Date: Saturday; August 28, 1999 to Sunday August 29, 1999
Time: Started around 7:15 PM and ended at 7:00 AM
Location: Bolton Mansion
Equipment: Camera -- Cannon Snappy AF (Auto Focus) with the strap removed. Film -- Kodak Gold Max 400 speed. Tape Recorder -- Sony Portable Cassette Recorder with external microphone. Night Owl Night Vision Scope.
Weather: Clear. No rain or fog. Temp ranging between 76* to the upper and mid 80's indoors. Temp outside was about 87*
History: For the history, please see my other report on this location. Also, visit Bolton's website.
Those Present: Lew & Sharon G., Kenny B., Rachel G., Andy K., Bob R., Danny and Nancy S., and Jen J.
Report: Me, Lew, Rachel, Andy, Kenny and Bob had all arrived around 6:00PM. We were let into the mansion by Jim Snow who is the President of The Friends of Bolton Mansion. Once inside we set all of our things in one room and readied our equipment.
As I do with most of our overnight investigations, I will name each area of the house and state whether or not anything unusual had happened. I find this way much easier when we are at one location for a good length of time.
Basement:
Me, Rachel, Andy, and Bob had gone into the basement
together at about 8:45PM. The lights were off in the basement because of
the usage of our night vision scopes and night shot video cameras.
I must admit that when I first stepped into the basement I felt a little apprehensive. However, the feeling was not too strong to where it kept me from entering. I also believe that my apprehension could have been due to my prior experiences down in this basement. Nonetheless, I kept my comments and my feelings to myself and went down.
We started off by first taking some random photos. We also did some recording with both digital and analog recorders. We allowed one person to ask the questions, we chose Andy, while all four of us recorded at the same time. As Andy spoke out loud asking various question such as "what is your name", "how old are you", "do you like it here", etc., we continued to record and take pictures. Randomly, I was overcome with a coldness and cold sensations that lasted about 1-2 minutes. Shortly after I had felt this, the others started saying the same thing. It seemed the more we asked questions, the more frequent and intense the cold spots were.
Shortly after this, and while we still were recording, I was standing still in one spot while moving my head to look around me. As my eyes reached the steps that lead back to the first floor, I saw a white orb that, from where I stood, appeared to be about 8-10 inches in diameter. I saw this with the naked eye to the right of the stairs and about 3 feet off of the ground. It hovered in that area for about 5 seconds and then disappeared. I thought I was seeing things and even blinked and moved my head from side to side a few times but not once did I see this again. I didn't tell the others, not yet anyway, because I really wasn't sure if what I had just seen was real or just my eyes playing tricks on me. I personally don't know what could have made me see such a thing unless it was indeed real!
Shortly after arriving to the basement my film had reached it's end. I then had Rachel hold my things while I quickly added another roll of film to my camera. While in the midst of doing this, Rachel, who was standing only a foot in front of me, hollered out to the guys who were in the next room in the basement. She asked: "who is behind me"? We immediately heard them from the next room say, "No one". Rachel then said "you've got to be kidding me, I just felt someone come up behind me and pull on my shirt". Well, it obviously wasn't me or the guys so who else could it have been? At that point, I yelled for the guys to come over to start taking pictures since I was still in the middle of loading my film. If anything was there I didn't want to miss the opportunity of maybe capturing "it" on film. The guys quickly came over and Rachel stood there in shock at what had just happened. At this point Bob had to go back upstairs to get another disk. As he walked towards the stairs he said "quick, take a picture" so I did since I was closest. I asked him why he had me take a picture and he said the he had just seen an orb about 5 feet off the ground and to the right of the stairs! I couldn't believe it! So, I wasn't seeing things after all. I then told him, and the others, that I had seen it earlier but was unsure as to what I was seeing so I just didn't say anything at the time. He said he saw it clear as day and I believe him for I too saw the same thing. Bob then went to get his disk and came back down.
Things seemed to be settling down a bit, but only for about 5 minutes. Then, almost instantly and experienced by us all, we had the feeling that we weren't alone. We continued to take readings with our equipment, pics and recordings while asking questions. In the middle of all of this, Andy stated that someone had just tried to knock his digital recorder out of his hand. He said it felt as though someone had heavily dropped their hand down onto his recorder almost knocking it free from his hand. Thing is, no one was even close to him at the time and he was out in the middle of the floor in the basement.
At this point, we agreed that maybe Andy should get his Night Shot Video camera and set it up. We would then leave the basement for a while and see if anything would later turn up on film.
Andy got his camera, set it up, and we all headed back upstairs. We did this after all of the "action", so to speak, had died down.
I had reentered this basement throughout the night. At various times I did get the feeling as though we weren't alone. Cold spots would come and go, pictures were taken as well as video and digital and analog recordings, along with other various equipment readings.
My last entrance into this basement was about 3:00-3:30AM. Andy, Kenny, and Lew had been down there for some time at this point. So, Rachel and I decided we would join them to see if they needed some help or any extra equipment. Rachel led the way and I followed. As I got the the middle of the basement steps, I felt as though I couldn't go on. I called for Rachel and told her that I couldn't go in any further and that I was going back up with Bob. She pleaded with me to stay as she felt uneasy herself. However, my feelings must have been much stronger than hers because I quickly turned around and exited the basement.
I really don't know what had come over me. I just felt as though maybe I shouldn't be down there and I just went with those feelings. I have learned over the years that sometimes it is best to go with your feelings no matter how bad you may want to enter a certain area. Those feelings are there for a reason, I believe, and I definitely take note of them for they have proven to be a great asset to me in the past while investigating.
Oven Room:
I did record in this area of the house. However,
I didn't place the recorder there because of anything unusual. It was more
because of the fact that we were trying to cover all areas of the house with
all of the equipment.
While I was in there I did use the Night Vision scope since this room was one of the ones that had its lights off. At no time did I see anything unusual. I placed the recorder down, hit record and left, shutting the door to this room behind me.
Second Floor:
About the most that I experienced on this floor,
while on it anyway, was a very strange smell that seemed to come and go right
at the second floor landing. Others in the group also smelled this strange
smell from time to time. If I am correct, I also believe that this same
experience happened to us while on our first investigation of the Bolton
Mansion. Many pics were taken as well as video and audio recordings.
While on the second floor, and this was early on but did happen many times later as well, I felt as though someone were in one of the rooms above (maybe the attic?) looking down and watching me. I knew that no one was up there for the simple fact that the attic was off limits to us when Jim wasn't there, and at this point in the night, he wasn't. I did take pictures while looking up the steps of the attic but that was as far as I went. This feeling of being watched stayed with me almost the entire evening.
First Floor:
On the first floor in one of the front rooms
is where we placed all of our things. From a couch in this room you can easily
see the stairs leading to the second floor as well as part of the second
floor (Mainly due to the fact that heavy restoration is in progress and most
of the house is gutted. You can easily see from one room to the next without
ever leaving the room you are standing in).
At one point in the night, me, Rachel, and Bob were sitting in the living room taking a break. Andy, Lew and Danny were in the basement and Kenny was on the second floor....so we thought.
As Rachel, Bob and I sat and talked, we could easily hear the rest of the guys in the basement doing their thing and at the same time we could also hear Kenny walking around above. The three of us sat and talked noticing the guys downstairs and Kenny upstairs every now and then.
About 20 minutes later Andy had come from the basement to get more supplies. We asked him how things were going in the basement and he told us some of the things that had been going on. We asked him who was all down there, not knowing if one of the others had maybe left to go outside or to another area of the house when Andy had come up. He then said that Lew, Danny, himself and Kenny were all down there. The three of us, me, Rachel and Bob, all looked at each other dumbfounded when he mentioned Kenny. Andy must have seen the puzzled look on our faces for he asked us "what?". I then said, "Kenny is not down there with you guys" and Andy said "yes, he is". He asked us why we would think that he wasn't so Bob told him that we thought he was upstairs because we had heard him walking around up there for about a half hour. Andy laughed and said that no, Kenny hadn't been up there and was in the basement the entire time. He then went right back to the basement and sure enough, Kenny was still down there along with Lew and Danny. A while before this, Nancy and Jen had left to go home for the night so we knew it wasn't them. However, we clearly heard the walking around but felt no need to mentioned it for the simple fact that we thought Kenny was up there. Well, needless to say, we were wrong.
One point in the night, after I had come up from the basement when I couldn't bring myself to go down (see above), Bob and I sat in the living room talking while all of the others (Lew, Andy, Bob, and Rachel...Danny had also left for the night by now) stayed in the basement.
Bob suddenly got up and got his camera and digital recorder. He told me to follow him to the second floor. I asked him why he wanted to go up there and he said that he had the feeling we were being watched the whole time we were down there. I quickly followed.
Bob started asking various questions while recording with the recorder. I followed Bob taking pictures. We didn't see anything.
About ten minutes later, Lew came up. He also started recording. Bob then decided that he sensed someone on the third floor and that he wanted to stand on the steps to the third floor attic and record. He did this and Lew and I stayed at the foot of the attic stairs.
Bob started talking and asking even more questions, this time being more specific saying such things as "I know you are here because I can see you, what is your name?". Well, I found it a bit strange that he said he could see it. He was even stating where he saw "it" and what "it" was doing. Lew and I kind of looked at each other wondering what he was seeing. We were in a spot to where we were not able to see the attic so we had no clue. Shortly after, Bob came down and told Lew to go stand where he was and start asking questions as well. Lew did and this time Bob and I stood there listening.
So, we stood there and listened to Lew. I asked Bob why he was saying the things he had and he told me that he could see someone standing by the one window looking out. He said he even saw it move and when he took a picture in "it's" direction, he got an orb! That is why he sent Lew up there to see if he too could see it. Well, Lew didn't see it but felt that someone was there. He also got the feeling that we should go back downstairs and let whoever was up there be. We did just that.
Soon after we came down, the other three had come up from the basement. All of us gathered in the living room to make some notes and to take a break. At this point, no one was elsewhere in the house. We were all there in that one room. However, for the next two hours, we continually heard footsteps and at times, even talking coming from the two floors above us. Most of this took place on the third floor. We could tell this by how distant the footfalls were and also the voice.
I should also mentioned that as we all sat there, we heard something falling down the stairs. It sounded like a little hard piece of plastic. Maybe a small ball or something. Whatever it was, we all heard it because it actually bounced down the steps. Kenny and Andy got right up to go look and found nothing.
Between the times of 4:00-6:00AM, we continually heard footsteps and voices on the above floors. Many times we would go to look and of course found nothing. Video and audio cameras were set up on the second floor. They remained there for the entire time of 4-6+AM.
We couldn't help but to notice that the footsteps and voices seemed to happen when we weren't looking for and paying attention to them. They seemed to happen most when we sat there talking amongst ourselves. They also seemed to happen while we played back some of the EVP's we have captured previously in the night.
For a good half hour at one point, we felt the room get cooler while all of the hair on the backs of our necks and arms stood straight up. We did some heavy digital recording during this time, allowing only one person at a time to ask questions. And yes, we did get some EVP. In fact, we got many EVP's throughout the night and in various locations.
Outside:
During one of our breaks outside me, Rachel and
Bob stood there talking. As we talked I glanced across the lawn and to the
front of the house. I did this for a reason. The reason being that as Bob
talked, I saw someone step out from the front of the porch and walk out to
the middle of the front lawn. I immediately stepped away from Rachel and
Bob, never taking my eyes from the spot where I spotted the figure, and walked
towards the area in which the figure had gone. By now, Bob and Rachel had
stopped talking and followed me. I saw the figure walk out to the middle
of the lawn where he/she then reached a spot that I could no longer see.
I then ran. By the time I got to the bush (5 seconds) that was blocking my
view, I found no one. The house itself sits on top of a hill that has a huge
front lawn that extends probably about 50-100 yards. There was no one in
site. Not behind the bush, not on the lawn, and not even walking down the
street. There weren't even any cars. There was simply no one there. We searched
all over and couldn't find anyone. This happened at about 1:30AM.
At some point in time, Myself, Rachel, Bob, Lew, Andy, Danny and Kenny were out side for some air (we were all out there except for Nancy and Jen who had, by this time, gone home) . Andy, Danny and Bob sat on the porch while me, Lew and Rachel stood at the side of the house talking. Kenny was off to the front of the house taking some pictures.
After about ten minutes, Rachel, Lew and I watched as Kenny came flying around from the front of the house yelling to us that someone was up on the third floor. He said he watched while, whom ever was up there, had moved the curtain aside in the one window. Well, everyone went running back into the house to the third floor stairway to see if they could see anything. All except for me, Rachel, Danny and Bob. We stayed outside. Rachel, Danny and I went to the front of the house to look up to the third floor to see if maybe we too could see anything. I didn't know what happened to Bob or where he was. Well, we soon found out.
Turns out that while Bob was in such a hurry to get up to go into the house, he fell off of the side of the porch. You have to admit, it is pretty funny. So, Rachel, Danny and I all laughed while Bob told us his story. All the while we were watching the front of the house. Even Bob thought it was funny. We stood there for a few minutes having a good laugh at Bob's expense and then decided to go into the house to see what the others turned up.
By the time we got back into the house, the others were back downstairs in the living room. They said they couldn't find anything out of place. In the living room is where we stayed at that point so that everyone could jot down some notes and listen to some recordings that had taken place earlier.
Bob was one of the first to play back his digital recorder and was surprised when he came to a track that he couldn't figure out. He didn't know when it could have taken place. After a few seconds of playing, we quickly figured out that it had been recorded during the time Bob fell outside. We knew this because you could hear Bob telling Rachel, Danny and I about how he fell and then you can hear us all laughing out loud. However, at the same time that we were all laughing, you could also hear someone say in a whisper, "No way". Shortly after that is another EVP. However, after listening to these EVP's many times, I personally have come to believe that it may be one of the four of us that were outside. I know some of the other members disagree with me but that's ok.
Other:
We did some experimenting this night with some
new equipment. We also did some experimenting with our old equipment. At
one point in the night, we even set everything on record (digital and analog
recorders and video) and left the house for an hour. We didn't want any noise
at all in the house during this time.
I can say that we did listen to a great deal of the digital recordings and indeed got some outstanding EVP. This info, along with whatever else we find while reviewing our tapes, will be added to the website.
Impression: My opinion stands as it did before. This place definitely has a few spirits present. At this point, based on my own experiences, I believe there are at least two. I feel there is a woman who occupies the second and third floors and a man that occupies the basement.
I am very happy to have had the chance to investigate the Bolton Mansion once again. Thank you Jim and each and every member of the Friends of Bolton Mansion. We appreciate you all giving us the chance to continue our research.
Sharon G.
Vice-president
8/29/99