Ghostly shadow on video

I decided it would be a good idea to spend some time exploring other areas of Evergreen. If you’ve been there, you know there are PLENTY to choose from! This was taken while checking out the rear of the cemetery a few weeks ago. I was walking along near the back of the grounds, and just as I noticed how calm and still it had become, I saw a branch wagging up and down on this large bush. It immediately struck me as odd, since it was dead calm at them time. Not a breath of wind at all. So I sat down on a bench near the bush, and set my camera down on the bench. The branch was steadily moving up and down, then left to right.  I shot a few minutes of this, then left the area.

When I reviewed the footage, I noticed this dark shadow moving around. Keep in mind I was sitting down motionless on the bench the entire time. It was early evening, with a light cloud cover. The sun had dipped below the trees and the lighting was flat & washed out. So I know it was not clouds or birds from above. And I was utterly alone at the time, no one else was there. Both clips include a sped up version at the end, in which the movement is easier to see.

Here is a link to the original clip: Color Version

I also converted it to black & white, and bumped up the contrast so the shadow is much more visible. Note how it first glides up along the right side, near the tree trunk, then seems to re-appear on the left, before settling in front of the camera, then fading away.

Black and white version

Visiting the ghosts of Fort Mifflin

While in Philadelphia last week, I was able to spend nearly a whole day exploring & investigating historic Fort Mifflin. I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time, and the fort’s ghostly residents did not disappoint! I’d been there before, but this was the first time I came for both paranormal AND historical reasons. Luckily for me it was a weekday and the place was nearly deserted except for a few staff and six or so other visitors, so I pretty much had the run of the place, and could spend long amounts of time completely alone in the various haunted tunnels & casemates. Read more about my experiences at this supernatural hotspot after the bump! >>>

Weird happenings…

About a week and a half ago I visited Evergreen cemetery once more, to see if anything was going on. I spent some time near Sarah’s stone doing some EVP work, hoping to capture something…and I did! It’s pretty faint, and you’ll need headphones to hear it, but it’s there. I asked “Where are you now?”, and a few seconds later comes the reply “Next to you. Sitting” or.. “Next to you, see me.”.

Have a listen! Evergreen EVP

Is it Sarah? Who knows? It sounds feminine…and I’d like to think it’s her but there’s no way of knowing for sure.

Still here! (and so is Sarah)

Just quick note to let anyone who’s still interested know that I have not abandoned my blog…it’s been an insanely busy summer, and while I haven’t had much time to devote to investigating Sarah actively, I have felt her presence on occasion and witnessed a couple anomalous things! She still has more to tell, and I plan to be there to catch it. So stay tuned!

Sarah’s Children

Breakthrough in research the other day — I was finally able to reach a likely cause of Sarah’s death. After learning that she died in Minot, I did some preliminary research into Minot records but didn’t find much. However, just the other day I succeeded in contacting someone from their historical society who was very helpful. Thanks to her I learned for the first time that Sarah and her husband Alfred had children. Previously I had not been able to find any evidence of them having kids. Here’s what I found out:
They had two children together. Mary T. was born on May 1st, 1847 in Minot.  Then George W. was born on October 21, 1848 in Minot.  This is the smoking gun — Sarah died just 10 days after little George was born. So she must have passed due to complications from the birth.

Given Sarah’s young age I thought that birth was a probable factor in her death…this all but confirms it.  

New EVP files…are they from Sarah?

Recorded these files this afternoon at Sarah’s stone. Apologies for the poor quality. Hopefully you’ll be able to hear them, with headphones I picked them up ok. This first one was unfortunately during a wind gust. I asked if she was there, and several seconds later there is a faint “Yes”. Sound like the exact same voice I recorded a few weeks ago! Click the link:
EVP

Here is another from a few minutes later. I’m trying to somehow verify her identity. So I asked if she remembered her father’s name. Immediately after I say this, there is an odd response. Definitely the same voice but I don’t think its saying anything.
Click the link:
EVP

I know these are poor quality examples, but beggars can’t be choosers! Hopefully over time the level of communication will improve.  For now, I’m just thrilled that she (or whoever it is) is trying.  

Evidence Gallery!

Finally got around to uploading some of my other evidence, starting with a particularly intriguing case outside of Philadelphia. Plenty more to come, so stay tuned. At the moment I’m just trying to find a good balance between providing enough contextual info and just cutting to the chase. Hope it’s not too wordy. You can peruse the stuff at the page appropriately named “Evidence Gallery”.
Cheers!

More stuff coming…I promise!

Finally a nice long weekend coming up…I’m going to be expanding this site, adding a page of other evidence collected from previous investigations. Been meaning to add this since I started this blog, but you know how it goes. Anyway, stay tuned.

Portland Phoenix

Recently my story was blogged by Michelle Souliere over at Strange Maine, which in turn led to me being interviewed for an article in the Portland Phoenix about my investigation. It’s available in the new edition, out today. You can also read it here if you aren’t able to snag a copy around town.
Here’s hoping that a little increased exposure will result in some new investigative opportunities around Portland. So if anyone reading has ideas for paranormal hot spots, let me know! In the meantime I do have a couple of intriguing leads.

Many thanks to both Deirdre at the Phoenix and Michelle for their interest and time!

Fresh Batch of EVP!

I think I may have finally succeeded in capturing Sarah’s voice on my recorder. These were taken late Friday afternoon at her stone. Unfortunately it was really windy so there a good deal of noise contamination…but you can clearly hear what sounds like a female voice. Don’t know for sure if it’s her or not…but I hope it is!

In this first one, I’m asking her to try as hard as she can to use any available energy to speak. (It’s widely believed that spirits will draw energy from environmental sources such as our camera batteries when they attempt to manifest)
So while I’m saying this, for a brief moment you can hear a woman’s voice underneath mine. Not sure what she’s saying. I have an idea, but would like to wait and see if any of you can make it out.

EVP Link

In the second one, I’m getting ready to leave. On the file you’ll hear me say that I’m freezing and have to get going. A few seconds later there is a fairly clear female voice saying “No”. Or possibly “Go”. But my first impression was “No.” Have a listen for yourself!

EVP Link

*Quick note on EVP…if you are new to listening to these sorts of files, you’ll find them much easier to hear with headphones. EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomena. In a nutshell it’s simply voices showing up on recordings that were not heard during the time the recording was made. EVP files can be compelling evidence of paranormal activity, especially if the voices are responding directly to what you are asking or saying. For more info visit The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena’s site HERE.

Possible Apparition Photo?

Happy New Year everyone. Apologies for the rather long delay in posting…it was mostly due to an insanely snowy December and the overall madness of the holidays. At any rate, I’ve begun going back to visit Sarah’s stone and may have captured something worth sharing. But I’ll let you judge for yourself.
Late yesterday afternoon I went there, and after doing a little evp work I asked Sarah if she’d mind if I took her photograph. I explained that I have copies of daguerreotypes of both her father and older brother Alfred, and would love to know what she looks like as well. Asking for her to please try as hard as she could to appear in my photo using any available energy, I stepped back and took 4 consecutive shots of her stone. The only time gap between them was the second or two it took for the flash to recharge, but I remained still the whole time.
Upon inspecting the pics later that night, I saw something interesting in the very first shot I took. It looks like a hazy sort of blob peeking out from behind her stone. Now, this could very well be nothing at all. But my gut instinct wouldn’t let me ignore it. It’s not quite convincing enough for me to flat out say “I believe this is Sarah’s apparition”, but there are a couple intriguing details present that make me think it could be more than a mere orb, and might possibly be Sarah attempting to show herself.

For starters, here is a large copy of the pic in question, with a blown up inset
.

Now here’s a side by side comparison of the anomaly pic and the pic immediately following. Whatever this is, was only present for a moment.

Lastly, I’ve zoomed way in and sketched over the area I’m seeing as her face. Ordinarily I would attribute this to mere matrixing, but there are two things here that I can’t shake. First, there is what looks like a part line in her hair. It’s a strong, visible shape that is clearly not present in the 2nd pic I took just after. Second, there is what looks like a neckline. Have a look!

So there you have it….I’ll let you judge for yourself. Again, it’s too faint for me to say that this is definitely paranormal. But I do find it very interesting that this shows up in the very first pic I took after asking her to try real hard to appear for me, that it appears to be partially behind the stone, and that it has a couple “hard line” details that I can’t ignore.

Until next time…cheers!

A spirit speaks…

On Nov. 12th (Sarah’s birthday) I went to visit her stone in Evergreen. I laid my recorder on her stone while speaking and was able to capture this EVP:

EVP Link

It’s not great, but it’s proof that someone was there and listening to me. Doesn’t sound like a woman…perhaps it’s her husband Alfred? At any rate, you’ll hear me speaking for a moment followed by several seconds of silence, then comes what sounds like a muffled greeting…only the entire place was deserted except for me.

On further inspection, the other EVP files I alluded to in the previous post are far too poor quality to post. But there IS some faint singing to be heard around her stone.

Cemetery EVP

Last Sunday, Nov 4th, I took a very early morning stroll through the cemetery with both my dog and my shiny new digital recorder. Rather than spend the whole time hanging out at Sarah’s stone, I asked her to show me around the vast Evergreen cemetery. It was a perfect fall morning. The sun was just up, the air was sharp and cold, the last of the colorful autumn leaves jumped out against the sky.
During this time I recorded periodically and was successful in picking up some evp…including two at Sarah’s stone. Whether they are her or not I can’t say…the quality is poor. But I will do my best to clean them up and post them here for your perusal, so stay tuned!

Bumps in the night….

The night before last I had a couple odd experiences. Could be nothing, but I feel they are worth noting. At about 10:30 pm I had just settled in on the couch to watch some tv before bed. Wife and son were already asleep. Suddenly I heard a weird noise come from the kitchen, behind me. It was kind of a mix between a whoosh, a moan and a sigh. Definitely odd, definitely got my attention and definitely not anything I’ve heard before.
Later that same night I was instantly awoken from a deep sleep at 3:26 am by the sound of a high pitched voice talking as if it was right outside the bedroom door. It was pleasant sounding, with the kind of tone you’d greet a friend with. My first thought was that my son had woken up and was trying to come in. I checked on him, he was absolutely out cold, fast asleep.
Still not sure what that was…perhaps a visit from Sarah? If so I hope she’ll try again.

Meet the family!

Apologies for the long gap. Been a crazy week. Anyway, some rather interesting goings on to report. First off, a nice instance of synchronicity…one of Sarah Haskell’s descendants found this blog via Google as he has been researching his family genealogy of late. He was kind enough to share some insights into Sarah’s life with me as well as some family items:
Here is Sarah’s older brother Alfred Haskell. Looks rather eerily similar to the mental images I had of Sarah. Also looks like a friendly guy!

(source: Will Haskell)

Here is Sarah’s father Amos.

(source: Will Haskell)

This is the Haskell family bible from Sarah’s time. Families used to note births, deaths and marriages in the “Family Records” sections of bibles. Unfortunately, once again the cause of her death is not noted.

(source: Will Haskell)

Up next…night noises and possible EVP….

Today’s the Day

It was on this day in 1848 that Sarah died. Wherever you are Sarah, I hope you’re happy and at peace.

Her past revealed…

This week was quite eventful in terms of uncovering more pieces to Sarah’s puzzle. While I know much more about her now, I still haven’t learned the circumstances of her untimely death….yet. Here’s a rundown of recent discoveries:

- While searching for vital records online I discovered that Sarah has a second gravesite in New Gloucester, in her parents’ plot. The stone is of a much older appearance than the one here in Portland on her husband Alfred’s plot. This leads me to believe that she is actually buried in New Gloucester, since Alfred lived for another 60+ years after Sarah’s death. More below.

- A search of period newspapers in the Portland library’s microfiche turned up her death notice in two local papers; The Eastern Argus and the Portland Advertiser. Same notice in both papers, from November 6, 1848: “In Minot, 1st inst., Sarah J., wife of Mr. Alfred Woodman, aged 27 years”. Minot is a small town near New Gloucester, both of which are about 25-30 miles north of Portland. So if she died in Minot, she had to be buried in New Gloucester, not Portland.

- Thanks to the wonderful people at the New Gloucester Historical Society, I was able to learn that marriage intentions were filed on November 8, 1845 for “Capt. Alfred Woodman of Poland and Miss Sarah Jane Haskell of this town.” Based on that I think Sarah and Alfred must have married and lived there until her death, after which Alfred returned to Portland. Sad that they were only wed for 3 short years. The NGHS also told me that Sarah’s sister Charlotte married Alfred’s older half brother George Washington Woodman, and that Alfred Woodman, George W. Woodman, and Samuel True opened a clothing manufacturing business together. This would be “Woodman, True & Co.”, mentioned in my last post. Their first location on Free Street was destroyed in the great fire of 1866, and they rebuilt at Middle Street.

While it’s great to know all this about her, I feel I’m still missing the biggest piece: how she died. Luckily it looks like the Maine Historical Society has a detailed book of Minot’s early vital records including death notices which will hopefully shed some light. But prior to digging into that, I want to give Sarah some time to hopefully communicate what it is she’s trying to make clear. More to come…

Research Findings

Yesterday I was finally able to delve into the city archives at the library. Some truly great info there, not just pertaining to this topic but about Portland history in general. While I didn’t turn up any deep info yet, I was able to confirm some basics.
Sarah Jane Haskell was born to Amos Haskell and Sally Johnson in New Gloucester, ME, on Nov. 12, 1822. At this point the only other reference I can find to her is from an 1840 Federal Census that shows her living in Westbrook. Sadly there were no marriage records showing her union to Alfred Woodman, nor any death records. Which means either the records are lost, or they were married elsewhere. But I might still find something in the library microfiche collection — they have all the area papers going back into the late 18th Century. So I’m optimistic that I should at least find a death notice for her. I’d love to be able to confirm how she died.

Captains and crows

Yesterday I returned to Evergreen Cemetery for further investigation. This time I went armed with my shiny new Olympus voice recorder, an older cassette recorder and my DV cam. Got into the cemetery about 5:30pm, just as the sun was beginning to set. Perfect October weather, crisp and chilly. Placed the cassette recorder at Sarah’s stone and let it run for about half an hour while I strolled around with the other gear talking to anyone who was interested. Usually there are a fair amount of people there, either jogging, walking dogs or riding bikes…but today it was nearly deserted. For most of my visit I was the only person around, not another living soul in sight. Just thousands upon thousands of stones, crows and crackling leaves blowing around — just how I like it.
Unfortunately I came up empty with evidence again. Although at one point on the cassette you can make out a group of people talking, as if at a party. It’s just too fuzzy and muffled to bother uploading here. I kept an eye on the stone the whole time, walking in a loose circle about 100 yards away from it — not a single person there the whole time.
Two things happened that I feel are worth mentioning, even though neither are evidential. At one point, while standing near her grave I felt that same strong pressure on my right ear/right shoulder that I’d felt twice before in that same area.

Part Two

A couple days later I returned to the cemetery. It was early, about 7am. (This place doesn’t allow people in after sunset, so early morning is the quietest time to be there) I walked in through the gates and just stood there for a minute, allowing myself to relax and open up. Having practiced meditation for a couple years, I know just how effective it can be in getting your head in the right place for just about any situation one could encounter.
Taking a few deep breaths I said “Good morning, I’m here. Please lead the way. Show me where to go”.