Sedamsville Rectory

Arrival

At 4:50 pm Noah, Gravy, John, Tony, and Missy arrived at the rectory. This was the second time investigating the rectory for Noah, Gravy and Missy but John and Tony’s first.

Once inside the building they did a quick scan of the house to make sure nobody was there. They then brought in all their equipment from the vehicle. It was decided to use the Library as base camp as this was what they did last time and it worked out great. Immediately Noah instructed everyone to get their Zoom H1 control audio recorders running, time stamped and attached to their person along with their datalogger. Every member of PIM is equipped with a Zoom H1 digital audio recorder, which is used as their control recorder, Extech RHT50 datalogger, and UV flashlight. 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 started and time stamped first before any other equipment is started and they are turned off last to ensure any anomalous noises can be cross checked. The Extech RHT50 datalogger takes a temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure reading once a minute and is used to try and correlate environmental data with any personal experiences an investigator might encounter during an investigation.

View Environmental Data

Everyone then began to set up equipment on tri-pods to make set up easier and faster. Once Missy had her equipment ready to go she went outside to take outside weather readings using the Kestrel 3500 Weather Station. The Kestrel Weather Station is a tool that measures temperature, wind speeds, barometric pressure and humidity.

Once she finished she rejoined everyone else inside. While everyone else placed equipment in each room, Missy walked around from room to room throughout the Rectory taking baseline temperature and EMF (electromagnetic field) readings with a TriField 100XE EMF Detector and indoor temperature was taken with a Single-Axis EMF Mel-8704R.

Gravy and Tony went up to the Attic to begin placing equipment. They placed two video camcorders on opposite ends to cover the large area of the Attic. They placed a Sony HDR-XR200V in one corner and a full spectrum Sony HDR-CX160 in the opposite corner. All video equipment used by PIM comes with a wide angle lens and a NightShot feature. PIM uses external UV lights to illuminate areas and dark plastic sheets to darken any windows to avoid light contamination from outside sources. In addition a Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in the Attic. The Zoom H1 audio recorder is used by PIM because of its high quality and sensitive stereo X/Y mic configuration that captures stereo audio. A GQ GMC-300 datalogging Geiger counter, which measures beta and gamma radiation and an Extech RHT50, which datalogs temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure along with a touch flashlight, a geophone, a baby doll, toy horse, bear, ball, candy, and a pentagram were placed in this area as trigger objects. The geophone is a device that is sensitive to vibrations and has multiple lights that light up in response to the intensity of the vibration. 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 was unintended. The touch flashlight is activated by two contacts being touched, thus closing a circuit and turning the light on.

Tony also set up a Sony DCR-DVD610 camcorder in the Creepy Room. While he was setting up the camera the door between the hallway and the Creepy Room closed on its own. It had stayed open the entire time the team had been there until this point. Tony opened it back up and realized that the door closes on its own very easily. It must have been stuck open somehow until Tony started walking around making the floor vibrate during equipment set up. He placed a box fan against the door so it would stay open. He also set an IR light on the box around the radiator to illuminate the room. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed on the side table next to the bed as well.

Gravy set up a Sony HDR-XR200V in the Prayer Room along with a Zoom H1 audio recorder. It was placed against the wall opposite the doorway covering the entrance to the bathroom that is in that room.

John set up a Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum camera in the Rocking Chair Room. He placed the camera so that the rocking chair and suitcase that is said to move on its own were in camera view. A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in that room as well.

Missy and Noah set up a Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum camera and Zoom H1 audio recorder in the Master Bedroom. Noah set up the camera so that he could see both the Master Bedroom and down the hallway into the Creepy Room. Missy set up the Zoom H1 audio recorder on the nightstand next to the bed. Next to the table there is a little door in the wall that is the access to the plumbing for the bathtub that is on the opposite side of that wall. Noah commented on how last time we opened it up and put a Playboy magazine in there. He tried to open it up but it had been secured somehow making it impossible for them to open it up. Noah went back to setting up the camera. While Noah was setting up the camera he thought he heard a noise in the back hallway near the Servant’s Staircase. He left the room to check it out. While he was gone Missy heard at 6:38 pm scratching coming from inside the small door that they just tried opening. It is uncertain as to what was causing the scratching noise but Missy said it sounded like a squirrel or chipmunk could have been scratching on the door. Perhaps in their attempts to open the door they disturbed an animal that was in there.

Tony, Gravy, and Noah then moved down to the first floor to set up equipment. In the Parlor a Sony HDR-SR7 camera was set up facing the fireplace mantel. On the mantel a crucifix, 3rd class relic of Veronica’s Vail card, and a Bible with an inverted pentagram on top were placed as trigger objects along with an EMF pump, which emits EMF, a touch flashlight, and a Dark Matter Detector. A Dark Matter Detector is a device that measures EMF, temperature, barometric pressure, and has a high quality audio recorder as well.

In the Living Room a Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum camera and a Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed. The camera was set up so that the doorway that the shadow was claimed to have been seen during the previous visit was in camera view.

A ZoomH1 audio recorder was placed in the 1st Floor Hallway to act as an audio control for PIM�s base camp and break room which was located in the Kitchen.

In the Basement a HDR-XR200V camera was placed in the Main Basement facing the Furnace Room and the trigger objects were placed in the middle of the room. The trigger objects were: a deck of cards, dice, whiskey, a $1, $5, and $10 bill, bullets, a cigar, and a Bible. Along with the trigger objects a touch flashlight, Extech RHT50 datalogger and an EMF Pump was placed. In the Dog Fighting Room a Sony HDR-CX150 full spectrum camcorder was placed along with a Zoom H1 audio recorder.

Once the equipment was placed, illumination was set. All equipment was started and time stamped. Time stamps, from an atomic watch, are used as a point of reference and make cross referencing easier during evidence review.

At 7:13 pm Noah decided to try an experiment. Noah attempted to replicate bringing in the books that the owners brought in recently. As stated earlier in the report the owners said the house came alive once they brought these books in. Noah had Missy find the books in the Library and then Noah and Gravy took them outside and brought them back in the house. Nothing notable happened after they walked in the house but Noah decided to place them on the bed in the Master Bedroom as trigger objects. He also asked Gravy to place the Playboy Magazine on the bed next to the books as another trigger object.

At this time the team decided to take a quick break to ready themselves for the long night of investigating ahead of them. They discussed where they would start investigating first and it was decided to begin in the Attic. At 7:18 pm they ended their break and walked up to the Attic to begin.

Claims of Activity

• Claims of a man dressed in a dark clergy robe walking between the Living Room and Parlor
• Claims of a shadowy movement under the door to the Pantry, as if somebody is walking around
• Seeing or hearing doors opening and closing by themselves
• 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

ACTIVITY REPORTED DURING PIM’S PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION:

• An investigator claimed to see a shadow figure on the 1st Floor near the door to the Living Room
• Gravy felt like he stepped on something soft, like a kitten, when he was starting to go down the stairs from the Attic
• Gravy thought he heard someone say “damn”while he was in the Basement
• A voice or loud breath was heard in the 2nd Floor Hallway near the Servant’s Staircase
• Missy, who was sitting in the Master Bedroom in a chair with her legs slightly apart, felt pressure on the outsides of her legs as though someone was trying to push them together. Just prior to that she felt pressure in her chest

Investigation

Attic – 7:20 pm

It was decided to have the first EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) session in the Attic. Each investigator sat in a corner of the Attic except Noah who sat near the middle next to the trigger objects. At 7:20 pm Noah called for five minutes of controlled silence to better familiarize the investigators with the natural sounds of the building. During those five minutes many noises, pops, traffic, and wind noises were heard. The most dominant sound turned out to be an animal moving around somewhere between the insulation and the roof.

At 7:30 pm they began the first EVP session of the night. Noah began by introducing himself and the team and made it very clear that nobody was there to cause harm or make anyone leave, but to try and communicate in some way.

The team tried to communicate with the children that are said to reside in the Attic. Many claims have been made that the sound of children has been heard in this area of the house. No responses were heard although many attempts were made.

During this EVP session, at 7:52 pm, Gravy heard something move in the window that he was sitting next to. It is suspected that an animal made the noise he heard.

At 8:00 pm it was decided to end this EVP session and move down to the 2nd Floor.

END TIME: 8:00 pm

2nd Floor – 8:02 pm

Missy sat in the Master Bedroom, Tony in the Creepy Room, Gravy in the Prayer Room, John in the Rocking Chair Room, and Noah in the 2nd Floor Hallway just outside of the Master Bedroom. At 8:07 pm five minutes of controlled silence began.

During controlled silence Missy and Noah both heard a rhythmic rattling coming from the blinds in the window of the Master Bedroom. Missy got up to check it and wind could be felt coming through the window causing the blinds to make noises. While Missy was moving around Tony thought he heard three knocks coming from his room but upon further investigation it was caused by Missy stepping on the floorboards. The Creepy Room is right next to the Master Bedroom with a bathroom separating the two rooms.

At 8:10 pm they began another EVP session. Many questions were asked without response. Missy suggested that Noah lay on the bed in the Master Bedroom since one of the claims is the sensation that someone is lying next to you while in the bed. People have also claimed to see the indentation of an unseen person lying in the bed. So at 8:20 pm Noah moved from the 2nd Floor Hallway to the bed in the Master Bedroom.

At 8:31 pm a loud noise was heard by everyone. Tony stated that it was the sound of the IR light in the Creepy Room sliding and tipping over on to the cover of the radiator. Everyone came into the room to observe the light and figure out how it could have moved on its own. First they went to the video evidence from the camera in the room. Due to the angle of the camera the only thing observed was the shifting of the light and the sound. Noah went to check the camera in the Master Bedroom but some time before the light fell the camera battery died.

The team experimented by trying to replicate the light falling. The only way they could get it to fall the way it had was to pull on the electrical cord attached to the light that was plugged into the socket next to the heat register. If this is the way it fell it is uncertain how the cord was pulled or who pulled it. Tony never moved and he was sitting approximately three feet away from the socket. He is also on camera the whole time and it is clear he did not move prior to the light falling. Although no ready explanation was found, PIM is not calling this a paranormal event.

At 8:49 pm it was decided to end this EVP session and move to the 1st Floor.

END TIME: 8:49 pm

Living Room – 8:52 pm

At 8:52 pm Noah and Gravy placed a spirit board on the coffee table located in the Living Room of the 1st Floor. Noah and Missy sat on the couch, Gravy sat on the floor opposite Noah, John and Tony sat in chairs located in the Living Room.

The use of a spirit or Ouija board on an investigation is not something PIM does regularly. In this case, spirit boards were explicitly not allowed at this location due to the supposed activity that resulted from the use of the board in the rectory. PIM used the board as an experiment to show that the board itself does not result in activity but it is the reactions and beliefs of those who use the board that result in perceived activity. PIM also does this on occasion to prove that the dire consequences for using a board at certain locations are not legitimate in the least. As of the writing of this report, no adverse effects have been reported at the rectory by the owners.

Noah and Gravy both placed a single finger on the planchette. After several minutes of trying to communicate Missy placed a finger on the planchette as well. The three tried to communicate using the board but the planchette never moved and it was decided to put it away and try an EVP session instead.

At 9:11 pm they began an EVP session with everyone sitting in the Living Room.

After attempting to communicate via EVP session, no responses were heard. It was decided at 9:41 pm to continue the investigation in the Basement.

END TIME: 9:41 pm

Basement – 9:46 pm

Once in the Basement everyone spread themselves around throughout the Main Basement and the Dog Fighting Room. The Dog Fighting Room is where it is believed that the illegal dog fighting occurred during the 1980’s. People claim to hear dogs barking in this part of the Basement. One possible explanation for this report are the dogs in the neighborhood of the Rectory. They could be heard barking throughout the night but it was very clear to PIM that the sound was not coming from within the Rectory. However it could be mistaken by someone is close attention was not paid to where the sound was coming from or if a person was busy doing something else when the barking occurred.

At 9:46 pm they began controlled silence. It was very cold and quiet in the Basement. There were some natural building noises that could be heard but that was all.

At 9:52 pm they began an EVP session. Nothing out of the ordinary was heard although many attempts to communicate were made. At 10:15 pm they decided to end this EVP session and move up to the Kitchen to take a short break.

END TIME: 10:15 pm

Attic – 10:47 pm

This time everyone but Gravy chose a corner of the Attic to sit in. Gravy sat in the middle near the trigger objects. At 10:47 pm they began an EVP session.

It was very quiet in the Attic. The animals seemed to have settled down and it was certainly getting colder. At 11:05 pm everyone decided to take this opportunity to check and change batteries in the equipment and then continued the investigation again on the 2nd Floor.

END TIME: 11:05 pm

2nd Floor – 11:16 pm

Missy sat in the Creepy Room, Tony in the 2nd Floor Hallway near the stairs, Gravy in the Rocking Chair Room, and Noah in the Master Bedroom.

At 11:16 pm they began another EVP session with Missy paying very close attention to the light on the heat register that had moved during the last EVP session on the 2nd Floor. They made many attempts to communicate but it wasn’t until 11:50 pm that Tony thought he heard a woman say something near him. He tried to assure her that he would not harm her but that she should try to continue to communicate with him but nothing more was heard. At 11:59 pm they ended this EVP session. Missy went back up to the Attic at this time to change the battery in her camcorder. While they were in the Attic during the last EVP session she noticed that camcorder only had a short time left on its battery. Tony took this opportunity to change the SD card in his camcorder in the Basement.

END TIME: 11:59 pm

1st Floor – 12:20 am

The group decided to continue the investigation on the 1st Floor. Missy and Gravy sat in the Parlor, John in the 1st Floor Hallway near the Kitchen, and Noah and Tony sat in the Living Room.

They began by sitting quietly for five minutes. At 12:26 am a very loud thump was heard by Noah, Missy, and John. They thought it had come from the Basement. A few minutes later, at 12:29 am, another loud thump was heard in the Basement. This time everyone heard it. Tony and Noah went downstairs to check it out. The furnace that was in the Basement seemed to be having a hard time working so Noah and Tony turned the thermostat down so it wouldn’t keep trying to turn on.

At 12:41 am another mysterious noise was heard in the Basement. Shortly after that, at 12:48 am, Noah and Tony heard a noise in the Living Room that sounded like someone with heavy boots walking on the floor.

At 1:14 am Missy moved from the Parlor to the Living Room and sat on the couch next to Tony. Gravy took her place in the Parlor. At 1:17 am Tony claimed to see a shadow run in front of the fireplace in the Living Room. There were no cars driving by at the time that would have cast a shadow and the windows have drapes on them that block out the street lights pretty well. It is unclear where the shadow came from and it was not seen again. This was not captured on video and it is uncertain what Tony saw.

At 1:23 am Noah and Gravy went to the Master Bedroom to check the SD card in the camcorder. Missy and Tony remained seated on the couch in the Living Room. They, very suddenly, were able to smell something that smelled like a fireplace burning. There is a fireplace in the Living Room but it is not operational and hasn’t been for what looks like a very long time. They were able to smell it for approximately thirty seconds but by the time Noah and Gravy came back down to the 1st Floor the smell had diminished.

At 1:36 am it was decided to take a short break and begin again on the 2nd Floor.

END TIME: 1:36 am

2nd Floor – 2:15 am

This time Missy sat in the Rocking Chair Room, John sat in the 2nd Floor Hallway near the stairs, Gravy in the Master Bedroom, Tony in the Prayer Room, and Noah in the Creepy Room.

At 2:15 am they began an EVP session. The Rectory is on a residential dead end street. There is not a lot of traffic normally but given the time of night the street was dead silent. Nothing was heard during this EVP session until 2:28 am when Tony heard a noise in the bathroom that is attached to the Prayer Room. It is possible that it was a small animal walking around in there that caused the noise. At 2:29 am it was decided to end this EVP session and finish up the night in the Basement.

END TIME: 2:29 am

Attic – 2:33 am

Once they got into the Basement Missy sat in the doorway in front of the Furnace Room, Tony and John sat in the Main Basement near the trigger objects and Noah and Gravy sat in the Dog Fighting Room.

At 2:33 am they began an EVP session. It was noted that the furnace was making a lot of noises. It was constantly trying to turn itself on and water was dripping somewhere in the Furnace Room as well. Besides the noises coming from the Furnace Room the rest of the Basement was very quiet. After many questions and attempts at communication it was decided at 2:54 am to end the investigation.

END TIME: 2:54 am

The five investigators slept at the Rectory that night. All equipment was taken down and packed up before getting some sleep. No one reported any activity while they slept. Everyone was up and moving by 9:00 am. Once everyone was dressed and equipment was packed up and out of the Rectory they did a quick walkthrough to ensure no equipment was left behind. At 11:00 am a few group pictures were taken outside of the Rectory and then the team ensured everything was locked up before leaving.

Conclusion

The investigation for this historic building was very interesting for PIM. We were so thankful for the opportunity to return to the Rectory for yet another investigation. There are so many paranormal claims at the Rectory and PIM has had their share of personal experiences here as well. PIM was able to come up with some alternative explanations for some of the claims. The Rectory has its fair share of animal inhabitants. They were able to find evidence of mice the last time they visited and there seems to be mice there still. Also the furnace does not seem to be working properly. It was very cold in the building all night and even after Noah turned the thermostat way down the furnace continued to try and turn on. It makes a lot of knocks and bangs and even the sound of water dripping. That could have been a lot of the sounds PIM was hearing during the EVP session on the 1st Floor. It is not PIM’s belief that the light that was moved in the Creepy Room earlier in the investigation was caused by the radiator expanding and contracting but it cannot be claimed as a paranormal event since it was not captured on video.

 

PIM would like to thank the Midwest Preservation Society for allowing PIM the opportunity to investigate this wonderful historic location. It was wonderful to see the changes that have been made since PIM’s first visit. They are making great strides to recreate the beauty and splendor that the Rectory once had.