1 week to go!! A ghost hunt

Back in July, I had the opportunity to attend a paranormal investigation at Wolcott Mill with my sister, niece & niece's boyfriend (basically nephew).  My one sister wasn't able to go then, so I used her ticket, but I'd bought tickets for my family for late October.   

That was Saturday night.

Our guide was Sue and there was me, hubby Randy, daughter Angela, my sisters Laurie & Linda, 2 older couples (one man for sure had been there in July with us) and 2 women.  

Pro - much cooler than it was in July and the fire pits were lit.  

Con - it was dark already and you couldn't see where you were going to explore!

Kat Tedsen, author of Haunted Travels of Michigan and lead investigator.  

This time we started out on the grounds where the Wolcott house had originally stood.  There have been reports of a lady in white being seen in the area, as recently as August!  There had been a wedding held in the Mill and the last of the wedding party to leave that night saw her across the field.  

Another issue with being there after dark was my phone takes crappy photos with a flash - it always lights up the bottom left corner a lot.   

Next we went to the woodshed where the youngest son had lived.  He'd been a drunk, and after an episode for falling into the mill and being shot out into the pond, he was banned from the house, so his siblings (there had been 12 kids!) built him a little shed to live in.  There was a surprising amount of activity with the Electromagnetic Field Detectors in here.  And more than one whiff of whiskey.  I didn't want to say anything at first, in case maybe someone had taken a little nip for warmth!  But the second time, I spoke up.  Others smelled it, too. 

There was some activity in the car garage, too.  Tapping in the engine compartment of one of the trucks.

Our guide Sue forgot to take us into the second barn where I personally felt something last time.  She felt bad about it, but when we went in there during the "free roam" at the end, it was pretty disappointing.  They were using it for Christmas decoration storage, meh. 

After a break to hang out by the fire or sit inside with some hot chocolate or chili, we went to our next stop, the museum barn where last time we picked up the voice of a little girl.  This time they brought in a teddy bear and a wood rocking horse to entice her out of play.  We heard what sounded like footsteps above us, but there are only rafters.  

Our final stop was in the mill itself.  We started in the basement and we actually spent most of our time exploring a storeroom that had been locked last time.  One room was obviously storage - totes & boxes & projects.  The other room had old tools and stuff.  I'm not sure where Randy was, but Laurie, Linda, Angel, me & the old man from July were all back in there.  Angel had the EMF and she was getting some hits in there, I was taking sound recordings (which I have not yet listened to, shame on me!) and Linda had the flashlight on her phone. 

One we saw an old cast iron clown bank on a shelf, we decided to leave - Angel & the old man aren't clown fans!

next we went up to th 3rd floor - I led the way since I wanted to go check out the corner where so much had gone last time!  As soon as my head broke the plane of the floor, I felt this large, heavy, oppressive, almost like a mantle cover me - it almost took my breath away!  So weird!   But it didn't last long.  I don't think whoever was behind me felt it. 

The clothes were still hanging in this corner - including the Navy dress blues & peacoat and some Army greens 

Angel got a lot of hits on the EMF near here, but not on the clothes themselves. 

I felt that oppressive weight again while going to the other side of the room, but it went away when someone got near me.  So I'm glad I wasn't up there alone! 

The lighted triangle is Angel's nose.... :)

Mrs. Wolcott.

Mr. Wolcott. 

This is the second floor. 

Someone who works there clearly has a sense of humor - this was in the office window!

This was the creepiest thing we saw in the 2nd barn.   Laurie, Angel & I went back to the mill to return the EMF and left Randy & Linda sitting in lawn chairs in the barn.  As we trooped back, we saw the 2 ladies from our group go into the barn and then scream - Linda & Randy had jumped out at them, expecting it to be us!  We all died laughing! 

One of these ladies, tho.  Mindy.  Not sure if she was really paranormally sensitive, or a total BS artist / actress, but she claimed to feel stuff in every location we went to.  On the grounds, something kept playing with her hair.  In the woodshed, something kept trying to take her breath away.  In the garage, she felt a hug.  I don't remember hearing her say anything in the museum barn and we all pretty much separated in the mill, so other than she would not go back in the storerooms, I didn't see much of her after that.      

We parked in the lot for a Metropark and walked across the river to get to the Mill.  The lights had just turned on as we left. 

Looking over the millpond at the Mill.

So it was pretty fun.  Sue the guide wasn't as good at keeping people together & we might have done a bit more goofing off than was appropriate, but when we were in a location and listening, we all behaved.  

We're hoping they do another Haunted Romeo trip next year, because we'll be all over that one, too!

And I promise to listen to my recordings - I tried to keep them between 2-3 minutes before stopping & restarting, so I easily have an hour or so and I did see the little wavelength things spike a few times when I physically didn't hear anything.  So this will be interesting!