Arrival
Noah arrived at 2:30 pm and unloaded his gear into the kitchen which was used as a basecamp area. He arrived early as he was given permission to do metal detecting on the grounds with the agreement that anything he found would remain property of Tinker Swiss Cottage. Noah left the grounds at 4:00 pm to have dinner and put gas in his vehicle, and returned at 5:30 pm to take baseline weather and indoor EMF (Electromagnetic Field) and temperature readings. Noah then preceded to setup all of his gear.
Jann and Chris arrived at 7:45 pm and unloaded their gear into the basecamp area. There was a ghost tour on the premises so the group quickly set up gear while the docents conducted the tour in the outbuildings on the property.
A Sony DCR-SR85 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 and matches, money, whiskey, dice, cards and a bullet. Trigger objects are items that are placed in hopes of attracting activity. An EMF pump, which is a device that emits electromagnetic energy, was also placed in this area. Electromagnetic energy theoretically provides spirits with the energy needed to manifest.
In the Living Room, a Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum 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 geophone, which is a device that detects vibrations, was also put in this room.
A Zoom H1 audio recorder was placed in the Library as it has better audio capabilities than the video camera. An Extech RHT50 datalogger was placed on the fireplace mantel. This device records temperature, humidity and barometric pressure readings at set time intervals. Fluctuations in these factors are thought to occur concurrently with paranormal activity.
A teddy bear, some candy, a doll, and a troll doll were placed on the 2nd Floor of the Library along with a PIM Pod. A PIM Pod is used to detect the presence of positive and negative ions. This device is used as evidence in changes in the ions in the air has been documented during paranormal activity.
There was Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum video camera placed in the Master Bedroom with a Zoom H2 audio recorder. An Extech RHT50 was also placed in this area. A Sony HDR-CX160 full spectrum video camera was in the Red Room which is a bedroom on the 2nd Floor, and a Zoom H2n audio recorder was in the 2nd Floor Hallway.
In the Basement Kitchen, a Sony HDR-SR10 video camera was set up. A toy car, candy, a ball, a slinky, jacks, a touch flashlight and a troll doll were used as trigger objects in the Basement Hallway. An Extech RHT50 datalogger and a Zoom H1 audio recorder were also placed near the trigger objects in this area along with a GQ GMC-300 Geiger Counter and an EMF pump.
After gear was set up, the tour group came into the Cottage. The tour divided into two groups; Noah and Chris accompanied one group and Jann accompanied the other. The docents gave the history of the building along with some of the paranormal claims. PIM members explained the equipment used in the investigation process and why certain items were placed in certain areas. After the tour ended, the visitors moved to the outbuildings and Noah, Chris and Jann began the investigation.
Investigation
The claim that the rocking chair rocks by itself has been debunked since our last investigation at Tinker Swiss. It was found that when the chair was located in the Parlor, the movement was caused by the floorboards being depressed when visitors would walk past.
Also debunked on this investigation was the door that opened during the Ghost Hunters investigation. The curator of the museum informed us that the door used to be held shut by a broken clarinet reed and if you walked past the closet in just the right place you could actually unhook the latch from releasing pressure in the floorboards. The door has since been permanently locked and the door can only be opened by removing the screws holding the latch to the outside of the door frame.
1st Floor – 10:23 pm
Noah sat in the Library, Jann sat in the Living Room, and Chris was in the Sitting Room. The session began with five minutes of silence so the group could note ambient noise.
The group conducted an EVP in this area until 10:45 pm. There were some pops heard, but nothing that seemed responsive to the questions asked.
END TIME: 10:45 pm
The group moved to the Basement.
Basement – 10:54 pm
Chris was seated in the Basement Kitchen, Noah sat at the base of the stairs, and Jann was in the Hallway at the opposite end of the Basement from the Kitchen. The group began once again with five minutes of silence. It was noted that for an old building, there is very little creaking and settling noise.
Noah double checked the EMF pump as he thought it was making an odd noise. Upon inspection it appeared to be working fine. During the EVP session, there was no remarkable activity. At one point Chris felt like something had brushed across his arm very lightly. Noah commented that he had seen a large spider in the kitchen during the tour, but Chris said it felt like something larger. Chris was seated within view of the video camera in the Basement Kitchen and nothing was visible in the recording.
END TIME: 11:17 pm
The group moved to the 2nd Floor.
2nd Floor – 11:26 pm
Jann was seated in the Left Bedroom, Chris was in the Red Room, and Noah was in the Master Bedroom. The group investigated this area until 11:54 pm. During this time, there were no audible responses to EVP questions, and nothing was captured on audio recorders or video cameras.
END TIME: 11:54 pm
At this time the group moved to the Kitchen on the 1st Floor for a break. They stayed in this area until 12:23 am.
At 12:21 am the shadow detector on the Mel-8704REM/ATDD/SDD sounded. The group did not hear the alarm at the time it went off, but it was captured on the Zoom H1 recorder that was in the Library. There was no video evidence showing what caused the alarm to sound and this was the only time all night that the unit alarmed other than when investigators were walking in the area.
Here it would help to understand how the shadow detector actually works. There is an electric eye on the meter itself which sets a baseline to the highest level of luminance that it is detecting. There is an external red LED light that you setup opposite of the Mel meter and this acts as the input or baseline light level. If that level of light is detected to increase or decrease according to the electric eye on the meter, then the alarm will sound in either an ascending or descending tone depending on whether an increase or decrease in light has been detected.
In this instance, the camera that was covering the meter can’t see any change in the lighting in the room. PIM doesn’t know what set off this alarm, but with no visual evidence we cannot conclude it is paranormal.
After their break, the group investigated the 1st Floor.
1st Floor – 12:23 am
Chris was seated in the Library, Jann was in the Dining Room, and Noah was in the doorway between the Sitting Room and the Entryway. The group began an EVP session during which they heard some pops and a click from the Entryway. At one point Chris asked for a tap, and it did seem like a responsive tap was given, however this was not repeated when a tap was asked for a second time. At 12:40 am, Noah heard what sounded like footsteps, but this was not captured on any audio recorders.
No other events occurred and it was decided to move to the Basement.
END TIME: 12:49 am
Basement – 12:51 am
The group moved to the Basement for a second investigation of the area. Noah was seated in the Basement Kitchen, Chris was in the Hallway on the opposite end of the Basement from the Kitchen, and Jann was seated on the Stairs.
The group investigated the Basement until 1:10 am. During this time they heard no audible responses to EVP questions. As it seemed as though there was no activity in the area, they decided to move to the 2nd Floor.
END TIME: 1:10 am
2nd Floor – 1:13 am
Noah was seated in the middle of the 2nd Floor Hallway, Chris was in the Master Bedroom, and Jann was in the Red Room. At 1:15 am the group heard knocks coming from the 1st Floor immediately followed by two knocks on the 2nd Floor.
These noises were not captured on any audio or video recorders, however, at 1:21 am, there was a noise that sounded like something falling that was captured in the Library. This event was captured on both the video camera in the Living Room and the H1 audio recorder that was placed on in the Library. Upon review, it sounds almost like something tapping on a window. However, PIM doesn’t know if someone could have done that from the outside of the building and as such can’t include it as evidence.
END TIME: 1:30 am
The group ended the investigation at 1:30 am
Conclusion
No evidence was collected during this investigation
PIM had another great investigation at Tinker Swiss Cottage. The building seemed to be very quiet this time, but that is the nature of paranormal investigation; things can be very active one day, and slow the next. Locations like Tinker Swiss Cottage are great because we are able to investigate more than once. This allows us to be in the building during different weather conditions, and to get acquainted with the normal settling noises of the house. The more familiar we become with a property, the better we can discern between what is a normal settling or mechanical noise, and something that is unusual.
It’s great that the Tinker Swiss staff is forthcoming with paranormal claims as well as telling us when claims have been debunked. We learned from the docent that the claim that the rocking chair moves by itself was debunked as being a floorboard that moved when people walked nearby as well as the story about the door in the Basement. It is very helpful when the people who work in the buildings we investigate share this information.
Even though we didn’t end up with any evidence during this investigation, we did record some interesting occurrences and noises while we were there. During our next investigation we aim to explore these more to see if an explanation can be found.
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, and would be thrilled to be a part of future events. PIM has two more investigations set up at Tinker Swiss in July 2013, and we are very excited to have the opportunity to go back.
