Investigations

If you know of a location we should investigate, please e-mail us at: [email protected]

The Grange Hall Ghost: Moosup Valley, Rhode Island

   Not far from the Connecticut border, in the south western corner of Foster, R.I., you will find the quiet hamlet of Moosup Valley. It was founded in 1705 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. H. P. Lovecraft once said of Moosup Valley, "I haunted it in infancy." During the day the heart of this small village is anything but spooky. Its old wooden church, grange hall, free library and beautifully kept cemetery are quite the slice of old New England charm. However, when the sun sets and the surroundings are betrayed by the lack of artificial lighting, the darkness can be somewhat unsettling.

    During a daytime investigation of the area, G.P.R. asked a local librarian if she had ever seen anything strange. She answered, "No. But when I have to close the library by myself at night, I lock the front door and get to my car as fast as I can!" Who is the Grange Hall Ghost? No one really knows. He is said to be a middle aged man who carries a shovel over his shoulder. One witness wrote that the shovel's blade was "badly broken" and his stare "sent a chill up my spine". He has been seen at night walking by the cemetery, sometimes sitting on the bridge or standing in front of the grange hall across from the church.

    A picture of the church (Left)taken in daylight by G.P.R., March of 2007, shows a strange anomaly at its lower, left edge. The photograph and negative were given to a photo technician who later concluded that it was not the result of light leakage, nor was it something up against the edge of the camera's lens. Whatever this anomaly is, it was in between the camera and the church when the shot was taken. The technician also admitted to being puzzled by the shadow-like quality of the object and was further baffled when told that there was nothing in that spot to cast a shadow upon. Our group will be conducting further investigations.

The Moosup Valley Grange Hall. The "Grange Hall Apparition", as he is called on the village sign, has been seen standing here at night with a very old shovel and a look that will leave you cold.

UPDATE: Grange Hall Ghost (9/27/07)

   Greenville Paranormal Research has been conducting late night vigils along the stretch of haunted road in the hamlet of Moosup Valley. Unexplained sounds were heard, such as metallic "clangs" (right in back of an investigator) and voices coming from the closed Grange Hall. The best piece of paranormal evidence captured was this swirling anomaly that came up from the ground next to the investigator with the DVR camera and then flew off into the cemetery in front of him. He was walking along the road towards the bridge (one of the spots where the ghost has been seen) when he stopped half way along the cemetery's wall (another spot where it is seen) and turned, panning the camera from right to left. He was not watching the camera's view point at that very moment, the road was still holding his attention. The spot on the ground where this ecto-like anomaly rose up from was right in back of the investigator until he turned. Was he being followed? Was this the ghost in ecto-form or another local spirit curious about G.P.R.'s vigil?

    No EVP's were recorded, but the metallic "clangs" were picked up on digital audio. The noise seemed to happen whenever the investigator's back was turned to the spot in which it came from. The voices in the Grange Hall stopped before the recorder could get close enough. It was very late at night. No signs of life could be detected inside and there were no vehicles parked outside. If anyone had left on foot, they would have been seen in the full moon light and heard in the stillness of the night air.

    The still frame from the video (Above) shows the anomaly in mid-stream. It moved very fast in its flight for the Tyler cemetery and even stranger, it seems to be giving off its own light. G.P.R. has shot video of every type of flying insect one can find at night in southern New England. This is not a bug. It is far too large and shows no signs of having wings. The still frame shows its detail best, but if you would like to see the video clip, you can watch it below. More investigations are being planned.

This video clip (below) was shot about two weeks after the above clip was recorded. It was at the same location, with the same weather conditions and shows a very large moth fluttering about. It is quite clear that the anomaly in the first clip is not a moth when compared with this known insect.

The Tyler Cemetery. This is where the ecto-anomaly was captured on video.

The Moosup Valley Bridge. The ghost has also been witnessed on the bridge with his old, broken shovel and blank stare.

Recording of "Metallic Clang"

This is the third time, on the second vigil, that this sound was heard coming from the same spot on the other side of the road in front of the cemetery. The start of the guardrail for the bridge is right there and it was at this spot that this dull ring would occur. It was heard two more times in less than five minutes and always when the spot was not being watched. There are no trees to drop nuts or sticks on the guardrail. It happened the night before, but it has not been heard any night since.

UPDATE: Moosup Valley, Rhode Island (9/11/09)

Greenville Paranormal Research received this very interesting e-mail from Roger & Beth Hawes.

"We now reside in SC, but grew up in Moosup Valley,Foster, RI where both sides of the family still reside. We spent many a night at Green Acres pond, behind the cemetery and hearing footsteps and unexplained noises was a common occurrence. Each of us heard unexplained sounds and have seen lights or "orbs" but none have felt threatening or ''scary" in the valley. Being historical buffs we spent many days exploring cemeteries and have felt uneasy in some other areas. We enjoy your website and plan on revisiting it for updates. Thank you."

UPDATE: Moosup Valley, Rhode Island (10/2/09)

G.P.R. teamed up with with Kyle Bell of Hampden County Paranormal Society to investigate the stretch of road where the Grange Hall Ghost has been seen. The "metallic clang" was heard again coming from the same location along the road and just as before, it happened every time their backs were turned. Most interesting though was an EVP caught by Kyle while standing in front of the Grange Hall. Kyle was explaining the function of his K-2 meter to whomever might be there in spirit and he caught what sounds like the response of an unimpressed "So?" on his hand held audio recorder. You can listen to it below. The volume has been increased exactly at the EVP to aide in hearing.

E.V.P. : "So?"

The Woman in White: Hopkins Mills, Rhode Island

A big part of paranormal investigation is doing research on the supposed haunting, its locale and its cast of characters. When Greenville Paranormal Research began its own investigation into the legend of Dolly Cole, it started by looking at what has been written about her and the reasons why she is presumed to haunt. On a popular website that lists haunted places, Dolly is a vague myth. She is said to have been a witch who is still seeking revenge for the murder of her son. Further inaccurate accounts suggest Dolly was a cross-dressing prostitute and even stranger, a vampire. Another paranormal research group, also based in Rhode Island, has dismissed these theories altogether and bestowed the ghost with some creative details of their own.

    However, the truth is, Dorathy Cole (not Dorothy Ellen Cole) was a beloved local resident of Hopkins Mills. Her name is given to three distinct land marks in close vicinity to the house she lived in for sixty nine years. Dolly Cole Hill, the Dolly Cole Brook and the Dolly Cole Bridge are all named for her because in her day she was thought of fondly as a living landmark. She died June 13, 1860, aged 91 years, 6 months and 4 days. Dolly rests in peace next to her husband Hugh in the Hopkins Mills cemetery. As for the stories about a young woman in men's clothing haunting the grounds of a nearby sportsman's club, no such tale exist. The club's vice president is a direct descendant of the original landowner and he has stated that there is no such ghost story connected to the woods or the brook. Town records clearly show, there never was a Dorothy Ellen Cole.

    So, who is "The Woman in White?" At the time of this writing, her true identity is not known. She has been seen holding a wooden pail by the Hopkins Mill Pond, so perhaps she is a forgotten drowning victim. A town resident said he saw a white figure, like smoke, rise up from the river below the bridge on Ram Tail Road. He has never gone back. A local woman told Greenville Paranormal Research that her husband saw the Woman in White one night as he was coming home. She said the wraith shocked him so intensely that he doesn't like to talk about it. Our group will be conducting further investigations.

E.V.P. Caught On Video Camera's Audio

April 18, 2008, Andrew Lake staked out a section of the Ponagansett where a witness had claimed to have seen the Woman in White. It was a very still night, lit by a bright and nearly full moon. Except for an airplane and two cars, there were no distractions. This made for ideal conditions to pay close attention to the surrounding area. Not a soul was seen or heard the whole time Andrew was in position by the river. When reviewing the full video footage of the vigil a remarkable sound was found. It has to be an example of electronic voice phenomenon and not an acoustical sound because an earthly person would of had to have been right on top of the vigil to have been picked up by the camera's microphone. No one could have entered the woods and walked up to Andrew without being seen or heard doing so. If anyone was up on the bridge they would have been clearly seen and heard as well. This EVP sounds like a choking cough.

E.V.P. : "1860"

This EVP was caught on April 19, 2008, shortly after starting a vigil by the Ponagansett River. A young woman, named Caitlin Wazecha, was asked to do the first round of questions. It sounds like she got an answer to her question about what year the Woman in White thought it was. This voice was not picked up by the microphone on the video camera which was running right next to Caitlin. The rushing water in the background is the Ponagansett River. Not only is the running water a possible source of energy to help charge this haunt, it is also a very good white noise generator to help with the capture of EVPs. All who have heard this recording agree that it sounds like a woman saying "1860". Foster town records show a death by drowning in the Ponagansett River in 1860. Her name was Betsey Grayson.

Death Record

This is the cause of Betsey Grayson's death recorded in Foster town records. It is a myth that all town records before 1938 were lost. They are all intact. It is very curious that the nationality of the deceased is noted in the last column. Everyone is listed as American, except people of Irish heritage. Even if the person was born in Foster, this is noted. Betsey was born in Scituate, but her nationality is recorded as Father/English, Mother/American.

A Recount of Betsey Grayson's Death

An excerpt from an article on the Ram Tail Factory and hamlet in a 1948 issue of the Windham County Transcript written by Clara Wade Clemence in which she recounts the death of Betsey Grayson. Mrs. Clemence was a resident of Foster, R.I. and wrote about the history and folklore of the town. In 1950 she wrote a piece about Dolly Cole and the hill on RT. 6 which is named for her. Nowhere in this article does she imply that Dolly haunts Hopkins Mills. A local fisherman, who knew nothing of the ghost story, told Greenville Paranormal Research that he and his friends had the scare of their lives when they saw a white figure rise up out of the Ponagansett and float away. It would seem she haunts the length of the river between the Hopkins Mills pond and the site of the Ram Tail.

Betsey Grayson: The Woman in White

Betsey Grayson's grave is in Scituate, R.I., at the site of what was once the Grayson family homestead. The Grayson property was very large, which leaves one to wonder why a woman from a family who owned so much land ended up living in the remains of the Ram Tail hamlet. It is also unusual that she stayed single. The grave next to her is Richard Grayson. He was born in 1820 when Betsey was 35 years old. He died at the age of 81. His stone was cut by the same company that cut Betsey's marker in 1860. The stone and style are identical, so it was most likely ordered at the same time in 1860 without the death date carved in. The two markers look similar in age, until one notes the dates. There are no other graves in the family plot which fit the time period and with the placement of Richard alongside Betsey, forty one years latter, it is possible they are mother and son. If this is the case, it would explain much. Greenville Paranormal Research will be looking into this possibility.

*UPDATE: 11/26/08

Information found in Scituate town records suggest Richard Grayson was Betsey's nephew. Betsey's father and brother were both named Richard. Her brother's wife was Urana and they had three children. Urana died on October 16, 1833. Her son Henry followed her on February 14, 1837 and his sister Mariah died soon after on November 9, 1837. Urana's surviving child, Richard, was the youngest of the three. Betsey may have changed her role as Richard's aunt and became more like a mother to him.

The Ram Tail Factory: Foster, Rhode Island

   Deep in the woods along the Ponagansett River, south of Hopkins Mills, you will find the site of a 19th century hamlet and mill known as the Ram Tail Factory. Now only cellar holes and foundation walls, The Foster Woolen Manufactoring Company (as it was called in it's heyday) was once a fine example of New England textile industry. The business began in 1813 when William Potter started a partnership with his son Olney, brother-in-law Jonathan Ellis and his sons-in-law Marvin Round and Peleg Walker. All went well until about 1822. It seems Peleg Walker was living beyond his means and found himself in debt for more than five hundred dollars. This put him in a humiliating situation where he had to hand over his holdings in the factory to William and Olney Potter. According to the legend, the only position in the business left for Peleg was night watchman.

    The story claims Walker had an awful argument with his in-laws and his parting words were to the affect of, "The next time you take these keys from me, it will be from the pocket of a dead man!" It is said that on the morning of May 19th, 1822, they took the keys to the factory from Peleg's pocket after they found him hanging by his neck from the bell rope in the mill. That is what the legend says.

    There are two documents (a newspaper article and a hand written note) that state Peleg Walker chose a different form of suicide. Walker cut his own throat. A life resident of the town, whose family have lived there for many generations, has confirmed this detail to the story. Legend has it that Peleg started haunting the Ram Tail shortly after he was buried in the Potter's family plot. Workers started leaving after unsettling events, such as the mill starting up in the middle of the night when no one was there. The empty mill's bell would also ring after midnight, even after its pull rope was taken down.

    For the next twenty two years the ownership would change hands in and out of the family and by 1850 all production had come to an end. In 1873 the mill burned beyond repair after someone, for reasons of their own, set fire to the closed down building. The 1885 census would record the site as being haunted, making it Rhode Island's only official haunt. To this day there are local residents who have seen Peleg Walker's lantern light out by the manufactory ruins and claim to have heard the bell ring at midnight. Greenville Paranormal Research has been given permission to investigate the site and have witnessed auditory and visual phenomena on more than a few of occasions. Our group will be conducting further investigations.

Peleg Walker's grave is in the Potter family plot in Hopkins Mills. His stone reads, "Life, how short. Eternity, how long."

Above: All that remains of the factory's dam.

Below: The old Rounds Lane.

Above: This photograph was taken by the late Herman Tucker around the turn of the twentieth century. It shows members of his family standing in front of the ruins of the Ram Tail Factory. Mr. Tucker's mother worked at the factory in 1834. This picture was kindly provided by his great granddaughter and is believed to be the only known photograph of the factory, ruined or otherwise.

UPDATE: Ram Tail (10-05-07)

On October 5th, 2007, G.P.R. set off down the carriage trail to the Ram Tail with plans to hold a two hour night vigil. Instead we had to call the Foster Fire Department to report a fire we discovered burning along the trail. We have permission to go out there from the family that owns the property. If you are going to ghost hunt, please show the site respect and always get the OK first, don't trespass. It would seem that the fire was set not too long before we found it. It looks like someone was careless with a still burning cigarette. The Police, Firemen and one of the land owners agree with this theory. After all, the only other suspect is Peleg Walker.

UPDATE: Ram Tail Factory and Hamlet Site (1/1/09)

The bridge on Ram Tail Road and the site of the old Ram Tail swimming hole.

Update: G.P.R. has learned of two more sightings at the bridge and pool. On both occasions, there were nearly half a dozen witnesses. These sightings took place a few years apart in the 1970's.

In the spring, summer and autumn of 2008, Greenville Paranormal Research focused its investigations on the area along the Ponagansett where the Ram Tail hamlet and mill were located. (This is private land and permission is needed to gain access, the Foster police do take notice!) G.P.R. has been told a story about the ghost of an old man by the bridge on Ram Tail Road. He was seen by a woman as she approached the bridge in her car late one night. As she slowed down to avoid hitting him, he just vanished. The shallow pool that forms to the east side of the bridge was once much deeper in the days of the Ram Tail mill. The dam (now gone) on the Ponagansett, which once powered the mill's waterwheel, used to back up the river, creating a pool deep enough to swim in. This pool is said to be haunted. The ghost G.P.R. believes to be Betsey Grayson has been seen there over the years. The shade of a little girl picking flowers has also been spotted where the mill houses once stood. It would seem that Peleg Walker is not the only lost soul that dwells at the Ram Tail.

Above: The Ram Tail swimming hole taken in full light spectrum.

The photo above was taken on October 4, 2008. The foundation hole for the old Ram Tail mill is just out of sight in this picture. The hole is right below the mist. This is mist. Strange thing is, out of all the pictures taken with the 35mm camera that night, this is the only one to show mist. A floating ball of light was also seen for a very brief moment on the opposite side of the river, near the remains of the old dam. Two EVPs were captured shortly after the weird orb was seen. Both are faint. One sounds like a breathy male voice saying the surname "Cole" (a distinguished family name in Foster, RI) and the other has a sing-song tone. It was a very still night and nothing was heard at the time these EVPs were caught. Later on that night, up at the old Rounds' farm, Carl Johnson of N.E.A.R. saw a flame-like streak zip through the ruins.

E.V.P. : "Cole"

Headphones are needed to hear this EVP. Listen closely, just before the second question is asked. It sounds like a male voice saying the surname "Cole." The volume has been increased right on the EVP to aide in hearing.

*UPDATE: Research has found that Hough Cole Sr. (the husband of Dolly Cole) owned land that bordered the Foster Woolen Manufactoring Company.

Filtered E.V.P.

This strange sing-song voice was detected while running the audio file through the Audacity program. Afterward, John Hardy of E.C.H.O.E.S. Paranormal ran it through his audio system and filtered out as much of the river's noise as he could. This audio filter removed much of the white noise from the river to bring out the voice. The end result is a weird, "chirpy" sound that the listener has to ignore in order to hear the voice. It is a voice, but what it is saying is hard to tell. Some listeners have heard, "I feel sorry. I can't take it no more."

The Round's Farm: Foster, Rhode Island

   In October of 2006, Greenville Paranormal Research went to the town of Foster, RI to locate the site of the Ram Tail Factory. Using directions given by a local writer, this site was found. It is not the Ram Tail, but an old farm site once owned by the Round family, according to town records. The local writer's mistake is understandable since this farm not only borders the Ram Tail property, it was also incorrectly marked on a nineteenth century map as "Potter Factory". A local map printed in 1947 and a later reprint in 1974 show the correct location of the factory. Another old-timer told the local writer that a phantom light, believed to be Peleg Walker's lantern, has been seen many times over the years along Rounds Lane. Rounds Lane runs from Danielson Pike, through the old Round's farm and continues over the Dolly Cole Brook (the bridge is long gone) to the Ram Tail. It is understandable to link this ghostly light to the legend of Peleg Walker, since (according to the legend) patrolling the Ram Tail property at night, lantern in hand, was part of his job when he supposedly became night watchman. However, Rounds Lane and the Round's farm were never part of the Ram Tail Factory.

    So who is haunting the old Round's property? Members of G.P.R. have seen this strange light twice on two separate occasions. The sound of someone walking and the creaking of a lantern have also been heard moving around the ruins more than once. Members of N.E.A.R. have heard unexplainable voices at the site and a member of their team reported seeing a partial apparition walking along the lane just as the sun was setting. The photograph above was taken the day G.P.R. first went to the site. It shows one of the four foundations at the farm. A strange vibe was felt at that moment, so a few shots were taken. On the left hand side of the picture, an orb like anomaly can be seen. The sun was behind the photographer and there was nothing in the small evergreen that could have reflected the sun light. A photo technician could find no explanation for this orb.

Enlargement of the orb anomaly

UPDATE: The Round's Farm (10-08-07)

    A two man team returned to investigate the haunted site at the Round's farm. We are pleased to say we did not find the woods at the Ram Tail on fire this time. The forest around the old farm site was darker than G.P.R. has ever seen it there. Flashlights were used sparingly and mostly with a red filter. A night vision scope was used and a disposable digital camera. The team had no laser emitting device. This picture is a still frame from a digital video camera set on night shot with an IR light mounted to its left side. The bright spot of light seen in the dark, to the right of the IR light's beam, appeared for only a second and was missed by both investigators at that moment. One was keeping his eyes anywhere the camera was not facing and the other had lost his natural sense of night vision do to the light from the camera's view screen. On other occasions, members of our paranormal community have seen brief points of light around this very spot, as well as a hovering light that sways along the trail and around the foundation stones.

    The sound of footsteps has also been heard and the team on this night thought they heard sounds not unlike someone stepping around. It was most likely just leaves falling from the trees. A sound that could not be explained was a metallic squeak, like a hinge, that came from the same location as this light. This location was panned by the camera many times and nothing ever reflected back. No one could have hid from the investigators, they would have been found with the night vision equipment. When this still is enlarged, it not only looks like a flame in a lantern, it shows color. Like a flame, it is blue on the bottom, white in the center and red at the top. This image was taken with night shot, which gives the image a green and gray tint. It is strange this flame-like light shows color.

Above: The main foundation where the strange
lantern-like light has been seen the most.

Below: An enlargement of the flame-like light. Note it's characteristics are like candlelight. Candle powered lanterns were quite common well into the late nineteenth century. Members of G.P.R. have seen this light in and around the ruins and trails. It has been observed moving about like a lantern out of sync with its surroundings.

Above: This photo was taken by Sandra Johnson of N.E.A.R. while on a vigil at the main foundation. She heard the sound of footsteps behind her and thinking they belonged to a team member named Russ, she began to speak to him. When she turned around and found that no one was there, she snapped this shot. It is nearly in the same spot where Greenville Paranormal Research caught their anomaly.

The Tavern on Main (a.k.a. The Stagecoach Tavern): Chepachet, Rhode Island

   The above clip was taken on June 21, 2007, in the dining room of the Tavern on Main after closing time. Andrew Lake of Greenville Paranormal Research had shown up to learn first hand about this haunted locale and to conduct an hour-or-so investigation with a local author. After the video camera was set up (on a tripod) in a non-traffic area, surrounded by tables and backed by a wide wooden support column, the team began taking base readings and photographs with 35mm and digital cameras. Nothing showed up in the pictures and no EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon) were recorded. However, the EMF (electromagnetic field) detectors were showing spikes in spots where they shouldn't have and were also spiking in response to team member's questions.

    After things seemed to calm down the investigators were joined by Eve-Marie, a former employee who has experienced many bizarre happenings at the tavern. She and the two investigators were standing on the other side of the wooden column, away from the camera, while she told them a very strange story. They were the only people in the dining room at this time. As the two team members began to discuss a possible connection between Eve-Marie's tale and a haunt in the bar area, she walked away and went out and around the camera. In the video clip, she can be heard expressing her disappointment over pictures that are missing from her days at the tavern as she walks to the far corner of the dining room. Both investigators were then drawn from their spot by the abrupt change in topic and moved to join her in the far corner, Andrew can be seen moving off to retrieve an audio recorder from the table the video camera was trained on. No one was near the camera. When it was shut off at the end of the night the change in its angle was noticed. The dramatic way in which it was moved was not seen until the next day when the footage was reviewed. The reason why the camera was fixed on the booth in the front corner of the dining room was because it is said to be haunted by a lady in 19th century dress.

*UPDATE: This EVP was found (8/19/10) on the video camera's audio at the moment just before the camera was moved. When Eve-Marie moved away from the two investigators, who were standing behind the wide column the camera was in front of, she was looking for a certain picture that had a very strange habit of disappearing and then reappearing in the most unusual places throughout the tavern. It had been some time since she was last in the dining room, so the current owners could have put the missing pictures (including the special one she was looking for) in storage for later use. It is just very strange that this voice seems to be saying, "Find 'em", right after she wonders where the pictures are. The volume has been turned up on the E.V.P. and then looped five times to aide the listener.

E. V. P. : "Find 'em."

The downstairs dining room at the Tavern on Main. The video camera that was moved can be seen on the left. This is right where it was all night, stuck in a tight spot preventing anyone from getting through. The table with the three high backed chairs is one of the strongest hot spots at the Tavern. Acute EMF spikes and EVPs are recorded regularly in and around the throne-like chairs. One of the ghosts was caught on video (by a young ghost hunter) getting up from the booth and walking towards the backdoor. Check it out at www.tavernonmainri.com/

The Ladies room. It is here that the unidentified "little boy" is most often seen. He has run into the restroom to then vanish into thin air. The sink has turned on by itself and a little girl once talked about the boy she met in the ladies room.

E.V.P. : Male Voice Answers "No."

This EVP was caught on May 13, 2008 in the upstairs dining room, known as the Dorr Ballroom. A young man named Zach volunteered to lead this EVP session and it sounds like one of his questions was answered. After he asks "Do you have any children?", the sound of squeaky shoes moving on the wooden floorboards is heard, followed by a car going by on RT. 44 and then the click-clack of dishes in the distance. Listen carefully (headphones will help) just before the end of this sound clip and the breathy voice of a man answering "No." can be clearly heard. The ghost of a man in Colonial garb has been seen in this part of the Tavern.

UPDATE: The Tavern on Main (10/30/07)

On October 30th, Andrew Lake was shocked at having an antique washboard hit him on his left shoulder and the side of his head in the upstairs dining room. Sitting about a foot and a half away from the shelf it was displayed upon, with his back to it, he had just sipped from his water glass and was starting to sit back in his chair when he heard a quick shuffle. Before he could react, the washboard hit him and flew across the table. No explanation was found how this heavy object could have left the self in the direction it did and spin over a foot through the air. A few years ago, a stack of drink coasters left in this same area was flung into the stairway with a loud flapping sound, like a deck of playing cards being shot from someone's hand.

Smith/Appleby House Museum: Smithfield, Rhode Island

   This beautiful old colonial home was built around 1696 by Elisha Smith. He was the grandson of John Smith, one of Roger William's party that settled Providence. The house started as a one-room stone-ender, but from the late 1700's to 1830 it would grow by additions. For a time, in the mid 1800's, it served as a schoolhouse. Elisha's great granddaughter, Waite, married into the Appleby family and when she died in 1843, the house went to her son John Smith Appleby. It would remain the Appleby home until Maria Appleby passed in 1959. Maria's dearest friend, Abbie Sargent, lived in the house until her death in 1963. The last tenant on the property was a caretaker named Ernest Rehill. He lived in the small outer building next to the house until 2002. He had to go into a nursing home and passed away soon after. The house (now a museum) has been in the care of the Historical Society of Smithfield since 1976 and they have been doing a fantastic job restoring this important piece of Rhode Island and American history. In the summer of 2007, a member of the Historical Society contacted Greenville Paranormal Research and asked if we would like to do an investigation.

     It seems some strange events have taken place there. A door that is difficult to open is found unlatched and wide open without a sound being heard by anyone in the house at the time. Dollhouse furniture was moved around, lights have gone back on and a body dent has been seen on one of the beds after the wrinkles were smoothed out earlier. These are just some of the peculiar items reported. On our first walk through, our audio recorder picked up a very clear EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) of a breathy sigh. The following night proved very interesting. Dowsing rods gave strong responses to straight questions asked and our video cameras caught some impressive orbs. There are other points to be considered and investigated more thoroughly before any conclusions can be made.

E.V.P. : Breathy Sigh

Investigator Andrew Lake (G.P.R.) and a local author were discussing with Jim Ignasher (Historical Society of Smithfield) how and where the monitoring equipment was to be set up on the first vigil at the Smith/Appleby House. Also present was Ron Scopelliti (Publisher/Editor) of Smithfield Magazine. All who were there agree that this sigh was not and could not have been let out by anyone in the room. All were close to each other and such an impatient sounding sigh would not have gone unnoticed.

UPDATE: Smith/Appleby House Museum (12/12/07)

Since our first investigation of the Smith/Appleby House Museum, Greenville Paranormal Research has been back for further investigations and we have stayed in touch with the Historical Society of Smithfield to keep up to date with anything strange that may have occurred. Lights are still being turned back on. A shop vacuum was turned on and off in front of witnesses and a heavy drape was moved back in front of the stairs to the attic when a member of the Historical Society was moving boxes up there for storage. He was alone and the door to the house was locked. Even though the drape was hung out of the way over the banister (with it's weight hanging down into the stairwell) it was found back in place four times.

A Mr. David Rawlinson sent G.P.R. this very interesting message about an experience his wife had at the museum. This is what he wrote. "Congratulations on the site it looks good and has helped explain a few things. My wife Ann recently was visiting the Smith-Appleby House on a tour with my daughter's Girl Scout troop. She was in the upstairs loom room when she caught a glimpse of a child and heard laughing. She moved toward the noise thinking it was one of the girl scouts, but when she tried to collect the child to go back downstairs, there was none. The tour guide looked at her strange and confirmed that all the children were already downstairs. She knew something was odd, but after reading about your investigation everything made sense. Keep up the good work." Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Rawlinson, we will. Here is a photo taken by a member of the Historical Society after putting up the Smith-Appleby Christmas tree. Note the orbs. (photo by Jim Ignasher)

Freetown State Forest: Freetown, Massachusetts

   On April 19, 2008, Andrew Lake (Greenville Paranormal Research) joined Christopher Balzano (Massachusetts Paranormal Crossroads) and the New England Ghost Project for an investigation at the Freetown State Forest in Freetown, Massachusetts. After a hunt for "Pukwudgies" (a native American version of a troll) the group moved on to the old quarry known as the Assonet Ledge. Christopher and Andrew drove a 4x4 vehicle to the Ledge while the N.E.G.P. walked through the dark woods under a near full moon. About half an hour into their hike, they had an encounter with "something" deep in the woods. Whatever it was, they saw it on their F.L.I.R. scope. As it floated closer to their team, a face became visible and their medium, Maureen Wood, made contact with it. She said it was not human and very negative.

    Soon after the two parties were back together, Christopher filled everyone in about the ghosts and strange history of the Ledge. As the investigators were about to call it a night, Maureen started to behave strangely. Ron Kolek (director of N.E.G.P.) and Christopher had to take her to the ground and restrain her. She growled and clawed at the ground while the team gathered around to call her back. The still frame above shows Maureen as she was coming out of the attack with Ron holding her. Christopher is getting up from the ground and brushing dirt off. Just behind him, to the right, is a strange point of light that came into being as Maureen became more like herself. It lasted for thirteen seconds before blinking out of existence. None of our equipment was responsible for this little orb and nothing was found on the ground that could have reflected light. Because the team was gathered around Ron and Maureen, Andrew was the only member of the group who saw it. What makes this so noteworthy is the legend of the Pukwudgies alleges the little creatures sometimes appear as orbs of light.

Private Residence: Achushnet, MA

   Christopher Balzano (MA Paranormal Crossroads) and Matt Moniz (Spooky Southcoast Radio) have been investigating this historic, private residence for sometime now. On every investigation in this house, their equipment has experienced power drains and many unusual EVPs have been recorded. Their questions are sometimes given direct answers, with some voices taking a mocking tone! They caught one voice telling "the others" not to talk to the investigators, reminding them of "the rules" and to wait until everyone was gone. The sound of children running around in the attic (the hot spot), the voices of an agitated old woman and man complaining and messages scrawled in talcum powder are just a few of the amazing paranormal events that have been documented here.

    The video clip below is from a documentary Andrew Lake was shooting for Christopher Balzano. They were up in the attic taking EMF base readings and setting up a video camera when Christopher discovered that the camera (he had fully charged) was suddenly drained of power. That was interesting enough. However, when the footage was being edited, Andrew found this weird EVP. It sounds like an angry man saying something about a death in a plane crash. Listen with headphones (the EVP has been amplified) and let us know what you think!

News paper report of a local plane crash in 1957.
Could this be the plane crash the EVP mentioned?
This building was owned by the local funeral home at the time of this crash.

The crash site was not very far from the home.

E. V. P. : "Grelsch"

In November of 2008, Andrew Lake returned to this historic house to hold a series of vigils in its most active area, the attic. After the first EVP session, he thanked the spirits (one should always be polite) and left the attic. Just as he clicked off the light and opened the door, a strange thump sound and voice (or voices) were captured on the audio of a video camera that was running in one of the attic's rooms. The thump is heard twice and a (female?) voice, saying the surname Grelsch, can be heard twice.

E. V. P. : "Grelsch" (Filtered)

This filtered version was provided by John Hardy of E.C.H.O.E.S. Paranormal. John is sure that the thump sound is part of the EVP's sound wave. Even stranger is the fact that the voice or voices are saying "Grelsch" (a Russian surname) a total of five times. It is not certain if this is one voice at two different speeds, or two voices, one male and the other female.

E. V. P. : "Danny"

This EVP was found on the video camera's audio as well. The voice seems to be saying the name "Danny", just as Andrew Lake shuts the door to the attic. This came right after the surname, Grelsch, was said five times.

E. V. P. : "Please go!"

A few hours later, Andrew was in the room where the video camera was set up. He asked questions to the little girls who have been heard running and laughing on the stairs and second floor, as well as in the attic. He payed close attention to the sounds of the house and the traffic outside so he could tag any noise for later identification. Just before he ended the EVP session, the soft sound of two cars driving past were recorded by both the video camera and a digital audio recorder. Both recorders also picked up a strange little click. Even stranger is the voice that was found on the audio recorder, riding the sound wave of the second car. It sounds like a young girl saying "please go!"

E. V. P. : "Please go!" (Filtered)

Here is a filtered version, again provided by E.C.H.O.E.S. Paranormal. Clicks, snaps, claps and thumps have been picked up with EVPs many times by investigators over the years since the phenomena was discovered after the creation of magnetic recording tape.

E. V. P. : "Andrew, shut up!"

Near the end of the night, Andrew was once again leaving the attic to check out the second and first floors. He thanked the spirits for anything they might have said and as he was opening the door, one of them called him by name and told him to shut up! The spirits in this house have called the investigators by name before. Matt Moniz of Spooky Southcoast Radio had his name called out in a sing-song tone when he asked the spirits if they knew who he was.

Attic Door Opening By Itself

The doorknob does not work, but when the door is pulled shut it sticks tight in the door frame. It takes some pressure to open it. The EVP "Andrew, shut up!" was caught just as he was leaving the attic. Andrew is sure he pulled the door tight. He returned to the attic several minutes later to retrieve the video camera and found the door open. This door is found open now and again by the homeowner and their tenants who live on the second floor. The door once slammed shut in front of witnesses when the ghosts were ordered to stay in the attic. This might explain why a previous owner put a lock on the door.

The attic door.

This photo was taken in December 2008 by the tenants on the second floor. When the husband and wife started feeling a strange vibe they have felt before, they began taking random shots with their cameras. This is what they got. There are two cigarette packs on the table. However, neither had been smoking prior to this snap shot. This is not smoke. The couple did not see this anomaly when the picture was taken, but it looks like their cat did!

Fearing Tavern Museum: Wareham, MA

On September 24, 2008, the great folks of Spooky Southcoast Radio invited G.P.R. to the first ever investigation of the Fearing Tavern Museum in Wareham, MA. This beautifully restored building is a true time capsule that should not be missed. It is nearly three hundred years old and has seen English rule over the colonies, the American Revolution, smuggling and is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. It is also haunted.

Strange Little Light

A hard drive video camera with an IR light was placed in this upstairs room simply because of the vibe that was felt there. In the four hours the camera recorded, no dust orbs were caught. However, one hour into its run, this strange little light was shot coming out of the wall and fluttering over to the shelf with the antique dolls. Unfortunately the clarity of this clip has suffered because of the number of times it has been removed from the original source to bring it to our web site. In the original clip, its glow was very bright. All who have seen the original footage agree it is not a bug or dust. We have dubbed this anomaly "Tinkerbell."

The Haunted Rocking Chair

A young woman named Ashley came along to the tavern to recount for the team an experience she and a friend had a few years ago on a tour of the museum. As they were following the tour through one of the upstairs rooms, at the back of the group, they both paused to take one last look at the room and did a double take. There in the rocking chair was an old woman doing her knitting. They looked at each other, then back to the chair and she was gone. The chair was still rocking. They both agreed that the old woman seemed to be out of sync with her surroundings. They later told the tour guide what they saw. The guide believed them.

Private Residence: Wareham, MA

In September, 2011, Andrew Lake (G.P.R.) and Matt Moniz (Spooky Southcoast Radio) were allowed to conduct a walk-through of a private home in Wareham, MA, that was originally built by the Fearing family. Moniz and others in town have heard for many years that this house is haunted by the ghosts of an old woman and a strange man, as well as two children and possibly a slave who was said to have been hanged in the attic. The walk-through was not conducted as the two investigators had hoped because of strong skepticism on the part of the current home owner. However, a photograph taken in the UV to IR light spectrum seems to have captured an anomaly by chance. See the pictures below.

After coming down these stairs, Andrew Lake turned around and carefully lined up this shot, making sure that no one was in the picture. Later that night, while reviewing the pictures taken in the home, Lake noticed what looks to be a person walking by the doorway to the kitchen. The four other people in the home that night were all accounted for when this picture was taken and none of them fit this profile. Stranger still is the complete lack of color to this person.

Crop of the figure in the kitchen doorway.

This is a negative of the image which was created by Carlston Wood.

A photograph taken with a standard digital camera to show the empty doorway. There is nothing in the kitchen that could have caused the shape of a human figure to appear in the UV to IR picture taken on the first walk-through of the home. When a spirit medium visited the house, she picked up on a man (from Colonial times) walking through the kitchen.

Lizzie Borden Museum and Bed & Breakfast: Fall River, MA

In July of 2009, Andrew Lake was invited by Matt Moniz (Spooky Southcoast Radio) to the Lizzie Borden Museum and B&B to hold a talk on ghost hunting for guests staying there for the night. During Moniz's talk, Andrew kept hearing what sounded like someone moving around loudly upstairs. Every time he approached the bottom of the stairs the sound would stop. No explanation could be found.

Unexplained Video Wobble and Banging

A hard drive video camera with an IR light was left on a chest in a third floor bedroom where past investigations have caught EVPs and a video camera moved in front of witnesses. This camera ran for two hours. The video shifts around the entire time, but no sound of it moving on the wooden chest can be heard on the audio. The manufacturers of the camera told G.P.R. there is no explanation for the video instability. It just shouldn't happen. Matt Moniz said the banging has been heard before. It is the foot peddle on Lizzie Borden's sewing machine in the next room.

This is the chest that the video camera was placed on. It is also the same spot where Matt Moniz's video camera was set in 2007, when it moved all on its own, twice!

This sewing machine belonged to Lizzie Borden. Moniz claims to have heard the same banging noise on a previous investigation and traced the sound to this machine. Upon entering the room, he said he saw the foot peddle lift and fall, making the banging noise.

Private Residence: Scituate, Rhode Island

Greenville Paranormal Research has been helping a family by looking into the many strange events that have been taking place in and around their home. We need to respect the family's privacy, so many details have to be left out of this account. Full blown apparitions, voices, scrawled messages and electrical appliances behaving in unexplainable ways are just some of the phenomena reported.

   Above: A still frame from a video camera that was left running over night in one of the home's many hot spots. These two bright, blue flashes (close to the floor, by the chair) were caught at 1:18 AM. The point of light at the far left is caused by the IR light reflecting off of a piece of crystal in a glass cabinet and is seen throughout the video footage, from start to finish. The mirror behind the lamp shows no light coming from outside (behind the video camera) and there is no light coming through the window in the next room (in front of the camera). What these bright flashes are can not be said for sure, but they are in a spot were many weird and startling things have happened. The glass cabinet has been opened, once by unseen hands in front of a witness and its contents have been found knocked around. There is an explanation why one of the ghosts (there could be as many as five) would bother these crystal pieces, but it is too personal to mention here.

    Below: The video clip. Please note: In the original footage the flashes are much brighter, but unfortunately lost sharpness when this copy was brought to the web site.

Calling Cards

These bent forks and kitchen utensils were found separately and on different occasions, in and around the same chair in the upstairs living room. The large spoon has been flattened out, as well as being bent. The spatula was put in a box with some other odds n' ends, then stored outside in a shed before it showed up three weeks later wedged between the back of the chair and the wall.

*UPDATE: Two more forks have appeared (on two different occasions) in the same chair within minutes after the homeowner checked the living room for anything out of place.

Below: This is a video taped field report for the web cast TV show 30 Odd Minutes. It helps illustrate just how unusual the paranormal activity is in this seemingly normal home.

E. V. P. : Unclear, class B

This EVP was found on a hand held audio recorder that was left running while Mike "The EVP Guy" Markowicz was setting up his full recording system throughout the upstairs rooms. It sounds like, "Her son."

E. V. P. : "This place."

This EVP was caught on the night of 4/13/10 as Andrew Lake was walking up to the home's side door. The sound of his shoes crunching along the walkway can be heard, then a clear voice saying, "this place." Two apparitions have been seen along this path in the last year. The EVP is looped three times at the end of this clip.

Voice Heard and Captured On Audio.

Sometimes spirit voices can be heard by the human ear. This is referred to as a "disembodied voice." This voice was caught in the home's attic (5/19/10) and was heard by both people present. The investigator was standing on a ladder, half in and half out of the hatchway to the attic space and the homeowner was standing down below in the hallway with two dogs (she sometimes babysits) sitting nervously on either side of her. As the digital recorder ran, the investigator asked questions and snapped photographs with a 35mm camera using 800 speed,color film. While asking if there was anything that could be done to help whoever maybe haunting the house, both people present heard this strange voice. Knocking, like knuckles on wood, were also heard. The volume on this audio clip had to be increased and the resulting white hiss was reduced as best as could be done. It is also looped three times. Headphones will help. It sounds like, "Please help me out."

The attic space where the voice was heard.

Above: A digital picture taken within the full light spectrum, from UV to deep IR. The little ceramic kitty has spun around on a few occasions. The artificial logs in the fireplace also get flipped to the back. The flue was found to be closed, so that rules out pest coming down the chimney and disturbing the fake fire logs. The owner's three cats have been seen all together, staring at the fire place, like there is something there.

*Update: On three separate occasions, two glass water bowls set on these tiles have shattered, as well as a thick glass bottle, which was on the other side of the room. The fireplace is not used. No drastic changes in temperature could account for these items breaking. The bottle blew up and sent pieces several feet away from where it was standing. Seven glass items in all have shattered with no logical explanation.

E. V. P. : "I can (or can't) help that."

In February of 2012, spirit medium, Terri Jamros payed a visit to the property and had many detailed hits which G. P. R. and the homeowner could verify. When Ms. Jamros speaks, she does so in a clear volume and at no time during her walk-through of the property did she mumble or think to herself out loud. If she had, Andrew Lake would have tagged his recorder as he does with all detected sound during any recording session. Terri and Andrew were in the downstairs portion of the home when she began to pick up on one of the spirits haunting the property. As soon as she is done speaking, a female voice can be heard speaking softly. Terri Jamros is certain that this voice is not hers. Andrew Lake is also certain of this because he would have heard, as well as seen, Ms. Jamros speaking and then tagged the recorder. A few months after this visit, "the woman" was heard screaming just after midnight.

E. V. P. : A Breathy Voice.

Towards the end of Terri Jamros's visit, she stepped inside a shed on the property that has had a lot of paranormal activity. A psychic who has been to the house before was asked by G. P. R. to please stop by and compare findings with Ms. Jamros. As the two of them were speaking about the entity that inhabits the shed, Andrew's recorder caught a breathy voice which was not heard at the time.

E. V. P. : "Sarah"

Spirit medium, Tiffany Rice, visited the home in June of 2012 and hit upon many of the same spirits and situations that three other psychics have picked up on. While in the yard, sheltered under a hand-held umbrella in a light rain, Tiffany felt the presence of a woman and tried to hear (psychically) what her name was. It sounds like the female spirit left an EVP on the video camera's audio confirming the name Tiffany thought she had received.

E. V. P. : "They missed it."

One week after her first visit, Tiffany Rice returned with another spirit medium, named Stephanie Burke, to see what information she could pick up on at this location. Within minutes of her arrival, Stephanie picked up on two of the spirits that G. P. R. is aware of haunting the property. After sitting on the porch for a short while, Mrs. Burke did pick up on a third spirit (the woman who has been seen and heard), but at that point during this visit she had received little information as to what the female ghost's story was. Because Tiffany Rice had kept quiet (as not to block or influence Stephanie), Stephanie asked Tiffany if any of the points she had hit upon were similar to her own hits. It would seem that a male spirit (G.P.R. believes they know who he is) commented on the ladies missing something key to the story.

E. V. P. : "That's not Ann Marie."

When this recording was made, Andrew Lake and Stephanie Burke were alone in one of the active spots in the home. Mrs. Burke was hitting on (with amazing detail) the fact that a young boy with autism (who visits the house on a regular basis) has encounters with the spirits, but also has difficulty in communicating that fact. It sounds like one of the spirits was checking her out and told one of the other ghosts that Stephanie was not the homeowner, Ann Marie.

E. V. P. : "Many are." (?)

The relevance of this comment, like many EVPs, is not known. Kind of funny though!

E. V. P. : "Jasmine"

This clip is very strange and somewhat hard to explain clearly in print. During Stephanie Burke's first visit to the property, the homeowner had made cold drinks and hot coffee as well as snacks for Tiffany, Stephanie and Andrew Lake. While sitting at the kitchen table and discussing theories as to what is going on at this address and why, Tiffany Rice began showing signs that she was channeling the homeowner's late mother. Tiffany had switched from drinking lemonade to hot, black coffee for no apparent reason and without noticing the fact that she had done so. The homeowner's late mother loved to sit and chat with guests and black coffee was her all-time-favorite drink. Tiffany always takes sugar with her coffee. Not only did Tiffany switch to coffee, her body posture and manner took on the same characteristics as the homeowner's late mother. Stephanie Burke, Andrew Lake and the homeowner all noticed this happening before Tiffany finally became aware that she had switched beverages.

As Andrew Lake was speaking to the three ladies seated at the table about possible names for the woman who haunts the property (and there maybe more than one!), Tiffany was eating cashews. Tiffany then made an attempt to speak, but was still chewing and swallowing, so she took a sip from her coffee cup to wash down what she had in her mouth. As soon as she does so, she can be heard commenting on the strange fact that she was drinking black coffee ("Drinking. Want black coffee."). The voice saying "Jasmine" was not her, or anyone else seated at the table. Tiffany was sipping coffee as this voice speaks. A very strange catch indeed.

E. V. P. : "Hi."

This EVP was caught in the backyard during the second visit to the property by both spirit mediums. During Stephanie Burke's first visit, she picked up on how "the woman" died and what she wants. Mrs. Burke informed Andrew Lake that this female spirit has very strong feelings for him and stands close by whenever he visits the property. In this clip, one can hear a small group of people exiting the house and then Stephanie Burke (who was already outside with Andrew Lake) walking back towards him and the microphone. When the recorder caught this female voice saying, "Hi.", Andrew Lake was standing on his own. Andrew is very flattered by this spirit's attention and hopes to help resolve her issues so that she may pass on.

* UPDATE: 5/14/13*

In the Autumn of 2012, a hole was dug (by backhoe) in the yard at a spot where four mediums had strongly felt there were human remains. After the initial hole was made, a second hole was then slowly dug by shovel (and hands) at the bottom of the first. The rocks in the above picture were found at the depth G.P.R. was told they would be found and their appearance matched what was described by the mediums. The clay and ground water were also exactly as described. Note the flat edges and sides to these rocks. Their pattern, along with the large, flat, circular stone, strongly suggest they were part of a well cap.

Unfortunately, no human remains were found. It is believed that during the home's construction, in the early 1960's, the original spot was pulled apart by earth movers and backhoes. Another medium (bringing the total now to five) was brought to the property in May, 2013, and many of the key elements to this haunting were detected by her during the walk-through. When the medium came to the hole, she knew G.P.R. was looking for bodies. She then said we were in the wrong spot because everything had shifted over the years. The medium also informed us that a male spirit thought it was very funny that G.P.R. had dug in the wrong spot. The woman's remains are now a short distance away in the property's leach field. This will prevent G.P.R. from digging any further.

However, on this walk-through with the fifth medium, named Nicole Lahousse, three EVPs were recorded. They all seem to be in direct response to conversation and comments made during her visit. They also sound very much like voices that have been captured before in the same locations on previous investigations of the property.

E. V. P. : "Yes!"

This voice sounds like the same female spirit that said the name, "Sarah" (see the video clip above), on Tiffany Rice's first visit. This female spirit answered Nicole's question, "Are you looking for bodies?" which Andrew Lake chose not to answer at that moment. The sound of wind can be heard blowing over the audio recorder's microphone after her question. The E.V.P. is repeated three times at the end of the clip. Headphones will help in listening.

E. V. P. : Unclear

After walking a complete circle of the yard, Nicole stopped to consider what she had picked up near the hole. After she asked about the possibility of a skull being in the ground near the hole, a voice can be heard saying something unclear and then (maybe) the name, "Amy." There was a person named Amy, now deceased, that could have a connection to this property in spirit. The E.V.P. is repeated three times at the end of the clip. Headphones will help in listening.

E. V. P. : "That's banal."

While continuing her walk-through in the house, Nicole had walked downstairs to see what she could pick up there. Spirit medium Stephanie Burke and Andrew Lake followed close behind. In the stairwell, Stephanie swatted a mosquito on the wall and asked Andrew to remind her to wipe it off later when Nicole was done. She made a little joke about it biting someone else and a voice was captured critiquing her humor. This voice sounds like the same flat-voiced woman who commented on Terri Jamros talking about hearing a woman screaming ("I can't help that."). This E.V.P. was recorded in the same location as well. The E.V.P. is repeated three times at the end of the clip.

UPDATE 1/28/15

Late one morning in January, 2015, the homeowner was laying down with her two young (three and two year old) grandchildren on a large couch in the living room. The children were half asleep and the television was on. As they were resting, a toy in the room started playing music and flashing lights as if it had been turned on. The toy is a girl's makeup table which plays a "fairy" sound and flashes lights when the two doors covering the makeup mirror are opened. At this point in time, a small backpack was on the makeup table and against the two little doors. This toy has never operated by itself before, it needs to be physically operated. Finding this very strange, the homeowner used her cell phone as a video camera to see if she could record the toy playing by itself. She wanted to see if it would respond to questions. This video shows what happened when she did.

Possible E. V. P. From Cell Phone Video.

A strange voice was recorded on the audio of this video that can not be explained. It is not from the television program that was on and the homeowner is certain that it is not her or one of the kids. It also can't be explained as friction from the leather couch. Most people who have listened to the recording agree that it sounds like a voice saying "Alfred" or "Alfred's." A psychic once picked up on the name Alfred while in the house. A strange, gruff, male voice has been heard in the house before on two occasions. Only on one occasion was it clearly understood. Witnesses to that event heard it say, "Hello."

UPDATE 8/3/15

During the month of March, 2015, the homeowner took some time off to stay with family in the state of Florida. While away, other members of her family took care of her pets and kept an eye on her home. A few weeks after she was gone they found three streaks (Below left) of what looked like eye makeup on the mirror in her bathroom. Messages have appeared in the house before and this very mirror had shapes smeared on it in 2010 which looked like crude pictures. Even stranger was the word "run" written on a tile to the right of the mirror (Below right). G.P.R. is certain these "messages" were not done by the family as a hoax while the homeowner was away getting some much needed rest.

In the same time frame that these messages were found, a skeptical member of the family was making a repair to a window in the kitchen when he heard something smash on the floor behind him. The source of the noise was this figurine (Below) which had been on display in an adjoining room.

The homeowner contacted G.P.R. on her return and reported what the family members had experienced while she was away. After examining every inch of the bathroom, Andrew Lake stood in the small space while the homeowner, her son and another relative stood outside in the hallway. While the four of them were discussing the meaning of the marks on the mirror and the word "run" the homeowner and her son suddenly reacted at the same time and told Andrew Lake to turn around. Behind him on one tile was the message shown below. It was not there when Lake entered the bathroom, it would have been seen instantly. In fact, the folks in the hallway said it wasn't there at first, it just appeared in the blink of an eye during the discussion.

A local witch G.P.R. has worked with was called immediately and she informed Lake that in the homeowner's absence the "bad people" had re-entered the house and were trying to frighten everyone into leaving. The bathroom was then smudged with Palo Santo wood and closed up for a few days.

More Threats.

One week later, during the first weekend in April, Andrew Lake returned with psychic Nicole Lahousse and independent investigator Alicia Mastrangelo. After an examination of the bathroom, they sat with the homeowner in her kitchen where they discussed the messages and the other strange occurrences that had taken place over the last month. Shortly after Lake had brought up the lifestyle of a young man (a lifestyle inspired by Anton Lavey and Aleister Crowley) whose parents had built the house in the early 1960s, Nicole excused herself to use the bathroom. She came back out and announced a new find (Bottom left).

Andrew Lake is certain this new message wasn't there when he looked around the bathroom after they first arrived. However, Alicia said that when she looked around the room, she did notice the black smudge, only it was minus the three sixes. She told the group that because the smudge seemed so small, she didn't see any relevance at the time and said nothing of it. It is interesting that Lake was referring to the very same symbolism moments before it was discovered. The message in the photo, bottom right, appeared faster than an instant in front of all three investigators while they were examining the smudge and three numbers. The group concluded that it was a reference to Psalm 17:12, which is shown here, down below.

Posted below are two remarkable examples of E.V.P. captured by Alicia Mastrangelo the same night the new "threats" appeared. It should be noted that Alicia was using a dowsing crystal at the time these voices were recorded. It is her voice that says, "yes" at the end of the first audio clip.

E. V. P. : "His Family."

E. V. P. : "Slut."

An Apology ?

On the night of July 28, 2015, Andrew Lake went to the home to scrape the black material (believed to be eyeliner makeup) off of the tiles and collected it all in separate, labeled jars for later analysis. The following morning the homeowner called G.P.R. at 7:00 am to report what she had found when she pulled back the shower curtain. Scrawled across ten tiles in the shower was the word "sorry." When psychic Stephanie Burke was shown photos of the original messages her immediate impression was that the lead human spirit (refereed to as The Caretaker) did not write these threats, he made one of the "lesser" spirits do it for him. She felt that they were written by the spirit of the young man who had played around with the occult while living here. He passed away a few years ago from cancer. It would appear that he now regrets his former lifestyle.

Posted below is a very faint E.V.P. recorded while Andrew Lake was scraping the "sorry" message into a collection jar. He told the spirit that he understood the message and invited the spirit to speak up if he had anything else to add. A moment later, the audio recorder captured what sounds like a male voice saying "sorry." As with most examples of E.V.P., headphones will help to hear it clearly.

E. V. P. : "Sorry."

CASE CLOSED: Spring of 2016

After nearly seven years of research and investigation, Greenville Paranormal Research has closed this case.

Throughout the investigation there were moments when G.P.R. had strong doubts about some of the claims made by members of the current family and others connected to this property. Family members have told the lead investigator that others connected to the home were responsible for the physical evidence and that the homeowner and her claims should not be taken seriously. In short; too many people and their claims have contaminated this case. G.P.R. feels that there is something very strange about this location, but will never be able to come to any strong conclusions as to what is exactly going on there.

Private Property: South County, Rhode Island

In March of 2010, G. P. R. was asked to look into a haunting on private property in South County, Rhode Island. The property owner reported that his girlfriend, who is a sensitive, was seeing balls of light moving about pieces of old equipment stored in their backyard. There are some tragic stories connected to the machinery that have been confirmed through research. The girlfriend started having vivid dreams about the men who worked with the equipment and died in horrible accidents. Her boyfriend told G. P. R. that his girlfriend's dreams are very accurate, in fact, too accurate for even a skeptic like himself to ignore.

A psychic was brought to the property with no knowledge of past events. She hit upon many of the facts (names, causes of death and the circumstances involved) already known by the property owner and his girlfriend. As the small group quietly approached the location of the haunting, the psychic reported seeing smoke that no one else could see. In the audio clip below, you will hear the psychic ask about the smoke and the property owner's soft voice responding from ahead of the group. There is also an EVP of a woman saying the word "slow." Two women were involved with the machinery when they too met their end.

E. V. P. : "Slow."

Spirit Light?

Above: This two minute video clip was shot within the full light spectrum on a clear and still night in September of 2010. The Moon was almost full, making it very easy for the three investigators to see about them. This light was not seen by the naked eye. The property owner's girlfriend is a sensitive. She told G.P.R. there was "something" right out in front of them. When nothing could be seen by moonlight, the F.L.S. video camera was turned on and this "spirit light" was caught. It is hard to make out in the first 15 seconds and in the last 30 seconds, but is quite easy to see in the duration in between. Reports on this property have been about ghost lights seen around pieces of old equipment that have tragic deaths connected to them. Witnesses have also seen, in the daylight, apparitions and fast moving shadows which have a human shape. There seem to be both twentieth century American and seventeenth century, Native American spirits haunting this location. The sensitive, as well as the psychic, feel there are ancient souls (possibly Pukwudgies) here also.

A Pukwudgie?

   For those of you who do not know about the Pukwudgies, they are (put simply) a North American troll. The sensitive who lives on this property believes what they have living in their backyard are not Pukwudgies, because she doesn't sense anything mean or nasty about them. However, three other psychics who have visited the property feel that there are two of them and one is nastier than the other.

A visitor to the house claimed that they saw a horrible little creature near the edge of the road, just before reaching the driveway. Close by is an old cellar hole. All three of the psychics picked up on it and said that the meaner one dwells there.

    The above still is from a short video clip taken (with a simple, pocket sized camera) by the psychic who was asked to visit the property. The little guy (circled) can only be seen for an instant in the full video. We believe it was checking out the psychic from the dark, but then blinked out of sight as her flashlight's beam came close. The property owner's girlfriend has put out some tobacco as an offering and found it gone the next day. Insects and squirrels would have no interest in tobacco, so we have to wonder what is going on here. The picture on the right is a cropped blow up.

The Victorian Mansion: Gardner, Massachusetts

In the summer of 2010, Andrew Lake was given a daytime tour of the Victorian Mansion in Gardner, MA. While walking through the mansion with one of the homeowners, Edwin Gonzalez, Lake took many random pictures in the UV to IR spectrum. This picture was taken in a bedroom on the second floor that is considered to be one of the many hot spots in the building. The picture (Above) was shot looking into a mirror on a dresser. A strange, blob-like anomaly was caught coming out of the old dressing screen standing in front of the wall where a door was once located. On a follow-up visit, a psychic picked up on many strong psychical imprints in this room, all of which were confirmed on a later date. One of the comments made by her in this room was that "someone" still travels through the doorway which no longer exists.

Enlarged crop of the blob-like anomaly.

Private Residence: Woonsocket, Rhode Island

In December, 2011, paranormal investigator Timothy McHenry asked G. P. R. to visit a residence in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, that he believes is haunted. On their visit, the psychic who was brought along could sense the presence of two spirits in the apartment, which is located in an old building at the heart of the city. The psychic claimed to see a redheaded woman pacing about the kitchen area, but she could only make out the lower part of a man's body. "Something" else was there also and the psychic believes "it" came with the tenant from a previous location. In the picture above, a large orb was photographed behind the chair (closest to the camera) in the UV to IR light spectrum. G. P. R. has taken hundreds of photographs with this camera and in all of those pictures only a few orbs have ever been captured .

E. V. P. : "Cat toys."

The above E. V. P. was captured while one of the apartment's (living) residents was relating a story about the first time their cats' toy ball rolled from the kitchen into the living room. This has happened twice and on both occasions their two cats were accounted for. A second audio recorder (of good make and quality) was running when this voice was captured, but it did not record the ghost's comment. This is often the case with E. V. P..

E. V. P. : "Nail you."

This E. V. P. was captured as the tenant was talking to the psychic about his own personality. This voice seems to be somewhat dark and unkind. It might be the "something" that the psychic feels followed him to this apartment from a previous location. The second recorder failed to capture this voice as well.

Private Residence: Winchendon, Massachusetts

In October, 2014, G.P.R. was asked for their opinion on a possible haunting in Winchendon, MA. We were contacted by a retired college professor who had bought an old home in one of the town's historical sections and through research he discovered that an alleged haunted mansion had once stood on a empty lot located nearby. The former English professor has had some strange things happen in his home and he wanted to know if G.P.R. felt it possible that the ghost(s) from the now missing mansion could have taken up residence in his home. This case took on another dimension when the professor related a possible connection to his haunting and the sinking of the SS Titanic.

Thirty five years ago, while starting his first teaching job, the professor came across a small plaque at his school that memorialized a young Massachusetts man, named Richard White, who died in the Titanic disaster. The professor would later find out that he went to the same high school that Richard White had attended when he was a teenager. Even stranger are facts such as the house the professor is now living in was once owned by the White family and the old haunted mansion that was taken down (in the 1960s) is where Richard White was born. Richard White's body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, positively identified and laid to rest in a grave not far from the professor's home.

Andrew Lake asked psychic and spirit medium Nicole Lahousse to help with the investigation and she found it to be a very interesting case. She could not pick up on anything connected to the old story of the haunting in the demolished mansion, but Nicole felt strongly that the professor's home was tainted with residual energy from the home's past and the history of the surrounding area. She also sensed spirits in the home that are confused by the many alterations and additions made to the structure over the last two hundred years. Richard White's connection didn't become clear until her second visit later that month. Apparently, Richard White's spirit has been guiding the professor to this house so that he can research and write about this area of Winchendon, MA. The professor got a good deal on the old house because none of the other people who looked at it while it was on the market liked it. Nicole feels the spirit of Richard White had something to do with it. This location was special to Richard White and his family. Many of Nicole's psychic hits about Richard and the White family were confirmed by the professor through his research.

Nicole Lahousse (above) in the professor's downstairs library and office. This area of the house is always cold, even on warm summer days. Nicole picked up on a man in uniform whom she felt had died from a gunshot to the head. There was also an older woman who may have been the mother of the man in uniform.

E. V. P. : "Sister- (breathy sigh)"

This female voice and breathy sigh were captured within minutes of starting Nicole's walk-through of the house. Seconds after the voice was recorded, Nicole informed the professor and Andrew Lake that there was "a great sadness" in the room. It sounds like the voice is saying the word, sister, with the pronunciation, sista'. A short time later, Nicole picked up on the name, Adeline. The professor found a woman in town death records with that first name. She was a member of the first Mormon family to settle in the area. It is interesting to note that Mormon women refer to their husband's other wives as "sister."

The photograph above was taken in one of two empty rooms on the second floor. These rooms are not being used by the homeowner. He has offered to rent them out to people he knows personally, but none of them took him up on his offer. It would seem that these rooms leave people feeling somewhat uncomfortable. It should also be said that both these rooms were very clean and free from dust and cobwebs.

The camera that was used takes pictures in the UV to IR light spectrum. The spotlight seen at the center of the shot is an IR light which is used instead of the camera's built-in flash. Whatever this anomaly is, it was not seen when the picture was taken and it was gone seconds later when another shot was taken of the same spot.

(Pictured left) Close up of the anomaly.

These five pictures (see the slide show below) were taken immediately after Nicole Lahousse and a second witness said they saw a strange light behind Andrew Lake. Lake turned around and snapped these pictures in an attempt to capture what they had both seen.

E. V. P. : "We debate."

This voice was recorded in the same room where the picture of the anomaly was taken. It is hard to hear exactly what it said, but it sounds like, "We debate." Nicole said she felt that there was unfinished business and hard feelings in these two rooms. She also said a spirit told her to look out of the window in the next room. The spirit didn't tell her why or what she was supposed to see. What Nicole didn't know at the time was that this window has been found opened by a few inches and the blinds moved on a couple of occasions. The view from the window is the empty lot where the "haunted mansion" once stood.

The two second floor windows. Note the window on the right. The blinds were moved a few days before G.P.R.'s visit and were left alone by the homeowner for us to examine for ourselves. This has happened before and the window has also been found partially opened. The professor has a bad knee and can't easily climb the stairs to close the window and fix the blinds. He lives alone, so there is no earthly explanation for how this activity can occur.