Business Case #35

The 1st site investigated for the

Haunted Lawrence Ghost Tour

presented by Ghost Tours of Kansas, LLC

Date: July 2, 2011

Time: 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 pm

Location: Sigma Nu Frat House

                 Kansas University

                 Lawrence , Kansas

Investigators on Scene:

Brenda, Dee Ann, Misty, Mark

Attendees on Scene:

House mother, Kansas Ghost Tours and another paranormal team

Lunar Phase: not available

Solar X-Rays: not available

Geomagnetic: not available

Evidence Collected:

Digital Photos Taken: pending

Positive Digital Photos: pending

35 mm Photos Taken: 0

35 mm Photos Positive: 0

Video: not taken

EVPs: 1

Brief Property Description: 

A 3-story mansion constructed in the late 1800’s that was occupied by Kansas Governor, Walter R. Stubbs.  The house was sold to the Sigma Nu Fraternity as part of the University of Kansas in 1922.

Governor Stubbs served as Kansas governor from 1909 to 1913 and was married to Stella Hosteller. During his residency at the mansion, he had servants. One servant was a young girl named Virginia whom it is rumored he took a fancy to. It is also rumored that he cared for her so much that he adopted her as his daughter. In April, 1911, he returned home from a business trip and found 17 year old Virginia hanging by a chandelier in one of the rooms located in the mansion. He accused his wife of murder and she was sent to an asylum to live out the rest of her life. A fireplace located near the main entrance of the mansion is said to entomb the ashes of young Virginia . A plague was placed in the fireplace in memory of her which bears the inscription “The world of strife shut out, the world of love shut in.”

Current Reportings:

Information not provided by Kansas Ghost Tours

Reported Findings and Experiences:

An EVP was recorded in the “Poop Room” stairway of a voice saying what sounds like “Hate it here…here.”

Psychic Readings :

There’s a bunch of people inside so it might be a little hard for me to pick up right away. Well I can tell you that there were no trees, everything was cleared off back at the time here. It was a plantation place at one time. There is something to do with funerals, funerals…this is a mansion, it was a nice place in it’s day. The weirdest thing I keep getting is that somebody very well-known and they held a funeral here. The first thing I got when I walked up to the door was that it was somebody with presence, somebody well-known and respected and they laid him out here and people came to see him. His presence is very strong. It’s like this funeral was a big thing. His presence overwhelms everybody else’s and he is not happy with the way things have turned out. He was an older man, he could have been a governor or someone prominent. I feel a presence that is so overwhelming, very stern, very rigid in his mannerisms and his vocal voice. But I lost him when I walked in because of all the people in there. I was pulled to the room on the right at first really strong so either that was where his body was laid out for all the people to see there…I don’t know, this is really weird. He is not a happy camper and most of the activity is going to center around him and disrespect. At some point I can see that all trees were gone. I mean there were some trees but not like there is now. You could view of all below, it was beautiful, the view was phenomenal. I want to say it was not really a plantation but like a plantation, it was beautiful. He is not happy about how it has been taken care of.

(Misty enters the house and proceeds to go upstairs)

As I’m getting up here, it’s getting heavier and heavier. My breathing is getting more difficult. She liked sitting in this window looking at the view. It was breath-taking she says. She would sew and do needlepoint…no, not needlepoint, not crochet, not knitting, it’s something with her hands. It’s very heavy up on this (3^rd) floor but it’s okay.  A real strong female presence. Depressed, very, very depressed. She miscarried twice and was unable to have any more children after the last miscarriage. Very unhappy, very depressed, very sad. No one knew about the miscarriages, she never told anyone.  I’m getting the name Vi but I’m picking up some people’s thoughts that have just come into the room.

(Misty leaves the room and begins looking for her teammates.)

I’m hearing Virginia, Vergie , Virginia . Servants quarters were in back. Virginia . (Misty finds her teammates). The woman has long hair. When I came in, she said “Come, come, come see the view.” (Misty is taken to the 2^nd floor by team members who claim that a certain area is very heavy feeling.) There was non-consensual sex in here, that’s why it’s so heavy.

I am pulled to this one place real strong, but it’s not a good spot. Let’s go there.

There is something that happened here. (Stairway called the Poop Deck.) There is very negative energy here. Some bad stuff happened in here. Some heavy, heavy stuff. Steven P…Pilmer, Piller, something like that, very sick, almost death. Something they did to him. Like an initiation to the fraternity. It’s very heavy, very bad what they did to him, it almost killed him. Something with wrapped, tied, hit, left, left, left and that’s all I can pick up right now but somebody will know what that means. It’s not good up here, not good at all.  (An EVP was recorded as the team descended the stairway of a voice saying what sounds like “Hate it here….here.” You can even feel it in your legs as you walk down.

I’m most attracted to that room upstairs where she was. That’s where I’m going . She would sit in a rocking chair right here and look out the window. This was her favorite room. This is where she spent most of her time.

Lots of drug use in this place, lots of pranks, lots of goofy energy is what I feel the most in this building. The presence that is so strong is the male governor. Her nickname she says…he called her Vi for short. It’s okay Vi but she’s afraid to go into the light because of what she did that she won’t be received. We’ll tell her that what happened was depression. She didn’t kill herself on purpose, it was out of grief. That was the easiest way out for her.  There was no other way. It was the easiest. They are not happy that this is a frat house. She would be happy if they would just shut down this room and leave it as her room. He is upset because of the disrespect and the fact that she’s still here. He made his transition into the light but she didn’t. He’s been trying to get her to come but she is afraid.

The main focus to me is her and him. He is here to watch over her until she is ready to forgive herself and go into the light. That’s it. That is the whole house. It’s not any more than that. This was the most serene place she could have in this whole house. She loved this room, she loved it.

 Fireplace

There is something with ashes…..ashes….are her ashes here? What is the thing with ashes and her. Was she cremated? Her ashes are in the house. That’s not why she’s here though. It’s not her ashes holding here but that’s why he is here. He feels responsible for holding her here and is trying to free her. He says she had a voice like a violin and her voice was so sweet to listen to, like a violin he says.  She was the love of his life. She is in the fireplace. Her ashes are still here. She is in this wall. He planned on being here forever. He’s trying to set  her free.

The paneling behind the fireplace in which a piece keeps popping off, even after it's been glued and nailed back on several times

(Dee Ann told Misty, according to the staff, the panel keeps popping off the wall behind the fireplace.  They have tried gluing the panel, nailing the panel, but it keeps popping off.) He keeps trying to pop that panel off to set her free.  This is a love story.

"The world of strife shut out, the world of love shut in."

We would like to thank the house mother of the fraternity for sharing her knowledge, allowing us access to the fraternity house and for her hospitality.  You can still imagine the beauty of the property as it was when the governor and his wife lived here.  After discovering the love story between the governor and his wife, it truly made this an interesting and heart-felt investigation.