The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend

In paranormal circles across Canada and the United States, the hauntings at The Blue Ghost Tunnel (BGT) frequent the conversation. Often referred to as "The Most Haunted Location" in Canada or a place where you are guaranteed activity, the tunnel is synonymous with historical haunted locations across North America.

I've been investigation the tunnel as a possible haunt for the past 14 years as a solo investigator, with The Niagara Amateur Ghost Seekers and with members of The Shadows Project.

In the late 1990s the tunnel, previously known under various descriptions became popularized as The Blue Ghost Tunnel, the name coined by a young paranormal investigator who is said to have witnessed a "Blue Misty Ghost".

A few years of intense interest on the Internet, multiple investigations and visits by paranormal enthusiasts prompted the once popular TV program Creepy Canada to film at the location.

Together with a Ghost Tour Group Haunted Hamilton, questionable psychics and an impromtu "historian" of the tunnel, they exposed the location to tens of thousands of viewers solidifying the legend and suspected haunt.

The episode depicted the tunnel as "700 ft of Hell on Earth!"

As a result of their illegal trespassing and exposure of the location, the site became explosively popular and thousands of visitors each year come to visit the tunnel prompting the Seaway Authority to attempt to secure the location. Even with extensive security, people trek out to discover the BGT for themselves...


But who really discovered this long, lost tunnel?


What is the truth behind the hauntings and experiences at the tunnel?


Is the tunnel an Urban Legend, conjured-up by a young wannabe author?


Are we simply developing our own experiences using our own minds?


Or is the tunnel really haunted? And by whom?

I decided to write about the tunnel, because I am fascinated with legends and lore and how they develop and what truth is hidden within. The book includes interviews, photographs and documents from decades past including the first ever investigation in 1976.

It includes historical accounts from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with photographs and evidence supporting a number of theories.

Photographs have been generously donated by residents including Kevin Valencourt, Niagara-area photographer.

Please visit the Facebook Group Page for The Blue Ghost Tunnel: Making of a Legend and support and discuss this project.

Investigating Rose Hall, Jamaica - home to Annie Palmer, The White Witch PART 2

And there she was, looking right back at me, in full view.

The painting is said to be of Annie Palmer, The White Witch of Rose Hall. I stared in silence at the painting, trying to get an impression and I felt sadness and confusion.

The said Annie Palmer in the painting is smiling, youthful, and has an uncanny appeal to her. She does not look like the stereotypical Voodoo Mistress. But what do I know? Maybe her appearance is an illusion.

I continued throughout the bedrooms but did not capture any evidence on camera, nor with my EVP recorder. Each bedroom was said to be used by The White Witch to kill her husbands in gruesome ways, but I didn't even feel mildly apprehensive. I did feel the sense of history and majesty this place projects, but I did not once feel anything haunted.

I was then told to visit the grave of Annie Palmer outside as it was rumoured to be the most haunted location on the entire property. I proceeded outside and a woman was near the grave singing in Patois. She cautioned me about the White Witch's grave and to be really sure if I want to proceed.

I did.

And again, nothing. No feeling, no evidence no haunting – for me at least. I was gravely disappointed and decided to simply walk around the property on my own will to see if I could get anything. As you can guess, I did not record any evidence, nor feel any evil presence as I was promised I would. I did, however, manage to see a glimpse of Johnny Cash's mansion house. He was fascinated by the Annie Palmer and wrote a song about her.

After wrapping up the investigation I proceeded to do my research. I found countless tales of this haunting, each with their own perspective and story. Then I found documented history, irrefutable facts that makes me believe that Rose Hall is not haunted by Annie Palmer, and the story of the White Witch of Rose Hall, one of the “most haunted places on earth”, the “most evil place imaginable” is simply an Urban Legend, Jamaican style.

It is no surprise that those previous producers of Ghost Hunters International that visited Rose Hall did not do their research, and if they did, they ignored it completely, because after all they are simply there to entertain, not to inform, learn or share.

So how did this Urban Legend begin?

Geoffrey S. Yates, Assistant Archivist, Jamaica Archives explains in detail:

The melodramatic legend of Mrs. Annie Palmer of Rose Hall and Palmyra in St. James, a woman of unknown origins and of sinister beauty, who was murdered by her slaves as a retribution for her wickedness, is widely known and implicitly believed in Jamaica.

It is frequently retold in magazine articles, and visitors to the island are regaled with lurid stories of debauchery and death which are alleged to have taken place at this once splendid plantation house. Sometimes the scene of Mrs. Palmer's murder is transferred to Palmyra, a nearby property.

There have, however, always been bold spirits who have mentioned the conglomeration of inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and over-writing which bedevils the whole affair. It is behind these spirits that I shelter when I come forward to brave the belief of the public and state categorically that neither Mrs. Rosa Palmer nor Mrs. Annie Mary Palmer was ever murdered by slaves at Rose Hall or Palmyra, that there is no evidence that either of them was involved in debauchery or unnatural cruelty, and that the commonly held tales of luxury and ___ers are without any foundation whatsoever.

For this, I rest my case on official archival evidence which has never before been examined in detail. I must also state that neither was Mrs. Palmer ever known to her slaves or contemporaries as "The White Witch of Rose Hall." This title was invented by H. G. DeLisser for his novel which was published in 1929, almost 100 years after the abolition of slavery.

Ruined splendour

Rose Hall, as we know it in it ruined splendour, was built by the Hon. John Palmer, Custos of St. James, somewhere between 1770 and 1780, at approximately the same time as Colbecks Great House and most other plantation residences of Jamaica. It was built on the site of a previous residence which was also known as Rose Hall, after its mistress Rosa Kelly, daughter of the Rev. John Kelly and Mary his wife, of St. Elizabeth.

Rosa Kelly was the Hon. John Palmer's second wife, whilst he was her fourth husband, and they had been married 25 years when she died in 1790. Her monument in the parish church at Montego Bay is well-known. Let me say here that there is no breath of suspicion that either Rosa or John Palmer was a murderer or murdered.

Shortly after Rosa's death, the Hon John married a young bride, Rebecca Ann James, of a prominent family in that past of Jamaica. In 1797 the Hon. John died at his Brandon Hill residence. Almost immediately Rebecca went to England, where she married Dr. Nathaniel Weeks of Barbados and eventually died at Sidmouth in Devon in late 1846 or early 1847.

During all those years, we must remember, Rebecca enjoyed a handsome annuity from Rose Hall and Palmyra under the marriage settlement, and it was this annuity which was the  ---g charge on all the profits and proceeds from these estates.

Lived on credit

Like many other rich planters of the period, the Hon. John Palmer lived on credit, which was fine as long as the sugar boom lasted. His wealth was more apparent than real, and the more he spent on building and furnishing Rose Hall, the deeper he floundered into debt.

Eventually, in 1792, his creditors foreclosed, and he was forced to mortgage Rose Hall and Palmyra, moving to his more modest house at Brandon Hill, where, as we know, he died. To cut a long story short, the merchants, Messrs. Hibbert and Co., sold out their interests and the properties fell into the hands of the Court of Chancery. It was this court which was responsible for administering such properties by means of officially appointed receivers.

The receivers saw to the administration of slave labour, providing such plantation supplies, food, clothing, medical attention, (such as it was in those days), doled out punishment if necessary, sold and shipped the sugar and rum. They were responsible for submitting accounts which were officially lodged with the Court, and which survive in the Jamaica Archives at Spanish Town.

In all these accounts, there is no mention of money being spent on repairing or maintaining either Rose Hall or Palmyra Great House. The receivers, who were men of prominence, such as the Hon. William Miller, Custos of Trelawny, and William Heath, a solicitor, had their own houses. We can therefore assume that Rose Hall and Palmyra were empty, except for housekeepers, from 1792 onwards.

In all this legal embroilment centring round properties in debt, however, the real owner still retained some kind of title. In 1818, John Rose Palmer, the great-nephew and heir to the Hon. John, came to Jamaica, obviously with the intention of trying to wrest Rose Hall and Palmyra from the hands of the Court of Chancery, so that he might enjoy such profits as were left after the payment of Rebecca Weeks' annuity.

His brief life in Jamaica was signally unsuccessful for although he managed to become appointed official receiver to his own estates, he was so hard up that he was compelled to mortgage the receivership to Henry Martin Ancrum of London! I make these points to emphasize the fact that, although he may have had a case for claiming he was the true heir, he did not own the slaves on Rose Hall or Palmyra, nor could his wife, whilst he was alive, as they would belong to him by law.

Now, who is going to lend money for orgies whilst the properties are in the hands of lawyers? And what receiver is going to allow a woman to carry on, as Anna Mary Palmer is alleged to have carried on, when he must endeavour to make the places pay?

Nothing peculiar

In November 1827, John Rose Palmer died at Rose Hall, aged 42. In those days of fever and rudimentary medical care there is nothing peculiar about this. During his brief life in Jamaica he had served regularly in Montego Bay as a J.P.; in 1824 he was appointed to administer the neighbouring estate of Running Gut whilst George Whithorne Lawrence, the owner, was absent in Scotland.

When his death was reported in the Royal Gazette and in the Kingston Chronicle some four or five days after it took place, his obituary read "His intrinsic worth, kind heart, and generous disposition obtained him the esteem of all his acquaintance, but to his family, and those friends who had the pleasure of being intimate with him, his loss is irreparable."

Even allowing for a measure of hyperbole, it is obvious he was quite a prominent citizen. It was his wife who was supposed to have murdered this well-known man, and to have lived on at Rose Hall enjoying the embraces of her lovers until she in turn was murdered.

But can anyone, who has ever read a detective thriller, suppose that such a murder at such a prominent place could have escaped detection and the attention of the newspapers of the day? Where is the evidence? And who was the supposed criminal anyway? The answer is there was no murder, no motive and no evidence.

Was it really Annie?

Annie Mary Paterson, upon whom a malicious and unjust fate has bestowed such an evil and unmerited reputation, was born in the autumn of 1802, the only child of John Paterson, Esq., of The Baulk, near Lucea, and Julian his wife. Her paternal grandparents were Dr. John Paterson, a Scotsman who had settled in Hanover, and Deborah McKenzie his wife.

On the death of Dr. Paterson, the Hanover parish register noted he was "universally regretted." Her maternal grandparents were the Hon. William Brown, a Scotsman and Custos of Hanover, and Mary Kerr James his wife, of Kew near Lucea.

John Paterson married Juliana, the eldest Brown daughter, in 1801 but died at the early age of 24 before his daughter Annie Mary was born. The young girl was brought up by guardians, including her mother, her grandfather, her uncle and later her stepfather, for in 1812 Juliana Paterson married Capt. David Boyd, a retired naval officer and professional planting attorney.

William Brown died in 1817, Mrs. Boyd in 1832, and Captain Boyd in 1842, so that Annie Mary was not alone in the world even after she was married. Her mysterious and unknown origin, her training in voodoo-these must be abandoned in favour of upbringing on a property normal for her time and class.

We do not know how and when Annie Mary met John Rose Palmer, but on March 28, 1820, they were married at Mount Pleasant, St. James, then the home of Capt. And Mrs. Boyd, Annie Mary was 17. The young couple, so we are told by the Royal Gazette, were married again in England, on their honeymoon. This was not unusual as sometimes doubt was expressed as to the validity of marriages in those days.

After returning, the couple moved to Rose Hall, not to a life of luxury but one of money worries, as so often to newly-weds Annie Mary did not enjoy her married life for long for John Rose Palmer died seven years later, some £6,000 in debt. His personal possessions, including £350 worth of plates and some debts owing him totalled a mere £1,137.15. 10 1/2d. What was his wife to do? She had no money, no real claim to the estate, no slaves, nothing.

Seek shelter

She left to seek shelter elsewhere, and eventually sold out whatever rights she may have had in Rose Hall and Palmyra for £200 sterling to a Dr. Bernard in Bristol. This was in 1830. However, Rose Hall was empty before this, as we know, for a variety of reasons.

In a Rose Hall Estate Journal quoted by Shore in his "In Old St. James" (1911) and now, alas! Of unknown whereabouts, but perfectly genuine, there were from the first week in January, 1829, to December, 1832, one slave attending the Great House and two with Mrs. Palmer. This first slave must have been a housekeeper or caretaker, for Mrs. Palmer was elsewhere. She was not at Palmyra, for as we know that too was empty except for a housekeeper, Mary Ann Hill, whom the receivers sold to her own husband, Frederick Earl, for £45 in 1833.

The two slaves may have been allowed by the receivers to accompany Mrs. Palmer to her new abode.  However, according to officially enrolled slave returns, she had in June 1829 four slaves, Cymir aged 30, Sarah Smith aged 30, and Sarah's two children Alexander and Charles aged 6 and 8 respectively.¹  

In 1833 she is listed as being at Bellevue, St. James, with 8 slaves.² Bellevue and Bonavista³ are both shown by the Jamaica Almanacks as belonging to the Bernard family, and may well have been both part of the same property, as both names mean "Beautiful View."

In 1842, William Augustus Dickson, a Scottish merchant of Lucea, and her uncle by marriage, left a will which stated "my settlement in St. James called 'Bellevue' I leave to Mrs. Palmer for life."  It is not clear how he obtained Bellevue⁴, nor how Annie Mary acquired the slaves.  Probably Dickson obtained land at Bonavista or Bellevue from the dissolution of the Bernard family estates when they got into trouble, and left his niece in charge.  In any case, she was a connection to the Bernards, one of whom had bought up her rights to Rose Hall and Palmyra.

Annie Mary Palmer, for she never married again and had no children⁵, was not destined to live to a ripe old age.  In 1846 she dies at Bonavista, near Anchovy, and was buried in the church yard at Montego Bay by Rev. T. Garrett on July 9.  No tombstone has survived to mark the spot.

By her will, which may be seen in the Jamaica Archives, she left everything-which cannot have amount to much as it was not specified-to Giolia Mary Spence, her goddaughter, aged two, the child of Dr. & Mrs. Patrick Spence of Montego Bay.  This, then, was the true end of a woman-allegedly murdered twelve or more years before by her slaves-long after the abolition of slavery.

Monstrous

How then, did this monstrous legend grow up?  For an examination of the printed sources I should draw my reader's attention to an article by Miss Glory Robertson of the West India Reference Library entitled "The Rose Hall Legend:  was it really Annie?"  in the Jamaica Historical Society Bulletin of December 1964.

Briefly, all the commonly accepted sources are confused and contradictory, and Roby, in his serious "History of St. James" (1849) does not mention it at all.  Nowhere in the official archives of Jamaica is there anything I have yet discovered which links either Rosa or Annie Mary Palmer with any form of crime, debauchery or unnatural death.

It was a Rev. Waddell who first mentions the strangling of a Mrs. Palmer at Palmyra in 1830.  Being an abolitionist, he would be inclined to accept evidences of the iniquities of planters.  There was indeed a 'bilbo room' or punishment cell at Palmyra which had been repaired by the reviewers for years after his visit!  This he did see when he preached at Rose Hall and visited Palmyra after Mrs. Palmer had left.

As Rosa was not murdered and Annie Mary Palmer was still alive, who could it have been whom he was told was strangled?  Probably he was told some confused story by a slave or plantation hand talking patois, which he did not understand correctly, and which related to some murder which took place perhaps a 100 years before, when such things were more likely.

Legend grows rapidly, smothering facts and attaching itself like a vine to places where it does not belong.  Statements are made only a few years after events have taken place, which on examination are found to be untrue.

Somewhere, a far-off tale of murder has become attached to Rose Hall and Palmyra and to the two Mrs. Palmers who lived there.  Hearsay rumours were taken as gospel truth, and once the legend was given currency, by James Castello in his pamphlet of 1868, it stuck.  Because it was in print, it became believed as true and then people started to look for blood stains and ghosts and saw them.

Delisser gave the legend far wider currency in his novel "The White Witch of Rose Hall" than did Castello.  The legend throve, the facts disappeared.  Now it has become so firmly established-and I frankly admit it is a good story-that a film is to be made of it.  Rose Hall has been bought and is to be restored at a cost of some £300,000.  Is it too much to hope that when all this money is spent, some tiny portion will be set aside to let Jamaica and her visitors know the true tale of Rose Hall?

¹This ties in with the 1831 Almanac where she is shown with 4 slaves previously reported (doubled to 8 for not filing a return in 1830.)  Her name is listed as Anna M. Palmer.

²See 1833 Almanac, number still doubled from 4 to 8.

³For the names of the proprietors of Bonavista, see the following Almanacs:  1818, 1826, 1828, 1831, 1840.   

⁴See 1840 Almanac.

⁵See also 1845 Almanac.

The Haunted Niagara Falls Customs House

The Stone Jug

The former Post Office, Police Station and Customs House stands tall in the desolate downtown area of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The massive three-story stone structure was abandoned after a fire destroyed the interior of the main building and some of the exterior portions of the additions. Holes in the roof have causes extensive water damage and the building is unsafe to investigate or visit.

There have been reports as far back as the 1950s of a shadowy man who has been seen in the upper floors, pacing the hallways and peering out of windows. In the 1970s a group of teenagers believed they saw this same entity walk through the front doors and proceed across the street where the figure vanished.

Others have seen a woman crying on the front steps that appears for a few moments and then disappears into a mist-like form. Strange, unnatural noises from the back portion of the building have been reported by witnesses and many thrill-seekers have ventured into the back portion to investigate. To date, only a handful have been inside to investigate.

I have investigated The Stone Jug on two occasions, once in 2001 and again in 2004 for the book Shadows of Niagara.

The first investigation I was allowed to enter the basement and first floor only, as the entire upper floors were destroyed or distressed. In 2004, we only allowed on the main floor and the back rooms as the building had further degraded.

There have been attempts to repair the building but each attempt runs out of funds and the building stands empty to this date.

Below is a rare view of the Niagara Falls Customs House interior:

More pictures can be found here:

http://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2008/10/stone-jug.html

Investigating Rose Hall, Jamaica

Investigating Rose Hall, Jamaica Part One

The legends and haunting of Rose Hall in Jamaica is known world-wide. Its reputation as an active haunted location has been documented and showcased by several prominent teams of ghost investigators and individuals researching the paranormal. Rose Hall has come to be known as the most evil, the most haunted and the most scariest place on earth.

I was about to investigate and come face-to-face with The White Witch of Rose Hall. My investigation and research will, no doubt, shock some of the readers.

The Legend of Rose Hall and The White Witch

The Legends and Hauntings of Rose Hall surround one Annie Palmer, matriarch of Rose Hall and the surrounding sugar plantation.

In the 1700s, a woman's route to wealth and power was usually via marriage, and Annie Palmer was no exception. Born in France, Annie was a petite woman (barely 4 feet tall, it is said) who moved to the beautiful island of Jamaica to be the wife of a powerful man who owned Rose Hall and thousands of acres of sugar plantation. Little is known of her early days at Rose Hall but it is said she visited Haiti before arriving in Jamaica and studied Voodoo. We do not know if she came to the island already imbued with a streak of cruelty, or if she cultivated it under the demands of her husband and her duties as the mistress of The Great House. It is said that she pined greatly for the bright lights of Paris, and found life on the island to be a hardship.

Whatever the cause, Annie was feared by the slaves who lived on and worked the plantation. She ruled with an iron fist, and defiance, or even perceived insolence, was answered with public whippings, torture in the dungeon, or even death. Annie started her day by stepping to the small bedroom balcony and issuing the orders of the day to the assembled slaves in the yard. Her orders often included punishments and executions.

Perhaps out of boredom, or sheer wantonness, Annie started taking slaves to her bed. When the Mistress of the House lavished her attentions on a slave, that man's days were numbered. When Annie tired of her lover, she would murder him and have him buried in an unmarked grave. We know little of her first husband, John Palmer, except to say that she murdered him in his bed as well. Perhaps he caught her in the act, or maybe she just tired of him too.

These were rather lawless times, and the sudden death of the master of the estate seemed not to cause any investigation. Regardless, Annie cultivated the image of being a tough and merciless mistress, at least in part to keep her from appearing to be easy prey. These were difficult times to be a woman, particularly a rich widow in a country frequented by pirates and the like. Annie found another way to remain independent and in control – she practised Black Magic.

Many of the slaves were practitioners of the art, and in order to curry favour and live longer, they taught Annie everything they knew about magic, particularly Voodoo. This was to include human sacrifice, particularly of infants, whose bones she used in practising the black magic. Soon Annie was known far and wide as "The White Witch of Jamaica". Her reputation for ruthlessness and magic powers served to keep her safe from those who would normally consider her a target. Even so, Annie found time and reason to marry two more husbands, which she eventually dispatched in a similar manner, acquiring their wealth in the process. One has to assume they were foreigners, unacquainted with Annie's reputation on the island.

Annie's Overseer was a slave known to be quite a powerful Voodoo practitioner, a fact he managed to conceal from Annie, at risk to his own life. The Overseer had a daughter who was engaged to marry another handsome young slave on the plantation. Unfortunately, Annie's lustful eye fell upon the young man, and he was soon called upon to pleasure the mistress of the house. The Overseer knew what to expect, and began to make preparations to protect the young man from Annie's "disposable lover" policy.

However, Annie did not follow her usual pattern, and she killed the young man that same night, instead of playing with him for a week or so. Perhaps he objected to her attentions and declared his love for another. Whatever the reason, the young man was dead, the Overseer's daughter grief-stricken, and the Overseer was filled with helpless rage. Annie must die, at all costs.

A special grave was prepared in the woods, within sight of the Great House, using Voodoo ritual and markings. The Overseer then entered the house, confronting the White Witch, and engaged her in magical and physical battle. He succeeded in killing her, sacrificing his own life in the process. Slaves who were privy to the Overseer's plan entombed the body of the White Witch in the specially prepared grave... a grave designed to keep her from rising and walking the plantation again. But they failed to complete the ritual properly, and the White Witch is said to roam the Great House to this day.

That is the Legend. That is the story told.

Media Attention & Previous Ghost Hunts at Rose Hall

With such a rich heritage and such a dramatic legend it is no doubt that authors, musicians, radio personalities and television shows gained interest in Rose Hall and the said hauntings.

In recent times, Ghost Hunters International filmed an episode of their popular program at Rose Hall. Below are the full episodes for your entertainment.

And previous to GHI, Linda Blair's Scariest Places on Earth, featured Rose Hall. Once again, the episode appears below for your entertainment.

My Investigation Begins

With such media exposure I was tainted and knew the story of Rose Hall and the Legends of the Great House. I was excited and ready to begin when I was told I was not allowed to do an overnight investigation, but was welcome to participate in a daytime or evening investigation. I was told that many of the previous paranormal encounters took place in the afternoon and that I was sure to get evidence and to be prepared.

My investigation began outside, in a peaceful garden area. I moved slowly towards what the caretakers called The Dungeon of the Great House. Historically, I called The Dungeon a previous Root Cellar and now a modern gift store. I was told that people feared the location, smelled blood and felt the horrible crimes of the White Witch. I felt nothing and continued to the first floor.

Rose Hall is a spectacular piece of heritage and the curators have created a fantastic and accurate portrayal of what the Great House used to look like. The US investor spent $1.5 Million to repair and restore the Great House. There is no doubt it was a wise investment - individuals are charged $22 each to take a self-guided tour and it is one of Jamaica's top visited tourist sites.

"The Dungeon" held books, collectibles and trinkets for the tourists. The sad part is, average Jamaicans would not be allowed to visit the site, nor be able to afford any of the gift shop's offerings.

I sat on the first floor alone for several moments and decided to move on.

Several of the bedrooms were mentioned as having ghosts – the murdered souls of Annie's husbands. Each bedroom, I waited, recorded, and investigated. And again, my senses told me nothing. My equipment revealed that I was completely alone.

I was beginning to feel a great deal of disappointment and decided to call out for Annie out loud - to ask her to reveal herself to me...and to my surprise I met her.

Click Here To Read Part II

Entity Caught on Video During Paranormal Investigation

Check out this Video:

Investigator Doreen captures an apparition. She was up on the second floor of a home, she was in a room by herself when this was caught.

Barb King is the founder of the PA. Dept of Paranormal Investigations or PDPI, a non-profit investigative team based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania vicinity. She describes Doreen Hill as "a strong investigator with good skills," then adds, "I trust her totally."

One evening in March, 2009, Doreen Hill and a handful of researchers from the Pittsburgh Paranormal Society accepted an invitation to investigate a rental property in East McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

The mother and her two sons living there felt threatened. The family witnessed shadow phenomenon in the stairway leading to the second floor. Vile odors wafted through the residence. They began sleeping on the living room floor before finally retreating to a relative's house since they did not have anywhere else to go.

When investigators arrived, there was a "TERRIBLE" smell in the home. They asked the tenant to check her refrigerator to see if maybe something had gone bad... nothing.

Two investigators immediately decided to check things outside.

Doreen escorted the mother upstairs to escape the stench, shoot video, and maybe run an EVP. Being somewhat "sensitive," she was drawn to a bedroom currently being used for storage. The mother returned downstairs to be with her children and to check on what everyone else was doing.

Doreen shot some video without incident.

Routinely checking what her Sony Handycam Hybrid DCR-SR45 had captured, her eyes more than likely popped out of her head reminiscent of some 1940's animated cartoon.

"I never saw that apparition in my view finder," Doreen explained. "After an hour or so, I wanted to check my video and that is when I saw her! I could not believe it and ran downstairs to show the tenant and the founder of the paranormal group what I caught. When I got downstairs, I found everyone in the basement because one of the investigators got pushed against a wall and they were making sure that she was okay."

The apparition can be clearly seen at 0:06 seconds as the camera pans slowly left and is really blurred at 0:16 seconds as the camera pans very quickly to the right.

We have three choices here:

1.) Deliberate hoax? Doreen Hill's integrity and her lack of technical savvy negate any hint of hoax.

2.) Mistake? To counter skeptical arguments that she merely recorded her own reflection or someone else in the house, Doreen says, "As far as the colors I was wearing....I know for a fact that I was wearing a black shirt with white lettering and jeans. The shirt I was wearing was the shirt I wore when I was with Pittsburgh Paranormal Society." This is no reflection or accidental capture of any living person present in that dwelling. The family is African American. No one in attendance dressed in the manner of this apparition. This is no orb or pareidolia.

3.) Real deal? Shawn Kelly, the Founder of the Pittsburgh Paranormal Society, states for the record, "The video is for real and it is a true apparition. It is the best piece of evidence out there to this day."

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

For more information on the PA. Dept of Paranormal Investigations
http://www.padeptofparanormalinvestigations.com

We have been granted written permission from Doreen Hill to use and disseminate this still photo from the video at our discretion. If you use it, please include: Photo Copyright 2009 by Doreen Hill

The Archives: NAGS Decou House Ruins

The Niagara Amateur Ghost Seekers (NAGS) investigated the Decou House Ruins. This would be the last investigation as the original team.

Notes from GhostBoy:

This was one of many visits to the Decew House Ruins and probably one of the most interesting for myself.

Steve and I arrived early to the site and remained in the vehicle. It was especially dark, however, we both could see some movement out and around the vehicle. Once we stepped outside I could feel something go up my back and to the top of my head. The top of my head felt numb and it tingled for a few seconds.

Steve indicated he could see specks of light and I, too, could see these. We tried to find a logical explanation such as leaves reflecting light falling from the trees. We weren’t satisfied with any answer and noticed that the lights went up on occasion and sometimes whooshed about.

Kevin, Dave and Gord arrived and the feelings and movements almost dissipated. We continued into the house via the backdoor and felt out the area. We made a brief circle but I broke off because I was sensing something happening at the back of the house. I lit my conch shell and presented white sage as an offering and cleansing. We all took part in this impromptu native ceremony.

I also brought along an oval mirror to attempt scrying. I asked Steve if he would like to try first and he did. I went to explore the property and met with Gord who was in the back of house sitting on the triangular rock. I could sense movement, but nothing much more.

I was the next to try the scrying, and when I compared notes with Steve some of the events that happened during the scrying were eerily similar.

Dave then indicated he could see a young girl looking into the window. The name “Emily” stuck with me. I then proceeded to interview the team individually for a video for the web site. At this time Dave brought me to a site where he said he had a vision of a woman doing laundry. When he described it I could smell soap. We explored but did not find anything more.

Steve and I continued to follow the back trail where we sensed movement and we tried to communicate with the spirits of the natives. Steve recorded the whole event.

I concluded the night with a very uplifting feeling and my scrying attempt proved interesting. I was shown things that made it very enjoyable. It wasn’t a scary location, nor did I feel fear. I simply felt satisfied afterward. Personal answers were given during this investigation that meant a lot to me.

Notes from nAz:

GhostBoy and I rode to the Decew House together. As we waited for the rest of the team to arrive we kept noticing activity (movement) near the vehicle and in the parking lot.

After watching for some time I decided to have a cigarette outside of GhostBoy’s car. I stood near the field with my back to the parking lot. We kept noticing small “pin” lights randomly around the field. I don’t know if it’s too late for fireflies, but it may be that, fireflies.

As I finished my cigarette I got this strong impression of “native” and a presence drawn to the tobacco. This is promising to be an active night.

The rest of the NAGS team arrived, we said our hello’s and got right to it. GhostBoy brought a mirror with a wooden frame for scrying and white sage to burn for cleansing & for the spirit.

While the team was getting ready to start GhostBoy lit the white sage & we all “washed” with the smoke. I saw activity near the back of the property & started to feel what was there. GhsotBoy brought the mirror out with a candle and asked me if I wanted to give scrying a try.

I saw down at the entrance of the ruins & started to meditate on the mirror. Before I begin explaining what happened let me say I must attempt this with no one around to distract. Camera flashes and cars going by interrupted me several times. Ok, back to the mirror. Once, the entire mirror went black. Next I saw my face and from the top of my eyes down past my chin, my face looked like it was painted black. Just the outside edges of my face was still white. Another time it looked like my head was a skull. After another distraction, it appeared that I was looking at my face in the water, there was a rippled effect, it cleared, then I saw what appeared to be several cuts on my forehead and face. I actually reached up and touched my forehead to see. What these visions mean, I don’t know. I just know what I saw. This is something for me to try another time!

After my scrying attempt, I went into the field and walked over to the triangular stone. I felt the native presence again and offered some of my tobacco to the spirits. I could feel activity in the field behind me so I sat down on the rock and asked them to present themselves. I let them know that I meant them no harm & that I was there to honor them. Shortly after I said that I got a vision of a wolf jumping out of the bush straight at me. I again thanked the spirits and left.

GhostBoy interviewed the Team on video & Makeajazznoise shared with us a vision he had. I’ll let him explain what he saw.

After the interviews were finished GhostBoy and I were drawn to the path that leads to the river. Walking along the path I stopped to figure out the feeling I got that that spot. GhostBoy was looking behind us and mentioned activity behind us like we were being followed. I could sense it as well & figured out what the feeling around me was. Village or camp. Native, not “white”. GhostBoy and I started to speak to the spirits present again and both of us heard what sounded like “jingling” or tack from a horse.

I have been to Decew house on several occasions. Because of these investigations, I have formulated this opinion. The remains of the house and surrounding property are active, but the spirits there are reserved.

Notes from David:

An impromptu, unexpected investigation led to one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had on one of our outings.

Upon arrival we had some out of the ordinary things planned for the night, and we did our typical “circle” earlier in the investigation than we normally would. During the circle my attention kept being drawn to an area towards the northwest corner of the remains. Once we broke up, the various team members took turns sitting with a mirror while the others roamed the grounds. I went to the area, approximately 5 feet from the west wall and 8-20 feet from the north wall, numerous times. Each time I felt a tingling sensation, and oddly, was compelled to lean forward whenever I stood there. I also got a sense of a teenage girl peering into what was once a window scared by what she saw. This was all within the structure.

I eventually began touring the grounds surrounding the remains. I remained fascinated with the window I had sensed the girl at, but got nothing from the outside of the building when out front or to the west side. I went back through the structure and repeated my tingling and leaning forward sensation… and when I went through to the back little did I realize I was about to walk into one of my most memorable N.A.G.S. experiences.

As I walked past the east wall of the building I actually had a vision. For a brief moment it was daylight, I saw from behind between two trees a woman hunched over something. She raised both arms up and was stretching them out and I could hear water dripping as if into a bucket. The vision dissipated, and while I was processing what had happened I asked Kevin if he heard water dripping. He discarded it as the wind whistling, I quickly disputed that and walked to the running stream to see if that possibly could have been what I heard… but it was at least 150-200 yards away. I went back to the area and realized that it was between two old trees. There was also an area surrounded by stonework which we speculated may have had a well in the centre at one point in time.

What I saw and the sound is burned into my mind. I briefly saw a woman hunched over, doing laundry by hand. She was between 2 trees in which a line could have been stretched for drying. It only lasted a second, but Im still astounded – where did that come from?!

The Archives: NAGS Undisclosed Cemetery

Upon hearing reports of ghostly activity at a cemetery, the NAGS team couldn't wait to investigate. Also, having held a contest to bring a guest to an up-coming investigation, we brought the contest winner to this location as a warm-up.

Notes from GhostBoy:

There have been several reports of ghostly encounters with the small undisclosed cemetery in Sty. Catharines. Witnesses have claimed to see a full-apparition walk from buildings towards and into the cemetery grounds. Strange lights have also been reported within the cemetery by passing motorists.

We approached the cemetery grounds cautiously and made our way to a large monument. There we continued inside the cemetery drawn as a group to the rear corner. As I tried to snap photos my camera began malfunctioning. First the flash did not work, then it simply refused to take pictures, then the LCD display did not work. Then suddenly, as I made a comment that I was here to respect the land and to simply communicate the camera started operating fine once again.

As I approached two old tombstones (circa 1830s) Naz said he was drawn to the same tombstones. The group started splitting off, in pairs, alone and in groups. I could very plainly see a young male child skip off down the one side of the cemetery and vanish into the darkness. I got the name Joshua Harding. It felt as if this child was not buried at the cemetery, nor was he stuck or grounded. He simply made visitations because for him, it was a familiar place or a place he went to as a child.

Some of the group were drawn down an embankment while I remained on top trying to see if I could gather more information about the child. Naz sat down and concentrated and I left him alone and stood watch to see if the child would reappear. I did not tell the group my findings at this point, other than I suspected activity and that I got a name. I encouraged everyone to open themselves up and gather names.

Later the group gathered around to attempt communication. Naz indicated he felt he was being pulled down, felt “small” and said he felt like a male child looking up at the group. His feelings got so intense, he broke off and later returned. Jenn C., our guest for the evening, said she could sense a little boy also, with brown hair. She also indicated she got a name Margaret-Ann and Kevin said he also received the name Ann previously.

With Naz rejoining the group several members and Jenn C. heard a woman’s moan and a man’s sigh. I also received the feelings of being watched and the feeling that someone was walking towards our group. I got two EVPs here that sound like a squeaky child.

We broke off into groups to explore the cemetery further. At one time I received the obscure name of Ebenezer and later on in the investigation Kevin and Jenn C. found several tombstones with the first name of Ebenezer.

I also received a message, “Tell Steve not to hesitate.” I reiterated the message immediately to Steve and he went off to the centre of the cemetery on his own and sat down. At times I felt fear and I was brought to a house but nothing more.

Kevin came to me and told me that Dave is having strange feelings about a certain location and that he felt that someone was “dumped” or improperly buried a the back of the cemetery. I went to investigate with Dave and Jenn and here we questioned and felt out the area. We all felt a woman, not of high moral standards and of a lower class. Dave felt she was killed and thrown down the embankment. Jenn confirmed the feelings. I started to see chains, like a biker would wear connecting his wallet to his jeans. I also got the word “Judgment”. We investigated this area and I saw a spark of light in the dark trees. Then Jenn confirmed she saw it also. A mumbling EVP was recorded in this area.

Oddly enough, Dr. Gord felt the same feeling in a different part of the cemetery and whem Dr. Gord and Dave and Jenn met up they were astonished that they felt the same feelings and came up with the same “story.”

Coincidences were popping up everywhere. The group felt sick in certain areas, felt pressures and pains in the same areas. It was a very interesting night with too many coincidences to justify them as so.

What was interesting is that none of the group felt that the cemetery was overly haunted. It felt more as if the spirits and events that were taking place that night had very little, if anything, to do with the cemetery.

Never had the team come up with so many names, so many coinciding “stories” and events. It would appear the cemetery and the grounds surrounding it are offering far more than simple ghostly hauntings.

NAGS will unquestionably return to this location to figure out why so much was happening in a not-so-haunted location.

Notes from nAz:

After meeting with Jenn C. & discussing next weeks investigation the team decided to investigate a cemetery at GhostBoy’s request.

On the way to the cemetery I was thinking… cemetery… not going to be much activity. Man was I wrong!

Approaching a historical marker I noticed activity near the back corner right away. I took some pictures of Jenn and the team looking at some markers & then felt drawn to two identical markers. I was approaching the markers GhostBoy suggested activity near them. My initial feelings at the twin markers were pain in the back of my skull, and sever pain in my chest. That was just the beginning.

After the team had gone around the cemetery getting their own impressions, we decided to do a circle and attempt communication with the spirit’s that were present.

One thing that surprised me about this place was this, the NAGS team has never gotten so many names in one place before. Every team member got at least one name. The name I got really strong was Mike or Michael. While in circle, I got the image of a male head and shoulders, so I decided to call on my ancestors to help communicate. This was the first time I decided to not guard myself. I wanted to open up to the spirit present. I got what I asked for. Just after I opened up, I got a sinking feeling. At first I thought it was due to the fact that I was standing on a grave but I cast doubt aside and went with the feeling. I then realized that I wasn’t sinking, I felt that I was shrinking! I felt like I was the size of a 4 year old child! I had a mental image of standing next to the guys in the circle looking up at them and holding my hands out for the “big” people to hold. I opened my eyes & could see everyone normally but when I closed them again I was a child! While I was marveling at this new experience I got one word – hold. I don’t know what it means. After I got the word impression, I got the impression that this experience was getting too comfortable & had to end. I turned from the circle & shook off the spirit (?) Does that make sense? as I walked away. This has never happened to me before and for a bit it freaked me out.

After breaking the circle the team split up again to revisit different areas. As I was walking behind GhostBoy I had an urge to meditate in a certain location under the full view of the moon. I ignored the feeling & continued walking. GhostBoy turned to me and said that he heard a voice tell him something. It was for me. Basically he was told to tell me to do as I was planning. Ok, I can take a hint. I went to the location and sat. While I was attempting to meditate I kept getting shown activity near the back corner close to the twin markers. I asked if I was in the wrong spot & was shown I was in the right spot. I believe I was told to sit there so I could witness the activity. After a few minutes I went to the area with the activity. As I approached my thumb and fore finger on both hands went tingly (pins n needles). This was new as well. My attention was drawn down a slight hill where a table, chair and fire pit were set up. I remembered hearing about the table and chair from one of the team members but I assumed it was in a different location for some reason. Next to a tree on the edge of the slope I could sense a rush of activity heading in both ways. While I was standing attempting to figure out what I was feeling I got an impression. It is an odd one and I’ll mention it later but first I wanted some confirmation. I called GhostBoy and Dr. Gord over to the tree. GhostBoy could sense something as well, he took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves. Gr. Gord went down the hill to the table and chair. I’ll let Dr. Gord explain what he felt but what I got was something completely different and almost shocking.

The table, chair and fire pit are being used by someone for conjuring. Either by spell or ouija. There is a rush of activity in that place & I felt that spirits there are being used. How, I couldn’t tell. Why would so many names come up in one location? Why are there so many spirits there? I asked if there was some way I could help when I was sitting in the other spot & I was shown this area for a reason. The notion almost sounds crazy but it was what I felt.

This location will be investigated by us again & hopefully we can help those held there.

Notes from Dr. Gord:

The NAGS team met up with our contest winner at our usual meetup place. After coffee and conversation, we headed to the cemetery to do some investigating. The cemetery basically consists of people that lived in the range of 1790’s – 1910 with many of the grave markers being almost covered over by grass growth. One thing I noticed right away was the atmosphere of the place. There was a very uneasy feeling here. I attributed it the darkness as the graveyard was surrounded by trees.

Upon entering the site, I immediately felt pressure on the top left section of my head which I felt was probably just my hangover from the night before, however Kevin later stated he felt the same thing. Walking around I took a lot of pictures to document the historical value of this cemetery and I received a few images as I walked through the graveyard.

The first image that I got was behind the gravestones, between the big tree stump. About 20 paces behind these, is a great big tree where no grass grows beneath it. It was here that I got the image of a woman named Allison, who was aged 35-37, bout 5ft6, skinny with black hair. In the vision I was told she wonders here searching for her son, who was taken by raiders. The son used to play in that area but went missing. When asked to show me how she died I saw her hung from the thick branch above me. Sounds a little farfetched don’t it? I thought this too until later on that night.

Next I went to the back right hand corner to meet up with John and Steve to see what they had found. It was here that I experienced a first. Upon walking between the last two sets of grave stones I felt this overwhelming urge to vomit. Again I attributed this to my hangover but nearly everyone in the graveyard that night, felt the same nauseous feeling in different areas. Facing John and Steve in the back corner, I got this very strong image of a white screaming face charging towards me, literally it made me jump and turn around to make sure nothing was there. Steve confirmed he felt energy flowing through the area I was standing in.

The last image I got from this night was down by a weird set up down the hill in the bushes. Here a mini, what looked like a camp set up, and it was here that I got something to which both freaks me out and makes me wonder if it was my imagination. I sat in the chair at the campsite and heard a voice in my head, ask “Why I was there?” and “I do not belong here, I am trespassing and this was my land” then within my head a vision of a scraggly face appeared. Very bushy hair and destroyed teeth grinning at me saying over and over that he had “F**Ked her good” and then I heard laughter of other men and it was then that I was drawn to the bushes in front of me to my where I saw a woman lying face down. The freaky part is, it was the same woman, Allison that I had seen underneath the tree. I ran up the hill and noticed that the trajectory matched between the tree where I saw her hung and the ground where she was lying with the men. If two and two are placed together, I would say that she may have lived nearby; the men kidnapped her, raped her and then hung her from the tree.

There were a few other small things I got from the cemetery. When I walked through a family plot, I heard a older male voice ask “Why are you here” and I as pondered where I heard this, I heard a older female voice say “Go Away Leave Us Alone” I snapped around and my flashlight lit up the name Edna. I asked John to bring his recorder over to try and capture some possible EVP’s and as John asked them to speak in to the microphone, all I heard in my head was “Yea F**Koff”. I started to laugh, told John this and we left as requested. John and I headed to the back to gather the group and as we all went to leave I was looking at the ground, I looked up and just for a second saw a line of black shadow people lined up along the treeline but would not come forward, I asked in my head why they wouldn’t come in and all I got was they were scared.

Upon leaving the cemetery the feeling of nauseousness left and it was off for more coffee. I can admit that some of this sounds a little farfetched but the others had similar accounts so who knows.

Notes from David:

I have to admit, I really second guessed myself on this one… my mind raced back to an archived Skeptic’s Corner (upon further review I realize that I clouded portions of Ssept.12ths and Sept.19ths). As I have repeatedly stated in prior investigation notes… My senses aren’t/I am not as attuned to paranormal activity as say, a psychic or a medium of course.. but even compared to the other team members I am not as in sync to ghostly encounters. The more investigations we do I sometimes feel I’m becoming the biggest skeptic of the group. I have learned to open up, and through this group I have (for lack of a better word) “felt” things… maybe attempts at communication that I just couldn’t quite understand. (Thankfully our private home #2 and our first trip to Century Manor gave me enough to plow forward). Anyways, on to why I initially second guesses myself.

We spent awhile touring the cemetery, and the group gathered and discussed our feelings. There were things brought up that I just didn’t sense or experience myself. I did however “get a name” as GhostBoy always puts it. While we toured the headstones I kept ?thinking? of the name Eden, or Edith. I kept expecting to find a stone with that name on it… but didn’t. However after the group broke up I was drawn to a spot on the outskirts of the cemetery. The edge surrounding approximately two-thirds of the cemetery drops off into a ravine. I went to a section and ?felt? a body had been desecrated down the hill from where I stood.. I felt a woman had possibly been raped, but definitely harmed, and while not killed dumped there and left for dead. I did not feel that this was what had happened to one of the persons buried in the cemetery, I felt it from that hill. Now, this is where I was second guessing myself. ?Had I come on an investigation and wanted to experience something? Do I watch too many cop shows and mafia shows and was imagining a scenario? I wasn’t sure, but I kept being drawn to the area. I invited others to the area to inquire what, if any, feelings they got there without telling them up front what I thought. I hope that their investigation notes elaborate on this, because while each persons feelings were somewhat different, they were all similar and enhanced a potential scenario that I initially thought I was scripting in my head due to the creepiness of the night and the locale.

Admittedly, not heavily (yet) I have attempted to research to see if I could learn of any such crimes being discovered in this area… but to date have not found anything. I look forward to investigating the area by daylight, and continuing to research.

Notes from Jenn:

I entered the cemetery with an open mind, not expecting very much to happen as this was my first investigation. I did not feel anything immediately. We did a quick walk around the cemetery and got a feel for the place. Still I did not feel anything. We proceeded to the left hand corner of the cemetery and stood in a circle asking for any spirits to communicate with us.

NAZ felt the presence of a young boy as soon as he mentioned this I immediately got a vision in my mind of what the little boy looked like. He was small, waist height with brown hair. We continued to try to entice the spirits to communicate with us. While standing in the circle I got the name Margaret Anne and the feeling that she had died in a house fire around the area in which the cemetery was located. I had a feeling she had long strawberry blonde hair and was wearing a red polka dotted dress when she died. I don’t feel that she was buried in the cemetery but she had a connection to the area surrounding it.

Another name that came to my mind during the night was Edward Johnson and I felt he had a connection with boats. Nothing more came to me regarding this name.

Halfway through the investigation Makeajazznoise asked me to follow him to a spot that I had seen him at earlier pondering. He asked me to see what kind of a feeling I got while standing there. I went over and got a feeling of a women who had been beaten and brought here to this location. I could see in my mind her being a blonde women maybe in her middle 30’s. I don’t feel she had a professional day to day job but was rather involved in drugs or sex, maybe a prostitute. Her face was streaked with makeup like she had been crying. I could see her roll down the embankment and try to crawl her way back up but the man who had brought her there continued to beat her and leave her for dead. The time

frame I get when I thought that might have happened would be the late 70’s to late 80’s. I also got the name Mary. I could not get that image of her trying to climb her way back up

out of my mind. This had to be the most exciting part of the night for me, even after we walked away I still felt drawn back to that spot. I don’t know why but I could not stop looking in that direction. Even still I can picture her trying to climb her way back up that hill.

I must say that I am very pleased with the amount of activity that I had experienced. I would also like to once again thank the N.A.G.S team for inviting me to come along with them on this investigation.

EVPs Recorded:

1. Male voice states "I was murdered", before John begins to speak. DOWNLOAD

2. Female voice says "What", when the audio is slowed down. DOWNLOAD

3. Female voice states "I've been pullin". DOWNLOAD