Project Report
465 Bacon’s Castle Trail
Surry, VA 23883
Bacon’s Castle Contacts:
Joanna Braswell, baconscastle@preservationvirginia.org
Todd Balance, tjbalance@yahoo.com
CPRI Contact:
Brad Bradley, brad@virginiaghosts.com
Introduction
The Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation (CPRI) was given permission to perform research at Bacon’s Castle, a Preservation Virginia site during the Summer of 2014. Staff, volunteers and tour attendees have reported disembodied voices, moving furniture, the sound of footsteps and other noises throughout the main building. CPRI performed research there on 6/21/14, 7/1914 and 8/23/14.
Methodology
The main building sits on a large property parcel with many outbuildings dating from several eras (see Figure 1). It is divided into two sections. One side of the building was built in 1665 while the other side was built in 1854. Most of the previously reported activity originated from the 1665 side of the building, so it was decided to focus efforts there again on 6/21/14, though several DVR IR cameras were setup outside facing the residence building and the slave quarters on the site. An audio recorder was also placed in the slave quarters. On 7/19/14 it was decided to continue efforts on the 1665 side, but also include multiple cameras and audio recorders on the 1854 section as well as in the slave quarters. On 8/23/14, in response to an incident that occurred on 8/2/14 where a docent detected a full bodied apparition on the first landing in the stairwell on the 1854 section of the building, multiple cameras, audio recorders and environmental dataloggers were placed in the 1854 section and allowed to collect data continuously overnight.
On 6/21/14, base of operations was setup on the 1854 side of the building, on the first floor in the south meeting room area. All research activities were staged from there. CPRI was physically onsite from 3pm until 6:45pm and then 8:30pm until 7:30am 3/2/14.
On 7/19/14, base of operations was moved to the gift shop in the 1854 side of the building, which could be sealed off from the rest of the 1854 section. Equipment was staged in the display area next to the gift shop. All research activities were staged from the gift shop, passing through the display area to areas of interest.
On 8/23/14, no base of operations was established. The DVR was placed in the first floor south meeting room area of the 1854 side of the building.
6/21/14
On 6/21/14 in the 1665 side of the building, wired infrared cameras were setup in the basement, first, second and third floors. On the first floor, one camera was placed in the western room focusing on a chair that was placed in that room to test for movement. Spike tape was placed around two of the chair legs to mark its original location in case of movement. Three cameras were placed in the basement, one facing the door separating the 1665 section from the 1854 section, one within the western storage area and one in the south window of the kitchen area facing towards the stairwell. A camera was placed in each of the second floor rooms and the second floor hallway. A camera was also placed in the third floor hallway. Finally, two cameras were placed in the “hyphen” connecting area between the 1854 and 1665 sections. One was in the basement facing the rear entry to the house and one was in the stairwell on the first landing facing up towards the top. Another wired DVR camera was placed in the second floor hallway of the 1854 side of the building facing the door to the north room. A wireless DVR camera was placed in the eastern room of the 1665 side of the building.
Outside the building, 4 DVR cameras were setup in the back yard. Two were facing different parts of the main house, one was facing west towards the garden area and one was facing the slave quarters. Video and audio from all 12 cameras was recorded on 3 DVR systems located in the base of operations
A voice recorder (TASCAM DR-05 set to auto attenuate) was placed in the 1665 section in the third floor hallway just at the top of the stairs. The recorder was monitored in real time in the base of operations using a 100’ cable attached to a sound amplifier and speakers. A PASCO environmental datalogger was placed next to the recorder measuring barometric pressure, temperature, humidity and altitude. Finally, a Trifield meter was placed next to the recorder and was set to detect radio frequencies and to alert audibly if any were detected. In the west room on the first floor, another DR-05 voice recorder set to auto attenuate was placed there near the chair.
An Olympus voice recorder (VN6200PC) was placed in the second floor hallway of the 1854 section
Teams of two or three were periodically sent into the 1665 section from the base of operations. These teams used various voice recorders, electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors, portable video cameras and other instrumentation.
Evidence/Data Collected
Thumps, bangs, footsteps and other sounds of movement were detected audibly throughout the night either by teams within the 1665 section or via the remotely monitored recorder. Below is an example. A small greenish yellow light was detected within a window on the first floor of the 1665 side of the building by a team who just happened to be outside. The team did not return to the building until 9pm.
8:05pm – Walking sounds for several minutes on the 1665 side. These were detected from recorder on the third floor while monitoring in real time. It sounds as though it was coming from the first floor. https://www.dropbox.com/s/nw43zjjn0eacehh/Walking_08_05.wav?dl=0
8:06pm – Wireless DVR camera in east room of the 1665 side shifts down on its own. The way it was sitting, it should have shifted up if any shift was going to happen naturally.
10:57pm – A team member witnesses a green ball of light in the west room of the third floor.
11:21pm – Everyone on team smells a flowery, perfume scent in the stairwell and on the second floor.
1:03am – A team member is touched on the shoulder on the first floor of the hyphen. At that same moment, another team member on the second floor was startled by a loud voice coming through her headphones on a TASCAM DR-05 recorder set for live monitoring. This loud voice was not from any of either team. A recording of this voice is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/knw54mcy1fpzb82/Me%20screaming.wav?dl=0
2:05am – The same team member that was touched before is touched again, this time in the east room of the first floor of the 1665 side of the building. Also, at this time a voice is detected on two TASCAM DR-05 recorders that was not from the team. A recording is below. This voice is just after the team member squeals and was detected audibly by the team. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xs6bw3okmqajov1/Laugh.wav?dl=0
2:20am – The same team proceeded to the third floor and began asking questions, receiving knocks as responses. The DVR camera on the third floor had all team members in site and none of the team members produced those knocks. A recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/t0ucxqq4myc79kc/3rd%20floor%20knocking.wav?dl=0
At the same time some distant music was picked up on the remote monitoring voice recorder on that floor. https://www.dropbox.com/s/axxufwn0b8xxhfu/Distant%20Music%202_20.wav?dl=0
2:22am – The same team detected a distant scream. A recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/6jhauysaibtg7dc/Scream_2_22.wav?dl=0
While this same team was on the third floor of the 1665 side, a noticeable spike in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure was observed on the PASCO environmental datalogger right when one of the team members began to feel ill. See graphics below. This is the first time we have a correlation at this location between environmental data and a perceived manifestation.
7/19/14
On 7/19/14 in the 1665 side of the building, wired infrared cameras were setup in the basement, first, second and third floors. On the first floor, one camera was placed in the western room. One camera was placed in the basement in the south window of the kitchen area facing towards the stairwell. A camera was placed in each of the second floor rooms. A camera was also placed in the third floor hallway. Finally, two cameras were placed in the “hyphen” connecting area between the 1854 and 1665 sections. One was in the basement facing the rear entry to the house and one was in the stairwell on the first landing facing up towards the top. A wired DVR camera was placed in the second floor hallway of the 1854 side of the building facing the door to the north room and another was placed in the south room.
Outside the building, 3 DVR cameras were setup in the back yard. One was facing the main house, one was facing west towards the garden area and one was facing the slave quarters. Also, 4 cameras were placed in the slave quarters, one in each room upstairs and downstairs. A wireless DVR camera was placed in the front yard facing the front of the building. Video and audio from all cameras was recorded on 3 DVR systems located in the base of operations.
A voice recorder (TASCAM DR-05 set to auto attenuate) was placed in the 1665 section in the third floor hallway just at the top of the stairs. The recorder was monitored in real time in the base of operations using a 100’ cable attached to a sound amplifier and speakers. A PASCO environmental datalogger was placed next to the recorder measuring barometric pressure, temperature, humidity and altitude. Finally, a Trifield meter was placed next to the recorder and was set to detect radio frequencies and to alert audibly if any were detected. A Galaxy S3 smartphone with a photo/datalogger app (photos taken every 30 seconds while recording data from accelerometer, light meter, magnetic fields, barometric pressure sensors) and voice recorder app was placed in the west room of the 1665 side. A TASCAM DR-05 recorder was also placed in the west room. An Olympus voice recorder (VN6200PC) was placed in the basement of the 1665 side. A tablet with a datalogger app (accelerometer, magnetic fields, light meter) was placed in the west bedroom on the second floor of the 1665 side. An iPad with a TAPS app (vibration sensor that starts a voice recorder when activated) was placed in the east room of the second floor of the 1665 section.
A TASCAM DR-05 voice recorder was placed in the second floor hallway of the 1854 section. Tape was placed on the door knob of the north room to detect any movement. Tape was also placed on between the door and door jam to also detect movement.
Teams of two or three were periodically sent into the 1665 section from the base of operations. These teams used various voice recorders, electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors, portable video cameras and other instrumentation.
Evidence/Data Collected
Thumps, bangs, footsteps and other sounds of movement were detected audibly throughout the night either by teams within the 1665 section or via the remotely monitored recorder on the third floor. The same things were detected on the 1854 section. The Trifield meter sounded brief hits multiple times through the remotely monitored recorder throughout the night indicating very slight RF interference of some kind. The iPad with the TAPS app was set to sound an audible alarm upon each vibration activation. The app activated multiple times throughout the night, though the vibration sensor was set to a very low sensitivity. Team was not in the building between 7pm and 9pm.
7:35pm – Walking detected while team was off-site. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/mc8e6a27bxzvigb/Walking7_35.wav?dl=0
9:50pm – The wireless DVR camera in the front yard detected a light in the window of the hallway of the first floor of the 1854 section. No team member was in that vicinity when the light occurred. A video link is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/117sqllss2dmof9/LightInWindow071914.wmv?dl=0
9:58pm – A voice was detected by team on the 1665 side. Recording is below. The voice happens after the “shhh.” https://www.dropbox.com/s/gmoj0d68bph8cmk/Voice9_58.wav?dl=0
10:09pm – Two knocks detected by team on the 1665 side as they approached second floor in stairwell. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/6cn0c22rjadcxis/TwoKnocks10_09.wav?dl=0
11:09pm – Female laugh captured on second floor of the 1854 side by static DR-05 recorder in hallway. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvsmfm97jypxnqy/cry_laugh.mp3?dl=0
11:10pm – Mechanical sound detected on second floor of the 1854 side by static DR-05 recorder in hallway. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/n0fcym37x1dpbgg/door_squeek.mp3?dl=0
11:37pm – A female voice was detected behind those speaking by the static DR-05 recorder in the second floor hallway of the 1854 side. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/bb574s6w46tpdkw/voice_singsong.mp3?dl=0
11:40pm – A distant scream was detected by the static DR-05 recorder in the second floor hallway of the 1854 side. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/nqjldhzqk5m3za0/scream_bang.mp3?dl=0
1:27am – TAPS app activates in the east bedroom on the second floor of the 1665 side. During the recording that follows, there a faint sound like a voice appears between 25 and 26 seconds. The recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/01kcgqo9mjfe77i/Bacon%27s%20Castle20-07-2014%2001_27_01_VoiceClip.wav?dl=0
1:29am – Team member sees a light blue light in first floor hallway on 1665 side. Not detected by cameras.
2:43am – Team hears a female laugh while on the first floor of the 1665 side. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/7rlpcw77qq5bnsn/1st%20floor%20laugh.wav?dl=0
3am – Loud thump detected by static DR-05 recorder in second floor hallway on the 1854 side. This was heard by those in the base of operations area. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/dj8ab7hpi42xsua/bump_confirmedbyhq.mp3?dl=0
3:04am – Scream detected by remote monitoring recorder on 1665 side just before the TAPS app activates on the third floor. Team on that side can be heard, but doesn’t hear the scream. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/246616jc90lpj6x/Scream_Beep_3_04.wav?dl=0
3:10am – Musical notes and/or humming detected by static DR-05 recorder in the second floor hallway of the 1854 side. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vtaymqdqursql9/pianonotes_hum.mp3?dl=0
3:15am – Live monitoring mobile DR-05 recorder with team on 1665 side picked up a laugh while a team member was speaking. Recording is below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/k0salx7lp2wcgd9/2nd%20floor%20laugh.wav?dl=0
3:30am – Team moved from 1665 side to 1854 side through second floor egress. Team member notices the blades in a small box fan make one single turn and stop. No breeze was in the area, though the team movement could have caused this.
~4am – Noise detected in the equipment staging room next to the base of operations area by personnel in the base of operations area. The noise sounded like rustling paper, followed by the sounds of moving items. Personnel from the headquarters area rushed into the room, but found nothing. No recorders were present in that room
8/23/14
An apparition was detected by a Bacon’s Castle intern the morning of 8/2/14. She entered the building and detected the apparition of a female standing on the first landing of the stairs in the 1854 side of the building. In response, on 8/23/14 CPRI placed some static equipment on the 1854 side of the building to collect data overnight and through the next morning. A DVR system was setup with wired cameras. The monitor was placed in the south room. One camera was in the hallway of the first floor of that side of the building facing south. Another camera was placed at the foot of the stairs facing up toward the landing. Another camera was placed in the display area facing south. Another camera was placed in the south room facing north. Another camera was placed at the top of the steps facing down towards the landing. Another camera was placed in the second floor hallway facing the door to the north room. A piece of tape was placed on the door knob of that room to detect movement. Another camera was placed in the south room facing the door between that room and the north room. A piece of tape was placed on that door knob as well.
A PASCO environmental datalogger (recording temperature, barometric pressure and humidity) was placed on the stairwell landing. A tablet with a datalogger app (recording magnetic field, light level and vibration) and a voice recorder app, was also placed on stairwell landing. A temperature/humidity datalogger was placed in the second floor hallway.
A TASCAM DR-05 recorder set to auto attenuate was placed in the second floor hallway next to the temperature/humidity datalogger. An Olympus recorder (WS710M) was placed in the north room on the second floor. Another Olympus recorder (VN6200PC) was placed in the display room on the first floor.
Evidence/Data Collected
When one of the team members arrived early, a loud bang was detected coming from the second floor. Upon inspection it was determined that the door between the north and south rooms had opened on its own and banged into items within the north room. Many sounds of movement were detected throughout the night and into the next morning. No anomalous data was collected by any of the datalogging devices. No movement was detected on video. The team left the premises as of 6pm returning 10am the next morning.
Below are examples of sounds detected during this session.
6:35pm – Sounds of a mechanical nature detected by static DR-05 recorder. https://www.dropbox.com/s/id67nzrtirxbe28/Clicks6_35.wav?dl=0
6:47pm – Loud click detected by static DR-05 recorder. Sounds very near to recorder. https://www.dropbox.com/s/nyw36l32qt50hhc/Loud%20click%206_47.wav?dl=0
7:17pm – Shuffle then click detected by static DR-05 recorder. https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8icfop5t1um3on/shuffle%20click%207_17.wav?dl=0
7:54pm – Sounds of the door rattling and movement from the north room on the second floor as detected by the Olympus recorder placed within that room. The door to that room was shut. https://www.dropbox.com/s/cnjao7otj52m91l/Door%20Rattle%207_54.wav?dl=0
7:54pm – Movement sounds detected by static DR-05 recorder in second floor hallway just outside north room. https://www.dropbox.com/s/z4e88h6ejdtolsk/Movement%207_54.wav?dl=0
10:52pm – Sound of wind and movement detected by the static DR-05 recorder. This is significant as we’ve never detected this sound before and this is the only time it was detected throughout the night. Also, there was no appreciable wind during the night as recorded by the National Weather Service to account for this. https://www.dropbox.com/s/j0iwdc5v289uwzu/Wind%20Movement%2010_52.wav?dl=0
2:18am – A bang and succeeding click were detected by the static DR-05 recorder. https://www.dropbox.com/s/tmbb6b3wzbhkpty/Bang%20click%202_18.wav?dl=0
4:25am – Bangs, clicks and a distant voice detected by the static DR-05 recorder. https://www.dropbox.com/s/57oimq3yg8mq7q7/Movement%20Voice%204_25.wav?dl=0
Conclusions
Multiple audible anomalies were detected on all three dates.
The chair placed in the west room of the first floor of the 1665 section on 6/21/14 did not move throughout the night and no anomalous readings were detected around it.
The camera shift that occurred on 6/21/14 could not be debunked through experimentation. Data from the PASCO environmental datalogger showed a correlation between a brief environmental shift and a perceived manifestation that occurred. This perceived manifestation was an ill feeling by one of the team members on the third floor of the 1665 side of the building as she sat directly next to the PASCO device.
Team members being touched, the occasional laughter detected and responses to requests seem to indicate that activity is gradually moving out of a strictly residual phase into a more interactive one.
No manifestations of any kind were detected in the slave quarters, though there were many thumps and cracks. Most of these can be attributed to animal infestation.
Further research is needed onsite to determine the cause of the detected anomalies and to disprove any interference. Environmental changes around manifestations appear to be more localized, requiring more environmental data collection locations to obtain correlations
Figures
