Broad Channel, NY 2009-10-10
Status: Complete
Description: We were contacted through the AAEVP site to determine if a haunting truly is occuring after receiving a different outcome from an investigation by the TV show Paranormal State.
History:
According to people in the neighborhood a woman named Mary took her life in 1965 by hanging herself in the garage. The story goes that she was despondent over losing four children to miscarriage, the last two being twins. No suicide note was left nor any explanation prior to taking her life. The home was vacated in 1981 and sat vacant until 1996 when the current residents moved in. In 2003 the mother of the client moved in due to illness, she died that same year.
Claims:
Footsteps heard from above floor(living room) as if someone was walking back and forth.
2 am Sound of aluminum cans being knocked over in the basement bar area. Upon inspection no cans had been disturbed.
2 am Sound of a jackhammer breaking concrete for several hours, no known cause.
A family member was pushed off a blow-up mattress.
Another family member had seen an apparition in the living room.
Neighbor saw a figure moving in front of the window in the upstairs bedroom.
Grandson of client heard footsteps approaching him in the basement bar area.
Friend of grand-daughter was touched in the living room while on the blow-up mattress. Noises in the kitchen, electrical disturbances including the TV and computer turning on and off.
Team Members: Dave, Scott, Rex, Crystal, Colleen, Stacey, Tom, Alyssa, Cindy, Mark
Results:
We can state that there is sufficient evidence to indicate paranormal activity in the home but without correlating video evidence we cannot conclude that this is intelligent in nature.
Debunking:
We attempted to cause movement of objects throughout the kitchen by both simulating extremely heavy walking and the repeated closing of cabinetry. We were unable to reproduce the movement of objects on the kitchen shelves. The floor is solid and did not transfer measurable vibration.
NOTE: We also used this debunking procedure to see if sound emanated from behind the kitchen wall as reported. This test also was inconclusive and could not be debunked.
Reported experience of resident witnessing a passing shadow in hallway. Investigators reproduced movement in bathroom area several times during differing amounts of daylight. Shadows were cast upon the wall outside of Brians bedroom. They varied from approximately 50% solid to a fuzzy grey depending on cloud cover and time of day. The figures were adequately defined to resemble a human shape and due to the short distance, did not exhibit size distortion. We were able to produce a viable shadow on the wall which could be mistaken for a paranormal event. We could not produce the movement of a shadow from left to right across the doorway. Results, therefore were not reproducible.
Resident's grandchildren experienced the sound of footsteps while they were in the bar area. Resident's Son's girlfriend heard a voice saying "Good night"
Investigators attempted to see if the sounds of footsteps on the second floor of the home could be mistaken for footsteps approaching the bar area. Footsteps made from above were listened to in various areas of the bar. The sound of the footsteps were clearly coming from above. Footsteps made approaching the basement were barely audible unless purposefully planted. An Investigator stood at the top of the stairwell and in a normal tone, repeated, "Good Night". Although the voice was faint, the wording could be clearly heard in the bar area. Determining the point of origin of the voice was impossible. We were unable to reproduce the reported footstep activity.
We do feel that the voice heard saying "Good night" may have originated from another area of the home and perhaps was not of paranormal origin.
Resident experiences the sound of footsteps in the upstairs hallway at night. While reviewing video of the investigation, we noticed the repeated use of the bathroom throughout the night by both residents. The trips by each other were at sometimes only several minutes apart. The longest duration was 23 minutes apart. We believe that a possible alternative explanation of this activity could be the resident hearing the movement of each other as they left their respective bedrooms and moved to the bathroom and kitchen. Due to the short time between these events, sufficient time was present for the observer to be in a state of 'twilight' sleep and mistake the footsteps as paranormal.
Resident stated that a Christmas song was heard while they were getting their decorations from the garage. This song was not one that would normally be played by their decorations. Investigators noted during audio review that the sound of Halloween decorations being displayed by the neighbors could clearly be heard in both the garage microphone, and the recorders placed in the dining room and Carolann's bedroom. Although we cannot assume that the neighbors had Christmas decorations which played the song witnessed by the residents, we do feel that it is possible to hear these sounds well enough to consider them as originating in the home. We must leave this up to the residents to decide.
As in the case of the resident's moving from their bedrooms into both the bathroom and kitchen during sporadic times in the night, the sound of someone in the kitchen may be mistaken as having a paranormal source by someone in a 'twilight' sleep.
The sound of the wind chime outside of Carolann's bedroom can mimic the sound of a metal spatula being used in a metal pan. Aside from what explanation is offered above, we were unable to reproduce the reported activity.
Resident stated that her Brother-in-Law was physically pushed by an unseen force from a blow-up mattress on the living room floor. We place two investigators on a blow-up mattress in the same area. They began at 2:12 am until approximately 6:15 am. Their rest was undisturbed. We were unable to duplicate the reported activity.
Final Impressions:
The audio analysis review produced a copious number of indirect EVP's. An indirect EVP does not have a correlation to a question posed by an investigator, or occurs in the absence of investigator's input. This type of EVP is most often associated with a residual event.
There were several clear references to both the names Mary and Artie. Again, these were obtained during a period of investigation inactivity.
Several Investigators did experience the sensation of being lightly touched in the Living Room area during the investigation; however there was no corresponding evidence to authenticate the report. There were no areas of the home which exhibited unsafe levels of EMF. This would indicate that what was experienced by the homeowners, their relatives and friends were not EMF hypersensitive driven events.
Unfortunately the recorded evidence that would have indicated an intelligent haunting was garnered during our 'mini-box' session. As we indicated, the 'mini-box' is considered 'experimental' by PPS and the results cannot be used by us to either prove, or deny activity. The results were intriguing, and were this an approved method of investigation, it would have indicated a potential one on one entity / investigator relationship. We will leave the results of this segment of the investigation subject to the homeowners' interpretation.
Without correlating video evidence, we cannot, based on our evidence label the investigation as having an 'Intelligent Haunting' conclusion.
We can state that there is sufficient evidence to indicate paranormal activity in the home. This activity appears to have a residual, non-interactive element. We do feel that the events may be an imprint of the lives of Mary and Artie Berry. This is strictly based on the multiple audio files which include their names. As we were unable to sufficiently debunk the majority of the homeowner's claims of activity there is more than likely intelligent entities residing at the home; however our evidence does not allow us to state this as fact.
Subsequent to our investigation, Carolann has decided to curtail recording in her home based on the recommendations of several Psychics and concerned friends. She reports that activity in the home has been quiet since her cessation of recording.
The Pasadena Paranormal Society wishes to thank Brian and Carolann Crowley for their Hospitality and their permission to experience the activity in their home.
Evidence:
EVPS: Click Here