RISEUP Paranormal

RISEUP Co-Founders Ken and Dave DeCosta recently flew to Los Angeles Jan. 18-20 to complete pre-production interviews for the A&E/Biography Channel's "My Ghost Story". Their segment will chronicle many of the events that took place during RISEUP's on-going investigation of the Paine House Museum in Coventry, R.I.

Location filming at Paine House was completed the day after their return and the segment will be aired in a yet-to-be-announced episode of this coming season's MGS.

The RISEUP Paranormal Research Group, through the kindness and generosity of Old School Paranormal's Dan Rivera and Rich DiCarlo conducted an investigation of the famed Sterling Opera House in Derby Connecticut on December 10, 2011.

The Opera House is unusual for its Italian Victorian architectural treatment in a public building. The design balances symmetrical and asymmetrical effects: the asymmetrical tower is balanced by the window treatment. The house was built in 1889 to seat 1250, and possesses an excellent stage.

The theater opened on April 2, 1889 and remained in use until 1945. Two lower levels served as a City Hall and Police Station until 1965.

Designer H.E. Ficken, one of the creators of Carnegie Hall, combined several architectural styles in the Sterling. The exterior and roof-top and the interior walls and doorways are Italianate Victorian and display the final evolution of the Italian Baroque opera house. The interior seating plan was influenced by German composer Richard Wager's conception of a triangle seating arrangement, with all seats enjoying an unobstructed view of the stage. No box seats were used, but two "piano boxes" were located on either side of the stage to accommodate two Sterling Pianos.

     A proscenium arch frames the 60-by-34-foot stage. Below are 10 dressing rooms. The auditorium boasts an orchestra pit, two gracefully sweeping balconies and fine examples of bottle glass, keystone arches and wrought iron work. Acoustically, the Sterling has no equal. Even a whisper can be heard clearly from all areas of the auditorium.

     Comedian Red Skelton, composer John Philip Sousa and dancer Donald O’Connor all appeared on the stage of the Sterling Opera House during its heyday as a vaudeville palace. Renowned magician Harry Houdini once performed feats of magic and daring escapes at the Sterling. Aviatrix Amelia Earhart addressed the local Women’s Club here in 1936. Lionel Barrymore, a legend of American theater, joined his famous relatives, John and Ethel Barrymore, in appearances at the Sterling.

     Ex-heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan performed the role of Simon Legree in a Sterling Opera House production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and silent film-maker D.W. Griffith was so pleased with the reception his Birth of a Nation received in Derby that he used the theater to try out several of his subsequent films before their general release.

     The turn of the century brought an increase in labor unrest in the Valley. The most famous incident occurred when seventy women in the underwear room of the Paugussett Mills walked off the job on strike. The strike was only settled after fifty-four days when the famed AFL president Samuel Gompers personally came to Derby, and in one day, after numerous meetings, announced the settlement to a packed Opera House.

On October 29, 2011, RISEUP joined with the St. Ann's Board of Trustees and "Creepy Places of New England" to host a rare and unique event - a legitimate public investigation of this iconic landmark located in Woonsocket, R.I.

This video is dedicate to all those who braved an early-season snowstorm to join us and to everyone who contributed to the event's success. It is intended as an account of what was experienced and gathered through recordings and eyewitness reports.

We have completed the public investigations of the Paine House Museum for the 2011 year. The events were tremendously well-received and raised significant funds that will be channeled toward the maintenance and restoration of the historic landmark which is located in Coventry, R.I.

RISEUP would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Western R.I. Civic Historical Society for their cooperation and generosity in sharing this wonderful testament to the Colonial and Victorian eras with our group of investigators. We'd also like to express our thanks to all those who supported these events and contributed greatly to our own examination of the reported paranormal phenomena within the home. Some of what was documented was nothing shy of sensational.

We all look forward to working with the WRICHS in the future and returning to Paine House again in 2012 for the next series of investigations.

Front row (l-r): John Barrows (TAPS), Chris Blanchette (RISEUP), Nancy LaVena (RISEUP), Dan Snizek (RISEUP)

Second row (l-r): Joe Chin (TAPS), Wellington Chin (TAPS), Julie DeMay (RISEUP), Traci Boiselle (TAPS), Christine Downes (TAPS), Wendy Alsfeld-Thatcher (RISEUP), Dave Grady (RISEUP)

Back row (l-r): Demetria Walter (TAPS), Stephen Mills (TAPS), Ken DeCosta (RISEUP), Tom Stewart (RISEUP), Tom Carroll (TAPS)

Once again RISEUP Paranormal and the TAPS Home Team joined forces for an interesting night of investigation in a unique setting. This time the St. Ann's Arts and Cultural Center in Woonsocket, R.I. was the focus of their efforts.

The teams were graciously hosted by Chairman of the Board Walter Rathbun and Executive Director Dominique Doiron - who gave us an extensive and insightful background into the history of the former Catholic church - as well as the producers and featured personalities behind the always revealing and entertaining "Creepy Places of New England" webisodes, Stephen Moreau and Charles Reis. We are indebted to them for their cooperation.

The St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church building was built between 1913 and 1917 by French Canadian immigrants to serve the religious & social needs of the Catholic community. Built in modern French Renaissance style, the building exhibits all of the rich classical details of Romanesque architecture. In the 1920's, over 40 stained glass windows, designed and produced by French artists, were installed.

The interior walls, vaults, and ceilings of the church were completely covered in fresco paintings by Guido Nincheri, a native of Florence, in the style made famous by Michelangelo and Raphael. In many ways, the themes and extent of the paintings are reminiscent of those in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. - from the SAA&CC website

The investigation itself was amazing and revealed the building to be every bit as active and compelling as the claims we heard from them. The reveal is captured in this episode of "Creepy Places of New England". (Suggest headphones for audio.)

On Saturday night, May 14th, RISEUP Paranormal were among the guests of New England Paranormal Research (NEPR) and The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation for an overnight investigation of Newport, R.I.'s Rose Island Lighthouse. Joining RISEUP were investigators from Nor~Eastern Paranormal (NEP) and Outer Realm Paranormal (ORP).

Our sincere appreciation to John Brightman of NEPR for putting the investigation together and to Dave McCurdy for his hospitality and a smooth boat ride over. Special thanks to all our fellow investigators for making this a great night out with friends and sharing their experiences with all of us.

Learn more about RISEUP, from our personnel to our methods and goals through interviews, videos and pictures.