Business Case #14

  See UPDATE at end of Report

Includes 6 photos & 1 video

Feraro's Jersey Style Pizza 

1862 S 10^th Street

St. Louis, Missouri 

Date: November 18-19, 2005

Time: 9:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.

Brenda, Dee Ann, Misty, Joe and Stacy Pate (Movie Memories Productions)

Pizzeria owner and girlfriend, 4 restaurant employees

Conditions: Clear

Temp: n/a

Barometer: n/a

Humidity: n/a

Lunar Phase: Waning Gibbous

Solar X-Rays: M-Class Flare

Geomagnetic: Quiet

Wind: n/a

Digital Photos Taken: 138

Positive Digital Photos: 47

35 mm Photos Taken: 48

35 mm Photos Positive: 2

Video: 6 Orbs and 2 EVPs (See Reported Findings and Experiences for details)

EVPs: 3 (See Reported Findings and Experiences for details)

Originally part of the common fields of St. Louis. Some of what is now called the Soulard Market Place, was given to Antoine Soulard, surveyor general of Upper Louisiana, by the Spanish governor in the 1790's in payment for services. Soulard's widow stipulated in her will that 2 city blocks were to be given to the City of St. Louis for use as a public market. The Soulard Market was founded in 1838. By the mid 1800's, large numbers of German's had settled in Soulard, along with some Irish. Eventually other immigrants moved in, creating an interesting economic and social mix. For the most part, Soulard was a very peaceful place with the exception of the 1850's where much controversy over the issues of slavery and state's rights divided the neighborhood.

After World War II, the Soulard Market Place fell upon hard times and many of the buildings fell into disrepair. This trend began reversing in the 1970's when people started returning to Soulard to reclaim its unique architectural heritage and investing millions of dollars into the neighborhood.

When the current owner of Feraro's Jersey Style Pizza purchased the building, it was nothing more than a hollow shell. After almost a year of renovations and reconstruction, it was ready to open for business. It is believed that the building once served as a carriage house.

? Restaurant owner renovated a gutted out building which was believed to be at one time a carriage house. During a Mardi Gras festival, he set up a tent to promote his restaurant. He was wheeling an empty propane tank into the shell of the building when he saw something walking with him in his peripheral vision. He thought it was one of his employees but when he turned to look, he saw what appeared to be a white, almost iridescent blob that imploded into a gust of cold breeze.

? The restaurant owner's brother reported feeling as if someone or something was watching him while he was moving equipment into the space.

? After the construction was complete, the first manager was the first one to use the new restroom. The owner heard his name called and then saw the manager running out of the restroom still buckling his belt. The manager reported that while in the restroom, something grabbed the hair on his leg and starting twisting it and pinching his skin.

? Neon lights and televisions turn on by themselves.

? Voices have been heard repeating phrases from songs in the kitchen and speaking the names of employees.

? Owner felt his hair being pulled while counting out the drawer of the register.

? A bottle of balsamic vinegar exploded with no influence of heat or cold. Two employees felt a whish of air go past them just prior to the bottle exploding.

? A jar slammed on a table in the dining room when no one was around it.

? The open/closed sign keeps being found turned in the opposite direction of what it should be.

? Delivery driver was in restroom when the toilet flushed by itself.

? Restaurant owner and his employees all felt a cold breeze blow past them that was accompanied by what sounded like screams.

? One of the restaurant employees went down the street to get some coffee. While at the coffeehouse, he tried calling the owner's cell phone using his own flip cell phone. Hen hung up before the owner answered, closing the flip phone and putting it in his pocket. When the owner checked the messages on his phone, he found that the call did not disconnect and heard what sounded like a young girl crying for help. The employee's flip cell phone automatically shuts off when it is closed. The recording continued for just over 2 minutes. See update on this incident at end of report.

? A series of knocks coming from beneath one of the dining room tables was heard by several MPR members and pizza staff.

? While Misty was doing a reading in the alleyway beside the pizzeria, VIDEO footage captured an orb traveling towards her. It abruptly made a U-turn when it was within about a foot of her and then headed back in the opposite direction. At the time of this incident, she was picking up on a French fur trader who was killed in the alleyway sometime around 1860. (See Reading Below)

? An EVP was recorded in the restroom of a male voice saying what sounds like "Here by the way."

? Another EVP was recorded on both the dining room audio video and restroom audio tape of a little girl's voice who is spelling, "L…U…P…" followed by a giggle. About 30 seconds later you also hear her say "Candy". Only the MPR team and the restaurant employees were present in the restaurant at the time. There were no children.

? Two 35mm photos taken in the alleyway beside the Pizzeria showed light energy and ghost mist.

? 6 orbs were filmed inside the pizzeria during the investigation.

? That building beside the Pizza Place used to be a firehouse. There is a fireman looking out the window. He died of a heart attack around 1924.

? I smell horses. This building used to be a carriage house or blacksmith place. The owner has heard that the building was once used as a carriage house but has not confirmed it.

? There was a lot of gambling on this corner during the prohibition. A lot of it took place in the basements of the buildings. There was also some prostitution in the area.

? There was a murder in the alleyway, about ½ way down and to the right. A man was stabbed at least 3 or 4 times. The man had something to do with a fur company. He's hard to understand because he's talking in French or something. He was a fur trader. He would come up the alley to trade his furs. He had a lot of pelts because he has just come from the river. Some of the buildings here have changed because he came at more of an angle. He was jumped by 2 men who took his furs. He died a slow death. His name was like Mierre or something like that, I can't quite understand him. They hit him in the back of the head. I see him holding his head. It happened about this time of year. He was a Frenchman. He was an awry old kook. He was a jolly guy, very friendly. He likes playing jokes. He's the one who comes into the restaurant. During this reading, video footage captured an orb traveling straight at Misty. When it was about a foot in front of her, it did a U-turn and headed back the other direction.

? There was something to do with the underground railroad here. Times just keep overlapping.

? There's something or someone buried under the building and there used to be a cellar or basement underneath. Owner confirmed that it appeared that a basement or cellar had been filled in with dirt.

? There was a fire not too far from here a long time ago. Owner confirmed that there was a big fire in St. Louis which destroyed many buildings.

? There were a lot of crooked cops in the area a long time ago. Lots of gambling.

? There is so much activity out here. I can hear lots of horses and carts.

? The guy who was murdered in the alley says that it was 2 white men who killed him. He likes to poke and pat people. He's the one who knocked on the wood earlier. He likes to hide out over in the corner. He died young. He was only about 35 or 36 years old.

He has a long face, a big nose and one dimple. He has blue, blue eyes. He's scraggly looking. He wears a hat pulled down farther on one side and funny looking boots that kind of slip down. He's a slender man, about 5'10" or 5'11". They never buried him. He didn't get a decent burial he says.

? The two guys that did it....one was a big guy. He was dirty with dirty clothes. He drank a lot. His last name was Johnson or Johnston. The other guy was much younger, about 17 or 18 years old. His name was Edward Stone. This happened around 1860.

? The fur trader had a girlfriend named Sarah Jean La Belle. His sweetie, he says. He was a little troublemaker.

? He doesn't want to leave. He's content. He just wants a decent burial but we can't do that for him.

? He had a mule. They took his mule because it had the pelts on it.

? I'm feeling more like there was blacksmithing done here. More so than the carriage house.

? It's an animal that's buried under the building. A horse.

? The man who helped with the carriage house or blacksmithing was a black man. He was the one who assisted the underground railroad.

? MPR would like to thank Jon Feraro, owner of Feraro's Jersey Pizza and his staff for their hospitality during our visit. The pizza was absolutely awesome and well worth stopping by to try if you're ever in the area. We highly recommend it.

We do feel that we collected enough evidence to validate a haunting, however we feel the haunting is associated with the neighborhood (not just the restaurant) and encompasses the whole area. The Soulard neighborhood has a very rich history and an interesting combination of cultures making it an excellent location for additional ghost hunting investigations.