99.7 KISS FM Halloween Show "Sallie House" Investigation

One thing that I always make clear when I speak to groups and present evidence, is that my goal is not to convince anyone that the supernatural is real. Because, nothing I can ever say or show will convince anyone that the paranormal exists. You have to see and experience the strangeness that the supernatural has to offer for yourself.

In the years that I have been investigating the unexplained, I have seen, heard, felt and experienced things that I don't understand and that don't make sense to me. But it is the things that I have witnessed that have made a total believer out of me, that the supernatural is real.

Unfortunately investigating the unexplained is not simply fun and games. It is not about heading out to the local haunt to thrill seek, because investigating an unknown, like the paranormal, has risks. There are things that the supernatural has to offer that are not good, and I have seen this negative side of what is out there as well!

Don't get me wrong, because I am not saying that negative or what some may call evil runs rampant. Because that has not been my experience. In over 300 plus investigations that I have conducted; only two (2) locations have caused me problems. The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas is one of those places.

Once you experience the other side as I have, it is no longer a question if the supernatural exists or not. Because when you break through the line between myth and reality, it is no longer a curiosity! Because it becomes real, and sometimes it becomes to real!!!!

This is exactly what happened on June 20, 2014 when I went against my better judgement and took Springfield Illinois KISS FM radio personality Bondsy, and his sister-in-law Kate on an investigation at the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas!

It was an experience and a night that none of us will ever forget. If either Bondsy or Kate had doubts about the supernatural existing, they were erased on the night of June 20, 2014.

To hear the complete story, tune in from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m Thursday morning October 30, 2014 for the annual KISS FM Halloween show  on 99.7 KISS FM's Morning Grind, hosted by Bondsy and Sarah.  Their guest will include Kate Nolte Bond, Tony Pickman, Deb Pickman and me, Larry Wilson from Urban Paranormal Investigations.

Listen live at http://www.997kissfm.com and click on Listen Live.

Anderson Cemetery- "Grave Yard X"

(Graveyard X is the name that some prefer to call Anderson Cemetery, located in rural Christian County, near Palmer, Illinois.)

Excerpt form Chasing Shadows

That October, I returned to Graveyard X with a local central Illinois paranormal investigator named Ed Osborne. Ed is very knowledgeable when it comes to the paranormal. He is also a good friend who I have a great deal of respect for.

It was the Wednesday night before Halloween, and it was a cool but not cold evening.

Ed and I had been in the cemetery for close to an hour taking pictures and checking EMF and temperature readings. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The time was about 7:30 p.m.

The curfew for the cemetery is 8:00pm, and it is sometimes patrolled by the county sheriff’s department, so Ed and I decided to make a final pass through the cemetery and then leave by curfew.

 I scanned the cemetery for temperature using my laser-pointed digital thermometer. The average temperature that night was 44 degrees. Everywhere I scanned, the temperature read the same, forty-four degrees Fahrenheit, that is, until I passed by the concrete bench under the large oak tree.

As I passed by the bench, I noticed that the temperature began to drop. It first dropped below forty degrees Fahrenheit, then it dropped below thirty degrees, then it dropped below twenty degrees. The temperature continued to drop steadily until it finally reached a low of minus 16 degrees below zero.

Ed and I could not believe what we were seeing, so to make sure that there was not some type of malfunction, and to make sure that the thermometer was set to Fahrenheit and not Celsius, I shut it off and then turned it back on and checked the settings. It was definitely set to Fahrenheit.

I started scanning the cemetery again. The average temperature was still 44 degrees everywhere, everywhere that is, except the spot next to the concrete bench. Again, the temperature dropped to below zero. My hands were freezing and my nose felt like it was becoming frostbitten.

Every time I would move the thermometer more than four or five inches, the temperature would go back up to 44 degrees, but as soon as I would move it back to the cold spot, it would go below zero. At approximately 8:15 p.m, Ed and I decided we had better leave since it was after curfew and we were trying to be respectful of the cemetery rules.

When we left the cemetery, the temperature was still showing minus eleven degrees Fahrenheit. When we got in my vehicle, I turned the heat on to warm up my fingers and nose because they felt frozen.
So, at one point, we had experienced a 62 degree temperature drop, without explanation. I have been back to the cemetery many times since, but have never recorded such an extreme temperature fluctuation again.

I cannot place my finger on it, but each time that I return to Graveyard X things seem different than the last time I was there. I was starting to think I was imagining this, until one day Ed Osborne raised the issue with me. He said, “Larry, have you ever noticed, or is it just me, but every time I come back to this place, something seems different. I don’t know what it is but things seem to change.”

I explained to Ed that this was exactly the way I felt each time that I returned to Anderson. I have been there many times now and several times it seemed like tombstones had moved, or there were gravestones that had not been there before, even though I had walked past a particular spot many times. I am not talking about new stones, but very old stones. It seemed like the physical environment of the cemetery had been altered.

Read this and more in "Chasing Shadows" by Larry Wilson

Excerpt from Chasing Shadows

By Larry Wilson

Laughter in the Mess Hall of Kemper Military School

(Kemper Military School has been the location used to film several movies, including Childs Play 3 from the series of movies about Chucky the possessed doll !)

 

 

Paul and the two team members from St. Louis decided to set up our base for the investigation in the old mess hall of the barracks. While they were doing this, Gary and I started setting up surveillance cameras in the kitchen and a stairwell that led up to the second floor. The kitchen was in a separate room from the mess hall, and where we were setting up, was only seventy-five to one hundred feet away from where the other team members were setting up base camp.

After about 30 minutes, as Gary and I were finishing setting up the cameras in the kitchen, we heard a woman’s voice coming from the mess hall. She was talking loudly and laughing. I said to Gary, “Who’s the woman that Paul and the guys are talking to? Did the lady from the city come back already?” “I don’t know,” Gary replied, “but I wonder what’s so funny.”

Then I said, jokingly, “I don’t know, Gary, but it’s just like Paul to find a girl and hold out on us so he can have all the fun!”

Gary replied, “Let’s finish setting up this last camera then go see who is here. We need to tell them to tone it down so our video cameras don’t pick up their conversations.”

Gary and I finished setting up the cameras and then headed back to the mess hall to see who the lady was. When we walked into the hall, Paul and the two investigators were setting up equipment on a table, but no one else was in the room. I asked Paul, if the lady from the city had come back?” “No,” he replied, “why?”

“Well,” Gary demanded, “who was the girl that you guys were talking to and what was so funny?”

“There has been no one else here but the three of us,” Paul replied. “Why do you think there was a girl here?”

We explained that both Gary and I had clearly heard a conversation and the laughter of a woman that seemed to be coming from the mess hall. Her voice was loud and she seemed to be having fun. Paul again assured us that no one else was there but the five of us and that they had not heard the voice or laughter of a woman. Unfortunately, at the time Gary and I heard the voice, our equipment was not recording yet because we were still setting up. Due to this occurrence, and so as to not miss out on possible evidence again, I now turn on a recorder and carry it with me as soon as I enter a location.

Gary and I wonder if we had heard the voice of the female who was murdered in the kitchen at the hands of her former boyfriend. I mean, who else would haunt this area of the building and why? The woman’s voice was definitely one of the weirdest experiences that I have had as a paranormal investigator. It would have been one thing if I was the only one to hear the voice, but it is quite another when you have a witness who heard the same thing!

Read this and more in Chasing Shadows by Paranormal Investigator Author ~ Larry Wilson

 

From Author ~ Larry Wilson

Excerpt from 

"Dark Shadows and Creepy Places"

 

The Thrill at the Hill

2012 Investigation at Ridge Cemetery

(Tower Hill, Illinois)

After we finished the SB-7 box session, I decided, I would move one of my audio recorders to a different part of the cemetery. While Bondsy, Sarah and Tunamelt, remained near the grave of the young man, I walked back toward the big oak tree in the center of the cemetery. Approximately twenty yards past the tree, there is a clearing where there are no headstones. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out, why no one was buried in this spot, since it seemed to be the perfect location in the cemetery to bury someone. 

On one occasion, I spoke to one of the locals who live at Williamsburg Hill; and he told me that Native Americans are buried in this particular spot.  He told me that the Native Americans, used stones to cover the graves, and that over the years; soil caused by erosion had covered the stones.

Even before I knew that the Native Americans were buried in this spot, there seemed to be something unusual or different about this area of the cemetery. At times it is much cooler in this part of the cemetery than others, and occasionally I have had a feeling that someone is there, that I am being watched, even when I was alone.

After walking across the cemetery to where the Native Americans are buried, I placed the audio recorder near a grave marker, located just a couple of feet from the Native American graves. After I placed the recorder, I returned to the group to continue the investigation. Nothing unusual happened in this spot during the investigation, with the KISS FM radio team, but when I reviewed the audio from the recorder, I had recorded one of the coolest and in my opinion, one of the most pertinent pieces of evidence that offers validation of spirit activity, based on knowing that part of the heritage of the population of the graveyard is Native American.

When I reviewed my audio from the recorder, which I had placed near the graves of the Native Americans, I had recorded a very clear EVP. The EVP was not just you standard disembodied voice, but the voice sounded like Native American chanting. What I recorded phonetically sounds like “Ye-ya-he-he.” It is definitely some type of a chant or singing.

Its evidence like this that has kept me coming back over the years, evidence of what the supernatural has to offer! To me, when an audio recorder is placed next to the graves of Native Americans, and you record what sounds like Native American chanting or singing, it's hard to dispute that it evidence of the supernatural! There was no place nearby, where this chanting could have been coming from.

Earlier, I mentioned, how I wanted to try an experiment with the girls at the grave site of the young man! So after we finished with the box session, Sarah happened to be walking by the grave. I asked her to stop, and told her that I wanted to try something. I asked her to simply stand there and then tell me how she felt.  After a few moments, she said that she didn’t feel anything!

Then I asked Tunamelt, to stand next to the grave!  Immediately, she said. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m doing all I can do to keep from crying!” Bondsy in disbelief, looked at me and said, “No way!” You had to of told her!” “No I didn’t!” I responded. I hadn’t met Tuna until tonight and hadn’t said anything to either her or Sarah.

So why was Tuna affected by the grave like the other two ladies had been and Sarah not affected at all! Bondsy and I later talked about this, and I agreed with his assessment, that Sarah was so worried about what else might be out there lurking in the woods such as wild animals or someone looking for a seclude location to make a drug deal, that she wouldn’t have notice anything, anyway! 

Read this and more from Author Larry Wilson's latest book Dark Shadows and Creepy Places coming soon!

Spring Street Haunting

From Echoes from the Grave
by Larry Wilson

It was on December 30, 2011, that I was contacted through email by a good friend of mine named Janice Hibbert. Her email simply said, “My daughter needs help with stuff going on in her house, can you call me?”

She listed her phone number in the email for me to contact her, so I immediately called her back. I have known Janice for over fifteen years, as we both work together at the Illinois State Board of Education, but I also know her through our likeminded interest in the field of paranormal research.

Janice is a very knowledgeable and respected paranormal investigator in her own right, and has investigated many locations herself in the Central Illinois area. Since her family was involved, Janice wanted an independent investigator not emotionally connected with the family to look into the strange happenings at the house, so she contacted me.

Janice explained to me that her daughter Hannah and Hannah’s boyfriend Sam had moved into a two story white rental house along South Spring Street in Springfield, Illinois on November 1, 2011.

The house is located in a lower middle class neighborhood in the south central part of Springfield that is made up of a mixture of both owner and tenant occupied homes. This particular house is divided into two apartments, an upstairs unit that is occupied by an older gentleman who likes to listen to jazz music and who is also known to consume more than his share of alcohol. The downstairs apartment is where Hannah and Sam lived.

On several occasions after moving into the house, Hannah and Sam experienced very uncomfortable and odd feelings. They felt like they were being watched and were not alone in the house. On one particular occasion, as she was putting some things away in a closet near the front of the apartment, Hannah thought she heard a voice coming from inside the closet. She shrugged it off as her imagination or possibly just someone walking past the house on the side walk to the front of the apartment.

The uneasy feelings of being watched and that some unseen force was present continued, so Hannah contacted her mother and explained to her what was going on. Janice told me that she too had a similar uneasy feeling in the house both in the bedroom and the basement areas, and especially in an old storage room in the basement…

Investigation Tonight

 

All night investigation tonight at what is reported to be an active cemetery located in North Central, Illinois. An update with details will follow later this weekend.

 

Follow on twitter  Lwilson_UP

 

 

Elkhart Cemetery - Elkhart, Illinois

From Echoes from the Grave 
by Larry Wilson 

Elkhart Cemetery is the final resting place of Richard J. Ogelsby, the fourteenth Governor of the State of Illinois. It is located in Logan County approximately nineteen miles from the state capitol of Springfield. A place that I will never forget as long as I live.

Oglesby served as the Governor of Illinois between 1865 and 1869. After his first term ended, he practiced law until 1872. He again ran for, and was elected Governor. As it turned out, this was only a ploy and after the inauguration Oglesby turned the office of Governor over to his lieutenant governor in return for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

He served as a Senator until 1878. In 1884, he was reelected governor for the third time, and was the first man in Illinois history to serve three times as governor. Governor Oglesby retired and died at his estate in Elkhart and was buried in Elkhart Cemetery.

Over the years, I had heard the eerie stories about the deceased wife of Governor Ogelsby, seen by many, visiting her husband’s grave. As the story goes, the ghost of Mrs. Oglesby is seen sitting outside of her husband’s tomb. Shortly thereafter, a group of Native American Indian ghosts approach and chase her off and over a bridge leading to a nearby road.

If one legend was not enough for a cemetery, Elkhart Cemetery has a second legend. There is a timber at the edge of the cemetery in which a fence separates the cemetery property from the forested area. Just over the fence is a path.

Legend has it, that if you explore up the path, you will hear voices, footsteps, see black apparitions, and feel like you are being watched and followed. At the top of the hill, the path branches and splits so you have to choose which way to go. According to the legend, if you choose the wrong direction, you will not make it back.

I went to the Elkhart Cemetery in June of 2010 with the intent of finding out if the legends where true, especially the legend of the Native Americans chasing the spirit of Mrs. Ogelsby out of the graveyard. I was hoping to get a glimpse of this event, as many say they have witnessed it!

Read about the phantom that Wilson witnessed at Elkhart Cemetery, in the summer of 2012, as well as how batteries on four separate pieces of equipment drained simultaneously , while recording at the graveside of a former practicing warlock.

Second Addition- Huntzman Publishing

Rockcliffe Mansion Hannibal, Missouru

Excerpt from Chasing Shadows

Rockcliffe Mansion, was built in 1900 by wealthy lumber baron John Cruikshank. Cruikshank wanted a house that would showcase the finest woods and furnishings that money could buy. The mansion was built using the finest Walnut, Oak, and Mahogany available at the time. The exterior of the building is of double brick construction. Once inside, you will find most of the original furnishings used by the Cruikshank family.

The family consisted of John, his wife, and four daughters. They lived in the mansion along with their butler until the death of John Cruikshank in 1924. After his death, the mansion was left vacant for over 40 years.

It was weeks away from being torn down, when a local group got together at the last minute, purchased the old mansion, and restored it to original form. Today, tours are conducted at Rockcliffe,  and it is also a seasonal bed and breakfast. The mansion is enormous, spanning 13,300 square feet, including nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Rockcliffe Mansion is said to be haunted by the Ghost of John Cruikshank, his wife, four children, and some say their butler. The owner of the mansion, at the time of our investigation claimed that he once saw a 5-foot, 4-inch impression of a figure in the bed sheets in one of the beds. Many guests claim to smell cigar smoke, which guest smell, in one of the rooms in which Mark Twain once stayed. Twain gave his last speech in Hannibal in 1902 and stood on the third step of the mansions main staircase, as he addressed some three hundred invited guests.

There are reports of camera crews who have come to film events at the mansion, and the batteries will go dead and their cameras will malfunction.

On the day of our investigation, Gary and I arrived at the mansion at 2:00pm. Paul arrived a short time later. The plan was for Paul to start conducting interviews and videotaping eyewitness accounts of people who had experienced paranormal activity at the mansion. Paul had also advertised for several people to attend the investigation who were interested in ghosts and hauntings, but had never been on a ghost hunt. The reason for this was so that he could film their candid reactions to any activity that may occur during our investigation. Over forty people applied for the opportunity to attend and Paul selected three of them. They were due to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00pm.

While Paul was busy setting up for the interviews, Gary gave me a quick tour of the mansion. As we were walking around, we were stopped by a young lady who works there. She wanted to let us know that she was leaving but would be back a little before 7:00 p.m. to finish setting up decorations in the basement. From 8:00 p.m. until 10:00p.m., she was hosting a small bachelorette party for a close friend of hers, and she stressed that they would keep the noise down because she knew we were conducting an investigation. Gary let her know that this would not be a problem as we would investigate the basement after the party was over. Actually, the mansion is so massive, we didn't even hear the party as it was going on.

The young lady told us about an experience she had only a few weeks before. She was working in the mansion one evening and was sitting at a desk near the main entrance. “Of course", "It was raining outside", she laughed. The doors were locked and she was alone in the mansion. Suddenly, she heard footsteps directly above her. She thought, “You didn’t hear that,” trying to convince herself that she only imagined hearing the noise. Moments later, she heard the footsteps again, and a few minutes after that she heard the footsteps a third time. The third time, she stood up and walked to the foot of the staircase and yelled upstairs, “If you are trying to scare me you are not doing a very good job!” After confronting the noise, it stopped.

Read about this investigation and more in Chasing Shadows by Larry Wilson

Excerpt From Chasing Shadows by Larry Wilson

 

Located in the heart of Illinois, the city of Springfield serves as the hub of the state’s political activity. In 1839, Springfield became the state capital with the help of a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.
Many believe that some of the citizens from these bygone days still roam the streets and buildings of Springfield; citizens of a more spectral nature, who appear out of nowhere,haunting those whose paths they cross. The Legacy Theater, located at 101 East Lawrence Street, is such a place.

Housed in an unassuming location, the quaint and friendly atmosphere of the theater gives you the feeling that you have taken a step back in time. Located not far from the State Capitol Complex, the Springfield Theatre Center (as it was formerly called), was the venue used to host performances for the Springfield Theatre Guild.
On November 8, 1951, the Theatre Center opened its doors with a performance of the Broadway show Born Yesterday.

The Center received numerous congratulatory telegrams from many famous celebrities, such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Broderick Crawford.

One of the members of the Theatre Guild was an actor named Joe Neville. According to some, Joe was a little odd and at times arrogant. Some of the other cast and crew were not fond of him. Joe also had a mysterious side to him as well. It was rumored that he previously acted in England under a different name, but being a talented and dedicated actor, his past was overlooked by his fellow actors.

In 1955, Joe was given the lead role in the play, Mr.Barry’s Etchings. But,things were not as they seemed. After a dress rehearsal for the opening of the play, Joe returned home and committed suicide by overdosing on pills.

Never performing in the show, it was later determined that the reason Joe ended his life was due to an audit at his place of employment. Funds had been misappropriated and Joe was the likely suspect.
But as they say “the show must go on!” After Joe’s death, his role was assigned to another actor only one day before the show was set to open.

Even after his death, many of those who frequent the Legacy believe that Joe’s spirit continues to linger inside the theater. Reports of paranormal activity began almost immediately following Joe’s demise and continue to this day. Actors and stage crew have reported strange sounds (such as doors opening and closing on their own), lights turning off and on without reason, and costumes and tools that disappeared only to be found later folded or placed in places which had been previously searched.

Many claim to have seen Joe’s spirit wandering the Theatre Center prior to the opening of a new show. Joe was known to use large amounts of Noxzema cream for a skin condition on his legs, so whenever Joe was around, the pungent odor would annoy many of the other actors and staff. After Joe’s death in 1955, the use of Noxzema cream was banned from the theater. Some still claim to smell the odor of Noxzema in the old dressing room…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N71PTS2

Copyright 2014 Huntzman Enterprises.

 

 

KEMPER MILITARY SCHOOL

From Chasing Shadows by Larry Wilson.

Located between St. Louis and Kansas City is one of the most interesting places that I have ever investigated, Kemper Military School in Booneville, Missouri.

The institution, originally known as a “Boonville Boarding School,” was built in 1845 by Frederick T. Kemper and became a co-ed institute in 1862, when was renamed Kemper Military School. At one time, Kemper was the oldest boys’ school west of the Mississippi River, until it officially closed in 2002.

Kemper Military School was the original choice for the location of several films, including National Lampoon’s Animal House and Taps, but the school turned down both offers. It has been used as the setting for a number of other movies, including Combat Academy (a very low-quality takeoff on Police Academy) and Child’s Play III. During the filming of Child’s Play III, some cadets and instructors served as extras.

In September and October 2007, Kemper’s abandoned campus was used for location shots for the movie Saving Grace, which is about a little girl’s trip back to Boonville in the summer of 1951, the year of the great Missouri River flood. Many downtown Boonville buildings were also used for filming, with Kemper the setting for an asylum. The movie, released in 2008, was directed by Connie Stevens and stared Penelope Ann Miller and Tatum O’Neal.

The first investigation in which I was involved there took place in September of 2007 and we were not able to do a follow up investigation until December of that year due to the filming of Saving Grace.

I became familiar with the academy when Paul Robinson and Gary Hawkins asked me to help with the filming of a paranormal documentary about the haunting and things that went on there.

Over the years, many have reportedly seen the ghost of a female cadet jogging around the track, but she seems to disappear when she nears the location where she was killed. According to legend, the girl had broken up with her boyfriend, but he talked her into going for a walk with him. During the walk, he raped and killed her near a bridge located on campus. People driving by have claimed to see the girl walking and then vanish without a trace.

D Barracks is reportedly the most haunted building on campus. Stories have been told about the fourth floor, in which a figure is seen standing in window at night. The fourth floor was closed to students and when I asked a former cadet the reason why, he told me because no one could stay up there. He said there was something about the floor that made visitors feel uncomfortable and even scared.

People also claim to hear footsteps in C Barracks. Several years ago, while the barracks was being refurbished, construction workers reported hearing phantom footsteps. When they investigated, however, no footprints were found even though there was sawdust and dirt on the floor from the construction…

Read about the Kemper Military School  investigation and other in Chasing Shadows by author paranormal investigator ~ Larry Wilson

Dark Shadows and Creepy Places

Excerpt from Larry Wilson's forth coming book

Dark Shadows and Creepy Places

 When I began investigating the paranormal, I was warned, by a psychic medium, to make sure that investigating the supernatural was something that I really wanted to risk doing.

 I was told that the more I investigate and delve into things that are supernatural in nature, the wider the door to the other-side would open, and I would see and experience things that I may not want to see, and that I wouldn't understand!

I was also told, that "I wouldn't have to go looking for these things", that "they would come to me". Well, my psychic friend was right! She also explained that once the door is opened, it may not be as easy to close as it was to open in the first place. So far, she has been right on all accounts!

There are so many strange and unexplained mysteries that are reported around our planet on a daily basis. Things so bizarre, that even if we read about them in a Stephen King novel, we would all shake our heads in disbelief. I had one such experience, in the spring of  2009, while in Arizona. If you remember the old TV series, The Twilight Zone, you'll remember host Rod Serling's great opening monologue, which is so fitting to what I am about to share with you. So much so, that I believe that I had my own experience with the  real "Twilight Zone!"

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone."- ROD SERLING

My wife and I were in Arizona, to watch my son Cory, play baseball for his college team. We were in Chandler Arizona, and the incident I am about to describe, occurred on the morning that we were leaving to return home. It was early, around 5:30 a.m.. I had just pulled into a very large gas station, with many kiosk and fuel pumps to fill up with gas. 

Pulling up to the island closest to the convenience store on the premisses, I parked on the right hand side of the kiosk. Stepping out of our vehicle, I pulled opened the door to the fuel compartment which was located on the drivers side of our SUV. I opened the door, and removed the gas cap, then placed the nozzle from the pump in the fuel tank. 

After doing this, I turned and pressed the appropriate buttons on the keypad on the fuel pump to start fueling my vehicle.  I noticed an older Cadillac pull up on the opposite side of the kiosk, and stop one pump ahead of the pump I was using. So the Cadillac, was on the left side of the kiosk that I was parked by, but one pump further up. I watched as the drivers door of the Cadillac swung open. I saw a very young,  attractive lady, who I estimate to be in her late twenties, step out of the car. She was thin, and very tall. Her hair was very long, and beautiful. It was a shinny black in color. She had a dark  complexion and I surmised that she might be Native American. The girl now out of her car, swung the drivers side door closed.  She caught my attention for two very good reasons. One, it was a very cool or what some would call a cold morning for Arizona. I know the  temperature was fifty-nine degrees, because I had checked the temperature on the dashboard of our vehicle just before I had exited it. The lady was wearing a very skimpy denim two-piece bathing suit, which didn’t seem appropriate for the cool morning temperature, but looked very attractive on her. The second and most obvious reason that I noticed the young lady, was that she was drop dead gorgeous!  After she slammed the door of the Cadillac shut, she hopped up on the kiosk, took one step, hopped down off of the kiosk, then jogged approximately fifteen yards into the convenience store. I distinctly remember watching the door of the vehicle slam shut immediately after she exited it. That I am one-hundred percent positive of!

At this point, I turned around and checked the nozzle that I had placed in the fuel tank, to make sure that it was securely in the tank. This took maybe three or four seconds at the most. I turned back around, and as I did this, I noticed the drivers door of the Cadillac swing open again, just like it had done moments before! I watched and saw the same young lady,  wearing the same skimpy denim two piece bathing suit,  with a beautiful dark completion, long shinny black hair, step out of the car, swing the door closed again, hop up on the kiosk, take a step, hop down off the kiosk, then jog the fifteen yards into the convenience store. I again watched as the door close behind her. 

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Witnessing this, caused me to shake my head in disbelief. So I quickly finished pumping the gas, and hurried into the convenience store, to see if possibly the lady had a twin sister, who for some reason, may have exited the vehicle from the drivers side. 

As I walked into the convenience, and as you can imagine, the lady was easy to spot.  She was selecting some food items, from the pastry isle, but was alone. I made a point to walk around the store, to check for her possible identical twin, but there was no one else in the store that even remotely looked like the girl. I paid for my fuel, then returned to my vehicle.

When I got in,  I asked my wife if she had seen the girl that was in the Cadillac? Kathy immediately said that she did and mentioned how she must be freezing in the outfit that she was wearing! I agreed, then asked her, how many times, she saw the lady get out of the car and enter the store. “Once” she exclaimed! Then Kathy asked me why. I explained what I had seen, and Kathy again reiterated that she had only seen the lady go in once. 

We waited and watched as the lady come out of the store, and when she did, she came out alone. As she pulled away from the station, I could see that she was the only person in the car!

So, what did I see, and was I suppose to see it?  Were the stranger and I some how spiritually or supernaturally connected to the point, that I knew what she was going to do, before she did it? Was there a time slip, that I somehow, became entangled in? It didn’t seem to be the  classic case of Déjà vu in which, a person, has the strong sensation that an event or experience being experienced has been experienced before, whether it has actually happened or not, because I had just witnessed this particular event two times in a matter of moments! Did I possibly catch the proverbial fork in the road in this ladies free will and saw both of her decisions? If that was the case, then did I see the alternative choice, turn into a parallel reality. 

Even if my conclusion or theory is wrong, the even bigger question that I have had since I witnessed the event in 2009, is! If this is a case of witnessing a doppelganger, where did either the first or second person that I witnessed go? Plus, when I went inside the convenience store, which lady did I see? The first, or the second lady!

Larry Wilson's third release... DARK SHADOWS AND CREEPY PLACES-Coming soon!

Larry Wilsons Sallie House Investigation -September 14, 2013

Prior to investigating, I set up my equipment and headed over to my friends Tony and Deb Pickman's house for a visit. The Pickman's lived in the house and experienced one of the most extreme hauntings ever reported. They continue to experience activity and strange events to this day at the home they now live in. So you can see that walls and property lines don’t seem to prevent evil from following you or trying to play havoc with your life!

The Pickman's and I have a lot in common. We have both had experiences at the same places, the Villisca Axe Murder house and the Sallie house. I won’t go into what happened to them at the Villisca house because it is personal and private, but their experiences are very similar to mine so like my previous visit with them, we chatted for several hours. Then, something really strange happened.

I have seen photos and heard stories of how Tony would be scratched by some unseen force over the years when he both lived in the house and since the family moved out. It seems when others investigate the house or Tony discusses the house with people, things like scratches appear on his body!

Tony is a sensitive and has a true gif as a psychic. As we were chatting, Tony was giving me advice about something I needed to do before I went back to the house to investigate. As he was talking he seemed to be uncomfortable and flinched as if in pain. He then mentioned how he was feeling a burning sensation on his stomach and Chest! He lifted up his shirt and sure enough, there were scratches. He didn’t seem too concerned, but I noticed while his shirt was lifted more scratches formed right before my eyes! It was amazing! I told Tony that I didn’t want to cause him any grief by investigating the house so if he preferred that I didn’t go that particular night, I would not. He simply said “Oh no problem…this isn’t bad!” Seeing those scratches forming was just more proof to me of the reality of the supernatural and of what goes on at the Sallie House.

I left the Pickman's and returned to the Sallie House to start the actual investigation. I took precautions and prepared before entering the house, but when I entered, you could feel the vibe, it was an even stronger and heavier feeling than it had been earlier in the evening! Maybe it was simply my senses being on edge or being more alert, entering a now darkened house.

It was warm in the house because I had shut all the windows to keep any outside noise from interfering with my audio equipment. All night long, I heard movement in the upstairs and the basement, but when I would go to investigate, nothing was there. It was almost like something was playing games with me. That’s sort of the feeling you get in a strange house, like it is playing with you, trying to unnerve you!

I had a very strong feeling, and this is merely based on the perceptions I had while in the house, especially in the basement, that not only was something down there, but that several something’s were down there and were always right next to me. I have been to over 300 places in the last eleven years, and no place other than the Villisca House gives off this type of feeling. I will have to say, the feeling I get at the Villisca House is not as strong. But I plan to return to Villisca next year and will get to compare once again!

I believe it was Peter James the world famous psychic who identified a “portal or doorway” to the other side, in the back corner of the dining room. The owner of the house had pointed it out to me the last time that I was there in 2012.  So I decided to use copper rods to test for unusual or strong fields of energy. I wasn’t disappointed, as I was able to video tape the rods spinning or helicoptering in opposite directions and then suddenly reversing directions! I checked for high EMF in the area of the portal and there was little to none! But the rods spinning indicated something goes on in that spot.

Two other rooms in the house gave me a feeling that I needed to be “on guard”…and they were, Tony and Deb’s old bedroom and the kitchen. I’m not sure what is was about those rooms…but something didn’t feel right.

Most of the night was pretty uneventful…but the house keeps you on your toes, it keeps you on edge and it’s not simply the reputation of the place, there is more to it. You get a feeling that the place is alive and waiting for you to suddenly have a moment of fear that will cause you to doubt not only yourself, but your faith, and when or if you do, that’s when you have a problem! I have a strong faith in God and I always wear a Michael the Arch Angel pendent. I never go anywhere without it. I do this because I believe that “Michael” is God’s “Bouncer” and can handle anything. I had a sense several times during the night that something was trying to get into my head and make me doubt this, but as soon as this would happen, I would take hold of the medallion for reassurance and to show it that it couldn’t break my faith! Because, after all, “Faith” is the only protection we have from what dwells in the darkness!

Some think that I am a bit reckless, going to a place like this by myself. ”That there is strength in numbers,” but you are only as strong as the “weakest link,” so when it comes to “faith” and believe me the Sallie House is a very good test of faith. I have no doubt that I am protected. So there is no weak link when I go alone, but if others are along and they have fear, then there is a weak link that could lead to problems for both me and the other person!

With that being said, I have worked with a lot of very good investigators that I would investigate the Sallie House with, it’s just that something kept telling me that I need to go alone on this one.

I decided to save the area of the house that gives off the strangest vibe, the basement! So from 3a.m.to 4:30a.m., I investigated this part of the house. When you turn the lights off down there, it is darker than dark, very unnerving. You can sense a presence which gives you a feeling that what is there would love to harm you.

I remembered what Sam Draper and Felicia Thurmond messaged me about the basement. I had posted photos of a hole in the wall in the basement and had mentioned how the hole gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. They both sent private messages, telling me that it’s not the wall with the hole that I should be concerned with. That the wall directly opposite of the wall with the hole, is the one to be concerned with.

I set up two cameras and an audio recorder in the basement. I had a surveillance camera pointed towards the basement staircase and decided to set up my “HD IR video camera” along the wall that Sam and Felicia mentioned and pointed it towards me. There were two metal folding chairs in the basement located against the wall directly across from the basement stairs. I placed an audio recorder on one chair and I sat in the other. I turned off my flashlight and sat it on floor near me, but when I turned my light out, the basement was darker than dark. With the only source of any light being the reflection of the LCD screen from my HD camera on the wall. The reflection of light gave me a little reference point in the darkness and a little comfort as well. But with all the investigations I have done and have under my belt, this was the most extreme place I had investigated alone. The basement is not a good place!

I started thinking about how I was sitting alone in the dark, in a place that has been identified by some legit people as probably being “Demonic.” A lot of things run through your mind in a dark and terrifying place like this! I felt that at any moment something would reach out and grab me and then who knows what might happen! I started thinking how my only way out of the basement was across the room, and if something happened, I would have to get to the stairs to make my exit!! To say the least it was very creepy down there. But this is the field of endeavor that I chose or maybe more correctly should say “chose me!” So this is what I do and this is what I live for.

I decide to start asking questions out loud! With my first question, I found out that whatever was there would show me that, “Yes, I’m here!”

The first question that I asked was, “Are there any spirits or beings here, if so say something, make a noise or do something to let me know!”
No sooner than the words “let me know” came out of my mouth, my (HD IR) camera shut down and the only bit of light that I had went to total blackness! My heart jumped into my throat and was pounding because I knew that I still had almost half of a four hour battery left, and with a full battery, this had never happened with this camera!

I tried to act like this didn’t concern me, and reached for my flashlight. I couldn’t find it at first and as I reached for the light I had the feeling that something was about to grab me. I finally located my flashlight, but then the next thing that went through my mind was, ”When I turn this light on, what will be standing in front of me?” So not knowing what to expect, I hit the button on the flashlight, and nothing was there. I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck, even though I didn’t see anything. But it felt like something was present. Could it have been “Belial,” Sallie, something else or just my imagination? I don’t scare easy, which is why I don’t believe the feeling was simply my imagination.

I walked over to the camera and I closed the LCD screen as it also acts as the power switch for the camera I then reopened the LCD screen and the camera powered back up and indicated that I still had “117” minutes of “240” minutes of battery remaining. I pressed the “Record” button and the camera started recording.  It continued to record until the battery drained well over an hour later.
Was this merely camera malfunction or something else? I’m not really sure. My gut feeling is that something was giving me a sign, or maybe it was trying to try put fear into me!

I packed up about 5am as nothing else happened while at the house. But as many of you know, the last time I was at the Sallie House, the fun didn’t begin until days and weeks after the investigation!

Larry Wilson is a paranormal investigator and author of “Chasing Shadows and Echoes from the Grave.”

 

From the Introduction of Chasing Shadows

“Chasing Shadows”

Investigating the Paranormal in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa

By

Larry Wilson

 

Introduction

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

In the world in which we live, there are things that can be explained with science and logic. Then there are things beyond the realm of science and logic: things that go bump in the night, strange sounds, and ghostly images that occur without warning. For generations, these types of occurrences have been reported throughout the world. Every city and town has a place that everyone knows not to visit after the sun goes down, for fear of coming face to face with the beings that have made these stories so frightening.

The Midwest has its share of such places, and in this book you will explore some of them firsthand through investigations that I have conducted. We will explore haunted and mysterious places in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Locations such as Illinois’ haunted Ridge Cemetery at Williamsburg Hill, Springfield’s Legacy Theatre, and the mysterious “Graveyard X.” We will explore Hannibal, Missouri’s Rockcliffe Mansion, the historic Morse Mill Hotel in Morse Mill, Missouri, and Booneville, Missouri’s Kemper Military Academy, which was the setting for the movie Child’s Play III. We will travel to Villisca, Iowa to investigate a place that has personally changed my life, the way that I view the supernatural, and the way that I approach ghost hunting in general. These are all places where extraordinary things occur that cannot be explained by mere science and logic, things that I have personally seen and heard.

Are these unusual occurrences signs or evidence of ghosts and hauntings? If so, why are these particular locations haunted and not other, similar places? Do portals and windows exist? Or is the veil between the living and the dead somehow thinner at these locations,   letting spirits travel between different dimensions and allowing us to experience extraordinary events? This book is my humble attempt at answering some of these questions.

What you are about to read is true. The stories in the following chapters describe a few of the most memorable paranormal investigations that I have conducted. The events as described are actual experiences and encounters, not simply legends or folklore. One particular location, as you will read, has completely changed the casual manner in which I once investigated the paranormal. Through these experiences, my perceptions of life, of ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural, as well as what I have been taught to believe, have been changed forever.

It is my hope that those who read this book, especially those who plan to pursue paranormal research and investigation, will realize that ghost hunting is not a field of endeavor to be taken lightly. It is not fun and games or simply a matter of thrill-seeking. This stuff is real!

Missouri Ax Murder House

LaBinnah Bistro Investigation

By

Larry Wilson 

            My first investigation, with Gary Hawkins, was at the location of the former LaBinnah Bistro restaurant, at the corner of Center and North Fifth Street in historic Hannibal Missouri. This was a very intriguing location to investigate due to the history of the building itself.

This is a very infamous location in that it is connected to Hannibal’s famous unsolved Stillwell Murder case which occurred in December, 1888.As the story goes the building was owned by the former mayor of Hannibal W.A. Munger. Amos J. Stillwell, Munger and the town’s doctor Dr. Joseph C. Hearne were playing Euchre at the mayor’s house on the evening of December 30 1888.

The rumor has it that the doctor and Stillwell’s wife Fanny were having an affair. After the card game that evening Stillwell and his wife returned home and went to bed. Sometime during the night Fanny awoke to see a dark figure standing over the bed with an ax. The dark figure called out, “Is that you Fanny?” before swinging the ax and severing the head of Amos Stillwell.

            Mrs. Stillwell was later seen in her nightgown running around the neighborhood knocking on doors seeking help. When the police arrived the bloody scene had been cleaned up by Mrs. Stillwell and several of the neighbors.

            The next year Fanny and the Doctor were married. The Stillwell murder was still unsolved by authorities, but the gossip around town was that the doctor and Fanny were in cahoots, and had murdered Amos Stillwell so that they could be together.

Most towns’ folk were convinced that both Fanny and the Doctor were guilty of the murder and would harass Fanny and the Doctor with taunting statements like “Axe me no more questions.” Eventually the doctor was tried but was acquitted by a jury which consisted of several of his friends. In later years it was reported that during a family argument Dr. Hearne threatened Fanny with, you guessed it, an axe.

            In more recent years the Munger home became the location for the LaBinnah Bistro Restaurant and Social Club located downstairs and Hazel& Kirks Coffee Bar which was located upstairs.

At the time of the investigation, the Bistros owner had relocated the restaurant to the Rockcliffe Mansion in Hannibal which he also owned. He was in the process of selling the building where the Bistro had formerly been located. The owner was aware, that Gary and paranormal investigator and independent film maker Paul Robinson were interested in doing an investigation and film for a documentary that Paul was in the process of making on Haunted Hannibal locations.

Since the owner wasn’t sure if the buildings new owner would be as receptive to allowing a paranormal investigation he contacted Gary which gave us the opportunity to investigate the location before the sale was complete.

Also located above the second story of the restaurant, is a living area that had been used as an apartment and recently rented to a lady from New Orleans. She rented the living area, until being frightened by what she saw one evening. What the tenant witnessed was a translucent figure moving hurriedly across the dining area. She watched the figure turn into a glowing blue dot before disappearing. This frightened her so much that she moved out. Weeks later a guest took a picture of the front of the building and in the picture looking out the front door glass was a figure similar to what the former tenant had seen.

Read about this, and other adventures of paranormal investigator Larry Wilson, in Chasing Shadows -Second Addition.