Just then Brenda was driving up the road. As she parked her car and was walking around to the trunk of her car, Matthew yelled to her, “Don’t bother. Someone locked the house up.” Brenda just smiled and continued to grab her bag from the trunk. She pulled out a digital camera and took a picture of the group with the old mill house in the back ground. She then walked towards the group who were all looking very distraught. “Don’t worry,” Brenda said lifting her hand to reveal a set of keys, “I’ve got the keys for the entire property.”
The group’s disappointment quickly turned to surprise. “Where did you get those,” asked Jessica?
Brenda smiled: “There are certain rules you need to learn about ghost hunting. The first rule is – Always get permission to enter any location from the owners, or proper authorities.” Brenda walked up the stairs, put down the black bag she was carrying and opened the door. She looked back at the group and saw a smile on Jacobs face, and excitement in his eyes, “No more old man Jacob?” Jacob looked at her and cheerfully said, “Nope. And now I’m ready to see some new ghosts!” Brenda smiled at him, “That’s good. I’m glad you were able to take care of him.” Brenda picked up her bag and walk into the building. As soon as she was inside she stopped and did a quite visual assessment of the building. She put down her bag and pulled out a black meter and powered it on. As she started scanning the air in front of her, the last group member was walking into the building. Just as Matthew was about to shut the door, Brenda asked him to leave it open.
Matthew froze, then turned to Brenda: “You don’t waste any time starting your investigation. But why do you want the door open?
Brenda stopped scanning the immediate area: “It’s okay; you can close the door now.”
As Matthew was closing the door, William looked at Brenda: “What is it you’re checking for?”
Brenda, in a very serious tone looked at t he group: “Safety first. I am testing for carbon monoxide. Anytime I enter any reported haunted location, I test for carbon monoxide. It robs the body of oxygen and can cause people to hallucinate after prolonged exposure. You’d be amazed at how many haunted homes are just the results of people hallucinating from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
As Brenda was walking through the main floor of the house checking her meter, the group were looking a little concerned. None of them had ever heard the carbon monoxide theory. William decided to ask what everyone was thinking, “Do you really think there’d be carbon monoxide in a house that’s been vacant for over a decade? Even if there was gas coming to the house, surely the utility would have turn it off by now?”
Brenda was just finishing her sweep of the main floor as she was checking the air in the cellar door way, “You’re assumption is correct in most cases, but I choose to not take any chances. When I was doing my research on the property, I noticed this property had a coal room that could have been heated by the sun reflecting off a mirror or window. I also read that back in the nineteen twenties, the property was actually converted to have gas lights, as well as other gas fixtures. The good news is its all clear.”
The group was a lot more relaxed hearing those last words. Brenda walked back to her bag and put the carbon monoxide tester away. She pulled out her digital voice recorder; video camera, with an infrared setting; digital camera; EMF tester and her digital thermometer. The team was rather impressed with everything she came prepared with. She handed the EMF tester to William and said, “I want you to check for EMF’s for us. All you do is turn it on with this switch on the side, and watch the meter to see if the needle spikes or moves up really fast. If it does, tell me and we will look for any natural occurrences for it.” William was feeling rather stoked to be given this task. He had seen them used on shows, but never actual held one. William was a bit concerned, “What if accidently break it?” Brenda smiled at him, “Don’t worry, if you break it, I’ll just get another one. They’re under forty dollars at most hardware stores. They used to be more expensive, but now they sell them for testing cell phones for EMF and radiation.” The group never thought to look into them, as they were always treated as such high-tech equipment on the shows, that they figured they would be very expensive.
Brenda picked up her digital video camera and handed it to Matthew. “Matthew, I want you to use my camera today and if you hear something in a darken room, push this button here, and the camera will change to infrared mode. It will allow you to see into the room without using a flashlight.” Matthew looked at the camera and simply remarked, “Cool”. He then handed his camcorder to Jacob, who thought this was just as cool, since he never used a video camera on an investigation.
Brenda kept her digital camera and voice recorder, and handed the digital thermometer to Sarah. She told Sarah, “If you think that you sense anything that you can’t see, just point the thermometer at an object in the area and squeeze the trigger. A laser beam light will appear on the object where the temperature is being read. Check the temperature. Then take the temperature of an object that is close to it. If there is a difference greater than five degrees, let us know, and we will take pictures and video tape the area and see if we catch anything.” Brenda looked around at the group and asked them if they were all prepared for a thorough investigation of the property. The group, who were noticeably excited, all responded yes.
Jessica decided to tell Brenda about her dream. “Miss Waters, I mean Brenda, I had another dream about this place that was exact same as the one I had before. Difference this time is I wasn’t woken up when Mr. Johnson asked where the gold was.”
Brenda was very intrigued by this: “So what happened in the new dream? Do you think you know where to look for the gold?”
Jessica, in a quieter voice, responded: “That’s just it. There isn’t any hidden stash of gold. In my dream, Mrs. Johnson told Mr. Johnson she had hid it in the wood pile by the kitchen stove. He pulled the wood away and took the sacks of money out to the small building in the back where he melted it into bars.”
Brenda, a little relieved that the kids were not going to be concentrating on the gold, simply replied, “Well at least that’s one mystery solved.” She then looked at the entire group, “I know you normally break into groups and start searching, but today we are going to stay together and try to learn from each other, what to do when hunting, and how to do it properly. If you notice any member doing anything incorrectly, we will let each other know at the end of each floor search. Since most things happened on the second floor, we will start with the attic and work our way down to the main floor. Is everyone okay with that?”
Everyone was quite happy to be doing the investigation as one group. They were wondering who would get to go with Brenda and learn some new techniques. Now they knew they’d all have the same opportunity. Brenda put on her digital voice recorder and started to walk up the stairs, and then suddenly stopped. Everyone was trying to see what it was she saw, but she just turned to them and asked them if they all had their equipment turned on? A little embarrassed that they all forgot to turn the equipment on due to their excitement, they all powered on their equipment as they replied “Yes”. Brenda smiled and continued walking up the stairs. As she reached the top of the landing, she walked a few feet forward and waited for the rest of the group to get to the second floor. She then turned to Jessica, “Jessica, you seem to have the strongest connection with this place, I’d like you to do an EVP session for us right here.”
Jessica was glad someone else thought she was connecting with the energy of the old mill and was glad to do the session. As she was about to begin, Brenda told the rest of the group to be silent, and not move. She then spoke into her recorder, “EVP session in landing on second floor.”
Jessica began her questions: Is anyone here with us? (Pause) Can you tell us your name? (Pause) If anyone is in this hallway with us can you give us a sign? (Pause) We are not here to harm you; we just want to speak with you. Please respond. (Pause) Can you make a noise, like tap on the wall or slam a door so we know you are here?
Brenda waved her had to Jessica indicating she wanted her to stop. Brenda then rewound her recorder to the start of the session. She pulled a set of ear phones from her pocket and plugged them into the recorder and pushed play. After she was done listening, she pulled the ear phones out of the device and put them back into her pocket. “Nothing noticeable that time, but I’ll check better when I get home.”
The team was surprised that Brenda listened to the digital recorder instantly. Alexis asked Brenda why she listened immediately after the first few questions. Brenda simply responded that it has been her experience, when conducting an EVP session that a response is usually given within the first four or five questions. If nothing is heard, there is no point wasting time continuing and she moves on with the investigation. If something is heard responding, she can spend more time asking questions hoping to capture even more answers or sounds.
As the group was continuing down the hall, a door was heard closing in a room a couple feet in front of them. She instructed Matthew to go ahead with William, but to switch the camera to infrared to see if they can capture anything in the dark. William was staring at the meter as the approached the room. Matthew went into the room first, panning the camera around the room slowly as he entered. William walked in behind him and was able to see the meter due to the light reflecting from the LCD screen on the video camera Matthew was holding. As they were walking towards the closet, the door creaked a little. They looked at each other, then back at the closet, with their hearts starting to race. As William was about to place his hand on the closet, he noticed a bit of a spike on his EMF reader. He yelled out “Spike” as he continued to grab the handle on the closet. All of a sudden everyone else was in the room snapping pictures as William turned the handle and pulled on the door.
The door didn’t open. William tried several times, but was unable to open the door. “It’s locked,” he said rather puzzled. “Locked?” asked Matthew. “Yeah, it’s locked,” said William. As William was looking around the room at all the other walls, he could not see another door in the room that could have made the noise. Brenda walked up to the door and pointed her flashlight on to the door handle. “It’s an old skeleton key, and there isn’t one of those on the key ring I was given. These keys are only for the new locks the city installed to keep people out,” replied Brenda. Brenda then asked the girls to check the digital cameras to see if anything showed up in any of the photos.
“Nothing on mine,” said Jessica. “What’s this?” said Alexis, as she was pointing to a section of the LCD screen as she handed the camera to Brenda. Brenda looked at the screen and replied, “That is most likely just a dust particle.” Although puzzled by the locked door, Brenda instructed the group to continue on their way to the third floor, or attic. As the group was leaving the room, Matthew was just finishing his slow motion review of the infrared camera. William walked up to him, “Anything show up man?” Matthew, rather disappointed, “I don’t think so. Everything seems to be rather normal, although I never used one of these before.” The two friends hurried to catch up to the rest of the group.
As they reached the entrance to the attic, the group was surprised to see that the stairs were lifted back up into the ceiling. “The stairs were down last time we were here,” said Samantha. Brenda calmly replied, “That’s why everything is locked up. When the city came by to do their weekly inspection of the property, they noticed that someone was inside the building, so they decided to put everything in its proper place and make sure everything was locked up tight. After all, this place is a historic site. Most of the artefacts you see are the original things used by the Johnson’s. The Andersons were big fans of history, so when they moved in, They put the Johnsons item’s away in a shed out back so nothing would get damaged. The city brought it all back inside.”
The group was rather amazed by the knowledge Brenda had about the property. Jessica never read any of this when she was doing her research, so she asked Brenda how she knew so much. Brenda explained to the group, “Since the Andersons had no living relatives; they decided to leave the property to city. When the city inherited it, they had decided to call all the descendants of the Johnsons from the area to see if there was any objection to turning the old mill into a historical site. Since my family were the only ones left, we were all contacted and told of the plan.”
Brenda turned to Jessica, “Speaking of your research Jessica, Dorothy came by my place last night with the green notebook you thought was stolen from the table while you were taking a break. It turns out some child must have grabbed it off the table while you were away from it, because Dorothy found it in a toy box as she was cleaning up for the night yesterday.”
Jessica became excited: What else did you find?”
Brenda: “Unfortunately you read the only real interesting entry. All the rest were just notes of their day to day life at the old mill. Though it was interesting reading, it didn’t tell any other family secrets or even mention the gold after that.”
Jessica: “That’s too bad. Well, I guess that’s another mystery solved.”
While they were talking, Matthew had found the stick for pulling down the attic stairs. “Are you ready to go up guys?” he asked as he hooked onto the stairs and began to pull them down, “Stand back.”
As the stairs came down to the floor with a thud, another thud was heard from the attic.
Jacob was startled: “Did you guys hear that?”
Jessica wasn’t fazed by the sound: “Relax; it could be something just fell due to...”
Before Jessica could finish her sentence, another thud was heard from the attic. Brenda raced up the stairs and lifted the trap door. She crawled the rest of the way up the stairs and started snapping pictures. William and Matthew were right behind her. While Matthew was scanning with the infrared camera, William was walking around with the EMF meter looking for any object that could have fallen. Jessica was right behind William, helping him look for anything that could have jarred loose and made the sound. A third thud was heard away from the group in a corner. They all looked at each other and pointed, simultaneously at the direction the sound came from. As they converged on the area, cameras rolling, they formed a semi-circle as they got closer. The only thing in the area was an old trunk. William walked to the side of it and motioned to the group that he was going to lift the lid. Everyone nodded that they were ready, and as William lifted the lid, a bird flew out and startled the entire group. The younger group members who were still on the second floor yelled and started heading for the front door, after hearing their friends shout up stairs. The group upstairs started to laugh. They couldn’t believe that a bird frightened them. Even Brenda was holding her hand to her chest trying to catch her breath. Matthew pointed the video camera into the trunk and noticed a different color area at the lower left corner of the trunk. They figured that the bird somehow got into the trunk, through this small hole, and couldn’t find its way out. It was startled by the sound of the stairs hitting the floor, so it tried to fly, but hit the top of the trunk. After catching their breath, Brenda figured now would be as good a time as any to do an EVP session. She explained to the group that there is a theory that ghost can manifest themselves by feeding of the energy of people close by, and since they all had their adrenalin pumping at this time, they had energy to spare. She asked Jessica to do the EVP, as she still believed she had a connection with what was in the house.
Jessica turned on the digital recorder: “Is there any one here with us?” While pausing between questions, a whisper was heard by the group. Matthew looked at William, “did you jut hear that?” William, a bit stunned replied, “I think so. Did you guys hear anything?” Jessica nodded, and Brenda responded, “I could have sworn I just heard a whisper.” The group looked over at the windows to make sure they were closed and that the sound wasn’t just the wind. All windows were intact and closed. Brenda pulled out her headphones and asked Jessica for the digital recorder. As she played back the question, the look of surprise in her eyes old the rest of the group that she heard something. She rewound the recorder and held out the headphones, “You have to listen to this!” William took the headphones and when he pushed play he heard a distinct “Yes” in a whispered voice. He passed it to Jessica, who after hearing it passed it to Matthew. Matthew was shocked. This was the first time he ever heard a response to a question while the EVP session was going on. He couldn’t believe they actually caught what they heard on the recorder.
He gave the recorder back to Jessica. Brenda urged her to continue with the questions. Jessica pushed record and continued, “Please repeat your last answer; is anyone here with us?” Jessica paused like she usually did between questions. Not hearing the response she continued. “Please tell us your name.” (Pause) “Are you upset that we are in your home?” (Pause) “My name is Jessica, and these are my friends, William, Matthew and Brenda. We came here to talk to you.” (Pause) “Whoever answered my first question, would you like to give us a message?” (Pause) “Can you tell us what year this is?” (Pause)
While the EVP session continues, the younger group members are all outside still trying to calm themselves down. Jacob asks the girls, “Where are those guys?” Sarah looks at the group, still half out of breath, “I don’t know. I wonder what they saw that would make all four of the scream.” Alexis looks up at the windows on the top floor, “I sure hope Matt’s alright, and the rest of them.”
Back up in the attic, Jessica is still continuing with her EVP session, “Can we take a photo of you by the trunk in the corner?” (Pause) Brenda snaps three photos of the trunk, but nothing appears in them. As she shakes her head, Jessica continues, “Do you want us to leave? If you do you have to give us a sign. Can you knock on the floor like this?” (Jessica knocks her hand twice on the floor then pauses). This time the group hears what sounds like two light knocks on wood. William looks at the group, “Guess we have our answer.” Matthew adds, “Yeah, we don’t want to upset them.” Jessica looks at Brenda who just nods her agreement that they should leave. Jessica continues, “Okay, we are going to leave this area. This is your last chance to give us a message if you want.” The group heads down the stairs and closes the door. They push the stairs back up into place.
Matthew: “That was the coolest EVP session ever!”
Brenda: “I must say, it was one of the best ones I have been involved with in quite some time.”
William: “That was too cool. An intelligent haunting right in our own town, how often does that happen?”
Jessica looks around, “Where are the other guys?”
The group looks around and realizes the rest of the group is not around. They start calling out their names as William, Jessica and Brenda start checking rooms. Matthew runs down the stairs to see if they are on the main floor. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs he notices the front door is open. He goes to close it, and notices the younger group members outside. He turns towards the stairs and yells up, “I found them. They’re outside.” Matthew heads outside and as the group sees him, Alexis runs up to him and grabs his hand, “What happened in there? We heard you guys all scream.” Matthew starts to laugh, “You’re not going to believe this. We heard the thud when we were in the attic. We narrowed it down to an old trunk in the corner, so we surrounded it, and William opened it.” Suddenly Matthew realized the group was hanging on his every word. “Relax guys, it was nothing. A bird flew out of the trunk and freaked us out. That was when you heard us yell.” The group started to laugh as the older group members were walking out the front door. Matthew tells them how the younger group heard them yell when the bird flew out of the trunk and the panicked and ran out of the house. The older members started to laugh along with the younger ones.
Brenda suggested they go back inside and continue the investigation. As they were walking into the house, Jessica tells the younger group members about the great EVP session. Jacob was a little disappointed that he missed it, “You mean Mr. Sceptic gets to hear a ghost answer a question? That doesn’t seem fair.” Matthew pats him on the back, “I guess three believers are stronger together then one sceptic. But don’t worry, it’s still early, and I have a feeling you might finally get to see or hear something yourself today.”