Arrival
The group arrived at the location at 7 pm. Casey, a local-freelance writer, joined the group as he had been interested in the paranormal for several years.
Upon entering the building the group dropped off their equipment in the Dining Room after Julie, the owner, let the group in. Karen then took the group on a tour of the property as Stephanie and Casey had not been there before. Julie came with and gave updated accounts of activities that had been reported.
Once the tour was done the group started to set up their equipment for the night’s investigation. After it was all set up John started to do baseline electromagnetic field (EMF) and temperature readings, Stephanie would do baseline photos, while Karen went around and did her sensitive impressions of the building after doing the environmental readings. The group also started playing some Big Band music in the hopes to charge the atmosphere.
At 9:30 pm the group finished all baseline readings and made sure all of the equipment was running. They then took a break in the Dining Room, and said goodbye to Julie who would be gone for the night’s investigation. The group then finished their break and decided to head up to the 3rd Floor for the first part of the night’s investigation.
Investigation
3rd Floor – 10:26 pm
Karen – Hallway
Stephanie – Marion’s Suite
John – Gyneth’s Suite
Casey – Blue Room
The group took five minutes of silence to establish ambient sound from the house and street noise. At 10:29 pm Karen stated she felt there was someone standing in front of her that kept getting closer. Casey shortly after stated he felt there was a tightness or heaviness in the room with him. No evidence of this was captured to validate this was anything other than feelings.
Starting an electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) session at 10:31 pm the group asked questions to see if any of the spirits would respond. At 10:36 pm Karen asked if any of the spirits in the house could make any type of noise, and a knock was heard from the stair side of the hallway. To see if it could be done again she reasked if they could make the noise again, which it didn’t. The original noise was thought to be attributed to regular house noises.
At 10:39 pm during the continued EVP session both Karen and Casey thought they heard movement coming from the hallway. This was not captured on any audio. Shortly after at 10:41 pm Stephanie claimed to have heard some sort of shuffling sound coming from Marion’s Suite. Again, this was not captured on any of the audio recorders.
The group then decided to try to engage in normal conversation to see if this would increase the group’s chances of communication with any spirits that have been near them. At 11:12 pm Casey stated he heard something after Karen stated, “Noah, who you previously met.” This was not captured on any of the audio recorders.
No other activities occurred at this point and the group concluded this part of the investigation. It was noted by the group that a pipe sound kept resonating during the entire session that appeared to come from the Gwyneth Suite.
END TIME: 11:14 pm
2nd FLOOR – 11:18 pm
Karen – George’s Suite
John – George’s Suite Doorway
Stephanie – George’s Suite Bathroom/Main Room/Gold Room
Casey – George’s Suite/Gold Room
The group decided to spread out within George’s Suite, and took about five minutes of silence to observe the noises from the 2nd floor.
After several minutes of EVP questioning Stephanie reported she was getting a headache when she first sat in the bathroom. She moved into the main master bedroom of George’s Suite, but continued to complain of the headache. At 11:29 pm she left the room and stated the headache did go away. She later would return to the suite and reported the headache came back. It should be noted the infrared light that was used in that room had a slight buzzing sound to it, which may have caused the headache. It was also though that the EM Pump, which puts off EMF, could have also been the reason.
At 11:40 pm when Casey was still in George’s Suite he reported feeling something brush against his collar after he asked for any of the ladies of the house to sit next to him. No video evidence of this was captured. He then moved to the Gold Room at 11:47 pm to see if any spirits in that part of the house would interact with him.
The group continued an EVP session, but no other activities occurred.
END TIME: 12:00 am
The group then decided to take a break and headed back to the Dining Room. After several minutes they then headed down to the Basement level of the home.
Basement (stage area and catacombs) – 12:26 am
After all group members were in place throughout the theater area they took five minutes of silence to observe the normal noises of the house. The group then started an EVP session at 12:41 am, and attempted to contact the male spirits that had been reported in the area. The group was informed that the gentleman who felt his neck burning was a Chicago police officer, so they used that as a way to use John, a former police officer, as bait. No activities occurred during this time – even after John showed off his badge.
Deciding to head to the catacomb area the group spread out in the space. At 1:14 am Karen thought she heard something shuffle on the concrete next to her, but no one else heard it. This was not captured by any of the group members’ control recorders.
No other activities occurred at this time, and the group wrapped up this part of the investigation
END TIME: 1:27 am
Anna’s Suite – 1:37 am
On the way back upstairs Casey asked if the group could go to Anna’s Suite – it had been reported that previously the one cabinet in the bedroom locked itself from the inside. Casey sat in the bedroom portion while Karen, Stephanie and John stayed in the Jacuzzi room.
NOTE: The room use to be the servants quarters.
The group asked questions toward any spirits that may have been in the room which included asking if they had specific housekeeping duties or if they even had children.
No activities occurred at this time and the group decided to head to the 3rd Floor to wrap up the night’s investigation.
END TIME: 2:11 am
3rd Floor – 2:13 am
Karen – Marion’s Suite
John – Blue Room
Stephanie – Gwyneth’s Suite
Casey – Hallway
All members, including Aaron in the Theater/Stage Area
The group started the EVP session and tried to direct their questions to the spirits they had been told about before, which included the lady in Gwyneth’s Suite and Marion’s Suite.
After trying for several minutes, the group concluded the session and decided to pack up their equipment.
END TIME: 2:35 am
Conclusion
The investigation was an uneventful one. Noises from the road traffic interfered slightly with equipment that was set up on the street side of the house, as well as a few noises from the house (e.g. pipe noises from the 3rd floor). Although there were a few personal experiences during the night, none were captured on any of the recording devices throughout the mansion. There still appears to be several personal experiences still reported at Brumder by guests and the owners. Even though PIM has yet to capture any evidence of paranormal activity at the location, we look forward to coming back to try our hand at capturing any form of evidence.
PIM thanks the owners for allowing them to investigate the historic mansion. We look forward to investigating it again in the near future.
