OCTOBER EVENT RECAPS
A Spirited Evening at Fort Adams
Friday, October 20, 2023 - 8:00 pm - midnight
The forecast for this event was not promising at all as heavy rain was anticipated throughout the evening. Luckily for us, the rain held out and we were blessed by decent weather. I was even able to bring the guests up to the top of the fort to give them one of the best views of Newport at night.
The surprise of the night occurred in the former powder magazine. In the past, we have had guests experience the sound of a rock being thrown in this area. On this night, it was the first time that I had asked a spirit to throw a rock. To the surprise of everyone in the space, a spirit complied as we heard the sound of a rock hitting the floor in the middle of the space. It takes a tremendous amount of energy for a spirit to move an object, so I was thrilled that a spirit was willing, and able, to surprise us.
The other major surprise of the night occurred in the former infirmary. The spirits in this space on this investigation were in a very peculiar mood. There's no way to put this delicately - it was a Friday night and the spirits wanted to party and fulfill Earthly pleasures. I often warn guests that I cannot control how the spirits communicate with us, this was one of those times where the spirits do not get the memo to be appropriate. Our guests had a few laughs at some of the responses, there were some I heard that there was no way I was going to repeat. It will be an interesting journey listening and cataloguing the responses we received that night. (We may need to have a warning on that highlight video).
The bowling alley surprised me in a lack of activity. Sure, we received some Phasmabox responses, but there was a lack of shadow play in that space. The area outside of the tunnels was also surprisingly quiet, except for the sound of footsteps that some guests heard in an area where there were no guests.
But another surprise of the night was in the former Officer Quarters. As we were walking into the space, one of our guests had their hair pulled, while several times in that space I was feeling the crucifix around my neck being tugged. But the word of the day at the Fort seemed to be the F-word thrown around with reckless abandon by the spirits throughout the evening. It was an interesting investigation for sure!
We'll release the evidence from this event after full review of all the data. Stay tuned to this newsletter for updates.
A Spirited Evening at Fort Adams
(MSON Special Event)
Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 6:00 pm - 10:00pm
We had the pleasure of leading a special and private event for Military Spouses of Newport at Fort Adams. For us it was an honor as both my wife and I are children of veterans, so we were thrilled to be asked to provide them with an adventure I hope they will never forget.
It was another quiet day in the bowling alley and in the area outside of the tunnels. That was twice in less than a week that these normally active areas were a bit subdued. But the data has not been reviewed, so there are bound to be some surprises in these areas. One thing that did surprise me was that our EDI+ was picking up vibration on one of the steps leading to one of the tunnels. I would not think it was that big of a deal in a structure such as Ventfort Hall as having guests around makes vibration common. However, I placed this device on solid stone, and no one was near it or walking around. I did place gifts of alcohol bottles and tobacco on that stone step for the spirits. I tried to debunk the vibrations by stomping my feet on the ground next to it and it was not registering any vibration. The only way it would pick up vibration were it was set up was on the actual step itself.
Another odd thing that happened was that my left arm was getting very warm shortly after the odd vibration on the stone steps. I was standing near the entrance with my back to that area when I felt an unnatural heating of a small portion of my arm. Sometimes people can feel something like this prior to getting scratched by a spirit, so I was bracing myself and ready to quietly get our guests out of that space. But I needed to make sure there was no other explanation, so I turned on my flashlight to make sure I was not getting a reaction from possibly rubbing up against a surface. Upon inspection there was no irritation. I did try to take thermal imagery of my arm, but it was after the sensation ended as I was trying to access the situation since we had guests in that space. Hopefully our digital recordings captured something during this time.
The former infirmary was again one of the more active areas in the fort. The staircase that is usually very active, was unusually quiet on this night, however. We did have many possible replies on the Phasmabox. There is a certain area of this space where energy seems to pool, and many guests on investigations have experienced odd things like heaviness in the atmosphere or the taste of metal in their mouths. On this night, I was inadvertently standing in this spot that I tend to avoid for long periods. I started to feel really dizzy and drained and when I looked around, I realized that I was standing in that particular spot. One interesting response I was receiving was from a Private Garrity. I like to bring up a couple of new names at each investigation to see who may still contact us from within the fort. Since hundreds died at the Fort, there is no way I can do that in one investigation. So, on this night I was talking briefly about the suffering Garrity endured after a horrible accident at the fort and our equipment would register interaction each time that I called out his name.
As soon as we left the infirmary, I heard several guests talk about the smell of cigar smoke. No guests or crew were smoking cigars at that time. When I walked to them, I too smelled the strong telltale sign of cigar smoke - a possible olfactory apparition! More interesting, the smell was following us for a little distance. When we arrived in the bakery, I no longer smelled this smoke. I can't recall too much in the former bakery area as I was suffering from impacts from the infirmary and stepped out for five minutes to get some water and catch my breath and ground myself again. So unfortunately, my mind was a bit blurred for this part of the investigation.
When we entered the former officer's quarters I was stunned by a particular touch in the space. I was standing about six inches away from a wall when I felt what I thought was a finger poking me in my shoulder blade. I grabbed my flashlight and examined right behind me to see if there was something behind me. There was nothing protruding from the wall, and I was standing perfectly still at the time. I did see a hole in the wall which lined up exactly where I felt the poke. Now, the spirits there are very familiar with me, and I do think they were just having a little fun at my expense. I barely reacted, but I whispered to my wife how creepy it is to get poked at from a hole in a wall - very stereotypical scary movie stuff.
When we entered the powder magazine, we were surprised by another olfactory apparition. I overheard several guests talking amongst themselves as I was setting up equipment about a smell of an old-timey floral perfume. When I walked to them, I too smelled the odd smell. It was highly concentrated and at one point I was able to pinpoint a bit of movement of the smell. I was with this group this entire time and none of our guests smelled of that perfume and no one confessed to using any product that smelled like that.
Again, the biggest surprise was the sound of a rock hitting the floor in the powder magazine shortly after I asked for a rock to be thrown. I did not expect it to land a few feet to my left, I was asking for it to be thrown where there were no guests - I need to be more specific and include me next time.
We'll release the evidence from this event after full review of all the data. Stay tuned to this newsletter for updates.
A Spirited Evening at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum
Saturday, October 28, 2023 - 7:00 pm - midnight
If there is one thing that I hate hearing most at Ventfort Hall and Gilded Age Museum is the phrase "He is coming" or "He is here". It's a phrase I have heard in about half of our investigations there - although, I had not heard it at all in the last four investigations there. But my luck ran out on October 28. Sadly, while I typically hear it in the second half of an investigation, if I hear it at all, we received this message via Estes Method about ten minutes into the evening in Mrs. Morgan's room. I was deflated a bit when I had heard the phrase.
Why? It seems to be a warning that a certain strong energy is about to muck up the evening for me as an investigator. Who is this 'he'? I can't yet answer that definitively, but I have my suspicion that 'he' is associated with The Bible Speaks, the religious organization that once owned the mansion. Typically, the more fun (and cooperative) spirits at the mansion tend to disappear shortly after this statement. So, I knew I was in for a long night.
What is more impressive is that I did not tell this group about this statement beforehand, so to have a guest organically hear this statement, made me take more notice of this. Of course, the typical spirits that I usually encounter were quiet at this point. The Phasmabox seemed to call us "sinners", and I gently reminded the spirit that we all are, and no one person or spirit is responsible for judging us. Typical interactions we experience within Mrs. Morgan's room failed to occur on this evening. However, as we were about to leave the room, the space finally started to become active. The laser grid detected a cold spot forming and moving closer to Mrs. Morgan's room. I had heard thumps or footsteps in the bathroom adjacent to Mrs. Morgan's room. When I opened that door, other guests were able to hear some as well. Some guests stated that they felt cold spots in the room at that point as well.
Since Mrs. Morgan's room became active and I stayed in there longer, we had a very short time in the nursery. However, the nursery lacked any noticeable energy in the short time we were there. There is no coincidence as when "he" is there - the little child we interact with is often not around. Sadly, we have recordings from this little girl who told us that she witnessed unmentionable things that occurred in the mansion during The Bible Speaks era. So, the fact that Ella was missing was not a surprise. What is a surprise is I don't think we heard from "Bruce". I need to review the recordings, but if true, that would be the first that happened.
I was super excited to enter Mr. Morgan's room. This is the room I spend the most time in and I fill the room with many pieces of paranormal equipment. I warned the guests that it often takes ten to fifteen minutes for the room to 'warm up' and that once it does, we are in for a treat. On this night, however, it was the quietest that I have ever seen. I was tracking an abnormal energy moving about the room early on, but it left. The Phasmabox was even more quiet than usual. No one was touched and there were no shadows seen in the gap in the door.
I then moved into the library, where we finally heard from Mrs. Morgan. She used our REM boxes to let us know that she was in the space with us. She did not tell us too much except that she was with us. The guests had a good chuckle when I accidentally bumped into the podium that had a skeleton standing behind it. I was "viciously attacked" by the skeleton as it landed on my back. I can't wait to hear the recordings to see if the spirits had fun at my expense at that point.
Both groups, however, were treated to the fantastic light show in the dining room where the light bulbs on either the wall sconces or chandeliers turn off one at a time. Both groups enjoyed that part of the evening.
Even though the mansion was unusually quiet that night - thanks to the 'he' that likes to sabotage events from time to time - most of our guests walked out that evening experiencing paranormal activity and had a fun night out.
Somehow, I managed three events in eight days, constantly charging equipment in-between events and not having time to recover from paranormal hangovers. I walked into Ventfort already with a paranormal hangover, I gave everything I had during that evening, and now it's time to "rest". (NOTE: There is no 'offseason' There is a ton of data to review, our 2024 calendar to fill up, continued research in new technology and theory, and a book to write).
