Private Residence

History

Due to client confidentiality, identifying details regarding the location will be omitted. The apartment building was built in 1966. The structure is two stories tall with 36 units and in-house laundry facilities. There is street and parking lot parking; no underground parking. The particular unit in question is on the 2nd Floor and is a corner unit on the far west side of the building; facing the street. Being a corner unit, there is a driveway between this building and the next apartment building over leading to the parking lots for each building. The buildings are approximately thirty to forty feet apart. The apartment has one window facing the west towards the other apartment building and two windows facing the street. All the windows are single pane slider windows and a draft coming through both street facing windows was noted.

While this reads like a rental listing, it is important to note this information because it can have significant impacts on sounds and other variables that could be mistaken as paranormal.

The client had moved into the unit during the first week of January 2016. The client informed PIM of a possible suicide in this particular unit. The client was unable to obtain information from the realtor/manager of the location but was able to learn of the suicide from another tenant. PIM, with the help of the Janesville Police Department, can confirm there was a suicide in this unit in September of 2015. Suicide details were not confirmed therefore any details in this report are only speculation from here on.

Arrival

The client was also present during the investigation. Having the client present during an investigation is not a common practice for PIM. Under normal circumstances, PIM asks that the client and any pets not be present but due to unforeseen events, the client remained on the premises for the investigation.

Gravy and Chris arrived on location at 6:40 pm. The client, who had been staying at a friend’s house for the past week due to paranormal events in her apartment, was already there when Gravy knocked on the door at 6:45 pm. The client was still getting dressed at the time so Gravy and Chris used this time to gather their equipment and bring it up to the apartment. It was noted upon arrival that the door jamb was poorly repaired as if the door had been recently kicked in or busted open.

Upon entering the apartment, the client pointed out many bleach stains on the carpet in various locales. She stated she believed the suicide was possibly by knife wound and the person was walking around the apartment bleeding. The bleach stains were the poor attempt to clean up the blood.

Protocol for PIM before most investigations is to perform what is referred to as a walkthrough. A walkthrough allows PIM to tour a location prior to an investigation to get a good baseline of many factors including size of location, claims at location, EMF/temperature baselines etc. Only under certain conditions such as distance or urgency of a case does PIM forego this protocol. Because PIM forewent the walkthrough Gravy determined it would be helpful to have the client review the claims before the investigation.

View Environmental Data

Gravy and Chris began their Zoom H1 audio control recorders and activated their Extech RHT50 dataloggers. As with any investigation, every member of PIM was equipped with a Zoom H1 digital audio recorder, as a control recorder, and is on themselves everywhere they go. Control recorders are started and time stamped prior to all other equipment being started and time stamped. They are also the last piece of equipment to be turned off. Control recorders are not only used as another recording device but also to discriminate the sound contamination that an investigator might create during an investigation. Control recorders are also placed in a Faraday cage. PIM’s main goal in using these is to block radio signals from interfering with their audio recorders that may cause false EVPs. Time stamps, from a designated atomic watch, are used as a point of reference and make cross referencing easier during evidence review.

The Extech datalogger measures humidity, temperature and barometric pressure at one minute intervals. This device allows us to graph these changes and compare data to other devices that might have measured or recorded an event.

The client then began to describe the claims of activity and point out the locations of these events. The explanations to follow are what PIM believes might be occurring. This does not necessarily mean they are correct in their findings. It is in PIM’s and the client’s best interest to entertain all natural explanations before entertaining a paranormal explanation.

The clock was the first thing covered. The claim was the first night in the apartment, the client experienced the clock turning on by itself; each time to a different station. The client stated the first time it turned on an oldies song was playing. The second time is was a country song and the last time it turned on it was playing 80’s music/talk show. It was noted that the radio was an analog radio and requires physical moving of a switch. PIM members did not test the alarm to see if, while in alarm “on” mode, hitting the snooze button temporarily disabled the alarm before it would turn on again minutes later. This is a common functionality for most alarms and could be a possible explanation for the alarm turning on multiple times. PIM is unaware if there is a radio station in Janesville that plays a variety of genres. However, interpretation of songs can be, in some instances, misinterpreted as to what genre they belong too or can be categorized in multiple genres.

Next the client described how she had placed her keys on the table and later found them in the teapot on the stove. At this point, Gravy took his own car keys and placed them on the table. Barring a physical being knowingly or unknowingly physically placing the keys in the teapot, PIM does not have an alternate natural explanation of how this could happen. This occurrence happened only once, a week before the investigation.

Next PIM went into the bathroom where the client claims the majority of activity revolves around. The client had taken a photograph of the mirror that showed several faces. She also described how the toilet paper rolls were out of place as discussed in the claims section. She then described how the toilet flushed on its own and began to overflow. She was not in the bathroom when it initially flushed but came in when it was overflowing.

Next PIM went into the Bedroom to discuss the claims. First, there was the claim of the handprint that showed up mysteriously on the wall three weeks after the client had moved and after claims of activity began. The client, being 4′ 10″ in height would have had a hard time reaching the height as to which the hand print was currently at. Gravy noted that the handprint could have come from someone leaning on the wall and grazed the wall with a dirty hand giving it a slightly smaller than normal appearance. It is possible the handprint was created as of recent or had gone unnoticed for some time. The client stated she had checked the unit after workers would come in and work and she didn’t notice the hand print and it showed up two weeks prior to the investigation.

Also in the bedroom, the client described shadows on the wall between the Bedroom and Living Room. The shadows would travel from the doorway toward the window and occurred on a regular basis until the client decided to sleep with the lights on.

The client then described that she was having vivid dreams. A recent dream involved her and her mother in a theater that started on fire. The next day, while a friend was visiting to help find her car keys, he found a white lighter on the top shelf in the back corner of the closet. It was noted the top shelf was just above eye level for Gravy. It is the opinion of PIM that the lighter was always there but could not be seen by the client and wasn’t found until the friend, being much taller, found it. PIM believes this to be a coincidence to the dream.

Gravy then went into further inquiry about the shadows. The shadows, per client, are six to seven feet tall and come out of the bathroom. Often times she sees them while in the Living Room and/or Kitchen. It was noted the Kitchen is across from the Bathroom and the Living Room is through the small hallway and around the corner. The client stated that she had also been sleeping with the light on in her bedroom since seeing the shadows. Sleeping with the light on could account for remembering vivid dreams. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the sleep phase where the sleeper will most likely have vivid dreams. Sleeping with the light on could cause restlessness thus easily waking the sleeper shortly after a dream has occurred. Studies have shown that sleepers, woken in the REM phase, tend to remember their dreams and report the duration of their dream as being longer. This would explain why the client wasn’t having vivid dreams while staying with a friend over the week before the investigation. While there, she felt comfortable enough to sleep with the lights off, thus getting a good night rest and not woken as easily during the REM phase of sleep.

The client stated the shadow figure had a face and then began to show Gravy and Chris a photograph on her tablet that she took of the mirror in the Bathroom. The first picture shown to Gravy and Chris did not appear to have anything in it. The second picture showed several circles the client had made using the app on her tablet to circle faces she saw when zooming in on the photograph. PIM believes with certainty, the faces the client is seeing in the photograph is the common phenomenon called pareidolia. This is a natural function of the brain to make sense of random patterns. Similar to seeing shapes or images in clouds, or Jesus on toast, the brain most commonly sees faces in patterns. This is an innate ability of the human brain and the ability to see easily see faces stems from birth. At first glance of the photograph, nothing could be seen but as the photograph is enlarged, it becomes pixilated and grainy. This is when pareidolia commonly occurs. Similarly, when two people with different experiences or backgrounds look at a photograph, different images could be depicted. But when one points out what he or she is seeing a commonality is discovered.

The client described to PIM how the shower liner had ripped. Gravy and Chris inspected the liner and noticed that the liner had ripped at the seam where the liner was doubled up for extra durability for the curtain rod rings. The rip was approximately 6-8 inches in length. Gravy noted the liner was similar to the same fabric as a disposable table cloth. It was also perforated with small holes at the seam. Gravy was able to rip the curtain even more while pulling at the liner ever so lightly. It is PIM’s opinion that when exiting the shower, someone could have been pulling the liner shut while some of the rings were tangled up. The slightest pull caused the liner to rip but went unnoticed till the next day.

The client then began to describe sounds heard while on the phone and while sitting at her desk in the Living Room. The claims being that of growling, hissing and cutting out of signal while on the phone. The sound of scraping, described as “kkkkkkkk”, while sitting at the desk would also be heard. This would later be explained during the investigation.

The client described the event in which she was on the phone with her fiance and was knocked down, pinned, and choked all while hearing hissing and growling. When the fiance shouted through the phone to come to him at his location in Ohio, the activity ceased. Claims of activity occur at his place of residence as well.

The client described an incident where she met a guy that wasn’t feeling well and had an upset stomach. She offered him some water. Upon entering the apartment, he fell back into the hallway holding his stomach in pain as if having been punched by some unseen force. The client called the paramedics who assisted the man whom she hasn’t seen since. PIM believes the man was already in poor condition and the event of what happened is just coincidence. Without being able to talk to this person, no definite conclusion can be made as to what really happened.

The client then began to describe the bruise that had appeared on her lower back. A friend had noticed the bruise when the client bent over to pick something up. Roughly the size of a fist and black and blue was the description given to PIM. The client stated she did not bump into anything to have caused this bruise and it had disappeared the following day.

PIM believes that the bruise could have gone unnoticed for several days and was beginning to dissipate when it was finally noticed. The client stated, later in the evening, that she had sensitive skin especially in particular towards the sun. As for the pain of the bruise described by the client, there are several studies describing how injured tissue cannot send strong enough signals to the brain to alert it of an injury. Known as Gate Control Theory of Pain, the theory suggests signals have to clear through nerve gates in order to reach the brain and alert the host of such injury. This is similar to why a cut on a hand would not be felt until it becomes noticed. Bruises are a form of injury that can occur without recollection of how the bruise came to be. Bruises can sometime be sensitive to only pressure. They can also occur for no apparent reason. If this is the case, PIM suggests that the client seek medical attention as this could be an indication of a bleeding disorder.

The client then described the invisible figure she saw between her and the lamp on her desk. At the time, she was sitting on the couch looking at her tablet when she looked up towards the lamp and saw what she described as an “invisible figure” approximately her height (4’10”). It stood there for 7-10 minutes before gliding towards the wall between the dinette and Kitchen. The client does not wear contacts but does have glasses for seeing long distances. She did not attempt to photograph the being either.

One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that staring at an electronic tablet for long periods of time could cause the eyes to strain. This could result in dry or sore eyes, headaches, double vision, and blurry vision. When the client finally looked up from her tablet she could have had blurry vision for a short period of time thus giving her the experience of an invisible person bending light. Possible long terms effects of staring at electronic devices could lead to myopia, also known as nearsightedness. The client had already stated she wore glasses for this condition.

Lastly, the client pointed out cracks in the drywall above the doors. The cracks started at the upper corners of the doors and traveled at an approximately 45 degree angle going up towards the ceiling. As noted before, it appeared the front door to the apartment was damaged around the jambs. Should the door have been forcefully opened, this could have been the cause of these cracks. Cracks were also found above other doors. Cracks above the doors are common in older buildings. Having been built in the sixties, this complex has had many years to settle. Settling is the number one cause for cracks to appear in drywall. There is no evidence to support cracks in walls having any link with portals to other places or dimensions.

Once the walkthrough was done, Gravy began setting up equipment throughout the apartment. While Gravy was setting up equipment, Chris took outside weather conditions and baseline readings. Baseline EMF (electromagnetic field) readings and indoor temperatures were taken with a single-axis EMF MEL-8704R. Baselines were taken at 7:40 pm.

A Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum camera was placed in Living Room facing the hallway. A trigger object bank was placed on the dinette table. This trigger object bank consisted of a crucifix, third relic card, the Bible, a rosary, cigar, cigarette, two bullets, Gravy’s car keys and a razor blade. Trigger objects are miscellaneous items that are strategically chosen in hopes to invoke a response. Placed alongside the trigger objects was an EM pump. The EM pump emits multiple frequencies of EMF and goes with the theory that entities use the energy emitted to manifest or manipulate objects.

A touch flashlight was placed on the desk where the invisible entity was claimed to be near. The touch flashlight, which is activated by two contacts being touched, thus, closing a circuit and turning the light on, was also placed on the round table with the trigger objects. The touch flashlight is used in lieu of a flashlight that has had the battery compartment or on/off switch manipulated to function in a way that is not intended and as a result, can create false positives.

A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in the Bedroom on the dresser and on the desk in the Living Room.

At 8:05 pm, when all the equipment was set up and time stamped, Gravy and Chris decided to attempt to recreate some of the claims and search for natural explanations.

Starting with the claim of the clocks on the alarm, stove and microwave, Gravy and Chris turned on and off the circuit breakers to test some theories. It was noted that the microwave defaults to 01:00 military time and will not blink when power is lost and resumed. On the other hand, the alarm clock and stove will reset to 12:00 and blink after a loss of power. The claim being the client came home after some time of being away and had to reset the alarm and stove clock but not the microwave clock. PIM believes that while the client was gone, the apartment complex loss power around 1:00 am in the morning this would prompt the alarm and stove to blink and need their clocks readjusted but the microwave would seem to be close enough to that hour and not blink thus appear to not have lost power in the first place.

Next, Gravy and Chris moved to the Bathroom to inspect the toilet. They removed the cover to determine the inner workings of the toilet tank. It was noted that the lever was not connect to the common chain found in most toilet tanks but a rigid plastic pole. It was noted, under certain circumstances, the lever could stay in the down position thus leaving the plug open for water to continually flow into the toilet. Should something have been clogging the toilet, this could have caused it to overflow. The client had placed a service order with the property management and the toilet was snaked shortly after the original incident. The snaking of the toilet could have forced anything clogging the toilet through the pipes. PIM could not replicate the overflowing of the toilet.

Moving onto the claim of the toilet paper, Gravy took the roll that was on the floor and placed it in the bag with the rest of the toilet paper. While applying pressure and/or banging on shelves, Gravy attempted to get the roll of toilet paper to roll off the shelf and onto the floor. This was replicated based on certain factors that are very possible and could explain why the roll was found on the floor. As for the roll that was found on the shelf above with the cardboard center pulled out, this could not be replicated as it defies many laws of physics, most importantly gravity. PIM believes it is possible that someone, reaching for the toilet paper roll, grabbed it and realized it had no center cardboard and therefore placed it on the shelve above, unknown to the client. The same principle could be applied to the roll found on the floor.

Next Gravy and Chris went into the Bedroom to try to replicate the shadows on the wall. Vertical blinds that tended to sway a little due to the drafty windows were not a factor in recreating the shadows. According to the client, the night light that was in the room was given to the client after the first incident of the shadow occurred and after the client began sleeping with the lights on. Taking the night light and vertical blinds into consideration, Gravy and Chris could not recreate the shadow figure as described by the client.

It was noted there were two rats and a goldfish on the premises at the time of the investigation. Remarkably, the goldfish made noise in the fish tank that it was in. It was also noted there was a constant mechanical humming sound coming from one of the adjacent units. PIM tagged it as an exhaust fan sound coming from another kitchen or bathroom.

Claims of Activity

• Dishes disappear and re-appear a few days later in kitchen
• Car keys went missing from dining room table and later found in teapot on stove
• Client claims when Skyping on cell phone, person on other end of phone hears growling
• Client hears hissing/scraping while sitting at desk in Living Room
• Desk lamp light flickers
• Client was looking at her tablet, upon looking up, she saw what was described as an invisible entity standing between her and the desk lamp. The invisible entity was bending the light and the light appeared “fuzzy”
• Client sees eleven demonic faces in the bathroom mirror that appear to move. Client took a picture of the Bathroom mirror. Upon review of the picture, when zoomed in, demonic faces could be seen in particular parts of the picture. Client claims to have emailed to grandmother who could not see faces until the picture was viewed on clients own computer
• Client claims that when showering, disposable razor is thrown at her back
• Client stated that while on the phone with fiance, she was knocked onto the ground and felt pinned. She described what felt like a hand choking her and her legs were bound. This lasted approximately seven minutes and stopped when the fiance shouted for the entity to stop and come after him. The fiance resides in Ohio. Fiance claims similar events occur in his place of residence as well
• Someone the client had just met was coming into the apartment when he began to vomit stating he felt like he had been punched in the stomach
• Bathroom and bedroom doors would shut on their own. This is only heard and not observed
• The shower curtain was torn half off the rods
• Heard the word “leave” whispered. Also heard the word “die” loud and clear while in the Living Room. This has occurred several times
• Client claims the entity/entities do not like the name Vual. In demonology, Vual is a Great Duke of Hell. He commands thirty-seven legions of demons. He gives the love of women, causes friendship between friends and foes, and tells things past, present and to come. Other spelling: Uvall, Vreal, Wal, Voval, Wall
• Client claims that burning sage, sprinkling salt, covering mirror with fabric, spraying holy water, saying prayers and speaking the old language did not help in decreasing activity
• Vivid dream of being in a theater in Chicago that started on fire. A few days later, a friend found what was described as a plain white lighter in the back corner of the top shelf in the hallway closet. Client claims it wasn’t there before and believes it to be related to the dream
• An alarm/radio clock on her desk will turn on randomly three times. Each time it was on a different station
• Two rolls of toilet paper were moved in the closet of the Bathroom. One was on the floor and another on a shelf above where the client normally keeps the toilet paper
• Toilet flushed on its own and began overflowing
• Cracks appeared in the drywall in the corners of the doors. Client is under the assumption this might be the location of a portal to another place
• A shadow figure described as 6 feet tall was seen in Bedroom by door. Since seeing the shadow, the client sleeps with the light on
• After being gone for some time, the client came home to find the stove clock and alarm clock blinking but not the microwave clock
• Client was bending over when her shirt lifted up in the back and a friend noticed a large bruise on her lower back. Client believes she was punched and only after noticing there was a bruise did she feel the pain of the bruise. The bruise disappeared shortly after noticing it
• Hand print was on the wall inside the bedroom door. Client claims it wasn’t there before nor was it in a position natural to her physical ability
• Client was sitting at desk in Living Room and would hear a scraping noise or “kkkkkkkk” sound

Investigation

Living Room – 8:33 pm

Gravy and Chris sat on the couch while the client sat in a chair on the other side of the room. Gravy went over some of the rules PIM follows on investigations such as “tagging” and leaving ten seconds in between questions, with the client. “Tagging” is the practice of identifying a sound that either an investigator, animal, natural sound of the building and/or outside noise contamination might be. This “tagging” allows investigators, during evidence review, to rule out sounds that might otherwise sound unidentifiable and be mistaken as paranormal.

At 8:39 pm, the client heard a female scream. Neither Chris nor Gravy heard the scream.

At 8:46 pm the client began to feel sick to her stomach. Gravy inquired what the client had to eat throughout the day and she claimed nothing out of the ordinary. PIM does not believe this to be paranormal in nature.

At 8:50 pm, a car pulling into the driveway made a scraping or “kkkkkkk” sound as it bottomed out. The sound was very similar to that described by the client. This could explain some of the sounds the client hears in her apartment.

At 8:53 pm, the client saw, what she believed, to be a shadow in the hallway. Gravy quickly got up and moved to the hallway where the shadow might have been. The client claimed Gravy walked right though the shadow before it disappeared. Neither Gravy nor Chris saw the shadow. The client described it as six feet tall and stood there for about thirty seconds.

At 9:07 pm, the client began to see the shadow again. Using his laser pointer, Gravy scanned the area where he thought the shadow might be, though unable to see it. It was noted there was a white chef’s apron hanging on the door knob that, in contrast to the dark color of the door, gave the appearance of an arm. Gravy outlined this with his laser pointer. He then removed the apron from the door knob. At that time the shadow was no longer in that area.

At 9:19 pm, the shadow reappeared once again for the client. Gravy shined his flashlight in the general direction of the shadow and it would disappear and reappear when he turned the light off. This would prove that had there been a shadow figure in that spot, no amount of light would make it disappear. PIM believes the shadow figure is most likely a trick of the eye which would be tested again later in the investigation. PIM believes what might be happening here is the subtle light coming in through the shades from outside street lights and the blinking light of the stove clock illuminated the area enough to cause a trick of the eyes.

At 9:30 pm, Gravy decided to test the claims of growling and snarling noises over the phone by having the client call her fiance in Ohio. Also by doing this, Gravy and Chris wanted to see if activity was occurring at his place of residence; another claim of activity as stated previously.

It was noted that the client’s fiance was heavily dosed with medication during the call. During the call, lasting approximately twenty minutes, the fiance claimed to hear growling over the phone. It was noted that a loud car had driven by seconds before the claim was made and could explain some of the noises people mistakenly hear on the other end of the phone line.

The client’s fiance claimed to be able to speak an ancient language that he learned from, what he described as a blob, while investigating a library in his younger years. This ancient text was supposedly a protective chant. The fiance chanted these words several times over the phone. No activity occurred during this time. Afterwards, PIM researched the words used and found no dialect closely related therefore cannot confirm or deny the language and its effectiveness.

The name Vual was also mentioned over the phone by the client’s fiance as well. The claim being the entity(s) did not like to hear the name Vual and activity would increase when the name was said. No activity was noted to have occurred during the phone conversation or at any point when the name Vual was said.

At 9:45 pm, while still on the phone, the client claimed to see the shadow again. Gravy and Chris took turns kneeling by the client to see if they could see what she saw. This time, the light from the screen on her phone was illuminating the room more than before. This caused even more shadows and more tricks of the eye. As she moved the phone ever so slightly, it gave the appearance of moving shadows.

At about 9:50 pm, the phone conversation came to an end. No other activity occurred.

END TIME: 9:59 pm

Bedroom – 10:00 pm

Chris and the client sat in the Bedroom while Gravy sat in the hallway. After observing control silence for several minutes, they began an EVP session.

At 10:44 pm, the client stated to have a headache and her head was spinning. The spinning sensation was ongoing till 10:57 pm when it slowly dissipated. There are several natural explanations for headaches and no known correlation of headaches to the paranormal. Baseline EMF readings in the bedroom were zero and therefore not a likely cause for the headaches but still would have been a natural explanation.

At 10:57 pm, the client heard a scream. At the same time, Chris and Gravy heard someone turn on a water faucet in another unit adjacent to this unit. When the faucet turned on, it made a loud squeaking noise that was mistaken as a scream by the client. The client then heard the faucet when it was turned off approximately forty seconds later. This could also explain the other screams the client claims to have heard before.

END TIME: 11:00 pm

The group took a short break. It was noted the apartments temperature was cooler than when PIM first arrived. The thermostat switch controlling the heat and cold was in between the “off” and “heat” position.

Living Room- 11:56 pm

With the client sitting at the dinette, Chris and Gravy sat in the Living Room. They began an EVP session. At 12:00 am, the client felt, what she described as a light and quick touch of fingers on the top of her head. There did not appear to be cob webs hanging near her head at the time. No obvious explanation was visible at the time.

At 12:09 am, the client stated her left ear felt clogged and she could not hear anything out of it despite trying to pop her ears. The sensation continued for several minutes. No other activity occurred during this time and it was decided to end the investigation.

END TIME: 12:17 am

PIM broke down all their gear, stopped their control recorders and packed their equipment up before leaving the premises for the night.

Conclusion

PIM believes the client truly believes the activity in this apartment is real. Although PIM was able to provide alternate explanations for a majority of the claims, there were still a few that would require further investigating and research. However, PIM believes a majority of the claims have natural explanations and has no evidence to believe otherwise at the current moment. Further investigating of this location could prove otherwise but since the client has plans to move to another unit in a nearby building, the mystery could remain just that. It would, of course, be interesting to find out if the new tenants experience any of the same claims thus giving validity to the original claims, assuming the new tenants are unaware and therefore unbiased to previous activity.

PIM would like to thank the owner for allowing us to come in and investigate her home.