from when I thought I heard the "male voices singing," and then me asking Dave if he heard something. Click here to listen to it...and see if you can hear what I heard.

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Or click here to listen to an amplified version of it. I attempted to denoise the audio-clip, but nothing substantive developed from that process.

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THE IMMEDIATE ANALYSIS I'm a fairly skeptical person, and feel it is our responsibility to consider and examine nature causes for what we see and hear before we begin considering paranormal causes. For this reason, I immediately considered the possibility that what I actually heard was the low rumble of several trucks going by on the highway outside...in just the right combination to create something that sounded like "male voices singing a hymn." Click here for the audio of us discussing what I heard....

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WAV files in case MP3's don't work for you: Announcing, Did You Hear, Amplified, Analysis

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SO, WHAT'S IT ALL MEAN? While the anomalous EMF reading remains unexplained, no one can say for sure what that actually means. It is only a theory that unexplained EMF readings accompany the manifestation or presence of ghosts or paranormal activity. So the unexplained EMF reading in itself is interesting...but not conclusive proof of paranormal activity in the Chapel. The fact that I heard what I believed for a moment to be "male voices singing a hymn" is also not conclusive proof of anything. It is interesting that I heard it after positioning myself in proximity to the area emitting the unexplained EMF readings...but, as we discussed immediately after the event, it could have been just the right combination of sounds from trucks going by on the nearby highway that I misinterpretted as something else. Is it more likely that "just the right combination" of truck sounds made that noise...or that it was actually paranormal phenomenon? If we are to pick the simplest and most likely answer, then we would choose truck sounds. Reviewing the audio tape, it is my opinion that the sounds I heard were not picked up by the digital recorders microphone at all. I found the same negative result listening to the audio from the video camera. -Mark Stinson

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