This is Part 2 of our blog about Harriman Hospital in Harriman TN. For the history of the hospital/town please look back at Part 1.
We arrived in Harriman a few hours before the investigation in order to walk around the building and take some photos outside. While there had already been several investigations at Harriman Hospital this day was the official Grand Opening. We knew being a public investigation we would have little control over when and where we investigated so we did not go into the investigation with plans, rather we saw it as an exciting opportunity to get in to a new location, to scout for when we do eventually return for a private investigation, and also meet the special guests Richard Estep and J. B. Coates.
The event was well organized starting with an introduction and history of the building, moving on to the always appreciated pizza, and finally the investigation. Meg and I were in the red group (there were four groups which would rotate through the four different designated locations). Volunteers brought each group to their location while other volunteers were specifically assigned to the location to help facilitate investigating. I will say that part of what I like most about public investigations is having people of all different skill/knowledge levels. Some people had their own equipment and others were along for the ride looking to learn about investigating.
As stated above since this was public Meg and I didn't have any specific plans. For the rest of the post I will share some links to short videos I uploaded on TikTok of Evps and notable interactions. At the end will be several Youtube videos with video from the night including an angry spirit turning off Meg's camera, me being pushed, and a fantastic Estes Method Communication with a child spirit named April.
Our first stop was in the A3 Hall:
As we were walking in the hall we recorded an evp that sounds like a child's voice saying "Hear Me."
Once we reached the hall our group broke off exploring down the main hall and nurse station as well as a second hall. Most of our investigating was at the nurse station because it is believed a nurse named Joanna haunts that location. Joanna worked for years at the hospital and sadly passed away of a heart related ailment at the hospital. After her passing her fellow coworkers would remark that they felt her presence still. Furthermore just days earlier a video was shared from that nurse station of a dark shadow figure moving in and out of the camera's view.
Several in the group thought they saw shadows moving but we did not record any shadow figures however when teasing that someone was sitting in Joanna's chair we recorded an EVP.
The second location we went to we also got to investigate with special guest J. B. Coates. While sitting outside the morgue of the hospital we conducted an Estes Method session using the Spiritus App. While one member of the group sat in the morgue isolated the rest of us were in the hall outside of radiology. Earlier in the session a spirit had said to stop filming. At the time I turned off one video camera but Meg still had her body camera and I eventually turned my video camera back on.... then this happened.
Our third location was outside the recovery room where Billy and Tonya from the Nightstalkers were waiting to help guide the interactions.
At first we sat in the hall listening to the building before breaking off in to the recovery room to use our SBox. Meg put on her headphones and closed her eyes as she listened to the box and I stood by the desk. As I was standing against the desk I felt a push on my right shoulder and moved forward a little. I asked if someone was with us and Meg responded "hopefully" and then "I can see you." Here is a short clip and the full exchange will be below in the youtube video.
The fourth location was split between the operating rooms and a hall said to be haunted by a child spirit named April. There Terry, Chris, and Steven from Mid-Tenn Paranormal were waiting. We began in April's hall with an S-Box session where Meg took the headphones and blindfolded herself as well. This is just a moment of the exchange the whole session will be in the youtube videos and is definitely worth the watch!
I tried to upload one video to youtube but my computer is not cooperating so it will be four separate videos.
Video 1: This is part one of our Estes Method communication with April.
Video 2: You guessed it- part two with April.
Video 3: Part three with April and some really fantastic interactions.
Video 4: This video is a compilation of our different experiences in Harriman Hospital and includes some evps, Meg's camera being shut off, and me being pushed in the recovery room.
When we first decided to give paranormal investigations a try one of the first locations we went to was Waverly Hills Sanatorium. We hoped our second visit would be a private investigation that would allow us to investigate the building alone. However we decided to return for another public investigation to become more familiar with the layout and make a plan for our future private investigation. The first two hours of the night was a detailed tour. The whole group was split in half and we were in the group that started at the morgue. Our tour was given by Jason and Josh. As we walked around the building they shared stories of paranormal accounts, history, and their own experiments and experiences. It was a great tour that gave us a lot of information about the building and those who still reside there. Jason seemed to care deeply for the residents which showed through the stories he told. Josh offered his help to the group and shared his current experiments and different plans that he had to investigate the building. He invited anyone to take part in his experiments.
We had some specific plans and as soon as the tour ended we got to work. We walked along the first floor to the morgue where Meg slid on to one of the storage tables.
As I was setting up the stationary camera another group had wandered to the morgue. One jokingly said "Are you going to lock us in" to the tour guide and while he answered we hear another voice say "Yes"
Once Meg was settled I left to walk down the entire length of the body chute. Let me tell you that is a walk I think I only need to make once. The passage way has steps on one side and a ramp on the other. Staff could walk back and forth on the steps and use the ramp to move a cart back and forth with supplies or deceased patients. Walking down the chute was fine except for one moment when I stepped into a giant spider web. Coming back up the chute is no joke. I tried to walk on the ramp for a bit because I thought it would be better then tackling the steps again in total darkness. The ramp was slippery and as I walked it felt like I was being pushed backwards and towards the wall. And that wasn't anything paranormal it was just the slant and grade of the ramp. Overall the walk was uneventful except for when I walked right in to the before mentioned giant spider web.
Another area we planned to visit was the fifth floor. Half that floor served as the children's ward with a playground on the roof. The first time we visited Meghan had read a children's story and we planned on reading another story by the same author. Meg settled down with our light up catballs that we first used at the Lotz house in front of her.
At one point while Meg was reading a small light appeared next to her knee and then faded away which I will have at the end of the blog in a compilation video.
I started taking a video of her reading but then moved on to explore the rest of the floor. The fifth floor is one of the most visited floors because of room 502. There are many different theories about what happened outside that room and on that floor. In 1933 a nurse was found hanging from a light fixture and many questions still continue today. When we were first here we had an EVP, Electronic Voice Phenomena, that said "hanged". This time looking back at my photos taken with my IR camera I believe I have a figure looking back through the window into the area. I had taken two photos in a row.
Photo 1:
Photo 2:
Close up:
The night was a clear night so Meg left her camera taking a picture of the stars while she read the story.
The rest of the night was going to be simple. We would walk each floor twice first by walking up the solarium and then back through the dark center hall. It was on the fourth floor that Jason's tour really had its biggest impact on me. We were all stopped at the stairwell looking down the hall and you could see the shadows moving back and forth across the hall. Now the shadows in Waverly are very active and there are good reasons why people so often report seeing shadow figures... they do interact with you. Jason told a story about how after Waverly had closed a geriatric hospital had been opened up and there was terrible abuse and neglect. During a visit in 1981 a fire marshal mistakenly exited the elevator on the fourth floor, the building was only cleared for occupancy up to the third floor. There the marshal found "the forgotten ones" as Jason called them. As we watched their shadows move back and forth Jason told us he promised to tell that story to every tour and that they would not be forgotten again. As we listened back to our recorders we think we have an EVP from that hall.
A few minutes later we had another EVP that sounded different on both recorders. In this video I play one recorder, then the other, and finally both at the same time with the audio over each other.
With each investigation I feel like we really get to delve in to different theories about hauntings and the history of locations. With this investigation the idea of Egregores kept coming to mind. It was fresh on our mind because shortly before we went Meg had been reading a magazine article with Adam Berry and Amy Bruni commenting on the subject. The theory of the Egreore is that by continually telling the same story it can actually be brought into existence. For example one of the most popular "ghosts" of Waverly is a young boy named Timmy who is said to play with the many balls that can be found throughout the building. While there may very well have been a boy named Timmy at some point there were hundreds of children that lived at Waverly at one point or another. Is the ghost child really named Timmy, maybe? Or is Timmy a creation of the story telling.
There were several moments were we tried to empathize with the patients and medical professionals who lived and worked at Waverly. One way was acknowledging that we have names like Timmy or Lois Higgs who people will go and ask for them but that there are many others who we don't know the names of that lived and died at Waverly.
At the end of the night we stopped across from where the old cafeteria was and I read a poem by Robert Frost called Desert Places. There we think we have another EVP.
For more clips (including the light while Meg was reading) watch this compilation.
Going through evidence review is long and boring at times. It involves listening back to hours of recordings or just watching videos of nothing happening. But finding an EVP or something strange in a video is worth it. Also it is worth it to know that we are being as thorough as possible. We both carry recorders so that we can verify what we hear on one with the other. In one instance it really paid out. While listening to Meg's recorder we thought we had an intelligent answer; however listening to mine we heard the same sound and it was me going through my bag.
The midwest and plains areas of the United States are filled with stories of haunted locations that would be top on any paranormal investigator's list. And in fact there are many on Meg and my list. This year we got to explore one of those haunted homes: The Vaile Mansion in Independence Missouri.
History of the Land:
The Vaile Mansion is located in Independence Missouri in Jackson county along the bank of the Missouri River. The area was once the northern boundary of the Osage Nation which included parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. They have traits in common with both Woodland Tribes as well as Great Plains tribes. They were noted for their use of horses and and their buffalo hunts on the Great Plains.
On November 10, 1808 the US Government and Osage Nation signed the Osage Treaty at Fort Osage (then Fort Clark). In the treaty over 52,000,000 acres, mostly in Missouri, were ceded to the government. Immediately the Osage people protested the treaty questioning whether all necessary representatives were there. They were forced to Kansas where smallpox, other diseases, and war would devastate the tribes.
The earliest European settlers were French. The land was fought over during the French and Indian War and came under British rule and then was promptly ceded to Spain in 1763. In 1800 Spain was forced to return the land to France in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso and then in 1803 the area was sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1804 Lewis and Clark reached the area and picked plums, raspberries, and apples on their journey west writing in their travel log that it was a "high commanding position." That spot would become Fort Clark and later renamed to Fort Osage.
In 1821 Missouri was formally admitted into the Union of the United States. And in 1826 Jackson county was organized and named for Andrew Jackson. Independence was selected as the county seat and the town quickly began to expand as it became a central location for westward travel. Independence was called "The Queen City of the Trails" as it was the starting point for the three western trails: Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails. The infamous Donner Party left from Independence in 1846 on the Oregon Trail. Independence also served as an important trade route since it was the furthest west that steamboats could travel on the Missouri river due to the confluence with the Kansas River just six miles away.
In 1831 Jospeh Smith, founder of The Latter Day Saint movement, stated that a New Jerusalem would be founded in Independence. Followers were encouraged to travel to the area and begin purchasing land. The new comers clashed with existing settlers and in 1833 a decree ordered all members of the Latter Day Saints to leave Missouri. In 1838 removal came to a head between August to November in the Missouri Mormon War. One of the worst clashes was on October 30, 1838 at Haun's Mill. Mormon families had gathered there and were surrounded by over 200 militia members. The battle resulted in 17 deaths.
During the American Civil War Independence saw two battles within the city limits in 1862 and 1864. Also in Jackson County was the 1864 battle of Westport, called the Gettysburg of the West.
After the Civil War train travel began to increase and moved the center of travel to Kansas City.
My sister and I believe in the idea of places holding trauma and memory. Even in this limited history above the amount of upheaval and change and the number of people who traveled through this area surely has had an impact.
History of the Vaile Mansion:
Colonel Harvey Merrick Vaile was born in Bennington, Vermont in 1831. In the 1840s he moved to upstate NY where he would meet Cecilia Sophia Graham and they would eventually marry. Harvey held a variety of jobs including teacher, lawyer, lobbyist, and reporter. However the majority of his fortune came from land investments and partnership in the Star Route along the Santa Fe Trail.
As Harvey's wealth increased he and Sophia wanted to build a home that matched. They wanted to have a home that people could use as a gathering place and took inspiration from some of the finest homes in Europe. The Vaile Mansion was completed on October 12,1881, at a cost of $150,000. It was a modern marvel for several reasons but the most impressive reason was the fact that it had heating and hot water. Especially impressive since no other home in Jackson County had indoor plumbing. The home had 31 rooms, 14 foot ceilings, a mansard roof, long gothic windows, speaking tubes, and two chandeliers originally meant for the White House but purchased by Harvey when a defect was discovered in them.
The home was designed by architect Asa Beebe Cross. Cross designed over 1000 structures in Kansas City though today only a handful remain one of which is the Vaile Mansion, another is St. Patrick's at 8th and Cherry in Kansas City, and a third is Sauer Castle at 935 Shawnee Rd in Kansas City.
Unfortunately Sophia and Harvey did not get to live the life the imagined when they began construction on the home. Harvey was charged with fraud and theft of funds with his Star Route. He spent over $100,000 on legal fees and countless hours traveling from Independence to Washington DC to defend himself. He would eventually be acquitted but during the time when he was away Sophia became ill with stomach cancer. On February 14th, 1883 while Harvey was in Washington Sophia passed away from an overdose of laudanum which she had been prescribed for pain.
Harvey would never get to use the house as a grand and happy gathering space, in fact the planned ballroom on the third floor was never finished. The couple did not have children and Harvey Vaile never remarried. In the Kansas City Times Mary Paxton Keeley remembered a chance encounter meeting Harvey Vaile when she was a young child with her father and brothers visiting the grounds and the lake which on some days was opened to the public.
Upon seeing her father and his children an aged Vaile asked if they were all his and then commented that the father was indeed a rich man.
Harvey passed away due to complications of a stroke on June 4th, 1894. His Last Will and Testament surprised some. His cousin Olivia Sprague, who had moved in and run the home after Sophia's death was left a yearly allowance, the home was left to become a women's school called called The Independence Ladies College, and to his nieces and nephews he left five dollars each. Not surprisingly the nieces and nephews fought the Will.
The legal battle over the property cost so much that both parties could not maintain the property afterwards and as a result his nieces and nephews never took control of the home and it never became a school as he had planned. The furniture was sold to raise founds, with one exceptions being a clock now on one of the mantles which was original to the home and is verified by a painting of Harvey with the clock in the background. Afterwards the home served as an Inn for a short time, headquarters for the Vaile Pure Spring Water Company, a mental asylum, and a senior living home.
The Trip:
We planned to leave enough time to visit some historic sites and places connected to the Vaile Mansion. For example the pictures above of the confluence of the rivers, Fort Osage, St. Patrick's, and the Sauer Mansion. On our first night in the area we stopped at Lutfi's which not only had delicious catfish but amazing carrot cake dessert. The guys behind the counter were amazingly welcoming and after a short conversation they offered us some of their chicken wings to try with a sauce they were very proud of on it. It was Friday in Lent and we could not eat meat so we tried to decline the wings but they insisted we take them and have them Saturday for breakfast. The wings were a perfect breakfast especially since our hotel did not have much breakfast due to Covid restrictions. If you are ever in the area near Independence/Blue Springs do yourself a favor and stop at Lutfi's! I know I will be back.
The Equipment:
When we booked the investigation we knew it was a public investigation meaning there would be many people in the home that night, but we hoped it would be a manageable amount of people and we began making plans about setting cameras in different hotspots as well as Meghan memorizing some Shakespeare and various poems to recite for Harvey and Sophia's entertainment.
We wanted to place a trap camera looking at the stairs going to the third floor due to reports of a shadow figure that had been seen in the stairwell, we also planned on putting a recorder on the third floor so that we could cover the area without having to be up there, similarly we planned on putting a trap camera in the basement to look at the door that is said to close itself, and finally another camera in the nature's bower a strange small sitting area overlooking the front lawn and street. However when we arrived we realized it was more people then we felt comfortable with to leave our equipment around. We did end up leaving one camera watching the stair case to the third floor but that was it. As a result we had the one trap camera, my video camera, the two recorders we were carrying, and a body camera that we were still testing out to see how it would perform.
The Investigation/Evidence:
Before going to the mansion we stopped at the Vaile family mausoleum for an S-Box session.
We arrived a little early which was fine because it allowed us a quick nap before beginning. There was a sign in sheet that asked for team name so this will forever be the first official investigation under our team name: Travelers. Now the house is large with over 30 rooms however the amount of people made investigating a little difficult because we didn't want to interfere with anyone else's recordings and by the same token we had to listen very carefully to ours. I think we started out with a good plan. We went straight to the Nature's Bower to set up our camera and look at the faces in the wood grain.
While there we had an Estes Method S-Box session. This is our newest experiment in investigating and helpful in a situation like this where the sound of the S-Box would negatively effect other investigations. For the experiment Meg was wearing earbuds connected to the S-Box and then noice reducing head phones so that she could not hear my questions.
We left the Bower to go to Sophia's bed room and sitting room. There were so many questions that we had for Sophia and she is said to be one of the most active spirits in the home. We wanted to be sure that we got to spend some time in this side of the house where Sophia spent most of her time when she was ill. As Meg walked past one room she heard a woman's voice. Unfortunately we did not have that voice on a recorder but it sounded like a cry/moan.
We left the second floor and went down to the first floor. While down there we had some plans for Meg to recite an AE Houseman poem as well as some Shakespeare. Listening back to the recordings though we were struck by how much we heard voices in the recordings. The best way to describe it was as "swirling voices." At the end of this blog post I will link a compilation video of all the EVPs but first I will post some that I have separated out like this one from the first floor women's parlor.
After leaving the first floor we spent time in the basement. As I was walking I saw a very unique orb fly past the video camera. Normally I won't include orbs as evidence because they are usually just bugs reflecting light but this one not only had a strange shape but a strange pattern of movement.
We left the basement and went straight up to the third floor to try and spend at least a little time on that floor. The floor is famous for evps, disembodied voices, and shadow figures. We set up a laser grid which despite having new batteries began fading in and out as we sat upstairs.
After exploring the third floor before heading back downstairs I commented about how there wasn't much to explore and we recorded this evp.
Now there was a door that we could have pushed up to look into the attic but having been told there are bats I wasn't going to look.
We came back down from the third floor to check on my trail camera and stopped to talk with two other investigators who were using their SLS.
Now that we had been to every floor for at least a little bit we turned our attention to the other side of the house and Harvey Vaile's office. There we recorded this residual EVP that I found very moving when I listened to it later. Also I used one of my favorite pictures: a portrait that shows Harvey Vaile standing in front of one of the fine marble fireplaces with a clock behind him. I think the fact that you see Harvey reflected in the mirror is what draws me in.
As I said above Harvey and Sophia Vaile never got to live the life they dreamed of in their beautiful mansion in Independence, Missouri. While Harvey traveled back and forth from his home to Washington DC because of the investigations into potential fraud Sophia was home alone and suffering from what is believed to have been stomach cancer. When Harvey returned from a break in the investigation to bury Sophia imagine his pain and grief at missing her last days and suffering she had endured alone. Sitting in his study imagine his attorney or business associates trying to ask about the investigation. What would his mind frame be? That is what I was thinking when we heard this residual EVP.
Finally here is a compilation of all our other EVPs/evidence from the investigation.
We hope to return to the Vaile Mansion someday for a private investigation so that we can fully set up our equipment. Meg did so much more research into the history of the home, people, and land then I included here. This investigation will forever be a special one since it was the first time we actually publicly investigated as Travelers!
Thank you. Please consider following my youtube jorekkeroj and this blog for our future investigations. We will beginning the evidence review from our investigation at the Lotz House.
Last Friday we stopped for a couple of hours at Mt. Olivet one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Nashville, TN for a brief paranormal investigation. We had planned to be there longer but because of different events during the day we arrived very late. We thought about skipping it and just going back another day but then decided we could use this time to get some basic photos and familiarize ourselves a little and then plan a return.
The cemetery was founded by two Tennessee businessmen, Adrian Van Sinderen Lindsley and John Buddeke, in 1856. A little less than thirty years later Lindsley passed away and was buried at Mt. Olivet. The architecture of the cemetery is Gothic Revival and at one point there was a chapel in that style built by Hugh Cathcart Thompson, the architect of the famous Rhyman Auditorium.
For this investigation we each carried a recorder, Meghan had her Canon rebel DSL camera, I had an infrared camera, the S-Box, and a body camera.
We started the investigation by just pulling over and then splitting up and walking around looking at the different graves. Because it was late I did not try and find some of the more notable burials in the cemetery like Thomas Rhyman, Edward Barnard, and Anne Dallas Dudley. While reading the names on the graves we recognized many of the family names from counties and streets of Tennessee. As we got out of the car we split up with Meghan going to graves to the right of the car and me walking forward further into the cemetery. As I have done in past investigations I pulled out a few of the best captures and also uploaded to youtube a full video of all the EVPs and the S-Box session.
The first EVP that I separated out in to its own clip was what we believe to be a residual haunting of someone saying a prayer.
I also pulled out a clip to compare an EVP that was recorded on both Meg and my recorder.
And the final clip I separated was our favorite and one that made us certain we needed to return. I had parked across from a tall monument for the Weaver- Cole- Cheatham family. Meg had gone there to investigate while I wandered away to some of the larger tombs.
Meg began reading the writing on the graves out load one by one beginning with Dempsey Weaver, 1815-1880. Dempsey was one of the founders of Third National Bank in Nashville and at one time was Treasurer of Vanderbilt University.
After Dempsey Meg moved on to his son, Thomas Weaver's family. Thomas was born in 1850 and passed away suddenly in 1911 in Florida. He had followed his father's footsteps working in banking and serving as trustee for Vanderbilt University. He married Mattie Cheatham in 1872. Her maiden name was one of the names we recognized as the county next to us is Cheatham county. From there Meg moved on to the grave of their son Richard Cheatham Weaver, 1895-1913. He was only 18 when he died of an accidental gun shot wound to the abdomen.
Next she moved to the grave of his oldest brother Thomas Shadrack Weaver Jr, 1873-1918. Thomas
It was at these last two graves where Meg recorded an EVP that convinced us we have to go back. As Meg moved to Richard's grave a voice says "Hey read me". When we first listened we questioned whether in 1913 "Hey" would have been used in that way because we think of it as a more modern usage. Meg check out the etymological use of the word and indeed it dates back to the 15th century. And to further confirm the voice was Richard when she moved on to Thomas Jr we hear the same voice say "now come back."
As we were listening to the recordings we read about the family history. The Weaver family owned a home called Seven Oaks which burned down but would have been near the Nashville Airport, and there are Seven Oaks apartments and Seven Oaks Park still in the area. Not only was Weaver a well known name but they had connections to the Cheatham family as mentioned above and also the Cole family who owned Colemere which is now a restaurant and event space called Monelle's at the Manor. We definitely had fun learning about some of the history of these families in Nashville and look forward to returning not just to revisit Richard but to see what else we can learn about Nashville and the people who once lived here.
Here is the full video including several other EVPs and our S-Box session.
Thank you for watching we have some big plans ahead in the next few months and look forward to sharing the results.
