2022 - A YEAR FULL OF SURPRISES
2022 was a year to remember! Together, we were able to raise over eight thousand dollars for the preservation and restoration of historic locations. We met many new faces on our adventures and reconnected with familiar faces. We shared many laughs and many interesting paranormal experiences with each other this year and we look forward to our new chapters in the new year.
2022 was also an unbelievable year for us in that we shared so many surprising moments with guests. Below is just a small sampling of those moments:
Woof! (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - April 30)
A guest had told me that they saw what looked like a cat and asked me if the Morgans had owned any cats. Honestly, I didn't know the answer, but I knew they owned small dogs. When I said this, there were a couple surprising responses on the Phasmabox. A male voice said "meow" and another male voice said "woof".
"Got us some vittles" (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - April 30)
The staff at Ventfort Hall had put out some treats in the dining room for the guests. Shortly after that, our Phasmabox captured in quick succession the following phrases, "Got us some vittles." and "Is there chocolate?". These statements show two intelligent spirits as they were aware of the fact that treats were put out on the table.
Mysterious Lights (Fort Adams - June 9)
June 9 was a remarkable investigation at Fort Adams in that the number of mysterious lights seen in the fort was amazing. It started in our very first location - the former bowling alley. On the slope outside of the bowling alley a bright ball of light formed and moved for a few feet before disappearing. When we visited the area just outside of the tunnel, three of us saw a bright light across the way in the window of the second floor of the fort. Throughout the night as we were walking in the parade grounds to the various locations, most of us had seen mysterious lights throughout the fort and grounds.
Humming (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - July 9)
The room with the dollhouse and the crib has always been one of my favorite rooms at Ventfort Hall as we experience some playful spirits. I had placed one of my REM devices on the floor near the crib. While the devices are often played with at Ventfort, on this particular night, the REM device was making a sound that I had not heard before. It was almost musical in nature. But what surprised me is that during review of the audio, there was an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) of a little girl humming as the device was making the musical sound.
Spirit Interference (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - July 9)
The spirits at Ventfort Hall are maddening in that they are quite adept at manipulating our equipment. The Phasmabox had been the only tool they did not figure out how to sabotage. Sadly, that changed on July 9. We were in Mr. Morgan's bedroom where I set up the Phasmabox. I stepped backwards a few feet and saw that the volume on the laptop was lowering from one hundred percent to zero. I thought it was odd and raised the volume again to maximum and again watched it reduce to zero. I then held my finger on the raise volume button and fought with an invisible force. I was able to get the volume to range between forty and sixty percent - rising and dropping as the battle continued. Finally, the spirit grew tired (or lost energy to manipulate its environment) and I was able to win the battle.
Thrown Pebbles (Fort Adams - July 14)
One of the claims at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island is that pebbles are thrown at employees, volunteers and guests. It sounds odd, but this has special significance to the history of the fort. Early in the nineteenth century, one soldier threw small pebbles at another in a jovial way. Well, unfortunately, the other soldier did not take it lightly and shot the man in close range, killing him immediately. The murderer escaped justice and his victim's soul may not be at rest. On July 14, we had two guests that were hit by pebbles thrown by an unseen force. It goes without saying, but those two guests had the surprise of their lives and an experience they would never forget.
Residual Typewriter (Fort Adams - July 14)
I never expected to hear a phantom typewriter while investigating a haunted fort. Even though I tell guests to always expect paranormal activity at any time during the evening, that did not blunt my shock one bit. Our group was in an area near the former medical dispensary when right next to my ear was a very loud noise that I did not expect. As it seemed to have happened right next to me, I could not decipher what the noise was. I immediately turned on my flashlight and investigated the area where the sound had originated from, but there was nothing. While reviewing the audio, it was clear that the sound that we heard sounded like someone furiously pounding the keys of an old typewriter.
Metallic Taste (Fort Adams - August 11)
When a group was in the area of the former medical dispensary, several of the guests had a very unique experience that they will never forget. The guests started to have such a strong metallic taste in their mouths that they had to step outside to try to spit that taste out of their mouths. Another guest had told me at the end of the event that they experienced the strong smell of blood while they were in that space.
Spirits that don't mince words (Fort Adams - August 11)
I learned this year that the spirits at Fort Adams can be a little fresh. For example, during an investigation this year I placed various pieces of equipment on the floor and told the spirits that they can use them. We recorded a male voice say very sternly to "pick that sh-- up!". On August 11, I had a temperature sensor constantly triggering an alarm. It was not only annoying, but it was making it difficult to hear the Phasmabox. I decided to turn off the offending piece of equipment and immediately after, a voice came through the Phasmabox stating, "You d*ck!". Another time this year, I was asking about a commanding officer, and I was stunned to hear a voice state "He's an a**hole!".
"Justice" (Fort Adams - August 11)
Throughout the history of Fort Adams, there have been murders in which the guilty party escaped justice. In the powder magazine a question was asked "What are you looking for?" and immediately the response was "justice".
A Shadowy Figure (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - Oct. 8)
We had a group in Mr. Morgan's bedroom, one of the more active areas for me in the mansion. The room was slow to become active, which can occur. But when the room does charge up, it is quite often one heck of a show. When the room seemed to be at its height of activity, a guest started to take a series of photographs. In one of the photographs was what appeared to be a shadow figure standing near a window.
"My name is Ella" (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - October 8)
For several years we put a lot of energy towards obtaining the name of the spirit of the little girl that we quite often encounter at Ventfort Hall. During one investigation several years ago, we recorded a despondent reply of 'I can't'. Thankfully, I was not deterred. This year I had been experimenting with an app to see if it truly worked. I used it on private investigations or before guests would arrive as I don't want to conduct early tests during group events. Honestly, I used it so much without any success that I almost judged it as being a dud and removing it from our toolkit. That opinion changed in a big way on October 8. Before guests had arrived, I turned on the app and thought of the little girl's voice that we had recorded so many times. I then asked the little girl what her name was. I was stunned to hear a very clear response so eloquently stating, "My name is Ella." To make me more confident that this was a valid response, this statement was the only response I had received from the app, even after increasing the usage of it during investigations. We finally have a name!
Billiard Balls (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - October 8)
I like to utilize props in our investigations as they can help recharge residual energy or provide stimuli for intelligent spirits. To guests, it may seem odd that I take a moment to bang two billiard balls together in the billiard room, but this is done to recharge a residual or pull in an intelligent spirit. On October 8, this may have worked at Ventfort Hall. After I was done setting up equipment in the room towards the end of the evening, I again started to hit the billiard balls together to charge the environment. I then set them down onto the floor in front of our laser grid. Several minutes later, we heard the sound of billiard balls hitting one another. I turned on my flashlight and confirmed that the two balls I had placed down were in the exact location and they were. The sound did not come from the props. Upon listening to the recording, we were surprised to hear the recording. We recorded the sound of a cue stick hitting a cue ball and a second later the sound of the cue ball hitting another billiard ball.
Flopping Bear (Fort Adams - Oct. 15)
For the first time we investigated a room at the fort that people have experienced the sounds of a baby crying and of a woman's spirit. I placed our teddy bear with REM pod onto a table. Now I have used this device on many investigations, and it sits still when I place it down. After a few minutes in the space a group of us watched the bear tip over unnaturally, as if someone knocked it down. Those of us who witnessed it were stunned at the vision.
The Chandelier (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - Oct. 29)
One of my favorite tricks the spirits at Ventfort Hall would do is to turn off the lights in the dining room when requested. For several years they were very cooperative and did so without hesitation. In October 2020 when I asked the spirits to turn off the lightbulbs, I received a very terse reply of, "I'm sick of this sh--", and at that point the lights would not turn off at all. Finally on October 29, the lights on the chandelier were turning off on request one at a time. They all turned off except for one light bulb. I felt we had spent enough time in the room and so I said we were going to move to another room. On the Phasmabox, we had a response of 'stay'. I then said, "if you want us to stay, turn off the last light bulb, please." Sure enough, the last light bulb turned off and we stayed in the room for a few more minutes to communicate with the spirits.
Phantom Piano (Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum - Oct 29)
After the chandelier lights turned off, I had walked into the hallway between the dining room and the library as I was hearing some noises out there. Another guest had followed me, and he grabbed my attention by saying that he was hearing a piano. I walked to where he was standing and sure enough, I heard the sounds of a piano being played. Unknown to be at the time, some members of the other group had heard a piano earlier that night.
As mentioned earlier, this is just a small sampling of the experiences our guests have experienced throughout the year. During this winter, we will be releasing evidence from our events from the fall. I expect there will be a lot of interesting clips to share.
