A Word From Beyond

May, 2021 - Vol. 1 Iss. 4

One of the darkened cell blocks of the mammoth Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The only light was from the flash of my camera and the red "EXIT" sign at the end of the cell block. I was physically attacked by a spirit of a former inmate - that hair-raising adventure is included in this newsletter. Five of us were locked behind the gates of this mammoth structure for an incredible - and eventful - investigation.  

UPCOMING EVENTS 

A SPIRITED EVENING AT  VENTFORT HALL AND GILDED AGE MUSUEM 

Lenox, Massachusetts

Saturday, May 1, 2021 -- SOLD OUT! 

Friday, July 9, 2021 

Saturday, November 6, 2021

THE BOOKWORM'S CORNER

I must admit, the older I get, the more I appreciate a good book. It should not be that surprising as I tend to cobble some words together from time to time. Whenever we go anywhere, I enjoy slipping into a locally-owned bookstore to find something unique to that area. Okay, I admit, most of the time I look for books detailing local haunts or something regarding the history of a region. Do I have time to read them all? Sadly, no.  But that doesn't stop me. Sure, you can find any book online, but nothing beats walking into a local bookstore and checking out the local gems they have. A bonus is sometimes the owner or clerk will see your selection and offer you some spooky tales that are not in any book or a haunted location that was not on your radar. Not only do you support a local business, but you can walk out with an exciting lead. Try to find that on a multi-billion dollar cold and heartless online store.   

INVESTIGATOR'S CORNER

Last month we introduced you to new techniques we will use for this upcoming year. One of those new techniques we highlighted last month was the Estes Experiment. We tried this method out during a recent investigation and we were blown away by the surprising results. It worked better than we expected and brought a whole new level of excitement to paranormal investigations. We look forward to rolling out this exciting new technique during our public group paranormal events.

This month I would like to introduce you to our two newest team members. They may be cute and furry, but they are fearless ghost hunters. They have already been to a very haunted hotel and while they have seen and heard spine-tingling things, they never lost those smiles.

I brought out the soldering iron and built these REM-bears for our investigations. REM stands for "radiating electromagnetic". The bears emit their own electromagnetic field and detect any disruption of that generated EM field. Unlike the Boo Bear Jr. that we use, this bear will sound an audible alarm and the external LED lights can not be missed.   

This month, it is my pleasure to introduce you to REMy and Ted E. We look forward to having them on our investigations. 

INVESTIGATION SUMMARY

Shanley Hotel - Napanoch, NY - April 25/26, 2021

We conducted a small, private investigation of the very haunted Shanley Hotel in Napanoch, NY. It was a small family reunion with some of my many cousins. We had the entire hotel to ourselves that evening and it was very eventful. 

While each investigation is different, this one took a relatively somber tone. The spirits at the Shanley are typically fun, will make some wisecracks about guests, and provide for a very entertaining evening. But, this one was different. While conducting the Estes Method we kept hearing from a woman in the bordello that was upset because she had lost her baby. Sadly, she told us that a man named Marty had hurt her and her baby. She told us many times that she was in tremendous pain and was heartbroken. When asked what happened to the baby, a very angry male retorted "What do you think?!" I had heard a woman crying through the spirit box. Sadly, many of our responses were from her talking about her baby. One of us even had a very disturbing and graphic vision of that baby later that night. 

Another noteworthy experience was in the bordello. In Anna's room, several of us kept hearing the floorboards creaking. It was clear that someone was unsure if they wanted to enter the space we were in. Later in the evening, we returned to the bordello and heard someone walking timidly up the stairs. The stairs creaked slowly, but again it was clear that the spirit was very timid. We would then hear more creaking in Anna's room and several of us had seen movement in the room, some saw a shadow moving about the room before a flash of light exited the room and moved down into the floor. 

The spirits in the basement were particularly cranky that evening, dropping several strong curse words at the owner, Kelly (one of the nicest people you would meet). The spirits acted up earlier in the day when she talked about removing a pile of rocks in the basement. We kept asking what was buried under those rocks, but the spirits weren't spilling their secrets. Note: the place had some connections to mobsters, prostitution, illegal alcohol and who knows what else.

As always, I had a lot of equipment operating and a lot of data gathered. I will need to go through all of the recordings to discover all the voices we captured (and hopefully images we recorded). We will release any evidence on a future date for your enjoyment. 

Another note - I tried the scrying mirror at one point in the evening. I did not expect much, so I was surprised that I saw what seemed to be the beginning of a transformation of my face in the reflection. I literally saw the shape of my glasses change and the lenses grew darker. I thought it was a just a trick of my eye as I had just taken out my contact lenses and it was close to four in the morning. But as I continued to watch my reflection, I clearly saw that my cheekbones moved higher and further apart. My face appeared wider and I started to look significantly older. I leaned forward to look closer in the mirror and, quite frankly, did not like what was happening so I decided to step away.  I was hoping to see another face in the reflection as others have documented. I did not expect that the other face would be the transformation of my own reflection. Spooky stuff!   

WALKING AMONGST THE SHADOWS

Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia, PA 

The large gate outside the foreboding and decaying prison slammed shut. Our group of five was locked in one of the most infamous haunted locations in the country. We were in Philadelphia on July 1st - while many in the historic city were celebrating the country's freedom early - we were locked up in a location where many individuals lost all freedom. 

One of the interesting stories that came from our daytime tour of the prison - before we were locked down at night - was one successful escape attempt at the prison. In 1945, William Sutton and eleven other men escaped through a tunnel dug through a wall in cell 68, twelve feet down and one hundred feet and outside of the prison's massive walls. Two-man teams spent thirty minute shifts digging and carrying the soil in their pockets and discarding it within the prison courtyard. They even had time to shore up their tunnel, light it and vent it so that noxious gases from the prison's sewer did not build up in their tunnel. (For more information about the Sutton tunnel, the Smithsonian Magazine has an excellent article.)  

While wandering in the massive prison cellblocks in the dark, we came upon the exposed escape tunnel. Of course, we found it to be an intriguing spot to stop and investigate. As usual I had recording equipment with me and I was recording. I had digital recorders and a GoPro on my head recording my point-of-view. I forgot that one thing inmates hate is a rat. They clearly did not like the fact that I was recording in their space - what was worse is I was in a cell where twelve men planned and operated their daring escape. A plan that would surely add many more years to their terms if they were caught. 

I was blissfully unaware of the growing threat in the cell. We were deep into an EVP session - our senses heightened for any noise we could hear or any shadow that moved in the darkness. I felt an incredible pain on the back of my neck. It was small area of pain and very intense - honestly, it felt like someone took a lit cigarette and mashed it into my neck. I will happily admit that I have never had someone do that to me before - so I could only guess what that would feel like. I startled the group in the small cell when I had dropped my flashlight that I was carrying. I immediately moved my hand to my neck to see if I had bumped into anything. (I didn't - I was standing in the middle of the cell and there was nothing hanging from the ceiling or protruding from the walls). My wife, Christiana, took her flashlight and inspected my neck and made mention of a red mark where I had felt the pain. She stated it was a red line. 

The story does not end there. On both my digital recorder and my GoPro was an EVP exclaiming "Son of a bitch!" with such anger. It was not my voice and I didn't say it. Was this the spirit of Sutton or one of his eleven accomplices attacking me that night? 

What is even more amazing is that a digital recorder we had left running in the cell block unattended did record the sounds of chiseling on stone, like someone attempting to break out of the massive building. This is one clip that I was always eager to share during our presentations.  

Investigating Eastern State Penitentiary was a dream come true. The location is so massive that it felt that we barely scratched the surface during our time there. We intended to return - sadly, the foundation that owns and operates it no longer allows paranormal investigations. They stated that they intend to shift focus onto the history of the building. But for me, the spirits within ARE part of the history - you have the chance to talk with those that made up the history of that location. Sadly, the foundation has no problem operating a haunted house attraction in September and October of each year - complete with zombies and actors portraying tormented souls and inmates. Those spirits who still roam the massive cell blocks and hide in darkened cells deal with reminders of tremendous torment and fear through that spectacle. Maybe one day we can return and talk to the history of that amazing location. For now - all I have are memories and some amazing evidence.  

The infamous escape tunnel at Eastern State Penitentiary. Shortly after it was discovered it was sealed up, but part of it was uncovered after the prison was closed. It was shortly after I took a series of pictures that I felt what I think was a lit cigarette on my neck. This was the final photo of the series I took. They don't like rats or snitches in prison.

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