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All of the photos in the Investigation Albums (parts 1 and 2) are captured from the video we taped
during the actual investigation. They aren't of as high a quality as the images taken with our film and digital
cameras and larger versions of them are not available, but they give a good feel for what it was like to be there.
Browse through...and read what interests you.
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It was extremely hot on the 3rd floor of the house, near the James Cruise closet.
The idea of performing an hour-long vigil in the high-90 degree heat was daunting...but we were there for an investigation.
Our "refresher" tour through the building complete, we returned downstairs to set up our gear and get
organized for the vigils to come. |
| Here Stew is setting up the DVR camera system. We chose the Old Kitchen as the place
to bring back all of our camera wires, due to its close proximity to the servant's stairway. This stairway gave
us easy access to both the 2nd and 3rd floors of the house from the 1st floor. During set-up, Stew, Shawn, and
Dave heard male voices from the next room. See the Unexplained Voices section of this investigation report for
details. |
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Part of setting up the DVR cameras is running hundreds of feet of cable. Stew is
the brains of this operation and knows how to hook everything up, leaving the rest of us know-nothings to run cable.
Besides the vigils, this is actually one of my favorite parts of the invesigation. There is something about the
scurrying around getting all of the equipment set up that is sort of fun. |
| Dave, Laura, and I went to the Chapel for our first vigil of the night, while Stew
and Shaw went to the Girl's Dormitory on the 2nd floor. Outfitted with a TIF 7000 thermo-coupler, a Gauss-Master
EMF detector, digital cameras, digital recorders, and a camcorder with NightShot technology...we hunkered down
into pews for the vigil. |
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The chapel was dimly lit by the street lights outside the stain glass windows and
by the flickering light of the church candles burning at the side of the chapel. Dave began to get low-level EMF
readings above him and in the pew directly behind him. Moving the EMF detector above, below, and all around the
strange readings...Dave determined the EMF field was isolated from any known cause. See the Active Chapel section
of this investigaion report for details. |
| In this picture, I'm confirming Dave's finding with the EMF detector. There were
no readings above, below, or to the sides of the EMF field we were detecting. At one point I stood on a pew to
made sure the readings were not coming from hidden powerconduit in the hight ceiling above us. There was no EMF
above the area where we were picking up the strange readings. While up standing on the pew, I heard what sounded
to me like a hymn being sung. The odd sounds only lasted a few seconds. |
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Meanwhile, Shawn and Stew were doing EVP work in the girls dorm. Nothing exciting
happened during their vigil. Paranormal investigations are 5% excitement and 95% sitting around! Most of what
we do is waiting for something to happen. Many people who attempt "ghost hunting" tend to wander away
after a few uneventful investigations. But not us. We enjoy the process itself...independent of finding the ever-elusive
conclusive proof of paranormal activity. |
| Stew and Shawn were on their way to do a vigil in the Nuns Hallway and Stew had fallen
behind taking pictures. Stew eventually reunited with Shawn. Here Shawn is pointing the direction he thought
he heard noises coming from in the Nuns Hallway. |
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This is a shot down the Nuns Hallway during Stew and Shawn's vigil there. At the
time this image was captured, Shawn and Stew were hearing muffled conversation coming from what seemed to be just
down the hall. |
| On the 3rd floor, Mark, Laura, and Dave were performing a vigil in and near the James
Cruise closet. Extensive EVP work was done. At some point during the vigil, Dave heard a male voice speaking
aloud...though Laura and Mark did not hear it. Over our radios, Shawn and Stew reported hearing a male voice at
the same time...though they were on the other end of the huge building. See the Unexplained Voices section of
this investigation report for details. |
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Later Shawn, Stew, and a guest invited by our Host Francie Sachen are upstairs doing
a vigil in the James Cruse closet. Nothing exciting happened during this vigil, unless you consider sweating exciting.
It was nearly 100 degrees in this area of the house. |
| Mark, Dave, and Laura had moved down to the Nuns Hallway for a vigil. At some point,
Dave and Mark heard what sounded like foot-steps coming from the attic above them. The attic in this part of the
building is disconnected from the section of the attic where Stew and Shawn were on a vigil...and no one was in
the attic space over the Nuns Hallway. |
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Dave moved into one of the converted dormitory rooms off the main hallway to hear
the foot-steps better. Dave clearly heard the shuffle and squeak of footsteps coming from above him. In the interest
of looking for natural causes for the strange sounds, we spent time listening in this room...and attempting to
recreate the sounds. |
| We realized that a set of windows in the room were moving with the wind and making
sounds. It is possible that these sounds were what Dave and I heard, and that the sound of the windows squeaking
had sounded like they came from above due to acustics. But Dave and I were not convinced the window sounds were
identical to the "foot-step" sounds we had both heard. See the Strange Events section of this investigation
report for more details. |
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In the interest of ensuring there was not someone or something in the attic responsible
for the sounds we heard, Dave, Laura, and I went up the thin infrequently used stairs to the attic over the Nuns
Hallway. A search revealed no one in the attic area. We spent around 10 minutes up there listening for noises
similar to what we had heard below...with negative results. |
| As the original mansion was expanded upon by the nuns to make a larger, more accomodating
orphanage, interesting decisions had to be made. For instance this beautiful stain glass window on the 2nd floor
was originally an external window...allowing light to flow into the original stairway area. With the addition
of the Nuns Hallway and the Chapel below...this window became an internal window, with the stairway on one side
of it and a hallway on the other side. It is no less beautiful for the change. |
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Towards the beginning of the investigation, Laura had seen a "flash of light"
in the video camera's monitor screen while we were in the hallway outside the Servant's Quarters. We had not yet
reviewed the video tape yet...but at the very end of the investigation we returned to that hallway to see if we
could get a similar effect in the camera's monitor. This image is of us making our way back to the Servant's Quarters.
These curtains prevent visitors to the museum from seeing into the Servant's Quarters, which are closed to the
general public. |
Stew sent me this image capture from his video with a caption that said, "Mark
doing I don't know what."
In truth this is just moments after Stew had startled me nearly to death by rushing out of a dark hallway at me!
So I figured I'd rat him our here on the website, as part of my quiet revenge.
Because it was our 2nd investigation to the Strawberry Hill Museum, and we were so familiar with our host Francie
Sachen...we had an amazing time. We'd like to thank Francie for her assistance. |
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Click here for Investigation Album Part
1 (of 2)
And check out the sections of this investigation report listed under the category
of "Analysis" for detailed discussions and analysis of the evidence we gathered during this investigation...
-Mark Stinson
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