Berkshire Paranormal Group
Residential Investigation
North Adams, MA

The residence is located in North Adams, Massachusetts - exact address withheld to maintain privacy.






This three story victorian was built in the mid-1800's. The current residents, a family of four, have lived there for 8 years. They were told that a man who was a former owner had died in the house by falling down the main staircase.
Strange things began happening the very first week that the current residents moved in. That first week was the most active period that they've experienced, as far as paranormal activity. A few things that have occurred are:

• An apparition of a man has been seen on the staircase landing between the first and second floor. The mother was the first to see the apparition. The apparition appeared during the day. It looked directly at her, smiled, then disappeared. They did not speak to their children about this. About two weeks prior to our investigation, one of the children saw the apparition as well. He said "Mommy, the man is scaring me." To which the mother replied: "What man? Where?" He then said "The man on the stairs".
• Candles that were stuck securely into candlesticks were found to be thrown across the room onto the floor. The candlesticks remained in place.
• A rocking chair has rocked back and forth violently.
• Lights have come on and off by themselves.
• Their animals have barked at and reacted to invisible entities.

Date: November 11, 2005

CONDITIONS:

• Solar x-ray : NORMAL
• Geomagnetic Field Status: QUIET
• Auroral Activity Level: 5
• Sunspots and Coronal Holes: none
• Moonphase: Waxing Gibbous - 79% of full
• Sky: partly cloudy
• Outdoor humidity: 42%
• Barometer: 30.0, falling
• Wind: N at 13
• Dewpoint: 17F
• Temperature: 25-30F

INVESTIGATORS PRESENT:

• J. Mantello – Lead Investigator, Base Camp
• N. Mantello – Field Investigator
• G. Onorato – Field Investigator
• S. Cairns – Field Investigator
• S. Onorato – Field Investigator
• J. DeMarco - Field Investigator

A pre-investigation interview was performed by Josh and Greg a couple of months prior to the investigation. It was determined that an investigation was warranted. The team met on November 11th, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Houghton Mansion to go over the game plan and to inventory our equipment. We arrived at the residence at 8:00 p.m. and set up base camp.

INITIAL SET-UP: Base camp was set up in the kitchen and manned by Josh during the investigation. Equipment was set up on three floors, but the main focus of the investigation would be the stairwell at the exact location where the apparition was seen.
Among the other equipment listed below, an EMF meter was attached to the bannister of the stairwell and monitored by video. We were watching for the red light to be activated. It did not register any spontaneous EMF's.

MOTION SENSOR PLACEMENT
Stairwell landing

No unusual activation


REMOTE THERMOMETER PLACEMENT
Base at Base Camp
Remote on Stairwell.
Temperature readings taken approximately every 15 minutes

No major fluctuations

IR REMOTE VIDEO CAMERA PLACEMENT
2nd floor landing viewing the rocking chair and tri-field meter.

JVC "NIGHT ALIVE" VIDEO CAMERA PLACEMENT
1st floor entry hallway viewing the stairwell.

SONY HI-8 VIDEO CAMERA PLACEMENT
Attic - malfunctioned - not used during this investigation. It was working the day before the investigation. The team has since purchased a new high capacity info battery and charger.


20:00 Team arrives
21:00 Investigation begins.
00:00 Investigation concluded

PHOTO COUNT:
• Digital: about 250 --- Photos with Anomalies: About 15
• SLR: 12 standard exposures and 12 with U.V. transmission filter - Kodak Max 400 film. --- Photos with Anomalies: none

Click on thumbnails for larger images

   
   
  






Low Lux "Night-Shot" Video Camera
Placement: Entryway - 1st floor
Record time: 1 Hour, 33 minutes
Anomalies found:
9:31:40 P.M - A dark shadow rapidly moving up the stairs.


CLICK PLAY BUTTON TWICE TO PLAY VIDEO


Remote Infrared Monitoring Camera
Placement: 2nd floor landing
Record time: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Anomalies found: This camera was focused on the rocking chair that apparently would rock on its own when it was in the resident's bedroom. No unusual movement of the chair was detected. We had a natural Tri Field EMF meter by the chair viewable by the camera. The meter never moved unless someone passed near the area. There were 4 moving orb-like anomalies captured. One at 41min 23sec moving left to right. Second one at 57:42 moving down then right. Third at 1:10:24 moving down then to the right and the fourth at 1:36:53 moving from upper right to lower left in a zig zag pattern. Since the Tri Field needle did not move with the anomalies, these may just be floating dust. Video to be posted here soon.






Digital voice recordings were taken in various places throughout the home. Conversations going on at base camp in the kitchen were picked up on our recorders, so obtaining EVP proved difficult under these conditions. Josh has captured some EVP and they will be posted here soon.






The earth/solar weather pattern was relatively quiet that evening....as was the investigation. A favorite saying of Nick's is that "Ghosts don't punch a time clock". They don't always come when you call them. We did capture some anomalous photos, EVP and video, however. Unfortunately, we did not obtain what we were hoping for....video or photo evidence of the apparition itself.

The activity experienced by the homeowners is sporadic and generally unpredictable. Our impression of the residents was that they were absolutely telling the truth about what they'd seen and experienced. There was a matter-of-fact-ness about the way they told of their experiences, with no embellishment whatsoever. The fact that their youngest child not only saw the apparition as well, but described him as being a "man on the stairs", convinces me that this phenomena is real.

John thought it was odd that the apparition appears during the day, since most paranormal activity occurs generally late in the evening or early morning hours. A possible explanation of this could be that the fatal fall took place during the day and the apparition appears accordingly.

Impressions received during a crystal dowsing session performed by Sarah were as follows: It is a non-threatening male presence. She also sensed that he was confused. Perhaps, this is a result of his death being so sudden. He may not be ready to accept his death. That may also be why his spirit still lingers in the home.




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