Arrival
Noah arrived at 6:30 pm and unloaded his gear into the kitchen, which was used as a basecamp area. He arrived early to unload his gear before a scheduled 7:00 pm presentation to visitors of Tinker Swiss Cottage regarding paranormal claims at the location. Prior to his presentation, Noah recorded all information regarding moon phases, space weather, and sunspots. Noah also placed his cameras, infrared lights, and audio recorders on tripods and staged them in the kitchen so that Gravy and Marc could quickly place the gear once they arrived.
Gravy and Marc arrived at 7:10 pm and unloaded their gear into the basecamp area. While Noah was doing his presentation, they quickly set up cameras, lights, audio recorders, and trigger objects in locations around the cottage that had been previously selected by Noah and Gravy. These locations were selected on the basis of reports of activity and prior experiences by members of PIM.
A Sony HDR-SR7 video camera was placed in the Dining Room facing the Smoking Room. Several trigger objects were placed in the Smoking Room within view of the camera including a cigar, whiskey, playing cards, and a bullet. Trigger objects are items that are placed in hopes of attracting activity. In addition to these objects, a touch flashlight was placed within view of the camera. This flashlight turns on if it is touched along the bottom side where one’s finger completes the circuit between two metal ribs. An EMF pump, which is a device that emits electromagnetic energy, was also placed in this area, as was a single-axis Mel-8740R-VIBE meter, which emits a beeping noise when it detects vibration. Electromagnetic energy theoretically provides spirits with the energy needed to manifest.
In the Parlor, a Sony HDR-SR10 video camera was placed facing the library. There was a Mel-8704REM/ATDD/SDD placed on a tripod in the Library within view of this camera. This device measures temperature and EMF, and also includes a shadow detection feature. The shadow detection was used in the library because reports of a male figure appearing in this area have been made. A Zoom H1 digital audio recorder and Extech RHT50 datalogger were placed on the fireplace mantle in the Library. The audio recorder was placed in the Library because it has better audio capabilities than the video camera. The datalogger records temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure readings at set time intervals. Fluctuations in these factors are thought to occur concurrently with paranormal activity.
On the 2nd Floor walkway of the Library, Gravy placed a touch flashlight and a geophone. The geophone contains several red lights that turn on when the device detects vibrations on the surface upon which it is placed. In addition, a toy car, baseball, and toy cat were placed on the 2nd Floor walkway of the Library. These trigger objects were placed in this location due to previous reports of a child being seen and heard in the vicinity of this walkway.
A Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum video camera was placed in the Master Bedroom, and a Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in the Red Room. An Extech RHT50 and Zoom H1 were placed on a table on the 2nd Floor landing at the top of the stairs.
An Extech RHT50 datalogger and a Zoom H1 audio recorder were also placed on a table at the base of the Basement stairs. This location was selected because the air conditioning unit outside the building was loud enough that audio recording in the hallway or Basement Kitchen would not have been productive.
At 8:50 pm, shortly after Gravy and Marc completed setting up the equipment, a tour group led by Steve Litteral, a docent of Tinker Swiss Cottage, entered the kitchen. This group was joined by Noah. Steve gave the history of the building along with some of the paranormal claims, and Noah added details about PIM’s equipment and why PIM had set it up in specific locations. At 9:40 pm, while the tour was ongoing, Noah, Gravy, and Marc left to get dinner. They returned at 10:30 pm just as the tour was ending, and immediately started all equipment they had previously placed.
Noah, Gravy, and Marc notified Steve that a smoke alarm in the Master Bedroom was beeping because it needed a new battery. At 11:05 pm, Steve contacted the security company to temporarily turn off the alarm system and then replaced the battery in the smoke alarm. After the alarm was fixed, Noah, Gravy, and Marc set infrared illumination for each of the cameras, and at 11:30 pm they officially began the investigation.
Investigation
1st Floor – 11:30 pm
Noah sat in the Parlor, Marc sat in the Dining Room, and Gravy sat in the Sitting Room. The session began with five minutes of silence so the group could note ambient noise.
The group conducted an EVP session in this area until 11:56 pm. At 11:46 pm, Gravy heard a “clunk” that seemed to come from the Kitchen area. He asked several questions for Mrs. Tinker, who is reported to have died in the Kitchen, but received no responses. A few other pops and cracks were heard, but nothing that seemed responsive to the questions asked.
END TIME: 11:56 pm
Next, the group moved to the Basement.
Basement – 12:00 am
Marc was seated in the Basement Kitchen, Gravy sat at the base of the stairs, and Noah sat at in the hallway at the opposite end of the Basement from the Kitchen. The group began once again with five minutes of silence. Marc noted that the sound of the air conditioner running just outside of the Basement Kitchen made it difficult to hear anything other than Noah and Gravy’s voices.
An EVP session was conducted, but there were no responses to the questions asked. In fact, aside from the air conditioner the Basement was quiet, with very few cracks or pops.
END TIME: 12:15 am
Next, the group moved to the 2nd Floor.
2nd Floor – 12:18 am
Gravy sat on the floor in the Red Room, Noah sat on the landing, and Marc was in the Master Bedroom. The group investigated this area until 12:35 am. At 12:22 am Noah heard a hollow knocking downstairs, but it was not in response to any questions and did not occur again. At 12:34 am Marc heard two loud pops on the wooden chest in the Master Bedroom that sits on the wall to the left as you enter, just beyond the doorway leading to the 2nd Floor Library walkway. One more pop was heard after Noah asked if someone could repeat the noise. However, the sounds could have been caused by expansion or contraction of the wood. No responses to EVP questions were captured on audio or video recorders.
END TIME: 12:35 am
At this time, the group moved to the Kitchen on the 1st Floor for a break. They stayed in this area until 1:07 am. After their break, the group investigated the 1st Floor.
1st Floor – 1:07 am
Gravy was seated in the Parlor, Marc was in the Sitting Room, and Noah sat in the doorway between the Dining Room and the Library. The group conducted an EVP session, but heard no audible responses to questions. No responses were heard on audio or video recorders upon review.
Next, the group decided to move to the 2nd Floor.
END TIME: 1:25 am
2nd Floor – 1:29 am
The group moved to the 2nd Floor for a second investigation of the area. Marc was seated in the Red Room, Noah sat in the Master Bedroom, and Gravy sat on the landing.
At 1:30 am, Noah and Gravy both said they heard what sounded like a male voice emanating from the Master Bedroom. Neither could make out what was said, but they agreed that it sounded like two words were uttered. This voice was heard during an EVP session while Noah was asking whether a man had died in the Master Bedroom of tuberculosis. Unfortunately this voice was not captured on any audio or video recorders. Noah quickly checked the windows in the Master Bedroom to see if someone was walking past the building and speaking, but he did not see anybody outside of the cottage. The group continued the EVP session, but did not hear this voice-like sound again.
At 1:38 am, Noah said he could see a light moving around in the room beyond the Red Room, in which the servant’s staircase is located. He described it as a blinking white light that seemed to move in front of the window at the back of the room in a question mark-like shape. He could not determine if the light appeared in front of the window or from outside. Marc was sitting in the Red Room, but unfortunately was seated in such a way that he did not have a view of the window in the adjoining room. Marc noticed a smoke alarm with a blinking red light that was attached to the ceiling in the adjoining room, but neither Noah nor Marc could determine if this was the light Noah saw earlier. The group decided that the light Noah saw was most likely caused by natural events, such as the lights from a car shining through the trees near the cottage.
At 1:46 am Noah ended the EVP session so that the group would have time to break down equipment and vacate the building by 2:00 am.
END TIME: 1:46 am
The group ended the investigation at 1:46 am.
Conclusion
No evidence was collected during this investigation
PIM enjoyed the investigation at Tinker Swiss Cottage. It is a beautiful building with an interesting history, both in relation to paranormal claims and local Rockford history. Our previous investigations at the location allowed us to quickly distinguish building and outside noises from possible evidence of the paranormal. On this occasion, the location was fairly quiet, and we did not come away with any solid evidence. However, we would be happy to return to the location in the future to continue accumulating data on how weather conditions and other factors may be associated with peaks and valleys of paranormal activity.
PIM would like to thank everyone at Tinker Swiss Cottage for allowing us to investigate this historic location once again. We enjoyed participating in the paranormal tour. Noah was particularly honored to be asked to conduct a presentation on paranormal investigating for visitors to the cottage. We hope to have another opportunity to investigate Tinker Swiss Cottage in the near future, and would be thrilled to be a part of future events.
