Investigation #001

Location: Private residence

Date: 10/7/2005

City: Lynchburg

State: Virginia

Case details:

The Ghostec team was contacted by a woman named Sharon Bryant, she lives in a Coloniel-style house that predates the Civil War. She, along with her friends and family, keep experiencing unusual phenonema including footsteps and other noises.

The Ghostec team was invited to come for an investigation at night. Sharon Bryant has not been living in this old house very long, but long enough to realize she is not alone. Amenities are short. There was no electricity upstairs. Sharon only lives in the downstairs part and rarely goes upstairs. The rooms up there are empty.

The team arrived there at 9:30 PM and it was pouring rain. Still, Sharon was gracious and had us come in. She preceded to tell us what she was experiencing. She is awakened every morning around 4AM to footsteps upstairs over her bedroom. Her brother said he saw an apparition from the yard that passed by the back door inside the house. Sharon has stumbled, almost falling down, trying not to step on a ghost dog. She says it is small, white and shaggy. She also hears different noises from time to time that are to her, unexplainable. She has a bad feeling about the basement.

We immediately split into teams of two to start our investigation. Jonathan and I first went up to the room over the kitchen. It was small, had a fireplace and most likely the cook's quarters many years ago. It is not used now. We did not get anything and continued on to the back porch that is closed in. This is where Sharon's brother saw the apparition. We cut the lights, turned our flashlights on for safely only when moving about. We had a back window rattle harshly twice without any wind or seemingly for any reason. It was the window next to the door on the left.

My sons, Joe and Scott took the upstairs rooms and sat up the night shot camcorder to record in the rooms where the footsteps are heard.

They proceded to walk around in the other rooms with recorders going and still shot cameras. They came back in the  room where footsteps are heard and had a loud cracking sound on the floor between them as they stood quietly with their recorders taping. They asked each other if either had made the sound. Both agreed they had been very still. They caught the loud crack on the digital recorder. After much looking around and discussion, they had to conclude it was an anomaly. They tried making noises, but  nothing they did could recreate the noise. It did seem to happen soon after Scott had asked for the spirit to talk.

Susie and Alice chose the room over the kitchen to stay and record a bit. Susie did get a sigh type sound about the time they started to leave. Alice snapped pictures but did not get anything remarkable in that little old room.

Alice did get one picture that may have some activity in it. It was downstairs looking into the pantry and it appears to be an energy streak with little balls of light in it.

We plan a follow up with our Impressionists on November 9th. We will file a final decision as to whether this house is haunted.

Hauntingly, Sue

Follow-up:

November 9th, 2005

Sandy, Peggy, Jonathan and Sue did a follow-up visit to the Bryant house. Sandy and Peggy did a unescorted walk through to glean what they could. Their results were warm and comforting feelings in the old kitchen, an impression of singing and the smell of corn mush cooking. They did not have any impressions in any other area of the house. Jonathan set the nightshot camcorder on the porch where we had heard a window rattling before. He started out with over an hour on the battery. He checked back about 10 minutes later and the battery was blinking, with approx. 19 minutes left. Something sucked the energy out of it for sure. When I arrived home, I checked the camera and there was 121 minutes left. Still shot pictures did not reveal anything.

We had one small area of nightshot film that was questionable at first. It is a reflective surface and I normally dismiss these, but someone apparantly inside passed in front of a window that was reflecting an inside door.  After reviewing the video we have concluded the head passing the window was my head. I had slipped by to the kitchen, never realizing the window panes would reflect from another window to an inside window and appear as a mirror. The camera was directed toward the East and reflected a window pane back Westernly into an upper window pane on the door behind it. This happened as I passed by, Good lesson learned!

Sharon told her little eight year old niece that we were coming back to visit again. Though the little girl would not be there, she left us a message. She said, "Tell them if they want to see the ghost...just put their foreheads up against the wall and look out of the corner of their eyes." Children are so open to the paranormal. We have not done the little experiment as of yet, but we will.

Sharon says since our visit, the activity has increased. She feels someone behind her on the outside of the house.  She says she is really not afraid, but at times, the feeling can make her uneasy. She says the peripheral vision sightings have increased. The walking continues to be heard. She suggests that we come and spend the whole night. Hmmmm. Might just have to do that.

Hauntingly,

Sue