http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net We hunt what scares you GCOM-Ghost Chasers of Michigan Paranormal Investigations and Research GCOM-Ghost Chasers of Michigan Paranormal Investigations and Research Evo RSS Parser 60 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/images/evo/minilogo.gif http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net 94 15 Nuke-Evolution 2.0.7 Powered - Xtreme 2.0 Edition en-us admin@ghostchasersofmichigan.net 2010-09-09T01:22:02-05:00 hourly 1 2010-09-09T01:22:02-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=25#31 31@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Evidence Gallery 2010-02-12T13:02:29-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=18#30 30@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Mansfield Reformatory 2010-01-25T19:53:39-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=10#29 29@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Butler Cemetery 2010-01-25T19:48:15-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=22#22
I'm Tina, but everyone calls me Tee.  :mrgreen:   I'm glad to be back on the team and look forward to doing some awesome investigations!!  *woot*]]> 22@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Hello All 2009-11-17T22:16:25-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=20#20 Phone: 269-781-7374

LOCATION:

The National House Inn can be found  near the corner of S. Parkview and the main drag Bus.94 hwy., overlooking  the Fountain Circle in the middle of picturesque Marshall. The Inn is just west of Marshall's business district. One follows the traffic circle around the fountain to arrive at the Inn. MAP

DESCRIPTION:

This well-built, handsome, two story 1835 brick and wood beam, gabled building with sitting porches was constructed to be an inn, a stage stop-over hotel, located half way between Detroit and Chicago. It currently is a fabulous bed and breakfast inn which has earned top recognition, offering beautiful accommodations, authentic historical surroundings, great food and restful  respite, as well as other surprises.

The lovely 16 bedrooms have been decorated in either the 19th century Victorian or in the vintage Country style. Antiques are found throughout the inn.  The dining room is decorated in 19th century country charm, including painted woodwork, antique oak dining tables and chairs. Heating the downstairs entryway, is a majestic bean and brick open hearth fireplace. There are several parlor sitting rooms located upstairs for use by the guests.







HISTORY:

170 years ago,  Colonel Andrew Mann built this structure in 1835, opening the Mann Hotel, serving stage coach travelers on their way to either Chicago or Detroit. Historically, the hotel served as a meeting place for  political meetings and social and community gatherings.  It changed names several times, being called The Acker House and The Facey House.

In 1844, the Michigan Central Railroad came through Marshall, and  the hotel became a favorite place to stay for railroad travelers. The hotel was also a stop in another kind of railroad. Sometime before the Civil War, a hidden room was constructed in the basement, and was used as a place to hide run away slaves on the underground railroad, which took slaves to freedom in Canada.
.
This establishment was a railroad hotel for 30 more years, until 1878, when the owners lost most of their customers to sleeper cars on the railroad trains. This still solid building was transformed into a windmill and wagon factory.

Around the turn of the century, in 1902, a Dr. Dean bought the building and transformed it into 8 luxury apartments, calling them Dean's Flats.  

During Prohibition, the hidden room was discovered and used as a place to sell illegal booze and consume it, under the noses of Marshall authorities.

By 1976, these luxury apartments and the building which housed them needed badly to be renovated. Four dedicated restorationists, with the help of volunteers, worked very hard to restore the building back into its original form; an 19th century, country inn.



HISTORY of MANIFESTATIONS:

After the restoration was finished and the antiques were brought into the inn, paranormal activity began.

Nothing stirs up entities like renovation and restoration construction.

Sometimes antiques have entities attached to them. (That Steak Joynt building)


MANIFESTATIONS.

A full, life-like apparition of a woman dressed in red appears before guests and staff, going about her business,
roaming around the halls upstairs and in the downstairs area.


It is a guess that she is perhaps from the 20th century, maybe a woman who lived in the apartments.

She could of been somehow connected to or was involved in the dangerous activity of selling the booze and partying in the basement, which could've been a force in her death.  Most booze came from mob connections. Other unsavory characters were also attracted to such black market activities.


She could of been a 19th century railroad traveler, a guest in the hotel, who met a bad end, and decided to stay at a place that she felt at home.]]> 20@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net National House Inn, Marshall Michigan 2009-10-18T21:00:23-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=19#19 2482 San Diego Avenue in the heart of Old Town,
San Diego, California.  In 1857, Whaley built what
is thought to be the first brick house in San Diego.
   
 
 
Made from the bricks of his own kiln, this two-story home with a one-story addition is said
by some to be haunted.  According to America's Most Haunted, “the house is the number
one most haunted house in the United States.”  In addition to being the family’s home, it
was also Thomas Whaley's own general store.  It served many other purposes such as
County Court House, grainery, ballroom, school, pool-hall and San Diego's first
commercial theater.

Born in New York City in 1823, Thomas was the son of Thomas Alexander Whaley Sr. and
Rachel Pye.  After acquiring a general education he enrolled in business classes at
Washington Institute.  In 1849 at the height of the Gold Rush, he left New York and headed
for San Francisco.  With the help of George Wardle, Thomas set up a store on
Montgomery Street selling items from his father’s company and lending out mining
equipment and utensils on consignment.  The store was a smashing success, but ended
suddenly in May 1851 when an arsonist set a fire that destroyed the plaza and his store
building.

Aware of booming business opportunities in San Diego, Thomas Whaley set sail with a
fellow merchant named Lewis Franklin.  Arriving in San Diego, they opened a store called
Tienda California.  The following year Franklin sold out his share of the business to
Whaley.  Thomas was well liked and soon became known for his ability to generate and
maintain retail stores.  He returned to New York City and married his high school
sweetheart Anna Eloise DeLaunay in 1853.  Continuing success made Thomas quite
wealthy and he wanted to build a home for Anna and himself.  Even though he knew that
public hangings had occurred where he planned to build, he did so anyway.  They moved
into the house in the fall of 1857.  Thomas was appointed as President for the San Diego
city Board of Trustees for the 1858-1859 term.  Later, this position became known as that
of Mayor.  The one-story addition on the house served as the county courthouse until 1870.  
The County Board of Supervisors also met and kept city records there.  When Alonzo
Horton established New Town, San Diego in 1868 he built a new court house and
demanded the old records from Old Town.  The people of Old Town fought to remain
independent and refused to hand over the records.  In March 1871 while Whaley was away
on business, Horton staged a raid on Whaley House.  Holding Anna on the stairs at
gunpoint, he forcefully seized the records.  Many people say they still feel a cold chill when
they reach the ninth step on the staircase.

At 17 months, Little Thomas Whaley III mysteriously died in his bed.  The cries of a baby
have been reported coming from the bedroom.  Young Violet Whaley committed suicide in
1885 leaving Thomas and Anna heartbroken.  They moved to New Town, San Diego
leaving Lillian, the Whaleys' youngest daughter, behind them.  She lived in the old house
until 1953.  Thomas Whaley died in 1890 and his wife Anna died in 1913.

Lillian was convinced that the ghost of “Yankee Jim” haunted the Whaley House.  James
Robinson had been convicted of grand larceny in 1852 and hanged on a gallows erected
on the spot where the house now stands.  The heavy footsteps of Yankee Jim can be heard
throughout the house.  Another reported haunting is that of a young blond girl who has been
seen in the kitchen and running around out in the yard.  She is thought to be the apparition
of a young girl who in the mid-1800s’s crushed her throat when she ran into a clothesline.  
She was carried into the kitchen and placed on the kitchen table.  She died a short time
later.

Hundreds of strange incidents have been reported by visitors to the Whaley House.   The
sounds of piano music, singing and laughter have been heard throughout the house.  The
smell of perfume and cigar smoke linger in the hallway.  Objects are often seen moving as
if someone touched them.  Curtains move without a draft; rocking chairs rock; pots and
pans sway back and forth; crystals on the lamp move without being touched; and pillows
and beds show the impression of someone lying there.  Mirrors and the glass bookcase
cast the reflections of the former residents of Whaley House.  Even the family pet, a terrier
named Dolly Varden, is said to have been seen running down the hall and entering the
dining room - its’ ears flapping and tail wagging.

Some believe the ghost of Thomas Whaley, wearing a black frock coat and wide-brimmed
hat, stands on the second floor landing surveying his home while Anna, wearing her
favorite calico dress, moves throughout the house preparing it for an unknown visitor.  Will
you be the next guest at the Whaley House?]]> 19@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Whaley House 2009-10-18T20:40:21-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=17#17 Winchester Boulevard in San Jose California began in 1884
under the watchful eye of  Sarah L. Winchester, the widow of
William W. Winchester (manufacturer of the winchester rifle).  
   
 
 
Seeking guidance after his death, Sarah consulted a medium (known only as the “Boston
Medium”) who told her of her late husband’s wishes that she move westward to a location
he would show her and build a home.  The medium also informed Sarah that William had
said, “There is a curse that has resulted from the terrible weapon created by the
Winchester family. A curse that took my life and the life of our child.  It will take your life too.  
You must build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible
weapon too.  You can never stop building the house.  If you continue building, you will live.  
Stop and you will die.”

So construction continued 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, until
Sarah’s death 38 years later on Sept. 5, 1922.  There was never a master plan.  Sarah
would consult the spirits at night and instruct the workers the next day.  An estimated 160
rooms existed in this seven story mansion.  The actual total is not known as rooms were
built inside of rooms and some of the upper floors collapsed during the 1906 earthquake
and were not restored.  Rooms were added to rooms and then entire wings were built.
Roof peaks were added to roof peaks, skylights located on top of skylights and towers
erected at various spots.  There were countless staircases inside which led no-where; a
blind chimney that stops short of the ceiling; trap doors; double-back hallways; closets that
opened to blank walls; doors were joined to windows and others opened to drop offs to the
lawn below; all of the stair posts were installed upside-down; many of the bathrooms had
glass doors and there were other odd features as well.

It is obvious that the number "13" was used often in the construction.  Nearly all of the walls
had 13 panels; many of the wooden floors contained 13 sections; some of the rooms had
13 windows, each containing 13 panes of glass and every staircase but one had 13 steps.
The exception is a winding staircase with 42 steps, enough to take one up three stories. In
this case, however, the steps only rise nine feet because each step is only two inches
high.  The greenhouse also had 13 cupolas.  The house had over 40 bedrooms, 2
ballrooms and 47 fireplaces.  Three elevators were installed to get to the upper levels.

Is the house haunted?  In the years that the house has been open to the public, employees,
visitors and psychics share clams of unusual phenomena reported here.  There have been
banging doors; mysterious voices and whisperings; footsteps; windows that bang so hard
they shatter; lights going on and off, strange moving lights and red balls of light that fade
and explode; doorknobs that turn by themselves; security alarms being set off from within
the house; a couple lingering in the corner of a bedroom; cold spots in Sarah's bedroom
as well as apparitions of Sarah.  The sound of music has been reported coming from the
“Blue Room” where Sarah died.  Perhaps one of the oddest reports is the smell of chicken
soup coming from a long-unused kitchen.

Psychic Jeanne Borgen visited in 1975 and reportedly took on Sarah Winchester's
appearance for a short time.  Authors Richard Winer and Nancy Osborn spent the night
there in 1979 while researching a book and were awakened by footsteps and piano
music.  Tours of the Winchester Mystery House can be obtained on-line.  Besides the
normal tours, Winchester Mystery House offers special flashlights tours every Friday the
thirteenth and at Christmas.]]> 17@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Winchester Mystery House 2009-10-18T20:33:54-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=16#16 in 1796 by General David Bradford in
St. Francisville, Louisiana, near Baton
Rouge.  He named this beautiful estate
"Laurel Grove."
   
 
 
Clark Woodruff married his daughter, Sara Mathilda, in 1817.  After David Bradford died in
1808, Clark and Sara managed the plantation for Elizabeth, Bradford’s widow.  They had
three children: Cornelia Gale, James, and Mary Octavia.  Elizabeth sold the plantation and
its slaves to Ruffin Gray Stirling.  Stirling and his wife Mary added rooms to the house,
nearly doubling its size.  They renamed the plantation “The Myrtles.”  Five of the  Stirling’s
nine children died at young ages.  Lewis Stirling, the oldest son of Ruffin G. Stirling, was
reportedly stabbed to death in the house “over a gambling debt.”   Ruffin Stirling died in
1854 and left the plantation to his wife.  In 1865, Mary hired William D. Winter to help
manage the plantation.  Winter was married to the Sterling’s daughter, Sarah.  Sarah and
William Winter lived at the Myrtles with their six children, one of whom died from typhoid at
three years of age.  In 1871, William Winter was shot by an unknown man on the porch of
the house and died.  Sarah remained at the Myrtles until her death in 1878 and the
plantation passed to Stephen, one of her sons.  Stephen sold it in 1886 to Oran D.
Brooks.  It was purchased from the Brooks family in 1891 by Harrison M. Williams who
divided up the land among his heirs.  In the 1950s, Marjorie Munson became the new
owner of the house.  Marjorie was the first to report odd things happening around the
house.  At some point in the 1970’s the plantation was sold to Arlin Dease and Mr. & Mrs.
Robert Ward who completely restored it.  James and Frances Kermeen Myers were the
next owners of the Myrtles.  The Myers apparently believed the house was haunted, and
began to feature it in books and magazines about haunted houses.  Billed as "one of
America's most haunted homes,”  the plantation is reported to be the home of at least
twelve ghosts.  The "ghost with the green bonnet” is the one seen most often.

Legend claims that Clark Woodruff was quite promiscuous.  He took Chloe, one of his
slaves, as a mistress.  Giving in to Woodruff's sexual advances kept Chloe from hard labor
in the fields.  Always fearing that Woodruff would send her back to the fields, she listened
intently for any word of his displeasure.  She would stand by the door of Woodruff’s study
and listen to his private conversations through the keyhole.  One day he caught her
listening in.  Clark ordered his servant to cut off one of Chloe’s ears to teach her a lesson.  
It is believed by some that she always wore a green turban around her head to “hide the
ugly scar that the knife had left behind.”  It is uncertain why Chloe put a handful of crushed
oleander in a birthday cake that she was told to bake for Woodruff's oldest daughter.  
Some claim Chloe only intended to make the family sick and then by nursing them back to
health she would regain favor with Woodruff.  Others say she intended to kill the Woodruff
family to avenge being sent back to the fields by Clark.  In either case, only the two children
and Sara had slices of the poisoned cake.  Woodruff didn't eat any of it.  Before the end of
the day, all of them were very sick and some believe they all died.  Others believe that only
Sara and one of the children died, but Mary Octavia survived and lived to see adulthood.  
Legend contends, “the other slaves, perhaps afraid that their owner would punish them
also, dragged Chloe from her room and hanged her from a nearby tree.  Her body was
later cut down, weighted with rocks and thrown into the river.”  Woodruff was supposedly
murdered in New Orleans in November 1851.  Chloe continues to haunt the plantation
where she lost her life.

The only verifiable murder to occur at the Myrtles was that of William Drew Winter.  He was
shot by an unknown assailant while he was standing on the side porch.  Winter staggered
back into the house onto the staircase that rises from the central hallway.    He then
managed to climb to the 17th step where he died in his wife’s arms.  Another murder
allegedly occurred in 1927, when a caretaker at the house was killed during a robbery.  
During the Civil War, three Union soldiers were killed when they tried to ransack the
house.  Supposedly, “there is a blood stain in a doorway, roughly the size of a human
body.”  Other legends say “that cleaners have been unable to push their mop or broom into
that space.”

The house is reportedly built over an Indian burial ground and the ghost of a nude young
Indian woman has been reported.  Also, “a young girl, with long curly hair and wearing an
ankle-length dress, has been seen floating outside the window of the game room, cupping
her hands and trying to peer inside through the glass.”  Perhaps the apparition is that of a
“young girl who died in 1868, despite being treated by a local voodoo practitioner.”  She
supposedly appears in the room where she died, practicing voodoo on people as they
sleep in this room.

Other strange phenomenon occurs at the Myrtle Plantation.  The grand piano on the first
floor is said to play by itself, usually playing the same chord repeatedly.  There have been
others who report hearing odd sounds while staying at the plantation.  Also, a mirror
located in the house supposedly holds the spirits of two children - perhaps that of two of the
Stirling children who never reached adulthood.

The house at the Myrtle Plantation is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  It is
now a bed & breakfast owned by John & Teeta Moss, who offer historical and mystery
tours.]]> 16@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Myrtles Plantation 2009-10-18T20:32:47-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=15#15 purchased by the state for a new state penitentiary.  
This site at 818 Jefferson Avenue was chosen because
it was close to the then-state capitol in Wheeling. ” The
West Virginia Penitentiary, with its striking stone facade
and Gothic castle-like style opened in 1876.”  Some
claim that the prison is plagued with what is called,
residual haunting, which are defined as a replay of a
tragic event from the past.  It has become a popular
destination for those who study paranormal activity.  
   
 
 
The facility opened for full operation in 1876 with 251 male inmates.  The structure was
originally built for 480 prisoners, but by the early 1930s it housed a total of 2,400.  At times,
three prisoners would be assigned to one of the tiny 5’ x 7’ cells.  The inmates were given
jobs that support the community.  “A variety of industries were located within the walls of
the prison including a blacksmith, wagon shop, carpentry shop, brickyard, stone yard, paint
shop, tailor, bakery and hospital.”

The first execution at the penitentiary occurred in 1899.  In total, ninety-four men were
executed there. Eighty-five of those men were hanged from 1899-1949, and the remaining
nine men were electrocuted from 1951-1959. The original electric chair is on display at the
prison.  Some believe that the prisoners themselves constructed “Old Sparky”.  The state
abolished the death penalty in 1959.  In 1986, The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that
the Penitentiary's inmates were receiving cruel and unusual punishment.  Also cited were
the deplorable conditions in the 5’ x 7’ cells, violence, and the occurrence of two major
riots. The prison officially closed in 1995, and all of the prisoners were moved to other
locations.

Cult leader Charles Manson is said to have served time at Moundsville.  On several
different occasions he asked to be transferred back. He spent some of his childhood in
West Virginia and has said if he ever left prison he would return to the area.
“There are several areas in the prison known as 'hot spots,' where an unusual amount of
paranormal activity reportedly occurs.  Such places include: the Chapel, shower cages,
Death Row, the Sugar Shack and the North Wagon Gate.”  The “Sugar Shack” is a room in
the basement that was used for indoor recreation when the weather was too severe out
side.  The prisoners were pretty much left to themselves in this room; a guard would check
in on them only periodically.  Even though no one was killed in the Sugar Shack, there was
a lot of violence and injuries reported there.  Also, “other things would happen in this room
that gave it the nickname...definitely not pleasant to think about!”  Another area known for
strange occurrences is the circular entrance gate, which was used to separate arriving
inmates from the outside world. According to reports, the circular cage turns periodically by
itself, giving the impression that the spirits of criminals are still arriving at the prison.  

One ghost that is reported the most is that of a maintenance man who lived in the
basement. The maintenance man was thought to be a snitch, would tell the warden and
guards whenever he caught the prisoners doing something inappropriate.  The prisoners
got their revenge, stabbing him several times with homemade knives while he was sitting
on the toilet in the bathroom.  Today his ghost supposedly wanders around that section of
the basement.  One of the most intriguing photos taken at Moundsville is that of the
“Shadow Man” by Polly Gear.

As of this writing, West Virginia Penitentiary Tours invites you to be one of its 30,000
visitors.  A day tour consists of an astonishing 90 minutes that offers an awesome history,
a touch of art, cold hard facts, an education of the Justice System, and a little fun with your
tour guide.  “You will truly walk through this gothic-style structure in amazement and wonder
why you did not visit sooner!”  Your night tour begins at midnight as groups of at least 20
people participate in a 90-minute historical, educational tour of the facility with a trained
guide. After that, create your own lights-out tour with only a flashlight and a camera, until 6:
00 am. “Is fear a factor for you?”  Bring your own food and drink (alcohol is prohibited).]]> 15@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net Moundsville Penitentiary 2009-10-18T20:31:39-05:00 http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=14#14
Leah Kubik, just two weeks shy of her 30th birthday, was found without vital signs inside a courtyard just before 2 a.m.

"They were believed to be exploring an old building because it's rumoured to be haunted," Toronto Police Const. Wendy Drummond told the Sun.

The Gothic-style, 134-year-old Connaught medical research building was the site of a grisly murder in 2001 but paranormal experts stress it's not haunted, only rumoured to be cursed.

Police said the pair managed to enter the ivy-covered building through an open window and then climbed three flights of stairs to the roof. There was still dust used by forensic investigators to recover fingerprints around the window yesterday.

The man crossed from one roof to the other, but a wire the woman was holding onto gave way and she plunged several storeys to her death, Drummond said.

Police tape was still blocking people from one stairway, which is suspected to have been used by the pair to gain access to the roof.

Police said they are still trying to determine whether it was death by misadventure.

"(The investigation) is ongoing and we'll have to go over any video surveillance, if there is any," Drummond said, adding they are also awaiting toxicology reports and an autopsy.

American-born Kubik worked in Toronto as a support centre engineer. She had also worked as a bartender.

Bar owner George Bozikis recalled the former employee as a nice person who had an eccentric style accented by the homemade eyeglasses she fashioned.

The building, erected in 1875 as the former seminary for Knox College, is no stranger to tragedy.

In January 2001, U of T professor David Buller was found stabbed there.

The talented artist suffered several wounds during the knifing frenzy in the second-floor studio where he'd taught painting for 15 years.

Professor George Hawken said he was friends and a colleague of Buller. Hawken said employees use swipe cards to gain access to the building.]]> 14@http://www.ghostchasersofmichigan.net This is old but new investigators still need to be careful 2009-10-18T20:12:03-05:00