Arrival
Special Guests Marc Eaton, a Ripon College Professor, and PIM East Coast Members, Josh and Michael, were also joining PIM for the investigation.
At 5:15 pm Missy, Jann, Noah, Gravy and Marc arrived at The Rectory. The first thing they did was decide where to set up base camp. The Library seemed the best place so they began to bring in equipment and set up. Once all the equipment was in the building Josh and Michael arrived. They brought in their equipment as well. Once everyone was situated Gravy took a group picture inside the Rectory. Then everyone moved to the front of the building for more group pictures.
At 6:15 pm everyone came back inside and went for a walkthrough of the Rectory to get a feel for the size of the place and to finalize where equipment would go. They started in the Basement and worked their way up. When they were on the 2nd Floor Michael was standing in front of the landing towards the front of the Rectory. He looked over the railing down to the 1st Floor and saw a shadowy figure in the doorway between the Front Entry Way and the Living Room. Josh and Gravy immediately ran downstairs to the 1st Floor but found nobody down there. Josh and Gravy came back to the 2nd Floor and the group continued on to the Attic.
Missy had been suffering from a headache and it was assumed that it was from the heat of the day and she hadn’t had enough fluids. So instead of going up into the hot attic she stayed down at the bottom of the steps. Everyone else went to the Attic to continue the walkthrough. While she sat at the foot of the stairs she began to hear what sounded like someone walking through the 2nd Floor hallway. The sound was described as though someone was walking on a wood floor but the hallway is carpeted. It is probable that it was the rest of the group walking around upstairs in the Attic. It was noted by Noah while he was in the Attic that it was very easy to hear street noise and kids playing from outside. He thought that this might be one explanation for the reports of the sounds of children playing up in the Attic.
As everyone was exiting the Attic, Gravy was the last person to head down the stairs with Noah in front of him. Noah was about four steps down when Gravy was just starting to go down the stairs and Gravy recoiled because he felt like he was going to step on something on the first step down. Gravy described the sensation like he was stepping on a foam ball and there was enough resistance that he stopped himself from going down the stairs for fear he would lose his balance. Both Noah and Gravy inspected the step and found nothing there that could give this sensation. PIM does not know what might cause this and it might be nothing, but PIM wanted to make sure it was documented in case there were unknown claims of a similar sort or future claims of such an event.
Once the walkthrough was complete it was then time to set up equipment. Michael had brought along his music player loaded with church music. He began to play the music and kept it going during the setup of the equipment in hopes to stir up activity. Jann took baseline readings of each room in the Rectory and took outside weather conditions. Gravy blacked out the windows with his darkening kit to ensure darkness throughout the Rectory. Once all equipment was up and running the group turned off the music and decided to eat dinner.
The group headed out at 8:15 pm to get something to eat and bring it back to the Rectory. The group ate together and prepared to investigate starting at 10:00 pm. Everyone was ready at 10:30 pm, so the group decided to start the investigation in the Basement.
Claims of Activity
- Claims of a man dressed in a dark clergy robe walking between the Living Room and Parlor
- Claims of shadowy movement under the door to the Pantry, as if somebody is walking around
- Doors opening and closing, as well as the sounds of doors opening and closing
- Claims of people being scratched by an unseen presence
- Piano keys playing on their own downstairs in the Parlor
- Hearing children talking and playing in the Attic
- A suitcase and rocking chair upstairs moving on its own in the Rocking Chair Room
- An unseen presence leaving an indentation in the shape of a body on the bed in the Master Bedroom
- A feeling of uneasiness and dread felt by visitors and volunteers
- The sounds of dogs barking in the Basement
Investigation
Basement – 10:33 pm
At 10:33 pm everyone headed downstairs to the Basement for the first EVP session of the investigation. The Basement is rumored to have been where dog fighting had occurred during the time when the Rectory was abandoned in the 1980’s. People have claimed to have been scratched while in the Basement, the feeling of dread and the sound of dogs barking have also been claimed to occur in the Basement.
The group decided to spread out throughout the Basement with Josh in the Furnace Room, Missy and Gravy in the Main Basement, Marc, Noah and Michael all went into the Dog Cage Room. Jann sat on the Basement steps. Shortly after everyone was situated, at 10:38 pm, Marc, Noah and Michael all heard the sound of something slam like a car door. Marc and Noah went upstairs to check it out. In the meantime, at 10:39 pm, Gravy heard a male voice whisper the word “Damn” coming from the main Basement Area. At 10:41 pm Noah and Marc came back downstairs. Noah talked with Gravy about the voice. Noah said that neither he nor Marc had said the work “Damn” while upstairs.
Once everyone was again settled in their positions, at 10:43 pm, it was again time to begin the EVP session. Noah asked for five minutes of controlled silence to better familiarize them with the natural sounds of the space. At 10:50 pm Noah heard a deep breath or a yawn. He also heard movement coming from somewhere in the Basement at about the same time. Noah quickly checked out the Basement using the Thermal Imaging Camera and detected no rodents. However, review of video from stationary cameras in the Basement revealed there were mice in the Basement that could have accounted for these and other noises.
Michael decided to do an experiment at 10:55 pm to try and stir up activity from any dogs that remained in the Dog Cage Room. Michael took out a dog toy and tried calling any dogs that might be present. Michael then issued some commands for the dogs. At that time Gravy and Jann heard what sounded like someone’s foot sliding. Everyone claimed to have not moved their foot.
At 10:57 pm, Jann , Noah and Missy heard a rumbling or footsteps from upstairs while Michael was still trying to communicate with the dogs. Missy, Noah and Michael went upstairs to check it out. They went up to the 1st Floor and the 2nd Floor but nobody was there and nothing had moved out of place. The three returned to the Basement and Michael continued to try and play with the dogs. At 11:12 pm Jann and Noah heard what sounded like someone said the word “what”. Noah was sitting closest to the door of the Dog Cage Room and Jann was on the stairs so it came from somewhere between them. Nobody else was able to hear it.
At 11:18 pm the group decided to change positions. Everyone moved but Jann. Michael and Noah moved to the Main Room, Marc moved to the Furnace Room and Missy, Gravy and Josh moved to the Dog Cage Room. Michael put a $20, $5, and $1 dollar bill on a table in the Main Basement Room. They observed 1 minute of silence. At 11:23 pm Michael heard the money moving. It was very humid in the Basement so it is most likely that the money was just settling as the paper absorbed water from the air. No movement was seen on video either. The group conducted an EVP session but the Basement was now pretty quiet. At 11:34 pm it was decided to move on to the 1st Floor.
END TIME: 11:34 pm
1st Floor – 11:46 pm
Once the group arrived upstairs Missy stated that she had begun to feel ill again. It was then decided to take a short break and rehydrate.
After their short break everyone split up around the 1st Floor. Jann sat on the stairs between the 1st and 2nd Floors, Michael and Josh sat in the Living Room, Marc and Missy in the Parlor, Gravy in the Hall near the Basement, and Noah in the Hall in front of the Dining Room. They again observed five minutes of controlled silence. At 11:52 pm Michael noticed that the Rosary had moved from where it was placed on the fireplace mantel in the Living Room. Gravy had taken baseline photos before the investigation. He again took photos of the Rosary to compare to those photos. After reviewing the video footage from that room, it seems that one of the investigators moved the rosary when placing another item on the mantle.
At 11:56 pm Michael decided to try and experiment and perform Holy Communion in the Parlor. Noah and Gravy decided to receive Communion while Michael would lead it. They used grape juice and plain bread. During Communion Michael felt a chill two separate times. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.
At 12:09 am everyone returned to their original places on the 1st Floor. It was then decided to try and experiment by using Missy’s translator App on her phone to translate their EVP session from English to German. The church the Rectory was built for was founded by Germans. This did not seem to stir up any activity. At 12:20 am they decided to end the language experiment.
They then moved on to try a music experiment. They played the church music on Michael’s music player for 30 seconds, stopped it, and then did an EVP session for a few minutes. This process was repeated several times. After a few tries of doing it this way they then tried playing secular music and then an EVP session. They did this a few times as well. It did not seem to produce any activity so they ended this experiment at 12:36 am and took a break until 1:22 am.
END TIME: 12:36 am
After the break at 1:24 am Noah, Jann, Missy and Marc went upstairs to check the shadow detector while Gravy, Michael and Josh changed the battery in the audio recorder in the 1st Floor Hallway. Noah found the battery dead in the camera located in the Master Bedroom so he changed that battery and the battery in the shadow detector located in the Rocking Chair Room. Michael and Josh changed the camera battery in the 2nd Floor Hallway as well.
At 1:31 am Jann and Marc moved the touch flashlight from the mantle in the Living Room to the Prayer Room to replicate an experiment that other groups have tried in that room. Once everything was set it was time to move upstairs for another EVP session.
2nd Floor – 1:37 am
The group situated themselves throughout the 2nd Floor. Josh and Noah were in the Bathroom in the Prayer Room while Michael sat inside the Prayer Room to try the flashlight experiment. Noah then decided to move to the Master Bedroom, Marc sat in the Small Bedroom, Gravy sat in the Rocking Chair Room, Jann in the Hallway near the steps, and Missy near the stairs to the Attic.
Noah asked for five minutes of controlled silence. It was very quiet outside and the Rectory was quite silent. At 1:44 am Gravy asked if someone could move the suitcase in the Rocking Chair Room. Jann heard a “No” in her left ear. Nobody else heard it. Noah decided to move out of the Master Bedroom at that time because the air conditioning was too loud and he couldn’t hear what people were saying in the other rooms. He sat in the Hallway near Jann and Missy moved into the Hallway as well. Jann and Missy then heard a loud breath or a possible voice. Noah did not hear it despite being in the same area. Nothing else was heard so at 1:59 am it was decided to have everyone move to a different place on the 2nd Floor.
Josh moved to the Small Bedroom, Marc moved to the Master Bedroom, Missy moved to the Rocking Chair Room, and Gravy moved to the Prayer Room. Michael moved to the Hallway in front of the Small Bedroom. The goal during this EVP session was to direct things to mess with the objects and Marc in the Master Bedroom. Earlier in the evening Noah placed a magazine with naked women in it on the bed in the Master Bedroom. This experiment did not produce any activity.
At 2:15 am Missy and Marc traded places in hopes that a female would stir up more activity in the Master Bedroom than a male. It was pretty quiet until 2:22 am. Missy was sitting in a chair in the Master Bedroom with her legs slightly apart. She felt pressure on the outsides of her knees as though someone was trying to push her legs together. Just prior to this sensation she felt pressure in her chest. At 2:27 am Missy felt tingles on her legs and the EMF detector that she was holding spiked from 0.24 to 0.62mG. This is relatively minor but still a change that had not happened any other time that she was sitting in the Master Bedroom. After this happened Noah suggested that Jann join Missy in the Master Bedroom. At 2:29 am Jann joined Missy but nothing more happened in that room.
At 2:39 am Jann and Missy left the Master Bedroom and Missy moved to the Prayer Room and Jann moved to the Hallway. Josh then went into the Master Bedroom, Gravy moved to the Small Bedroom, Noah to the Rocking Chair Room and Marc into the hall. Michael remained in the same place outside the Small Bedroom. Since there were allegations of child molestation at the Rectory, Josh tried to entice anything that might be located in the Master Bedroom. Meanwhile, the rest of the group conducted another EVP session but all was quiet. At 2:48 am Josh left the Master Bedroom and it was decided to take a short break.
END TIME: 2:48 am
Attic – 3:23 am
After their break it was decided to move on to the Attic. This room was very hot earlier in the day and was saved for later in the investigation to give it a chance to cool off. Once they arrived Noah realized that he needed a new SD card for his video camera. Josh and Noah ran downstairs to the Library to get one. They returned and Noah restarted his camera at 3:23 am. The group scattered themselves around the Attic and began an EVP session at 3:27 am.
The room was also very quiet and there was very little street noise. The temperature of the Attic was much more comfortable now than it was earlier in the investigation. The only occurrence during this EVP session was a loud breathing sound that almost sounded like a light snoring at 3:41 am. Everyone was able to hear it but nobody could figure out where it originated. At 3:47 am it was decided to end this EVP session. Michael and Josh left the Rectory to go back to their hotel but left their equipment up and running. Before leaving Michael set Josh’s hand held video camera in the Small Bedroom.
The remainder of the group decided to take a small break until 4:27 am.
END TIME: 3:47 am
Basement – 4:32 am
After a short break the group, now only including Noah, Gravy, Jann, Missy and Marc, decided to go back down to the Basement. Missy sat in the Furnace Room, Gravy sat on the stairs, and everyone else sat in the Main Area.
At 4:39 am Noah asked if someone could make a noise we could all hear and he heard a noise coming from the stairs. Shortly after Noah also heard a voice but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. A popping noise was also heard coming from the Furnace Room. Everyone was able to hear it. Missy tried provoking to elicit a response but nothing was noted. At 4:49 am the EVP session ended.
END TIME: 4:49 am
1st Floor – 4:59 am
The group decided to do one last EVP session before the sun came up. Gravy sat in the hall near the Library, Marc and Noah sat in the Living Room, Jann in the Parlor and Missy in front of the Basement door. The group had no responses during this EVP session and decided at 5:13 am to wrap it up. All equipment remained in their places and running but the group decided to break down the Attic’s equipment before getting some sleep.
END TIME: 5:13 am
The five remaining investigators slept at the Rectory. Gravy, Noah and Jann slept in the Master Bedroom, Missy slept in the Rocking Chair Room and Marc slept in the Parlor. No one reported any activity during the hours they slept. Everyone was up and moving by 10:30 am and began breaking down the equipment. Michael and Josh arrived at 11:00 am to pick up their equipment they had left behind. Once the equipment was packed up and out of the Rectory one last walk through was done to insure that nothing would be left behind. At 12:00 pm everyone was out of the Rectory.
END TIME: 12:00 pm
Conclusion
No evidence was captured during the investigation.
It was an amazing experience and PIM would like to thank the owner’s Terry and Tim for entrusting them with their beautiful building. They are making great strides to recreate the beauty and splendor that the Rectory once had. PIM was able to come up with some alternative explanations for some of the claims at Sedamsville Rectory, including the discovery that the building has mice. However, some personal experiences were had at the Rectory and this is certainly a place that PIM would like to visit again in the future.
