Arrival

Marc Eaton joins PIM for this investigation. He is a Professor from Ripon College Marc who is conducting research on the people who conduct paranormal investigations. As part of his research, he has accompanied PIM on several investigations.

We are also joined by Tea Krulos, Author of Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement. Tea’s next book is about paranormal investigation, and he is following PIM as part of his research.

PIM was accompanied by Dawn, Chris and Michael who work at the library, and Dave who had won a raffle that had the chance to participate in the investigation as a prize.

The group arrived at the location at 5:00 pm and were met by the employees of the location who had volunteered to take part in the investigation. The group brought equipment into the information desk area which would be used throughout the night as a Base Camp. Based on claims of activity in the library, it was decided that the main areas of the library to be investigated were to be the 790 Section, the Stairwell Between the 3rd and 4th Floors, the Humanities Work Room, and the Rare Books Room.

Jann went outside to collect environmental data at 5:30 pm while the rest of the group began to unpack equipment. When she returned, Jann took baseline EMF (Electromagnetic Field) and temperature readings from the areas of the location that were to be investigated. While baselines were being recorded, the other members of the group set up equipment.

View Environmental Data

There has been a shadow figure spotted in the stacks of the 790 Section of the library. A Sony DCR-SR42 video camera was placed facing the aisle where the figure was seen. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed on a step stool in the aisle as this is capable of capturing higher quality audio than the video camera.

An EMF pump was also placed in the aisle in the 790 Section; this device emits electromagnetic energy which theoretically can be used by spirits to manifest. Halfway down the aisle, an EMF/Ion detector was placed. This area holds books about sports so a small soccer ball, some playing cards, and some Quantum Bits motion sensitive lights were placed in this area. We place items such as these as trigger objects in hopes of eliciting activity.

The newly remodeled Rare Books Room is where the apparition of deceased Milwaukee artist and author Susan Stuart Frackleton was seen. Frackleton is most famous for her ceramic painting, and her book “Tried by Fire” is housed in the Rare Books Room.

The Rare Books Room is divided into two areas. The actual book room is behind a glass wall, and it is restricted as the contents are very valuable. The area that was investigated was a carpeted room, with a few tables and chairs, and a large overstuffed easy chair and ottoman. The apparition was seen seated on the large chair so Gravy placed Quantum Bits on the ottoman.

A Sony HDR-XR200V was set on the opposite side of the room from the large chair so that it would capture the entire room including the chair and ottoman. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was used in this area for audio, and an EMF pump was used in this room as well. A book was placed on the chair for a trigger object.

Two cameras were used in the Humanities Work Room. A Sony HDR-SR5 video camera was aimed toward the desk where a small girl apparition was seen, and a Sony DCR-SR85 video camera was aimed toward the maps as a worker heard movement in this area while alone. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in this room as was an EMF pump.

Several toys were used in this area as trigger objects in hopes of attracting the child apparition. A baby doll, a Barbie doll, and a small stuffed cat were placed within view of the cameras. Also, a small stuffed turtle that contains ion and EMF detectors was used as ionized air and EMF fluctuations have been measured during reported paranormal activity.

A Sony DCR-SR80 video camera was set up on the landing of the Stairwell between the 3rd and 4th Floors aimed at the area where a woman was sitting when she felt like she was touched. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was also used in this area.

Once equipment was set up, the group left for dinner while the building employees and Dave stayed at the location. Upon return at 7:45 pm, the group divided into two to maximize coverage in the allotted time.

Claims of Activity

  • 790 Section: A shadow figure has been seen in the stacks
  • In the Humanities Work Room: A librarian heard what sounded like someone working in the newly remodeled area when there was no one there
  • A woman heard what sounded like someone moving maps in and out of tubes
  • A library worker’s son was with her in this area and saw what appeared to be a young girl looking over his mother’s shoulder
  • Rare Books Room: A custodian saw a door close that should not have been open. The door only opens with a code
  • An apparition of a deceased local author who has books housed in the Rare Books Room was seen in this area
  • Stairwell between 3rd and 4th Floors: A woman was sitting on the steps reading and felt like she was touched

Investigation

790 Section – 7:50 pm

Group 1 – The first group consists of John, Jann and Tea with Chris and Michael. There was a continuous high-pitched noise in this area that made it difficult to investigate. Michael stated that this is a normal noise for this area at night, and that there was no way to make it stop.

The group spread out and had five minutes of control silence before beginning an EVP session. There were no responses to the questions asked.

END TIME: 8:33pm

Rare Books Room – 7:50 pm

Group 2 – The second group for the night includes Gravy, Randy and Marc with Dawn and Dave. Group 2 investigated this area until 8:32 pm. At 8:10 pm, Gravy thought he saw a shadow on the other side of the glass partition. The reflecting glass made it impossible for the camera to capture this.

At 8:19 pm, Randy’s Geiger counter jumped from 19 to 30 counts per minute. It is not known what caused this fluctuation and there was no other evidence captured to correlate with this reading. As such, the event can only be categorized as an anomaly.

No other activity occurred during this session and it was ended a short time later.

END TIME: 8:32 pm

Humanities Work Room – 8:41 pm

Group 1 – John, Jann and Tea were seated at tables, and Chris and Michael were in the aisle.

The group investigated this area until 9:20 pm with no remarkable occurrences.

END TIME: 9:20 pm

Stairway between 3rd and 4th Floors – 8:40 pm

Group 2 investigated this area until 9:16 pm. There was no activity witnessed or recorded.

END TIME: 9:16 pm

Stairway between 3rd and 4th Floors – 9:25 pm

Group 1 –Tea and Michael were seated on the floor. Chris was on the stairs leading to the 2nd Floor, John was at the top of the stairs on the 4th Floor, and Jann was on the stairs on the 3rd Floor.

Five minutes of control silence preceded an EVP session. During the period of silence, John, Jann and Tea all noted hearing what sounded like water dripping but they were unable to find the source of the noise. It was also possible to hear noises from outside while in this area.

No paranormal events were noted at this time.

END TIME: 10:00 pm

Humanities Work Room – 9:25 pm

The group investigated this area until 10:00 pm. At 9:30 pm an odd noise was heard, but it may have come from outside. At 9:55 pm the chair in which one member of the group was seated started to creak. No EMF was detected and it was concluded that this was normal.

No other events occurred and the session was ended a few minutes later.

END TIME: 10:00 pm

Rare Books Room – 10:06 pm

Group 1 – Tea, Jann and Michael seated themselves on the floor, and John and Chris sat in chairs. The clock in this room is very loud which made it somewhat difficult to investigate.

There was a thump heard at 10:20 pm which was then heard several times more while the group was in this room. The group did not find the source of the noise, but it is assumed to be mechanical.

No other events occurred during this session and it was ended a short time later.

END TIME: 10:46 pm

790 Section – 10:10 pm

Group 2 continued to investigate this area. Marc heard what sounded to him like an elevator at 10:15 pm, 10:30 pm, and 10:39 pm despite the elevators being out of order.

No other events occurred at this time and the session was ended a short time later.

END TIME: 10:46 pm

Everyone gathered at the Base Camp area for a break. John was not feeling well so he and Chris stayed in this area for the remainder of the investigation. The groups decided to investigate together for the rest of the night.

1T (Basement) – 11:12 pm

This is a large area filled with shelves that are used for storage of old books. The group spread throughout the floor and did an EVP session beginning with five minutes of control silence. The session lasted until 11:41 pm when the group decided to move to Centennial Hall.

END TIME: 11:41 pm

Centennial Hall – 11:50 pm

Everyone was seated in the audience except for Marc who sat on the stage. The group had five minutes of control silence during which it was noted that the boiler is very loud. An EVP session was held until 12:06 am. No unusual events occurred during this time.

END TIME: 12:06 am

The group decided to move to the Old Artwork Room which is a large storage space that holds rows of file cabinets and bookshelves. There are many old statues and figurines as well as paintings and drawings. There are 2nd level lofts on each side of the room that also hold rows of bookshelves.

During PIM’s first investigation at this location, a woman’s voice was heard by Noah and Marc that was also barely captured on audio. At the time, Noah and Marc weren’t sure if it had come from outside the library since there are windows that are above the street immediately behind where both Noah and Marc were sitting. This was a good opportunity to try and see if the voice could be heard again.

Old Artwork Room – 12:23 am

The group investigated this area until 12:37 am. There was no activity noted at this time.

END TIME: 12:37 am

The group moved to Level 4T which is the Old Museum Hall. This area is a long hallway that is lined with doors to what used to be offices for different departments of the museum.

Level 4T – 12:45 am

The group spread out down the hallway for an EVP session. At 12:46 am, a female voice was heard by Dawn and Gravy. This possibly came from outside.

Jann asked if the voice could be repeated and there was no response.

At 12:55 am, there was a noise from the landing that sounded like a shifting noise followed by a pop. Jann asked if the noise could be repeated and there was no response. It is assumed that this was settling of the floorboards.

At 12:58 am, Jann and Gravy heard what sounded like a whisper. This was captured on Gravy’s recorder but not on Jann’s. It is undetermined if this was outside noise, or possibly a noise made by another investigator.

No other events occurred and it was decided to end the investigation a few minutes later.

END TIME: 1:02 am

The group packed up their equipment and exited the building a short time later.

Conclusion

No evidence was captured during the investigation.

PIM had another great investigation at this location. It was great to learn of the new claims at this site and have the opportunity to see if we could find evidence of the phenomena. We want to sincerely thank the library staff for volunteering to accompany us on another investigation.

A special thank you goes out to Dawn, Chris and Michael who once again were great fun go be with. We hope Dave had a great time on the investigation as well. PIM looks forward to working with all of you again in the future.

 

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