Case #23 - Includes 3 photos  (archived)

Date: November 8, 2002

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Location: Pettis Co, Missouri

Brenda, Dee Ann, Mark T, Jerry, Joyce, John, Misty, Mark M

2 current female roommates and 4 female friends

Temp: 61 degrees

Humidity: 67%

Barometer: 29.62 & falling

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent

Geomagnetic: Quiet

Solar X-Rays: M-Class Flare

Wind: S SW 18 mph gusting to 24 mph

Weather: Fair

Digital Photos Taken: 188 

Positive Digital Photos: 106 

35 mm Photos Taken: 40

35 mm Photos Positive: 1 (additional still in developing)

Video: 67 + orbs (see reported findings and experiences)

EVP’s: 5 (see reported findings and experiences)

2 story turn of the century home which had been remodeled into 2 apartments. One apartment on the ground level and the other on the second story. The downstairs apartment consists of a living room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, dining area and basement. The kitchen was an add on addition to the original home.

Pettis County, Missouri was formed on January 26, 1833 from surrounding Cooper and Saline counties. It was first occupied by Osage Indians and also stray bands of Shawnee were present. In an attempt to incite Indians against Americans in the War of 1812, the British operated in the vicinity but there were no known British settlements. However, in 1818, a make-shift mound hut was found 6 miles south of the present town where this investigation took place. Inside the mound hut, the body of a British officer was found. He was dressed in full military dress and except for the leathered condition of his skin, one would not have known he was dead.

As settlers moved westward the territory was mostly settled by Kentuckians and their slaves and the growth of the community was slow. It was once swarmed by green-headed flies, Carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons. Bass was caught in the creek and wild game was abundant which included black bear, wild turkey, prairie chicken, quail, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, deer, wildcat and wolf. The prairie was also abundant with black panther. The first settlers drank from gourds, raised medicinal herbs, and wove and spun cotton. Life on the prairie was rough and many settlers shunned the area in favor of timbered creek bottoms.

The Pacific railroad reached the county in 1861 which began to bring in new settlers, but then the Civil War broke out and growth of the community was stifled. Because of the railroad access, the community became a military post during the Civil War and remained so until it’s close in 1865. It was an active operative for military supplies and became an objective for capture by the Confederate Army. Continuous raids occurred and the inhabitants of this community remained in a high state of excitement throughout the war. There were six recorded battles within the community from 1861-1864. Sentiment in the community was evenly divided between Union and Confederate allegiances.

Since the town was just beginning to form when the war broke out, nothing but temporary structures were erected during the years of 1862 and 1863. This was also partially due to General Joseph Shelby’s famous raid through Missouri. No permanent structures were built until 1864. Living conditions during the war were not favorable. Fleas, flies, cows, hogs and dogs seemed to have possession of the town. There were no sidewalks and no shade. The few houses that were built were of poor quality. Men carried their guns everywhere with them. They had to be prepared for battle at all times and were often called to duty at a moments notice.

During a time when most of the federal forces were fighting elsewhere,, General Jeff Thompson of the Confederate Army and 1500 of his men, captured the town in October of 1864. Only a small federal force led by Colonel John D Crawford was left to defend the military post. During the raid, the women and children of the town hid in a cellar located underneath one of the resident’s kitchen. Besides cave cellars, it was the only cellar located within the town. After pillaging the town and releasing their prisoners, the Confederates left before the federals could return.

After the war, many settlers flocked to the city in hopes of buying cheap land. With the presence of the railroad, the town soon prospered and at times was flooded with people seeking settlement. Many of the new settlers were Union soldiers who had been posted there during the war and saw the potential of the community.

The railroad opened up opportunity for trade and it was a familiar sight to see wagons trains arriving with loads of furs, hides and pelts from south Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas. Campfires could be seen surrounding the community in all seasons except mid-winter as these traders flocked there to trade and ship their wares. The town was very commercially active after the war until about 1870 when the railroad extended further west and trading required less travel. The town then grew at a more even pace and today has a population of about 20,000.

· Objects moving on their own with no explanation. For example, a vacuum cleaner was put in the closet and found in the middle of the kitchen floor when they returned home. Also a cowboy hat was placed on a chest of drawers and was found in front of the dresser in a laundry basket the next morning. No pictures on the chest of drawers were disturbed which would have been the case if the hat had fallen. The basket was located quite a distance from the dresser, far enough away that it would have had to travel an unnatural distance. This occurred in the back bedroom.

· Activity began occurring soon after the current occupants moved in on the lower floor of the home. At that time, the upper floor was unoccupied. When the upstairs was rented and the new occupants moved in, the activity on the lower floor ceased only to return again when the upstairs occupants moved out. The upstairs occupants left before the end of their lease. It is unknown if this was partially due to paranormal activity.

· Doors slamming on their own

· Lots of unidentified noises, knocking sounds and loud bangs.

· A 3^rd roommate moved out of the house due to the paranormal activity she was experiencing in the front bedroom.

· Current occupants of lower apartment plan to move out soon and have been unable to stay in their apartment since the activity has resumed.

· An overnight guest became frightened while sleeping in the back bedroom. A suffocating feeling came over her and she awoke to see a gray ball hovering near her head.

· While cleaning in the kitchen, one occupant moved the blinds up to wash windows. Upon completing other cleaning tasks in the kitchen, she noticed that the blinds had become partially closed.

Reported Findings and Experiences:

· During the investigation, investigator Mark T was sitting in the living room with the female visitors when they heard what sounded like a toilet flushing upstairs. The upstairs apartment is not occupied.

· While Joyce was doing a reading in the basement, a ductwork strap that was hanging from the ceiling began swinging back and forth in a big arch. No one was near the strap when it began swinging. MPR created several disturbances in an attempt to make the strap repeat the motion, but no natural causes could be found. While Joyce was asking the ghost to move the strap again, a vortex was captured on photograph and video captured 3 bright orbs crossing the screen near the strap. 

· EMF readings were high in the basement and in the back bedroom area. These are the same locations where all felt a heavy presence.

· During Misty’s reading in the back bedroom, the spirit of a servant girl began playing with her medicine bag, jingling the bells and moving it back and forth. She stopped playing with it when Misty asked her to stop.

· Two photos in the basement revealed what looks like a vortex. Both were taken with a digital camera.

· Another photo take outside the house, showed red spirit energy near the roofline. Also, near the attic window, it appears that there may be an apparition of a small child. This appears as a faint red figure.

· Five EVP’s were captured. One in the kitchen and 4 in the back bedroom. The one in the kitchen is of a female voice that says, "Look Here". The four EVP’s captured in the back bedroom were as follows: As the female occupants were talking to Misty and Dee Ann concerning their private relationships, a female voice joined the conversation and offered the following comment, "We Help". When Dee Ann suggested that they trust their instincts, this same female offered her advice by saying "Completely". The other two EVP’s were of a male voice saying, "I’m Discouraged" and a response to Misty when she asked who closed the window blinds, "The Maid Did It".

· 67+ orbs were captured on video. Video 1 was used as the walk through camera, recording activity around the psychics as they did their reading. 50+ orbs were captured in the basement, 8 in the back bedroom, 6 in the front bedroom and 1 in the living room.

Video 2 was set up in the kitchen and front bedroom. It captured a very fast orb in the kitchen that traveled from the ceiling to the hallway, appearing much like a meteorite appears as it travels through the sky. 

· Before arriving she picked up that there was a young girl in her mid 20’s who was upset with her parents for being so hard on her. She had blonde hair and blue eyes.

· Also before arriving, she felt that one of the young occupants or a young overnight guest had an experience in which she felt she was being smothered by something. This frightened her very badly. See "Current Occupant Reportings." This report of this incident was added on the night of the investigation when the female guest arrived during the investigation.

· There is a little lady doing laundry in the basement in a wringer washer. She says there is no running water and that the water is cold. There are 5 children playing in the basement but they are not in the spirit world. They were living children and were associated with the woman doing the laundry.

· The house was built in 1917

· A man lived here that worked for the railroad, he lived with the lady doing the laundry.

· There is an older woman who is throwing things. She may have become mentally ill.

· There are two bedrooms in the upstairs apartment.

· There was a lady who had a disease that affected her kidneys and back.

· Lots of Civil War activity, mostly Union. There were soldiers that rode through here very fast and furious. A soldier named Silas was shot in the back and shoulder.  See "Community History Report" about Union occupation of the town. Also, a man named Silas Jenkins was one of the pioneer settlers of Pettis County, arriving in 1822.

· A man named Bill was scalped with a tomahawk in the early 1800’s. He had red hair and died upon the land.  See "Community History Report" of occupation of Osage and Shawnee Indian.

· The fireplace was added later. The original builders of the home are upset with the way that the house has been remodeled.

· Somebody who is very ill goes up and down the stairs.

· A man named Tate lived here. He is the one who moved the ductwork strap in the basement. He wears a wide brim hat, brown boots, pants and a jacket.

· The rooms were much bigger than they are now and the original stairway was located near the back of the house. It was much more open. The kitchen was located where the back bedroom now is. The front bedroom contained a large fireplace and was part of the living room. The closet area in the front bedroom was an open archway to the next room.

The original owners of the home are very upset with the way the house was chopped up during remodeling. Current occupants confirmed that the back bedroom was the original kitchen area.

· There is a lady in the front bedroom with gray hair that she wears pulled back. She has a square jaw. She has a problem with the right side of her face and keeps rubbing it, she may have died of lockjaw or some kind of infection associated with this area of her face. She remained earthbound because she was caring for a gentleman who was ill. He was much younger than her and was probably her son. She says she has to put on her bonnet and go tend to the garden. She’s worried about the garden because she has been too ill to see to it. She had a child who died from a snake bite when he was about 5 yrs old. They called him "Benny Boy" or "Benny Bud". She shows me a small stone in a nearby cemetery The date is either 1874 or 1884. She also shows me her left hand which has 3 gold bands. Her name is Mary Alice and she was married 3 times. Her first husband was named John P Anderson.  A man named John Anderson was one of the original settlers of Pettis County arriving to the county about 1823.  Her 2^nd husband was Claude (Carleson, Curtson, Charleston) who was killed in an accident in the stable. She does not want to give the name of her 3^rd husband and tells me that it’s none of my business. She did not marry him and is upset because I know this. They pretended to be married. He died of something that was wrong with his head. He was tall, slender, had dark hair which he wore to the side. He had gray along the sides of his hair and very blue eyes, dark complexion, and was humped over. She leans down and wipes off a stone that shows the name of Allen Burgess or Burges. They did not live in the house that is here now. They lived in a log cabin that had a long porch across the front of it. The sleeping quarters were located here and there was a dog run separating another structure which was the kitchen. She had a son named Payne Anderson who was killed a Civil War battle here, it was an early battle. They brought him home in a wagon. When asked rather he was Confederate or Union, she replied "Watcha saying?" This would have been a typical response during the war when the allegiances of neighbors were unknown and no one trusted the other. He was Confederate and was first buried in an unmarked grave. They wanted no one to know. They marked his grave later. The name of this cemetery was once called Marsh Hill Cemetery but the name may be changed now. There is a big metal arch across the entrance there but it was not there then. It was just an open field with stones. She said she wouldn’t hurt nobody. See census report at the end of "Psychic Reading."

· There is a tall slender man in the back bedroom. He has a bad back. This is John Anderson. He says something about Lawrence. The redlegs came. They were the ones that killed Payne. They also killed sister Margaret and Nina and grandfather, John. They hurt the neighbors and they brought them here and laid them on the porch. This was the log cabin house that was here before. The red-legs burned the cabins, the livery stable and killed some civilians, mostly men.

· An older woman passed away here. The current owners mother passed away in the front bedroom of the home.

· A female servant moved the vacuum cleaner and closed the blinds in the kitchen. She is the one who keeps moving things. She doesn’t mean to scare anyone, she’s just doing her job. She is young and her name is Sarah Jean. An EVP of a male voice saying, "The maid did it" was captured when Misty asked who closed the window blinds.

· There is money hidden in the house. Most has been found but some is still hidden. They didn’t trust the banks. One of the visiting guest who is familiar with some of the home’s history said that $40,000 was found during remodeling. Also, according to some history reports, after the war, many of the civilians hid their money instead of using the banking institutions.

· The back bedroom was the kitchen in the original home and the middle bedroom was the dining room. This was confirmed by the current occupants.

· There is a railroad bum here. He was accidentally killed while trying to hop a train nearby. This happened about 1945 or 1946. The roommate who moved out attracted his energy here because she looked like his former girlfriend. She gave a description of the former roommate and the current occupants confirmed that she was correct. He wants to leave but is afraid. He wants to go to the light. His name is Tom.

A clearing was performed at the close of the investigation, however, many disruptions occurred during the ceremony and the clearing may not have been successful.