I’ve always been fascinated by the Chadwick-Fretageot home, which is now home to Lowry Hollow. The building sits on the corner of Main and Steammill Streets, looking elegant and refined. I first discovered the building after moving to New Harmony nearly seven years ago. Curious about the architecture and enamored by the history, I was delighted to be able to walk inside an old historic building. I wasn’t there long before I encountered a ghost. My encounter ended up becoming the first chapter in my book, Haunted New Harmony.
Excerpt from Haunted New Harmony (2017)
I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. Mostly, I just wanted to see the interior of the building. As I perused the main room, I noticed a door to my right that led into another room.
This room was smaller than the main room and was filled primarily with Christmas items. As I walked around, taking in my surroundings, I was surprised to discover that I wasn’t alone.
While I am no stranger to experiencing ghosts, I was taken back by the sudden appearance of one directly behind me. I turned swiftly as my ears began to ring with the tell-tale sound of an unseen presence. The sensation of someone standing behind me was so strong, I half-expected to find a living breathing person.
The room was as empty as it had been before, but the sensation hadn’t diminished. In fact, it seemed even stronger. After having experienced a few decidedly negative ghosts in my past, my first reaction to a ghost is usually one of self-preservation, but this one didn’t feel threatening in the slightest. If nothing else, it felt welcoming and curious.
Without warning, my mind was immediately filled with images. I saw an older woman with iron-gray hair that was pulled back severely from her face. She wore round glasses and was dressed somewhat simply, in a gray longish dress with buttons down the front of it. The words “school marm” and “spinster” came into my mind.
I saw her as being kindly, someone who loved children and welcomed visitors with opened arms. She struck me as someone who had a wonderful sense of humor but could be iron-willed if pushed.
I saw her so clearly in my mind’s eye; it was as though she were standing directly in front of me, encouraging me to examine her. Not wanting to sound silly by speaking aloud in an empty room, I simply smiled and acknowledged her in my mind before I retreated back through the doorway.
The experience was mind blowing. It was rare for me to meet such a solicitous person in spirit form. Whereas many of the ghosts I’ve experienced in the past were shy and retreating, she was nothing less than hospitable and charming. She was someone I could imagine having tea with and exchanging stories about our lives.
***
I later learned more information about the ghost I encountered. Her name was Nora Chadwick-Fretageot. She was born in the house and died in the house, having spent nearly thirty years of her life as a librarian at the nearby Workingmen’s Institute. Because she didn’t marry until she was twenty-nine, she could have been considered a spinster in her era.
The building itself had a rich history, as well. The house was built in 1830 and was first used as a store by a man named Richard Barter and then later, by a man named Aaron Lichtenberger. When James Chadwick purchased the home in 1852, it became a saddler shop, where horse saddles were made and sold. In its history, it was also used as a post office, bank and a stagecoach stop, which is evident by the upstairs door on the front of the building.
(Above) Nora Chadwick Fretageot and her husband A.H. Fretageot (image courtesy of Workingmen’s Institute.
In the past several decades, the Chadwick-Fretageot building has been home to several gift shops. When I wrote Haunted New Harmony, it was called The Arbor House. After Barb retired in 2019, she closed the business and lived there for several years. Years later, she sold it to Lynn and Rod Clark, who owned a business called Lowry Hollow, a popular gift and furniture store. When I first moved to New Harmony, Lowry Hollow was located at the old train depot, which was also haunted. I featured it in my book, as well. Finding a building that was a good fit for the business was difficult. While the train depot was filled with charm, it’s location at the far edge of town prevented the store from prospering as much as it should have. The business landed in two other locations before it finally found its perfect home at its current location.
Lynn and Rod spent over a year restoring and renovating the building. They added much needed HVAC systems and attended to the places that needed help, bringing the old historic building back to its former glory. The Clark’s opened Lowry Hollow in November of 2022, much to the delight of their customers.
(Above) Lynn and Rod Clark looking out the Stage Coach door during the New Harmony Christmas parade.
I stopped by several times during their renovation, marveling at all the work they’d done. I also tuned into the haunting and was delighted to see that the building’s ghosts were still in residence. They seemed happy with the changes, which pleased me as well. Once the store was opened, I approached Lynn about doing a public paranormal investigation at the building and the rest is history.
After months of planning, we finally opened the doors for our investigation. Thirty-three guests were in attendance, divided into four groups. Each group visited four rooms in the building that were set up with individual paranormal experiments.
Joni’s Group – first floor kitchen
I wanted to try something different, and I think the guests really enjoyed it. I taught a mini paranormal 101 class during my half hour with each group. I brought them through several exercises to test their psychic mediumship gifts. When a ghost drifted into the room, the guests were instructed to write down what they felt as I guided them through the process. So many of them were on target, I’m sure they left wondering about their potential abilities.
Donna’s Group – first floor entrance room
The second group on the main floor was led by Donna Tilly. She used the Portal, along with the Spirit Box, to capture audio responses from the ghostly inhabitants.
First Session
Donna had the group introduce themselves. We do this because it’s polite. We don’t want the ghosts in the building to see us as threats or people who are being rude. We’ve come into their domain and we want them to know we don’t mean them any harm.
The Portal is a device that is connected to two Spirit Boxes. Donna runs one on AM and the other on FM. It pushes the sound through an amplifier and filters out a lot of the choppy sounds the Spirit Box normally makes.
Right out of the gate, they got a very clear response. The Portal said, “Ivan.” It actually said it twice. The second time sounded so clear, it sounds like someone in the room speaking. Donna confirmed it came from the box.
The second interesting response came in between questions. It was spoken quickly, so I had to slow it down to understand it. A woman said, “Make me!” She said it like she was challenging them.
Not long afterwards, the same woman’s voice came through again. They asked how long she’d lived there and she asked, “When?”
Someone asked if there was anything they should know about and an old man came through and said, “I don’t know, man.” It was interesting timing because someone just asked Donna if the responses were supposed to be clearer and she explained that they might be once they were processed through the audio equipment. That was exactly the case. This response was spoken quickly, but once I slowed it down 72%, you could hear what he was saying.
A woman asked how many men were there and it sounded like the same old man said, “Seven,” but it wasn’t clear enough to clip. They didn’t receive any further clear responses for the rest of the session.
Group 2
Donna explained the Portal to her group and after they introduced themselves, they started the session.
The Portal was almost a complete bust for the second session. Any responses they got were impossible to make out. Near the end of their session, someone asked what their favorite color was and a woman said “purple.”
The group did spend a lot of time with Jason, who passed the SLS camera around the group and regaled them with stories about his findings from the other groups.
They switched over to Spirit Box for the last ten minutes of the session and did get one response. Donna asked if they could see her and a man said, “He left me.”
Group 3
After a brief explanation and introductions, they get started with the Portal.
It’s very easy to hear what you want to hear with the Portal or Spirit Box. At one point, someone asked what their favorite color was, and everyone thought it said yellow. Listening with headphones later, it wasn’t yellow. They also thought the Portal said “Traci,” but it didn’t. One low growly voice kept coming through, but it was too muffled to make out. I feel like repeated investigations might help him learn how to enunciate more clearly. Being that this was the first time people have tried to talk to him, he gave it a great effort. The clearest he got was when someone asked him how old he was. It sounds like he says, “I’m coming. I’m on the phone.” I’m not sure if he could even hear the group clearly. His response suggests he’s living his own life on the other side with glimpses of our dimension. This makes me think about the movie “The Others” with Nicole Kidman. If you haven’t watched it, you should check it out because this is probably what a lot of hauntings look like.
Jason Nelson spent the night roaming around between all the groups with the SLS (Structured Light Sensor) Camera. It uses X-Box Kinect technology to map out figures, portraying them as stick figures. It also maps out the ghosts in the room. Here is one of his findings with the camera.
Group 4
After introductions and explanations on the Portal, Donna started her session.
They went around quite a few times without any clear responses. I don’t know if the Portal was too difficult for the resident ghosts to understand or if they’d all retired early. They thought the fourth session was going to be a bust as well when Jason walked in with the SLS camera. He was tracking a shape on the wall. While the group was gathered around the camera, mesmerized by the stick figure, a voice came through and very clearly said, “Everyone knows that’s where I am.” It was so clear, I initially thought it was someone in the room, but it wasn’t. Perhaps with some training, the ghosts there could learn how to use more of our electronic devices.
Rick’s Group – second floor room known as “Rod’s Room”
Rick conducted a dowsing rod session with his groups in an upstairs room that was probably used as a bedroom during the majority of the house’s history. The room is nicknamed “Rod’s Room” because it has a masculine theme. A large punching bag hangs from the ceiling, which tended to be a trigger for the investigation. Their results were interesting.
First Session
Rick started out his session by regaling his group with some of his paranormal experiences then passed the rods around the group. Here are the responses:
- Somebody there was willing to talk to them
- Rick noted that the punching bag in the room began slowly swaying
- They were talking to a female
- She worked there in the 1800s
- She was in her twenties when she worked there
- They just had one person with them
- She worked there when it was a post office
- She wasn’t married
- They asked for the rods to point to where she was in the room and they did.
- She had a baby, but was forced to give it away because she wasn’t married
- She used intoxicating beverages – bourbon was her favorite
- She smoked cigars – Rick began questioning whether they were still talking to the same person or if a male had entered the room.
- She was not a lady of the evening
- The punching bag was still moving as Jason came into the room with the SLS Camera. It showed a stick figure climbing on the bag, which quickly disappeared.
- There wasn’t a man there
- It was a woman and she did enjoy bourbon and cigars
- They asked the rods to point where she was in the room and Jason picked up a stick figure in the same area the minute the rods pointed in that direction
- She’s happy there
- Someone else stays with her at the house – more than one
- She knew some of the Owen family
- Rick noted that they were such an agreeable group, the woman just couldn’t say no to them. Most of their responses were either “no response” or a “yes response.”
Second Session
Rick’s second group went directly into a dowsing rod session. Here are their results:
- The woman continued with the dowsing rod session, and asked if there were any teenagers and the rods responded with “yes.”
- She asked the rods to point to where the ghost was in the room and they did.
- They were talking to a female
- She was over the age of sixteen – slow yes.
- She had pets – a dog
- She worked there
- It was the post office
- She’s the same woman the previous group talked to
- She lived there all her life
- Rick made the group laugh. All the responses were coming up as “yes,” so he suggested they asked a question that would inevitably be a “no.” So they asked if she worked naked and the response was “yes.”
- She was married
- She didn’t know Ivan (from Donna’s first session)
- She didn’t go to school there
- She didn’t work anywhere else in town
- They were still talking to a woman (slow yes)
- She was standing right behind one of the guests
- She used to like to swim in the Wabash River
- None of the men were having any luck getting their questions answered, making them wonder if she didn’t like to talk to men
- She likes talking to women (confirmed)
- She usually stays up this late
- When asked to point to where she was, the rods pointed behind her
- She was in the picture behind her
- They were wondering why all the people were there trying to talk to them
- Her father isn’t in the photo with her
- Her brother isn’t in the photo with her
- She was behind the pillar
- She isn’t still working there
- She always lived there
- She was born there
- She was involved in politics in New Harmony
- She was involved with the Minerva Society
- They went several rounds without a response, but she finally acknowledged she was still there
- She said she could light up the cat ball, but she didn’t actually do it
- They asked if she was stubborn and the rods said “yes”
- She has a favorite person. When asked to point to that person, she pointed to one of the men.
Third Session
Rick showed the group how to use the dowsing rods and then they were off and running. Here’s what they found:
- Someone asked if there was anyone in there and they got a “no” response, which was amusing
- They aren’t willing to talk
- The people in the other room were too loud
- They weren’t talking to a man
- They were talking to a woman
- She liked whiskey (there was a bottle on the table, which instigated the question)
- She also liked cigars
- She knows Michael from the other room
- She also knows the name Eric
- She didn’t follow one of them there
- She was just visiting
- She plays in the house
- She’s a child (who likes whiskey J)
- She’s playing games with them
- She likes playing tricks on people
- Eric was also there
- She also visits other facilities in town
- Jason came into the room with the SLS camera and told them he was chasing something coming up the stairs. He was seeing a stick figure on the screen.
- She enjoys being in New Harmony
- She was born in Germany
- She wasn’t a follower of Robert Owen
- She sometimes hangs out in the old firehouse (the owner was there and asked that question)
- She didn’t follow them over
- There is someone else haunting the old firehouse
- She sometimes messes with the clock tower bell
- The K2 meter began going off, which was indicative of a ghostly presence
- They remember town marshal, Scotty
Fourth Group
Rick introduced himself for the group and then demonstrated how to use the dowsing rods. He then passed the rods onto the guests. Here are his results:
- Someone was there who was willing to talk to them
- They were talking to a man
- They talked to him downstairs
- He’s young
- He has a friend named John (information found from a different group session)
- He doesn’t like music
- He wasn’t married
- He isn’t a child
- He was in his thirties
- They confirmed they were talking to a man
- They had a long period without responses
- Two guests were convinced they were actually talking to a boy they connected with in another group
- He likes to play in the building
- He lives in the Ribeyre Gymnasium
- He comes to Lowry Hollow because they have toys he can play with
- He doesn’t miss his mom and dad
- He got mad at Ava earlier. She was doing the Estes Method and had an experience.
- He doesn’t think the dowsing rods are a toy
- He likes to come to Lowry Hollow
- He likes it when people come to talk to him
- He’s not right in front of her
Traci’s Group – second floor gallery room
Traci Hoehn oversaw a group on the second floor in the front room that faces the street. The space is large and open with gallery paintings on the wall and room for workshops. Because it is January, they were doing a Chinese “Year of the Rabbit” theme. The room was more than likely used primarily for living quarters for the people who owned shops there. An unusual door is centered along the front of the building which the owners believe was once used to unload carriages when the building was a carriage stop.
Traci’s group conducted an interesting experience called the Estes Method. Participants wear a blindfold and headphones connected directly to a Spirit Box, which is a device that scans the radio stations rapidly. Ghosts are able to talk through the white noise. By connecting the participant up directly to the Spirit Box and having them blindfolded, we eliminate potential contamination factors. Many times, we’ll ask a question and we’ll hear something that “kind of” matches up with what we asked. By having the participant blindfolded and unable to hear the questions, they will only hear what they hear and then say it aloud.
In past investigations, Traci has been the one connected to the Spirit Box, but we thought it might be fun to offer this experience to several of our guests during the event. Here are the results:
First Session (Red Group)
Traci started out her session by having her guests introduce themselves. She then selected the first participant.
Q: Is there anyone here with us?
A: Crazy
Q: What’s crazy?
Q: Did you have any children?
Q: Were you born here in New Harmony?
A: Yes
Q: Did you ever go fishing in the Wabash River?
A: Safe
Q: Do you feel safe here?
Q: Did you live here?
Q: Is anyone else here?
A: Hey!
Q: When were you born?
Q: Are you male or female?
A: See ya!
Q: Can you tell me what your name is? Do you remember any of our names? Did someone think you’re crazy?
A: What?
A: Up
Q: Is there someone else upstairs? How old are you? Did you have any pets?
A: Yeah
Q: Did you have a cat? Or did you have dogs? Did you have any brothers or sisters? Is anyone still with us? Did you live in New Harmony all your life? Is there a little boy here?
A: TALK TO ME! (shouted)
Q: I’m trying to talk to you. What’s your name? Do you like to play with the toys?
A: Ah-oh!
Q: Did you get in trouble for trying to play with the toys? It’s okay.
Traci stopped the session. She said there were a couple of different voices coming through.
Next participant
Q: Is the little boy still here with us? How old are you? Did you ever plant a garden? Are you married?
A: Thank you! Victim.
Q: Who’s a victim? Was it you? Were you in the Tri-State Tornado?
A: Come out
Q: Did you come out from the gymnasium? Is Nora Chadwick-Fretageot here? Can you tell me the name of the victim?
A: Late
Q: who’s late or was that their last name?
A: Come. Up.
Q: Where do you want us to come up to? Did you go to school here in New Harmony?
A: Answer
A: Hello.
She then ripped off the headphones, a little freaked out. A voice said, “Can you speak up?” very clearly and it startled her.
Next participant
Q: Are we speaking loud enough for you? Did you like to read?
A: Get back (said while Traci was trying to take a picture of her)
Q: Did she ruin the picture for you?
Q: Is that my mother? (her mother was using the headphones)
A: No (everyone laughed)
Q: Why don’t you think that’s my mom?
Traci told the group that a strong female had just come into the room. She saw her in her 40s and said she was nice. Jason came into the room with the SLS camera but didn’t see anything.
A: It’s not safe
Q: Traci explained that the SLS camera was safe, that it would show them where she was. Is there something we should know?
A: loud
Q: It is loud here tonight. We have a lot of people here in your house tonight.
Jason then picked up a stick figure by the lantern. Then it climbed to the ceiling. Traci then explained to the group what the camera did.
A: Train
Q: did you use the train? Traci explained that there was once a train that went through and Lowry Hollow’s first location was actually at the old train depot.
A: Wind
Q: Does the storm coming sound like a train? What do you think of the decorations?
A: Can’t hear
Q: Is there something we can do to make ourselves clear? Discussion about Chinese New Year. What animal are you?
A: Outside
Q: Traci did the pie question. We’ve found this beneficial to getting responses and ask everyone to discuss their favorite pie.
A: Where?
Q: Sorry we didn’t bring pie. What kind of pie do you like and I’ll bring you some.
Q: Were you talking about the decorations outside? I think they’re beautiful. Do you like them?
One of the guests suddenly felt light headed.
A: Miss them
Q: Who do you miss?
Q: You can light up the lights on the table if you want.
A: No
Q: Do you have any friends with you?
A: Slept
Q: Did you take a nap today?
A: John
Q: Who’s John? Does he work here or live here?
A: Friend
Q: Is your friend John here with us?
Second Group (Yellow Group)
Traci explained the process and then got started. The first participant donned the headphones and blindfold, and they were off and running.
Q: Is there anyone here with us? Can you tell us what your name is?
A: Eric
Q: How old are you?
A: Turn around
Q: Are you standing behind her? What did you do for a living?
A: Oh yeah
Q: Are you a young person?
A: The truth
Q: What’s the truth? Do you tell the truth? Is Eric the name of the little boy who was here before? What’s your favorite color? How long have you been here? Where do you live? Are you still in here?
A: Yeah
Q: Do you want to talk? What color is your hair?
A: I can’t
Q: Do you not have hair? Is there someone here keeping you from talking? Do you need something from us?
A: I could
Q: What could you do? Where are you in the room? How old are you? What do you do for fun?
A: No
Q: You don’t have fun? Are you still here?
A: You suck
Q: Are you short?
A: Come on!
Q: Are you frustrated?
A: Who’s that?
Q: This is Traci. Who are you? Are you Eric? Are you a boy?
A: First
Q: Are you the first born in your family? Is there something wrong with your eyes? (One of the guests began having pain in her eye) Can you see?
A: My room
Q: Did you live in this house? Did we upset you?
A: I like
Q: Is there anything you want to tell us
They then switched participants. He said he could hear a little bit of “mumble” and then would hear more. He said the voices sounded more like a woman’s voice. He heard a lot of guitar too.
Q: Do you live here? Are you a boy or a girl?
A: Yeah
Q: Have you been messing with the people sitting in that chair? Did you poke her in the eye? Are you still in the room? Is someone keeping you from talking to us? What’s your favorite smell? Are you here by yourself?
A: You (everyone laughed)
Q: Are you here by yourself or are you here with family? Is there something you want us to know about you?
A: Playtime
Q: Do you like playtime? You can play with the toys in the other room. You can also touch that light on the table and make it light up. Do you move things in here?
A: Put
Q: Do you put things in the right place? Will you touch the green light? Can you do something, please?
A: Why (everyone laughed)
Q: Because it would be really cool
A: No, you guys!
Q: well, okay.
A: Did you say my name? We’re going.
Q: Did we make you angry? Can you touch the green light?
A: In there!
Jason just walked up the stairs and was in the other room.
A: Come
Q: Come to where? Would you like us to go to the next room over?
A: Who are you?
Q: My name is Mitch. What’s your name? Are you a boy or a girl? Are you the young woman who was in the kitchen?
A: NO!
Q: Are you the man who was in the kitchen? Can you touch the green light? It would make us all very happy. Are you still in here? What do you like to play with?
A: Ouch!
Q: Are you okay? Did you get hurt?
She stopped. She said she kept hearing some call her name, “Amber, Amber.” And then she heard galloping, like horses. The next guest put on the headphones and blindfold and they started again.
Q: What’s your favorite kind of music? Do you like music? Is there anyone else here that you can’t see?
A: I can’t. Mike.
Q: Mike is in here with you?
A: Oh!
Q: Who are you here with? Can you say their name? Do your eyes hurt?
A: Exactly!
Q: Are you next to me?
A: You can
Q: Can I feel you? Do any of us know you? Can you tell us your name or if you’re a boy or a girl? Can you give us a sign you’re in here?
A: Perfect
Q: What is perfect?
A: Upset
Q: What are you upset about?
A: don’t
Q: Don’t what?
A: Please
Q: Please what? Did you live in this house?
A: Yeah
Q: A long time ago? Are you busy?
A: No
Q: Are you tired?
A: I can’t
Q: You can’t go to sleep? Are you always awake?
A: No
Q: Do you sleep?
A: My favorite
Q: Sleep’s my favorite too. Did you sleep in this room?
A: Oh
Q: Oh what? How many fingers am I holding up?
A: Love
Q: You can’t see, can you?
A: Mom?
Q: Is your mom in here with you? Do you like being here?
A: Who?
Q: Do you like being here? Are you behind me?
A: Believe it
Q: Can you knock on a wall or the table? Are you scared?
A: Sure
Q: Do you like us being here with you? What did this room used to be when you lived here?
They brought him out of the session. He reported it felt like it put him in a trance.
Third Group (Blue Group)
Traci explained the process and then the group introduced themselves. She then got the first participant ready for the Estes method.
Q: Is there anyone here with us who wants to speak? We have a new group here.
A: Hello
Q: Hello! I’m Traci. What’s your name?
A: Work
Q: Did you work here?
A: Work
Q: Do you want us to work? I’m not in the mood. Where did you work?
A: No
Q: Who are we speaking with?
A: Male
Q: Are you male or did you do the mail?
A: Male
Q: That’s not helpful! (laughter)
A: Michael (they got Mike last time)
Q: How old are you?
A: Jones
Q: Traci said she’d research it
Q: Are you alone?
A: Yes
Q: What was your job here?
A: Politics
A: Cool
Q: What’s cool?
A: Yes. A lot.
Q: Were you born here?
A: Five
Q: Did you enjoy your work?
A: Corner
Q: Are you in the corner of the room?
A: Yep
Q: Which corner are you in?
A: Two. One.
Q: Are you by the doorway?
A: Hello
Q: Are you by the window? Are you by the lamp?
A: What?
A: Paul?
Q: Do you have a wife?
A: Family
Q: How many kids do you have?
A: Two
Q: Are they boys or girls or one of each?
A: Nothing
A: How are you?
Q: I’m good. How are you?
A: Tired
Q: Is it getting late for you?
A: Four
Q: Hi Michael. My name is Michael too. Do you like to go hunting? Do you like to go fishing?
A: Wife
Q: Did you like your wife? Did you always live here?
A: Yeah. Me. Whisper.
Q: Do you want us to whisper
A: They just started laughing
A: What are you doing?
Q: We’re talking to you. What are you doing?
A: Listening
Q: Where are you right now?
A: Write/ride
Q: Write what? Did you ride horses?
A: Lovin’ (Everyone laughed)
Q: Congrats!
A: Nora
Q: Is Nora here? Was Nora your wife?
A: My name’s Nora
Q: Hello, Nora.
A: I did.
Q: We’re happy you’re here, Nora. Did you enjoy working at the library?
A: Yes.
Q: I remember you liked music?
A: Dress
Q: Did you like dresses?
A: yes
Q: What color was your favorite dress?
A: white
A: Brown
Q: Did you like the brown dress too?
A: no
Q: are you wearing the brown dress now?
A: yes
Q: sorry you’re wearing the one you don’t like. That stinks.
A: yep
Q: Can you tell me which building your husband ran his furniture company?
A: here
Q: No not here. This is where you lived, right?
A: me
Q: Did you tutor children as well
A: I am
Q: Do you tutor the little boy who’s here? Can you tell me the little boy’s name? He was in here earlier. We think he came in from the gym.
A: Church
Q: He came in from the church
A: Sunday
Q: Did you go to church on Sunday?
A: yep
A: here
Q: Nora, did you like your mother in law?
A: yep
Q: Nora, what was your favorite food?
A: one
A: am I?
Q: Are you what?
A: My arm
Q: What’s wrong with your arm?
A: Here I am
Q: Is this still Nora or is it someone else? Why are you here?
A: It doesn’t change. Surprise! (laughter)
Q: Nora, I like your sense of humor.
A: yep.
Q: Did you have any pets, Nora? Is there any hidden treasure in this house?
A: One
Q: Can you tell us where it is? (laughter) Do you believe in magic, Nora?
A: Four
She brought her out of the session. They told her how well she did. This might be the best session I’ve ever listened to. This same young woman did very well in my psychic development class portion of the investigation, which could explain things.
The next person got ready and they began asking questions.
Q: What’s your name? Are you still Nora?
A: Anyone here?
Q: We’re still here. Is there anyone here on your side? Can you hear us?
A: Walking
Q: Where are you walking to? (They heard the floors creaking). Do you know what year it is? Were you the one walking up the wall (on the SLS)?
A: Hello. Stand.
Everyone stood and then she said, “I stand,” so they sat down.
Q: Are you from here?
A: I’m dancing
Q: Do you like to dance? Why can’t we hear you dancing? What kind of dance do you like the most? How old are you?
A: There’s a woman
Q: Do you dance with a woman?
A: Woman
Q: Who’s the woman?
A: Be nice!
Q: We’re trying. Are you nice? Is the woman you’re dancing with your wife? Are you a woman? Do you like to go to parties?
A: Listen!
Q: Is there something you’d like to tell us
A: Baby’s mama
Q: How many children do you have?
A: you
Q: Are you talking to me? Is your baby’s mama here? Did you work here? Is Nora still here? Nora, we’d like to keep talking to you.
A: Yes
Q: Nora, what was your favorite book or author? Do you visit the library?
A: NO! (shouting)
Q: Well, okay. Did you like working at the library? Are you stuck here?
A: YES! (shouting)
Q: I’m sorry you feel like you’re stuck here. What do you do in your spare time, Nora? Is anybody still here?
A: shut up
Q: okay. Do you only like to talk to women?
A: TELL ME! (shouting)
Q: What do you want us to tell you?
A: Go!
Q: Where do you want us to go? Is there something you want us to see?
A: Wait
Q: I can do that. Nora, how many of you live in this building?
She took off the blindfold and headphones. She noted that they were screaming in her ear. She was primarily hearing a male voice. The next person sat down.
Q: We have someone new listening. Do you have something to say to him? You told him to shut up earlier, so he’s listening now.
A: Nora
Q: are we talking to Nora?
A: eight
Q: lots of numbers. That’s odd.
A: office
Q: is that where the treasure is? What kind of office? Law office? Post office? Or your personal office? Nora, are you still here?
A: Hi
Q: Hi Nora. How are you?
A: Whisper
Q: You want me to whisper? How are you, Nora (whispered)? We’re about out of time. Is there anything special you’d like to tell us? Nora, are you still here?
There were no other answers and time had run out. This session was incredible.
Fourth Session (Orange Group)
Traci started the session by explaining the process. They then introduced themselves and the first person donned the headphones and blindfold. Here’s what they found:
Q: Is anyone here with us?
A: Don’t ask
Q: Can I ask you what your name is? My name’s Traci. Can you say my name? Can you see us? Are you happy? Do you want to communicate with us?
A: Back up
Q: Will you please talk to us?
A: All right
Q: What’s your name? Do you know what time it is? How old are you? Are you not talking because of who’s listening?
A: Yes
Q: Would you like us to switch listeners? Do you have a message for us?
A: Here. Doctor
Q: Do you need a doctor?
A: Him
Q: Who is “him”? Is he an adult or a child?
A: Property. Seven.
Q: Seven, what? Are you here alone? Can you show us you are here?
After a long period of silence, Traci switched out the listeners. She noted that they’d been hearing a lot of numbers and none of them made much sense. She said she was hearing a male voice primarily. A female came in from time to time. The next participant put on the headphones and blindfold and they were off and running.
Q: Are you going to talk to us now? What is your name? Did you work here? What is your favorite food?
A: yeah, right! (said sarcastically)
A: I write
Q: What do you write about? Are we speaking to Nora?
A: Them
Q: Traci decided to do a round robin question: What is your favorite pie? The group went around and talked about their favorite pies, then Traci turned the question to the ghosts in the room. Are you scared of us? Can you talk to us?
A: We’re all here
Q: How many of you? Can you hear us? Why are you here? Do you want to be here? Are you young?
A: This is it
Q: Do you want more? Can you speak with us? Do you like animals?
A: Free
A: Something out
Q: Do we need to let something out? Is it trapped? They didn’t hear it at the time, but on audio review, there is a very clear growl afterwards. Makes me wonder what is trapped.
Q: Do you get mad?
Traci pulled her out of the session. She said she heard three different voices talking all over each other. They had a new listener hooked up and off they went.
Q: Is there anyone who wants to talk to us? Hello? Nora, are you still here? We’d really love to keep talking to you. Are you watching us right now? Are you listening? Are we upsetting you? Are you female or male? Are you still with us?
Jason walked into the room with the SLS camera, but he didn’t get anything. It had grown quiet.
Q: Are the kids okay? Are the kids here? Have you seen the doctor? Are you the doctor who visited the bank?
After a few minutes of getting zero responses, they pulled her out of the session. She said all she was hearing was radio interference without any voices. Traci found another person willing to give it a shot.
Q: Can you tell us your name? What’s your favorite color? Can someone talk to us? What color is the lantern hanging in the room? What year is it? Do you have a favorite song? Are you a Democrat or a Republican? Are you Catholic? Here’s your last chance?
They pulled her out of the session and Traci gave it a shot. She has always done it our past investigations, so she has the most experience.
Q: Why did you guys stop communicating with us?
A: No
Q: no shit!
A: That’s the problem.
Q: group laughed
A: Stop it!
Q: Stop what?
A: You made it
Q: Made what?
Q: Who are you? Do you want to talk to anyone in particular in this room? Do you like listening to the bells ring (the clock chimed)
A: I think so. I would. Yeah.
Q: Why wouldn’t you be able to
A: Buckle up!
Q: Why? Is it time for bed?
A: Lung cancer
Q: Did you die from lung cancer? What year did you die? (We don’t normally ask questions about their deaths, but Traci was under the headphones to prevent the line of questioning) Do you like where we’re going?
A: It’s true
Q: Were you part of the slave trade in any way?
A: Jamie
Q: is that your name?
A: I’m right here
Q: Hello, Jamie
A: I’m short
Q: Are you white? (What??) So, we have to go. If you want to tell us something, go ahead and do it. It was cool hanging out. It’s time for us to go.
A: Hello
Q: Hi
The session was finished, so they pulled her out.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a fascinating night. Guests had a chance to experience four completely different ways to communicate with the spiritual realm and they also had a great time. Like the stage coach stop it once was, it’s possible ghosts come and go from the location. We were delighted to hear that Nora Chadwick Fretageot is still in the building and are curious about the others we talked to. Michael, Ivan, the young woman who was forced to give away her baby, the little boy and the others we communicated with seemed happy where they were and were interesting to talk to. We will be repeating our process on March 4th (sold out) and March 18th, 2023 at the Orchard House investigation. Check our website for more information.
Thank you to Lowry Hollow for allowing us to investigate this intriguing building, and thank you to Shannon and Anne for staying with us. Additional gratitude goes to my team for all your hard work and thank you to our guests who joined us. Now, it’s onto the next!
Haunted New Harmony 