We were asked to investigate the old YMCA building in Marion Ohio.  In 1974 while the YMCA was still in operation a young man was murdered in his sleeping room on the third floor.  Voice recorders, thermomoters and video monitered the locations of reported activity.  Several times while on the floor where the murder occured we heard unexplainable voices.  While in the gym we heard odd noises and footsteps but they always stopped as we approached the area where they were coming from and they would not happen when we were in that area of the gym.  We are looking forward to a second investigation at this location.

 

Video evidence: None
Evps recorded: None
Photo evidence: None
Temp Fluctuations: None
Emf Fluctuations: None

 

This was the second investigation at this location.  Since our last visit the owner of the business heard a small office door creaking and looked up just in time to see it closing.  One evening her husband was driving past the location and thought he saw the shape of a woman.  The business was closed at the time.  A new employee reported that the bathroom door slammed shut.  Then when reaching for the soap it appeared to move out of reach.  Heavy food boxes have fallen off the kitchen sink for no apparent reason.  Things continued to fall from or be shoved off the shelves so they removed them. 

 

Results:  Chris saw a black shadowy figure cross in front of an inner doorway. This was seen on his laptop monitor however it was before he set the camera to record.  The shadowy figure was near the area where the woman shape had been witnessed.   Chris said that the figure completely block the view of other things behind it as it passed by.  Cameras in the room that were already recording were covering other areas of the room  in the opposite direction and did not capture the shadowy figure.  After the event several cameras were placed to cover the doorway from all angles but the figure did not appear again.  Several evp sessions were held and questions were asked pertaining to known past occupants.  The audio recorders pick up a loud clink.  It sounded like something hitting metal.  We did not hear this sound at the time it happened but we did listen to it within minutes after it was recorded as we were playing back the recording to see if we had captured a whisper that was heard in real time.  No one was wearing anything metal that would have hit against the metal on the chairs.  No one was moving around.  We were sitting within inches of each other and as loud as the clink was we should have heard it if one of us had caused the sound.   Later that night we  heard a similar sound when I put on a jacket to go take a break and the zipper hit the metal on a chair.  It was not as loud on the recording as the first one because I was across the room from the recorder.  At this time we are going with it was some kind of metal hitting the chair but we can't say who or what caused it.  The rest of the night was uneventful.

 

Video evidence: None
Evps recorded: None
Photo evidence: None
Temp Fluctuations: None
Emf Fluctuations: None

Lancaster, Ohio
Business building, dated late 1800's
G.H.O.S.T. members present: Brenda, Bev, Angie, Chris

 

The business owner reports that things began as soon as they took over the building.  They would come in the morning and find that paint brushes were not where they left them.  Another morning a stack of brochures were found scattered on the floor.  A vase that sits on a ledge has been found moved numerous times.  Employees have witnessed the water faucet turn on, plates jump, cups moving and a propped open door slam shut.  Boxes have fallen off shelves when no one is around.  An employee witnessed a figure pass by the  mirror.  One morning they opened to find that spices had been knocked off the shelf and were all over the floor.  A row of hanging spoons were seen shaking but the rows of spoons and the pans on either side were perfectly still.

 

All of the areas of reported activity were monitored with video cameras and thermometers.  Evp sessions were held throughout the night.  One of the first things we needed to rule out was if the coolers kicking on and off was causin the vibration and things to move.  We found that nothing moved, shook or vibrated when the coolers kicked on and off.  Another concern was the overhead apartment.  There is a dropped ceiling and we did not see anything vibrate, move or shake when people were moving about overhead.  There are no railroad tracks close to the building that would cause things to vibrate.

 

At one point as we were observing the camera near the stove we thought we saw a light dart by.  When we went to check the area we noticed a small pipe shaking that hangs over the stove that is part of a fire prevention system.  The pipe is attached to the stove hood and runs over to the extinguisher.  The pipe is very light and will easily shake just by touching it, however the cooler kicking on and off did not cause it to shake nor did anyone walking by the stove.  The owner said that no one has witnessed the pipe moving in the past.

 

In the the days following the investigation the owner said witnessed the office door close by itself.  An employee saw the front door open by itself when it had been latched and there was no wind.  The vase was again moved to the edge of the ledge.  The grill was found turned on high when it had been off.

 

We were not able to document unusual activty during the time there.  A second investigation is in the works.

 

Video evidence: None
Evps recorded: None
Photo evidence: None
Temp Fluctuations: None
Emf Fluctuations: None

 

 

 

Burbank Ohio
Retail building dated late 1800s
G.H.O.S.T. members present: Brenda, Bev, Angie, Steve

 

Client reports: Footsteps heard overhead when no one was on the second floor, door slams shut, a plastic door chime cover seemingly flies off the wall by itself.

 

Evp sessions were held on the second floor and main floor. Cameras and motion sensors were set up to monitor the second floor, main floor and back area.  After a while we noticed the camera on the main floor began refocusing.  We considered passing headlights or the changing traffic light outside as the cause of the camera refocusing so we watched it closely.  We were able to determine that neither was the cause.  There were some things on the wall with reflective surfaces so we removed them but the refocusing continued. At times it was so out of focus that nothing in the picture could be seen.

 

The door that slams shut is pretty heavy. We could not get it to move by walking by it, opening or shutting other doors or by simply nudging it.  It did not shut by itself during our time there.  The cover over the door chime was not secured with anything.  Any number of reasons could have caused it to fall off, but it would have fell straight down
and not land several feet away.

 

Results were inconclusive.  This case requires further investigating to reach a conclusion.

 

Video evidence: None
Evps recorded: None
Photo evidence: None
Temp Fluctuations: None
Emf Fluctuations: None

Toledo, Ohio
Private home dated 1924
G.H.O.S.T. members present: Brenda, Bev, Chris B.

 

We were contacted by the landlord of this property.  He was open to the paranormal but at the same time he had several reasons to doubt that what was happening was paranormal.

 

Tenant stated things began with water shooting out of the walls on the second floor and then later on the first floor.  The tenants left that night, too afraid to sleep in the home.  They moved their personal belongs to other areas in the house to keep them safe from water damage.  The next day they returned and began to clean up the mess.  A small bottle flew through the air, that came from another room.  They left again.  They were staying nearby and each time they would come back to the house to get personal belongings they would find more items destroyed or tipped over.  A big screen TV was tipped over, the computer damaged and  on the floor.  Personal papers, CDs, video games and other items covered the living room floor.  There was no damage to the walls, only personal items.

 

When the landlord went to check out the water shooting from the walls he did not see any signs of water and nothing wrong with the plumbing.  While he was standing on the porch talking to the tenant one of the children inside the house yelled it is starting again. When he went inside he saw one drop of water on the ceiling.  He said it looked like someone could have flung water or it came from a squirt gun.  It dried before he left, leaving no sign that it was ever there.

 

When interviewing the tenant I was assured there was no way anyone was getting in the house  and destroying their personal belongings while they were away.

 

When we entered the house it looked like someone had tipped everything over, knocked everything off the shelves and emptied drawers on the floor.  It was impossible to walk through the living room without stepping on something.  The TV was tilted as it was sitting on the debris.  The screen was behind the TV but not broken. The sofa was leaning because there were things on the floor underneath it.  Walking through the rooms you would step on something that was wedged under something else, causing items to tip over.  It was easy to see how things could fall without anyone touching them when the tenants were moving about in the house.

 

In the kitchen the microwave was damaged and a few dishes were on the floor.  There was paint splattered that  was said to have happened while the tenants were out of the house.  There were things that did not appear to have been touched on the counter.  We found that the windows over the kitchen sink did not lock and one of the screens had been pushed in so there was a way someone could be entering the house when it was unoccupied.  It would also explain the splattered paint as there was evidence that it had been sitting on the counter near the window.  There was a fresh layer of snow and ice so it was impossible to know if there had been footprints that led to window previously.

 

We found that there had been previous water damage in the attic but it appeared that the leaks had been fixed and there were no signs of recent leaks.  The tenant showed us a photo of some water spots in a doorway of the kitchen.  When we inspected the doorway it looked like condensation spots from steam that appear when cooking in a small kitchen in the winter. T here were no water spots in the areas where the water was reported to have shot out of walls or ceilings.

 

We were able to determine there was a common factor, that we will not make public, surrounding all the events.  The windows that did not lock leave the possibility that someone was entering the house at night when the tenants were not there.  There are many other circumstances surrounding this case that is private information.  When all of these things are combined, it leads us to believe that the events were not due to the paranormal.
 

 

A reporter and photographer from the Athens Messenger joined us during the equipment set up for an interview that was to be in the Messenger the next day. The manager reports that after the article was in the paper she received many phone calls from people that had experienced odd things in the building in the past.

 

Management reports that many odd things happen in this building, mostly after the store is closed and locked up tight for the night.  Employees never know what they might find in the morning. She assured us that no one, not the living anyway, is entering the building after hours.

 

Basement: A cue stick that was by the back door was found in the basement, broken and jammed into the wall.  They have found boxes moved, opened and knocked over.  A door in the basement that is kept shut has been found open. Employees have experienced moving shadows while in the basement alone.

 

There is a small enclosed area in the basement between the store and the building next door that is rumored to have been part of the underground railroad. The building is thought to have once been part of the Berry Hotel.

 

Observations: There is a bar in the next building and the foot traffic, music and noise from the bar made it difficult to do much other than video recording until after the bar closed.

 

A video camera monitored the basement the entire night. A second video camera was moved to the basement during the last few hours.  A motion sensor was used in view of the camera to alert us to any  movement.  Temperature of the basement was monitored for sudden changes.  An alarm was placed on the door that is often found open. Several evp sessions were held in the basement back in a corner away from any areas that might pick up sounds from the bar next door.

 

We entered the opening in the wall that is rumored to have been part of the underground railroad.  We could see there was once a door that led to the street and steps that once led to the upper level.  While we were in the small room a recorder left out in the basement picked up pretty loud sounds of movement as though someone was walking around, stepping on things, very close to the recorder.  Our voices could be heard in the distance and were muffled. It is easy to tell that the sounds were not made by us as they were very close to the recorder.

 

While doing evps in the basement I tapped 3 times, lightly on a  door frame and asked for a repeat of the taps as a sign of a presence. Two out of 3 times the taps were repeated and sounded like they came from over head.

While researching Bev found insurance fire maps that show that the area that was rumored to part of the underground area was originally an opening between the buildings with access stairs to the upper level as we suspected.  At some point the area has been closed in. Further research is needed to find out if the building existed during the  Civil War and if it did, was this area closed off from the street before or after.

 

Video evidence: None
Evps recorded: None

Photo evidence: None
Temp Fluctuations: None
Emf Fluctuations: None

 

The insurance maps show the layout of the street and what buildings was used for over the years. The building itself was not adjoined to the Berry Hotel.

 

In 1885 the building was vacant. From 1890 until 1900 the building is marked Milly which we believe to be short for a milliner shop. Milliner shops were usually owned by women and is where they made and sold women clothing items. In 1907 it was a hardware store. In 1914 it was a restaurant.  In 1923 the bulling and the adjoining building are marked S. Hotel. In 1948 it was a furniture store.

 

Main floor, store frontage: Employees opening the store in the morning have found shirts thrown on the floor or shoved back on the shelves, items that were hung on the wall would be on the floor. Bricks that had been in basement have been found on the main floor, always in a corner. A candy machine that was moved from the front door area by employees at closing to an area near the counter was found moved back in it's original place.  Faucets in the bathroom turn on by themselves.  Once an employee was in the office eating and went to wait on a customer that had entered.  When she went back to the office she found herself locked out.  After getting the door unlocked she found her food had been thrown on the floor.  An office intercom calls the front counter when no one is in the office.  An employee in the store alone heard someone running up and down the stairs that lead to the basement.  Employees hear the sound of the hangers on the racks being moved when no one is near them.

 

Observations: Video monitored the bathroom faucets, the area near the front door and the shelves in the back of the store. Temperatures were monitored in the bathroom and in several places where activity is supposed to happen.

 

While waiting for the bars to close and things to quiet down we decided to get a pizza.  Not long after we had finished with the pizza Chris closed the box and sat it on the floor because it was on his equipment box and he needed to get something out if it.  Not long after he placed the box on the floor the lid began to slowly open.  We watched it get about three fourths of the way open and then it stopped.  We all look at each other and said did you see that?  When we looked back at the box it began moving again and went all the way back until it was stopped by a table leg.  I want to stress here that the lid did not just pop open, it was though something unseen was opening it.  We tried making it pop open  but it would only open about an inch and the lid would immediately fall.  We opened the lid 3/4 of the way and let go of it, the lid fell again.  It did not stay in place nor continue to open further.  Nothing we did could recreate it.  There was no source of air that could have caused the lid to open on it's own.  Some have suggested the heat from the pizza could have caused it to open however the pizza  wasn't real hot to begin with. Two members had walked to get it and the temp outside was about 25 cooling it down considerably.  By the time we were finished eating the remaining pizza was barely warm.  It remains unexplained how the lid could open the way it did, stop and stay in place and then open further.  We had no reason to have a video camera on us while we were eating so unfortunately this event was not documented.

 

After reading about the pizza box in the Athens Messenger a former employee of Zachary's Deli, which used to be in the building, called the manager to tell her things like that happened all the time when he worked at the deli.

 

Later in the night we heard what sounded like the hangers on a rack in the front of the store being moved.  Upon inspecting we found hangers pulled up on one of the racks.  We cannot swear that these hangers were not already that way but two of us had stood behind the rack earlier in the night watching the events out on the street and did not notice any hangers pulled up.  Photos taken earlier in the night did not show that side of the rack.  The rack was not one that was in view of the video camera in that area so we have no proof that these were the hangers we heard being moved.

 

It was around this time that an evp was captured on Bev's recorder.  I said you need to do something for us, and several seconds later a faint voice asks "why?"