Today Old Town Spring is a shopping destination. This lovely turn of the century town just north of Houston has an interesting past. Life began here in the early 1800’s when the French and Spanish came to trade with the local Indians. After the Civil War the railroad came through. A group of railroad workers named the area “Camp Spring” after one of the worst winters in Texas history because they were looking forward to better weather. Camp Spring was then platted by the I. & G.N. Railroad Co. and became a permanent settlement. The word “Camp” was dropped where Spring became the official name of the town. It was the base of operation for the workers and became a boom town from all the business the railroad brought in. Spring became a crossroads for two intersecting rail lines in 1901. The yard then added a roundhouse and 14 track yards of track. During the years of growth Spring had sugar mill for syrup making. two cotton gins, 5 saloons, an opera house, hospital, two steam saw and grist mills, bank, hotels, three churches, several schools and even had a gambling hall.

The decline came when the railroad headquarters moved to Houston in 1923. Prohibition and the depression then happened as well which forced businesses to close. The town was then reduced all the way down to a small settlement. In the late 60′ business minded individuals started to return to all the abandoned homes. The Goodyear airship America was also based here from 1969 through 1992. The Oil boom which began in the 70’s then made the town grow and become what it is today.

It is now known as a shopping destination! Old Town Spring also has museums, art galleries and restaurants all within an easy stroll from one another. People from all over the world come to visit. The town has several festivals and events every year like the Texas Crawfish & Music Festival. The town is also voted one of the top attractions in Texas each year

Old town Spring is also affectionately known as the most haunted town in Texas. Paranormal groups and television crews have visited to catch evidence of the reported activity. The many stories of spirits bring in people from all over looking to have their own experience with a ghost. I will share a few of the ghost stories with you. One about the bank and one about a spirit named Sarah

The original bank of Spring was robbed several times including once by a couple resembling Bonnie and Clyde. It was never confirmed that they were in fact the famous duo. Current ghost tours all tell the story as if it is a fact though. Today you can see bullet holes in the banks facade from one of the attempted robberies. That particular attempt was made by a trio of felons however they were unsuccessful. Photos taken in the old bank sometimes have strange anomalies.

There is a spirit named Sarah who is said to haunt one area in town. The original barn is still on the property which was once owned by Henry C. Doering. His daughter was friends with a 12-year-old girl named Sarah. Long ago while playing in the barn Sarah fell from the loft breaking her leg. An infection set in which caused her death within a few weeks. It is said she still plays in the barn along with some other young spirits. People report cold spots, noises on the roof, the feeling of being watched, objects are moved, hearing voices and the sounds of children playing. Photos taken in the area sometimes contain an anomaly in them that cannot be explained.

Go check out the photo gallery for Old Town Spring

A huge fire destroyed one of the businesses in downtown Shawnee overnight. The business was Loco’s at 107 E Main St. which was a small antique shop and had only been open for about 9 months. The call about the fire came in to the department about 1 a.m. According to the fire chef the crew could not make an interior attack due to the heat. The fire was so intense that it collapsed the roof. It took almost 8 hours for the fire to completely be put out. Two other buildings sustained heavy smoke and water damage.

When I heard about the fire I ran to look up the address. I have been in many of the businesses along Main Street and have done investigations of several places. Loco’s it turned out was not one of my past investigations. I was still upset to see it destroyed. In previous investigations in this town we have found active hauntings and what we call residual energy. This residual energy is like a recording on a cd that happens for unknown reasons. When the conditions are perfect the recording can replay making anyone that happens upon it to think the place is haunted. I wonder if Loco’s had any activity? When they rebuild they may notice things happen in weird places like someone walk up a staircase that is no longer there.

It is sad when history is lost! It seems that lately several historic locations have caught fire. Just a few weeks ago Fort Chaffee Hospital Complex burned to the ground. The Fort Smith Fire Department has deemed that it was an accident. Members of the Kentucky National Guard who are fans of the show Ghost Adventures were doing training at Chaffee and decided to go see it for themselves. It is believed that one of them discarded a lit cigarette into a grassy area near one of the buildings at the Fort. The fire burned approximately 90 acres and more than 120 buildings. Back in February The Sisters of Charity of Providence school in DeSmet, Idaho burned down. The building was more than 100 years old and was a historical landmark. Reviewing the history showed two earlier buildings on the property were destroyed by fire in 1881 and in the early 1900s.

Today there is an old building 15 miles east of Springfield in Buffalo. The house was built around 1840 and it is now on the schedule to be burned down! If you care about history perhaps you will be upset enough to contact the people who will be responsible for letting it go! The house was a “12-mile house” for stagecoach drivers and their horses who would be traveling between Springfield and Decatur.
Drivers could stay the night and rest their horses before finishing the trip the next morning. Some historians believe that Abraham Lincoln may have even stayed there.

Apparently the owners donated house to the Buffalo Fire Protection District because they want it gone. It is scheduled to be used for live fire training in September when the weather will be cooler. The chef said they would like to burn it for training because it is in a sate of disrepair and an eyesore. They must get permission before they burn it though. I am hoping that they will not be granted their wish. The Historic Preservation agency can deem the house to be historic because it is more than 50 years old and has some type of historical significance. I am concerned that yet again we are going to loose another piece of history if the house is destroyed. Are you? I would love to be able to get inside the house and just sit. I think it should be made into a museum or saved in any condition. If you are as upset as I am please make contact those responsible:

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.state.il.us/

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency http://www.illinoishistory.gov/

Chief Mike Thompson of the Buffalo Fire Protection District
114 S
Wells Street
Buffalo, Illinois 62515

The property manager Jeremy Crouch with Heartland Trust in Forsyth

1401 Koester dr, Forsyth, IL 62535

Springfield-Sangamon County
Regional Planning Commission
200 South 9th Street – Room 212

Springfield, IL 62701
Phone: (217) 535-3110

A reporter working the case is Jackson Adams from the Illinois Times

jadams@illinoistimes.com

We investigated a historic Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanitarium last weekend. It is nestled in the hills in it’s own complex as a self sustaining city of its own. Tuberculosis also known as consumption is highly contagious. Hospitals were built to handle the treatment of this disease which could take years before the person passed away. This complex had a municipal water/sewer system, a fire department, and even had a farm with dairy and swine in operation. It was built in 1910 covering almost 1000 acres of land. It was closed in 1973 after the discovery of antibiotics.

This was the second time we have been to the facility. Driving through the gates again brought up the mortality rates of the people that passed here. With 70,000 patients treated here combined with the mortality we were wondering what kind of activity we were going to get. We were told the whole complex offered many different types of activity. It was also said that sometimes people would leave empty handed where they believed that nothing was going on here.

We however did not go home empty handed. Through the night we all experienced different things. Cold spots, shadows, lights, sounds, door opening, whispering, feelings of being watched as well as being touched. We were running all of our equipment and were getting positive results. I just got done reviewing my photos and noted several pictures with anomalies which I will be uploading. I am going to be turning my attention to the audio next. I can’t wait to see what I caught if anything. Keep logging back on to see what evidence we caught

I had posted an article to the blog before. Go read Tuberculosis Sanitariums here

Also go see the photo gallery for the Sanitarium here

Here is the story behind the Newport edition you have been waiting for. In the year that the movie Poltergeist came out on the big screen there was another similar drama playing out in a town in Texas. In the early 1980 a new housing edition went in called Newport. Sam and Judith Haney purchased a home in the Newport area of Houston. The family decided to have a swimming pool put in the back yard. As they began to get started an elderly black man showed up out of nowhere and told them that they was about to dig up human remains. The reason he gave them this information was that he knew they were buried because he had seen them years before. They decided the old man was crazy and started digging for the pool anyway. As they were digging the two bodies were just where the old man said they were. Scared they began doing research and found a man named Jasper Norton who as a young man had worked as a gravedigger. Norton told the Haney’s that their home and the surrounding houses were built on top of an old cemetery called Black Hope. He also told them that most of the deceased were former slaves.

They found out that last burial had occurred 1939 and that there as many as 60 people were in graves. Norton identified the two people buried in the Haney’s backyard as Betty and Charlie Thomas who former slaves. They had died sometime during the thirties. As they lived in their house the activity became more negative. They heard disembodied voices, an unplugged clock in the began shooting sparks and glowing, sliding glass door open but there was nobody there and the door was locked. The next morning after to door incident Judith couldn’t find her red shoes. When she finally located them they were outside miraculously sitting side by side on top of Betty’s grave. They also realized that the date was Betty’s birthday.

Unable to keep all of the information to themselves they had a neighborhood meeting. They found out neighbors whose houses were built on top of the abandoned cemetery also had all kinds of activity. They reported lights, televisions/water faucets turning on and off, unearthly sounds and apparitions. Sam and Judith decided right then to fight back. They sued the developer for not disclosing that their home was built over a cemetery. They won and were awarded $142,000 by a jury. The judge ruled on legal grounds that the developers were not liable and reversed the decision. He then ordered the Haney’s to pay $50,000 in court costs. Unable to pay and plagued with health problems they were frightened of remaining in their house. They made the decision to file bankruptcy and abandoned their home.

One of the other families lived right across the street with similar problems to the Haney’s. Ben and Jean Williams lived there with their young granddaughter named Carli. They reported activity that the house was cold year round, the feeling of being watched, toilets flushed by themselves as well as the garage door and other household appliances would operate on their own. They even had rectangular sinkholes open up in the yard and for whatever reason they couldn’t be filled in. As soon as she thought she would have the problem solved the sinkholes would reappear within a few days. Another oddity was Jean couldn’t get any new plants to live on the property even though she always had a green thumb. On their property they noticed strange markings on an old oak tree by the sinkholes. It was an arrow pointed downward with two horizontal slash marks beneath it. They attended the meeting and discovered their lovely home was built over the cemetery. As they began to research a long time resident of the area told them he had marked the tree as a way to identify where his two sisters were buried. The activity began to increase and they would hear phantom footsteps in the hall, an apparition hovering over them when they slept and six members of their extended family were diagnosed with different cancers where three of them died within that year.

The Haney’s were not the only family to try legal recourse. They were all told that without definitive proof of a cemetery on their property nothing could be done. Ben and Jean Williams decided to prove their home was built over a cemetery. So Jean began to dig in one of the sinkholes beneath the oak. When she became overwhelmed from exhaustion to her daughter Tina took over. After digging for about a half-hour Tina collapsed and was dead 2 days later. Jean was convinced their desecration of a grave had precipitated their daughter’s death. They decided to leave no matter what it cost them. The loss they already experienced was more than they could bear. They abandoned their house and escaped to Montana. After a period of time passed they later moved back to Texas.

Subsequent owners of their homes say they have noticed no unusual activity. They seem content to live in the houses even with the negative history. Would you buy a home here? If you google the story you will find some people report activity and some say they never experienced anything. The fire department will tell you there are more alarms that go off in the part of the neighborhood that covers the cemetery. Do you think some people are more sensitive than others and this is why the new owners do not have activity? Do you think that the Williams or the Haney’s would make up such activity to give them a reason to loose all the money they had invested in their homes? These are some the same types of questions my group puts to the test every day as we deal with homeowners. Is it real or imagined? Can we find evidence to back up the claims? I spent time in Newport on several occasions. I can tell you that the area has a strange vibe to it for me. The woods have shadows that dart about even when nobody is there. I believe the place to be haunted. I will be uploading photos and other evidence I collected while there in the future.

Go see the Black Hope photo gallery here

Have you ever been to a national cemetery? When you drive past the gates and into one you notice how well manicured the lawn and landscaping are. The next thing you notice is all the headstones. This experience can be overwhelming no matter how big or small the cemetery is. It is sad and awe inspiring to know that all these men and women gave their lives for our freedoms today. While on a recent trip to Fort Chaffee we decided to go hunt down the grave of Brigadier General William O Darby to pay our respects. Darby is buried in Fort Smith National Cemetery which is located in Sebastian County in section 9 site 3991. This cemetery began it’s existence sometime after Christmas day 1817 when men began constructing a stockade fort sufficient for one company. In 1841 a newspaper article suggests that there was a “dilapidated burying ground outside of the stockade containing three graves marked by marble slabs.” Once it was small and shoddy however today this beautiful cemetery totals 22.3 acres. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1999

After a period of time searching the cemetery we finally found what we were looking for.  It had taken longer than I thought It would. We noticed many of the stones were marked unknown. These graves were from the civil war time and represented both sides of the war. When we found Darby’s stone I stood there for a while contemplating what he had done with his life. I am happy that sometimes God gives us people like him for awhile. He was an amazing man and I was happy to be there for the moment. Some people may think of this it is morbid to go into a cemetery to pay respects to someone you do not know personally. I was standing there thanking him for his service, celebrating the memory of his life and there was nothing morbid about this. I only hope that my mark on the world would be good enough to one day have someone I do not know come to pay respect to me because of the way I lived my life.

Why did we come to pay respect? Our team is not just a paranormal focused group but also a group dedicated historians with a healthy respect for life and death. Do you recognize the name Brigadier General William O Darby? Darby was born February 8, 1911 in Fort Smith Arkansas and became a West Point graduate. He was also an officer in the US Army during World War II . Darby led the famous Darby’s Rangers which over time evolved into the US Army Rangers which is an elite commando division of the Army. After handpicking 500 men who underwent preliminary elimination tests, the first Battalion was activated June 19, 1942. Darby died in Italy’s Poe Valley on April 30, 1945 which was also the same day Hitler shot himself. He died when an 88 mm shell burst in the middle of the assembled officers and NCO’s. This event killed Darby as well as a Sergeant and wounded several others. He was only 34 years old at the time of his death. Gen. George Patton once said, “He was the bravest man I knew.” There was a movie made by Warner Brothers in 1958 starring James Garner called “Darby’s Rangers. ”

Just what does it mean to be a Ranger? The First Ranger Battalion was formed as an elite unit modeled after the British Commandos led by Darby. Strictly on a volunteer basis they were trained to surprise attack in the dead of night from the least likely route. Sometimes these attacks would take them 30 miles deep behind enemy lines on foot. Training included cliff climbing, speed marching and amphibious landings. During World War II there were more than 15 million people who served in the armed forces however only 3000 were Rangers! William Darby was the beginning of these men who are known legends and heroes

By the late 1800’s tuberculosis was taking over the population of the United States. The disease is highly contagious and was poorly understood at the time.It was almost impossible to cure with the mortality rate being at 80.2 %. Health professionals believed that clean, cold mountain air was the best treatment for lung diseases. Sunlight was also believed to be an effective treatment. Sanatoriums were built with large windows, patios and terraced areas with fresh air and sunlight in mind. Sometimes the roof of the buildings were
used as for patients.

Patients who were only suspected of having tuberculosis were admitted to prevent the spread of the disease. Patients who did not have the virus were now be exposed to the virus and would then become infected. My husbands grandfather was one of these patients. As a child he lost a tooth that showed up eventually on an xray in his lung. Long before that xray he was believed to have TB and was admitted into a facility. Now exposed to TB he would always show positive on testing.

The discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin in 1943 became the first cure for tuberculosis. In 1944 Merck and Company began major production of the drug. The first randomized trial of streptomycin against pulmonary tuberculosis was carried out in 1946-1947 by the MRC Tuberculosis Research Unit. TB was now shown to be controlled by antibiotics rather than extended rest. By the 1950s tuberculosis was no longer a major public health and the sanatoria began to close. Most sanatoria have now been demolished. Several were converted into hospitals for other uses including aids. Those hospitals remaining are abandoned.

Paranormal teams investigate places like this to see if they can capture any evidence of residual energy of the past. There have been reports of an active haunting at some locations. The rate of mortality being at 80.2 %. puts these places at an advantage for the possibility of capturing evidence. One of the locations we are investigating is nestled in the hills in it’s own complex. It was a self sustaining city of its own. It had a municipal like water/sewer system, fire department, and a farm with dairy and swine operation. Built in 1910 covering 973 acres of land. It was closed in 1973. Some of the complex has been converted for other use.

Driving through the gates of the facility knowing the mortality rates of the people that passed here was very sad. The gate was imposing because of what it represented and not because of the architecture. As we drove up the hill and turned the corner seeing all of the buildings of the compound you could see how it was separated from the rest of the world. The main hospital still stands as an imposing gothic type structure. There have been many reports of activity in this building. We are hoping to be able to validate the activity ourselves.

Go see the photo gallery for this amazing place

One of the places I lived as a child was on Long Island in a place called Ronkonkoma, New York. I have wonderful memories of the town. I remember enjoying the things to do in the area and spending time with great friends. One activity we had was to go to the lake. This lake had many stories attached to it which I was fascinated by. The lake was haunted by the ghost of an Indian princess. When I was in the water I never went too far out because I wondered how I would react to her touching me. One day I spent the day ice skating on the lake and wondering if she would break the ice. I was not so worried about her hurting me because the stories all really involved her needing a man or a young couple. I remember laying on my stomach on the cold ice trying to hear her or see if I could see her. It was too cold to stay like that for long. While driving along the lake I have seen a fog hanging over the lake that looked eerie. I saw lights and could not figure out if they were boats or what they were. One day while riding along Lake Shore Road from out of nowhere a dog came running into a car next to us. I was very upset until the dog got up and ran away. When I went home and told some friends about it they all said it was the lady who did it. Everyone who lives there knows the stories. Let me give you some history of the lake.

Lake Ronkonkoma is known as a kettle hole lake that was carved out by a retreating glacier 20,000 years ago. It is the largest lake on Long Island..The lake was considered the most sacred lake by the Indians and it was the meeting point between different tribes. It was settled by Europeans in the 1600s. In the 1900s there was a population explosion due to the waters of the lake being known at that time as having healing qualities. The lake was considered a resort and a place for summer homes. Today you can see evidence of the early 1900s in remnants of old resorts which can still be seen around the lake’s shore.

The lake has of a number of urban legends. There is a mysterious rise and fall of the lake that doesn’t have a relationship to local rainfall totals. There is fresh water coming in from an unknown source. With this in mind it is said that there is a tunnel that leads to Connecticut and another one that leads to Sayville New York. One tunnel is said to lead to hell. The lake been rumored to be bottomless, however it is really approximately 100 ft deep at the southeastern side. The bottom is hard to find because of the loose particles at the bottom. Piranha are said to inhabit the lake. There have been stories of people being attacked by piranha most likely from people dumping live fish into the lake that they could no longer care for. Some say the bites have to come from pike which are well known to be moderately aggressive.

The most prevalent stories concerning the lake come from the legend of “The Lady of the Lake”. In one story every year the lady calls a young man between 18 and 28 years old out to be her lover. She lures them to the middle of the lake and drowns them. The most popular story is that every year two lovers are killed by the vengeful spirit. They usually die in an automobile accident. Who is this
“Lady of the Lake”?

The lady is a Native American princess who herself drowned in the lake. Her death story varies from it being an accident to a suicide. The Native American Princess Ronkonkoma fell in love with a European settler named Hugh Birdsall. She was forbidden to pursue the relationship and was forced into an arranged marriage. The forbidden relationship however persisted. One evening she tried to swim all the way across the lake to meet her lover. On the way she suffered fatigue and drowned. One variation is that she rowed to the middle of the lake in a canoe to await her lover and when he did not come she committed suicide by drowning herself. Another variation is that he was coming to join her and drowned so she decided to join him in death because she was too overwhelmed by grief. There are several other variations to the story.

The fact is that locals and historians will claim that almost every year for 200 years someone has drowned in the lake and it is usually a male. From 1877 to 1977 there were at least 147 drownings. Another fact is 32 deaths by drowning in the lake have taken place since1963 and are all men.One lifeguard said that in 32 years of being at the lake there have been at least 30 drownings that he was aware of.

Sometimes I think about Lake Ronkonkoma. I would love to be able to go back and run the equipment that I have now to see what is there. I do believe legends are born from some truth. I know some of the facts about the lake help perpetuate the urban legend. Whether the legend is true or not the stories are fantastic to toss around a campfire! Would you go swimming in the lake now?

Last weekend we had a full day of running around to different locations. This included picking up Lindsey Ladd from the National Paranormal Society to join us for our adventure. We had a preliminary investigation scheduled for the old Cushing Hotel now known as Cimarron Towers. Due to a cancellation we were able to make it a full evening. Let me begin by giving you a brief history of the town and the building. Cushing is known as the “Pipeline Crossroads of America”. The town’s most exciting era began on March 17, 1912 when an oil boom began. Twenty-three oil companies and five oil-field supply houses located there by 1915. The boom ended however sixteen companies still operated there in 1930. The town’s population had reached 9,301 which was the largest population ever. The need for a hotel was huge thus the Cushing Hotel came into existence in 1928. This was during an era where “Nations Business Magazine” had labeled it an unparalleled prosperity for the area in Oklahoma. In stark contrast the eastern United States most people were standing in line for soup. The area of Oklahoma was dry but farmers had a bumper wheat crop. It was such a big crop that wheat was literally everywhere including blowing in the street. This dropped the price of wheat from .68 cents a bushel to .25 cents in 1931. This made farmers go broke and abandon their fields. By the time 1940 rolled around the town only had 1,500 residents. Most people had left by then and only three refineries were active. The hotel was beautiful but was having a hard time staying open. One of the residents talked about the doorway into the hotel being grand and all the woodwork that was amazing. Today that woodwork is no longer there. The hotel which had once thrived now stood vacant from 1975 until 1983. The hotel had declined during those years and needed to have something done with it. It was purchased and remodeled into what is now the Cimarron Towers for senior citizens and the handicapped. Downtown Cushing is a quaint old town with the same buildings that have stood there for years. It takes you back to a different time until you notice the new cars that line the street.

We began the evening by meeting Andrew who was one of the tenants. He had invited us to come check out the building because of strange activity that had been noticed over the years. We interviewed him first and then he gave us a tour to different rooms and floors within the building. While on tour we stopped in different rooms where we talked to almost a dozen of the residents. Some of the residents did not want to be on camera or named. They had all felt and seen different things. One man had been pushed off of the toilet, was scratched and had seen things on his web cam. While he was away Hank Williams was playing in his room with the web cam recording. When he returned it appeared as if something was in the room mouthing the words to the song “Hey good looking” while bouncing back and forth. One woman reported to hear voices, shadows and had a general uneasy feeling in several of the areas of the building. Several residents reported that their dogs would growl at the hallway. They would get up to look and would find that nothing was there. . While we were interviewing residents I had become physically ill in different areas of the building. I asked others on the team and it was confirmed that we all were experiencing the same feelings. The feelings were nausea, dizziness and headaches. Some places I almost needed to sit down because I was so sick. I noticed Mike grab onto the wall a few times in some areas.

When the interviews were complete we began to investigate the building. We separated into small teams where we went from floor to floor running audio, video and taking photos. The building has 7 floors and has a basement as well. We also investigated the stairwell where we had heard that voices had been previously recorded by a resident. I spent more time in the areas where I felt sick. I saw a shadow once in the hallway appear like it went into a wall which was confirmed by Lindsey Ladd. I took a few pictures that I noticed had something which I couldn’t see well at the time. I watched Lindsey conduct an experiment where she was pulling energy to herself with my dowsing rods. She was asking questions of whatever entity that may bearound at the time and she was getting responses. A few team members had heard laughing coming from within the stairs and nobody had been laughing. One of the residents approached us and communicated to us that he had been scratched while showering. In the end it was a fun night as usual. We got to spend time in a historical location. We need to review all of the evidence before we make a conclusion. It seems at the very least that there is residual energy that seems to be lingering. Certain spots in the building hold more energy than others. From the scratching it also seems that they have an intelligent haunting going on.