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Tiverton, R.I.
May 24, 2008
As RISEUP has begun to gain more attention in our home town, the reactions to our existence sometimes lean toward the skeptical and quizzical, but we have found an equal amount of people to be quite supportive and curious when learning of our interest in the paranormal. One such individual brought his experience to our attention recently. A local homeowner whose property sits close to the Tiverton waterfront related his story to us in person and asked to set a date for a visit to his home. After some cancellations because of his family obligations and some relevant questions regarding the extent and length of the investigation, a date was set for May 24, 2008. This is his story:
Activity
One night while his family was asleep at around midnight, he heard the distinctive sound of a helicopter overhead. Going to his window and seeing nothing he decided to get into his truck and drive down to the waterfront, thinking this might be a Coast Guard chopper tracking someone or something out on the water. By the time he drove there, he saw nothing and thinking he had missed the excitement, he drove back home. Walking back into the house, he heard the chopper again. He went to the window and he still couldn't see anything. then heard very clearly and distinctly his son's name whispered in his ear.
What was even more unsettling was that his son's name is, in fact. Not being prone to flights of fancy and being aware of the time of night, at first he gave it no real credence, but the incident stayed with him to the point that he requested we come in for a look around. We were also keen to investigate an abandoned house which abutted the property and was the subject of a number of bizarre stories related by residents of the neighborhood. We felt this would present the opportunity for a unique "double investigation".
Orientation
Before arriving we were told of the owner's daughter's interest in what we did and we knew of her desire to shadow us for a bit if she could. An intelligent 13 -year old girl, we agreed to show her how we went about our business and what we were looking for. To appease her curiosity, we thought we would just take her on our initial baseline walk-through of the basement area. This is routinely done to check for possible electromagnetic discharge emanating from wiring or other devices that might affect the perceptions of people in close proximity or be misinterpreted as something anomalous during an investigation. We can also check for carbon monoxide leaks, paint fumes, loose plumbing or lighting fixtures or anything else that might be harmful, adversely affect or even falsely alarm the occupants. There were no reports of any activity in that area and we thought it would be suitable for her to observe us and learn a bit about our equipment before we began the actual investigation. It turned out to be a bit more than that.
Atmospheric Conditions:
Temperature: 57 degrees F
Humidity: 51%
Wind Speed: 6-8 mph
Investigators: Ken DeCosta
David DeCosta
Ryan Lantini
Chris Blanchette
Adam Perry
Investigation
7:30 PM – Preparations for the investigation were made. Adam was last to arrive and we drove a short distance to the site, which is not far from our base of operations.
8:00 PM – The group arrived at the home and introduced those members of the group who did not know the family. We prepped our handheld equipment, distributed our wireless IR cameras, and set up our base. On this night, it would be a screened-in veranda in the homeowners backyard. This proved to be an ideal location as we were allowed to set up an IR on the abandoned property as well as the home. With our laptop in split-screen mode, we wanted to test the wireless capabilities of the cameras. The results were mixed. We had a decent picture relaying back, but in the long-term hard-wiring remains the best option.
David, Adam and Chris went over to the abandoned property. Ryan and Ken, accompanied by the homeowner and his daughter, went into the basement to run EMF/Temperature Baselines. The basement was unfinished and primarily used for storage. The larger utilities (hot water heater, furnace) had been placed on concrete pads to elevate them off the floor. One item of note is the existence of the original foundation, made of mortar and granite. Part this foundation passes through the center of the basement. As the original dwelling dates back to the late 1800s, this was an interesting, if not common, construction design. The presence of granite was grabbed our attention as the Stone Tape Theory remains prominent in paranormal research. Many speculate that residual energies, whether physical and psychic, can imprint themselves within the rock's structure.
Example of the older foundation walls
EMF baseline readings revealed the usual suspects. Electric junction boxes, house wiring, light fixtures, Romex cable, etc. Some were actually uncommonly high, a fact we shared with the homeowner to make him aware of the possible adverse effects they might have on he and his family.
Ryan Lantini performing an EVP sweep
After a thorough "once-over" of the basement, Ryan and Ken decided to conduct an EVP experiment with the others present. Cursory questions were asked to determine the possible presence of a spirit(s) and then, spontaneously, the homeowner and daughter began to ask questions as well. The investigators saw this as a sign that both were getting comfortable with their presence and eager to learn about what they were trying to accomplish. Although out of the norm on any investigation, we did not mind their input and participation at all and they asked some very relevant questions, too. In fact, Ken started to feel that their involvement might actually promote contact. In general, they were following the investigator's leads asking for some affirmation of the presence of a spirit.
It was just seconds later that Ken felt the distinct cold spot on his left elbow. He was holding a recorder with that hand and the sensation was as if something was touching at one specific point, as if he was being touched by the end of a cold rod. He asked that the IR thermometer be turned toward that spot to check the surface temperature. Mistakenly, it was aimed at his inner forearm which read 76 degrees. This was to prove even more compelling, as when the beam was finally in the right spot just 4-5 inches lower and completely within the affected area, the temperature readout dropped immediately from 76 to 47.4 degrees and held there. He was experiencing the cold at the same time the temperature was being observed on the digital readout by 3 others, including Ryan. His forearm was shot again and then the elbow and the temperature drop again repeated itself. (It is vital that the "dot" of the beam be entirely within the area in question to avoid a false reading and this was done in that manner.) Eventually the sensation decreased and disappeared completely, but left Ken with a personal experience that was anything but normal. The sensation he felt lasted a good 20 seconds.
Full Disclosure: Ken, holding a video camera at the time and not wanting to move too much or too abruptly, quickly handed it to the homeowner who was the closest person to him with instructions to shoot the read-out on the thermometer, as Ryan was still making his way over from the other side of the basement. While this entire event was filmed as it happened, sadly, the angle shot from the IR camera was too high to make out the numbers. The readout screen needed to be filmed in a direct line to the camera lens for the numbers to be seen on the video. Just seconds later this was corrected, but by then it was too late. Rather than a documented experience, we were left with an anecdotal one. This was a hard lesson learned after we reviewed the tape. Had he been touched by a spirit entity? No one can say that - but it was quite remarkable all the same.
General area in which the cold spot was felt
9:30 PM – Intentionally not informing the other group of the experience in the basement to avoid any form of suggestion, Ken and Ryan headed upstairs to the living room and the site of the reported voice heard by the homeowner and David, Chris and Adam headed down into the basement. EVP sessions would be held in each location with HI8 cameras rolling and the IR surveillances cameras constantly focused on the proceedings.
The basement team performed an extensive EVP session, with no results and no claims of any activity at all. Only after they reported back in were they told of Ken's experience in that location. Their experiment was also somewhat disrupted by the voices and footsteps of the living room team doing their session upstairs. Normally provisions would be made to avoid any simultaneous investigations that might infringe on another team's, but we were under time constraints here and had to respect the family's wishes to conclude at or around midnight.
Earlier in the night, Ryan attempted a control experiment in adjusting and marking the position of a vase that sat on an end table underneath the window upstairs where the owner had heard the voice. It was hoped any movement in the object might be recorded if in fact that was a particular hot spot of activity. A later check of the object indicated it had indeed moved a significant distance. When reviewing the surveillance video of the living room, it was discovered that the owner's wife had observed the object out of place and had returned it to its proper position. This at least provided the best laugh of the night for all of us.
Ken DeCosta in the living room
An EVP session was conducted by Ken and Ryan as the surveillance cameras and the HI8s recorded the proceedings.
10:00 PM – Feeling that our basement and living room investigations were compromising each other (noise elements), David, Chris and Adam came upstairs to inform us they were heading back over to the abandoned property for further investigation. The entire report on that property (Abandoned Property) is listed elsewhere in the case files section.
10:30 PM - Chris and Adam spent some time upstairs in the living room at the residence, replacing Ken and Ryan, who in turn went to the abandoned property with David who'd already spent a good deal of time there. Like Ken and Ryan, they went throughout the living room and discussed some possible alternatives for hearing the voice. No anomalous activity was recorded.
Conclusion
The most compelling piece of evidence was the cold spot felt by an investigator by something unseen. To claim it was a spirit ignores other possible explanations, although it is known for certain that area of his arm did not come into contact with any cold surface prior to noticing it. The lack of concrete video corroboration hurts the claim, but it still remains an exciting personal experience. We cannot claim however, that this is in any way, shape or form is connected to the incident the owner reported.
EVP, IR surveillance cameras and night shot HI8s did not reveal anything out of the ordinary, neither did any photos taken. While we are convinced of the owner's sincerity in his claim, there are any number of reasons he may have mistook the voice heard as something paranormal. While ghosts and spirit guides get most of the supernatural blame in voices being heard, stress, fatigue, sleep deprivation or even boredom can be the catalyst for an auditory hallucination. Understanding the person involved, he seems a very balanced individual and because this is an isolated incident it seems to rule out any form of psychosis. The fact the "voice" identified someone familiar to him seems to reinforce the idea that the source was internal in nature. The home itself is quite pleasant, comfortable and positive with no history of unusual phenomena and certainly nothing considered harmful.
We feel, given the small sample of time spent here, that there is no reason to suspect any paranormal mechanism is involved in this. Nonetheless, any future experience of this nature will be subject to further scrutiny.