Travelers: Lotz House Overnight Investigation

Johann Albert Lotz was born in 1820 in Germany where he worked as a master craftsman woodworker. In 1848 Johann moved to the United States, first stopping in New Orleans where he met his wife Margaretha. Shortly after that they moved to Franklin TN and bought a small plat of land from Fountain Branch Carter. There Johann built his showcase home. The house is two stories and features four large columns in the front reflecting the Greek revival style. Inside he built three fireplaces of varying degrees of woodworking to show his skill. He also built a magnificent walnut railing on the staircase with the first post being a piano leg. On the top he carved his name and the year. Everything from the cabinetry and furniture in the home could be used to show potential clients his range of skill.

 Johann and Margaretha had five children of their own Paul, Augustus, Matilda, Julius, and Julian. Also living in the home were Margaretha's two children from a previous marriage, Joseph and Amelia. It's a beautiful home and location sadly the family would not be able to enjoy it properly. Years later on April 12th, 1861 the American Civil War began and the Lotz house would be at the center of one of the bloodiest battles.

Before the battle Julius and Julian passed away from either sickness, drowning, or possibly poison by playing in a creek that had been contaminated. Sources are unsure but I believe they were 3 or 4 years old.

The Union army under the command of Major General John Schofield arrived in Franklin around 4:30am on November 30th. They began setting up their position with their backs to the Harpeth River while repairs were done to the bridges that would allow them to cross and continue north to Nashville. They had been moving all night as they tried to reach Nashville before Confederate General John Bell Hood could cut them off from the 30,000 reinforcements that  Major General George Thomas had waiting in Nashville. Due to over confidence and a failure of command or orders being followed (it is unclear) the Union army was able to pass by Confederate troops at Columbia and Spring Hill. This set up the two sides for a meeting 12 miles further at Franklin.

On the morning of the battle the family woke to discover thousands of Union troops. The river however was impassible at the time because of recent rain fall and they could not cross until repairs were done to bridges. With no choice the soldiers began fortifying their position and preparing for battle with over 20,000 Confederate troops. The Carter family, hurriedly sent a message for the Lotz family to come to their home and shelter in the cellar.

Almost 12 hours after the Union troops had arrived in Franklin Hood and his army also arrived in Franklin. Some say Hood was angry at his commanders and troops for allowing the Union to pass in the night and so ordered his men to battle immediately. Others say it was not anger but determination to prevent the joining of two large union forces from meeting in Nashville. Either way this would start one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War sometimes referred to as the Gettysburg of the West.

At some point the Confederates broke through the Union line and brutal hand to hand combat began around the Lotz and Carter Houses and gardens. The Union troops were able to hold their defenses and by 11pm both sides were exhausted. Hood and his men pulled back to regroup and rest. Schofield and the Union took this chance to continue their march to Nashville. Technically that left Franklin in Confederate control but it was not a victory. The Confederate side had 6,252 casualties with 1,750 killed. Among them were six of Hood's Generals one of which was Patrick Cleburne who was arguably one of the best division commander's on either side and today has a small park just a block from the Lotz House named for him.

This was the most exciting investigation we have had so far. We left knowing we had good communication and probably one of the best S-Box interactions we will ever have. But beyond the evidence we collected one thing that stands out in our mind is how much the staff and especially Thomas Cartwright love and care for the spirits. It was evident in every interaction Thomas had whether it was the others using dowsing rods trying to communicate with Eula Lee Carothers or with Mark using his GeoPort.

While we waited for the whole group to arrive Meg and I split up and began taking photos inside the home. Meg went upstairs and was taking a series of photos in the "red room". In her fourth photo a figure can be seen in the back of the mirror. In the following video I go through the photos and then attach the real time audio recording. 

Later in the night one of the Lotz House employees told us that there are numerous reports of seeing soldiers in that mirror.

After Thomas gave a history and tour of the home we began investigating. I left stationary cameras in the downstairs gift shop, the stairwell, and the upstairs "red room." With those areas covered we went upstairs to the "children's bedroom." There we used our EMF detector to try and communicate with any spirits present.

Every investigation before this we would leave and be like "nothing much happened but we will listen to the recorders and see what we got." Not this one! We had three of the best S-Box interactions we have ever seen! Really I can't see how they can get much better. To explain what we were doing our S-Box or Spirit Box sweeps very quickly through radio stations so that words of sentences heard are across multiple stations. Meg was listening to the S-Box with noise cancelling headphones so that she could not hear my questions. At one point in this first session I thought we were communicating with several Civil War soldiers. I asked what other battles they had been in and after a few moments Meg listed three cities that also had battles. I asked what state they were from and a few moments later she said a state. She couldn't hear me and I was floored by how accurate the responses were. It took every bit of constraint to not stop and tell her how awesome this was going. I uploaded the whole S-Box session on youtube as well as a short version where I took out the long pauses between questions because I realize some people don't have 20+ minutes.

Full version:

Short version:

After investigating in a few other rooms we returned to the bedroom where we had such a great S-Box session and tried again. This also did not disappoint. This session was again quite long so I have condensed it in this video. One of the high points of this one was when I asked the soldier if they were here as a hospital. They responded with the word "ether" and then when I asked about their injury they answered "foot" and "they took it". Meg also had the word "sick." Also she heard the phrase "General Hood Killed us." Now before the battle the Union troops moved through the night past where the Confederate army was and were spotted by scouts. According to some accounts Hood says he gave a command to attack but others said no command was given. As I said above overall the battle was a loss and the army of the TN never fully recovered. We also got responses asking for a priest which may have been from a soldier named Willard Tolliver who the staff has identified even researching to find what unit he may have served in.

S-Box Session 2: 

Speaking of Hood we also heard a response on the GeoPort that a different group had brought that was possibly about General Hood:

We had a third S-Box session but this time it was at the end of the night and most everyone else had stopped investigating so we played the S-Box out loud since it would not interfere with other investigations and we had several other people in the room with us investigating. 

We also made contact with past residents of the house. We were upstairs trying to reach out to Johann Lotz and we received an answer from the Geoport:

And finally in this compilation we possibly made contact with Thomas Carothers.

Since we were making contact with soldiers Meghan decided to read an A.E. Housman poem about soldiers.

Overall this was an amazing experience that has us excited to return. When talking about the paranormal I often say I know I will never have any evidence that will convince a skeptic but this maybe the closest I can possibly come with the photo and S-Box sessions. 

Another reason we love the home though was, again, the staff. Everyone we met not only loved the location but they respect and care so much for the spirits that still reside there. I think that helps foster communication. 

A walk through Waverly Hills Sanatorium

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.

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Standing in three States!

This last road trip that Meg and I took was a series of moments where we asked ourselves "We are close so why not go?" I mean when you are on a road trip that covers six states and over 1000 miles what does it really matter if you add 20 miles here or 20 miles there. The plan started out as being to travel to St. John, Indiana and then from there we began adding stops.

For example there is a large Celtic Cross carved into a singe stone at the Blue Heron Winery in Cannelton, Indiana. But before we got there we traveled through the town of Dundee, Kentucky- home of the goat! Now you may think we stopped and noticed the town because of the strange slogan "home of the goat". But we didn't even notice that. We stopped because of this building:

Yeah, we drove past a giant abandoned school that looks like it should be on a list of haunted locations. I believe the school opened in 1931and served as the elementary and high school. I can't find when it closed but it does look to have been a while ago. It was when we were pulling out after taking this photo that we saw the sign saying Dundee was the home of the goat. The town got its start in the 1800s as mills opened up along the Rough River. Warren Hines was one of the mill owners and the town of Hines Mill got a post offie in 1846 but closed a little under thirty years later.  Then in 1898 the Dundee Post Office opened. The name change was due to the goat, well goat weather vane from Scotland. An article by Berry Craig in the Kentucky New Era October 26, 1992 explains the debt the town has to the Goat. The goat found its permanent home on top of the Masonic Lodge in 1902 and has been there ever since except for a short time when it was taken down to repair bullet holes caused by bored locals.

Also apparently there was a bank robbery as well in 1978. A 27 year old man eventually pled guilty to the robbery where he had stolen $15,000.





After crossing the Bob Cummings bridge we reached Cannelton, Indiana and the Blue Heron Winery. We pulled up to the Winery Tasting room and were greeted by Lynn Dauby, co-owner of the winery along with her husband Gary.  Lynn showed us around the main building and told us about their concerts during the summer and the cottage rentals.

Then we went inside the tasting room to try some of the wines. She asked what style we preferred and I answered a dry red wine. The first wine we tasted was my favorite it was the Twin Towers silver cap. The name is to honor Perry County's first National Historic Landmark, added to the registry in 1991. The Twin Towers are a striking feature on the large mill, one was a fire escape and the other stored water. Since it's closing the mill has been turned into a low income apartment complex.

The labels on the wine bottles match the names of the wines. On this label is a beautiful black and white picture of the old mill. My other favorite wine was a blueberry wine called Four Blue Stars in honor of their three children and son-in-law who serve in our military. I purchased a bottle of each for when we arrived home from the trip. Just a note the winery does not take credit cards so bring cash because you will want a bottle after tasting.

Lynn was also very happy to tell us about one of the most striking pieces of art on the winery property: a large hand carved Celtic Cross. The Celtic Cross with it's intricate designs has always been one of my favorites. This Cross was commissioned by Lynn and Gary and carved to perfection by self taught sculptor Gary Harris. Gary is a local artist who has created a number of other beautiful artworks including the doors seen in the photo above.   The Cross was carved by Gary in a 20'X22'X4 stone. At first it was going to be smaller but Gary asked if they could dig the stone out further. He worked faithfully six days a week no matter the weather for months. The detail work is beautiful and the lines were so smooth and straight.

Next on the list was a quick drive through the heart of Lafayette, Indiana to see a a statue of a family of farmers made of old farm equipment, mostly tractor parts. The sculpture was plainly visible on the corner of Main street and Fifth and a short distance away from some beautiful old buildings, I believe one was a court house or city hall.




Our next stop was the main reason for the trip as we visited St. John the Evangelist In St. John Indiana. More about my visit to the Church will be in a different blog that I will link here when it is completed.

From there we crossed over the border in to Crete, Illinois to visit Evil Horse Brewing and get some dinner. The brewery is dog friendly and the restaurant next door, The Loft, delivers food. We got a couple of flights to try several beers and since it was Friday in Lent we both got the Shrimp Po' boy for dinner. I loved the set up and decor at Evil Horse. There was a rustic look with lots of reclaimed wood. The night we were there live music was playing in the corner and both singer and guitarist were very talented. We did get a growler and on the lid of the growler was a sticker that gave the name of the bartender who filled it. I thought that was a nice touch. From talking to the bartenders I could tell they knew and appreciated their beers but it says something to be willing to put your name on it. As we sat there a table nearby apparently took an interest because one gentleman came over and sat with us. He asked what brought us to town. I told him I was visiting seven Churches in seven States for Lent, kind of a pilgrimage. He responded by asking if I work . .. which was a little strange but ok. Happily I told him I work four tens so I have three days off a week to road trip. Afterwards I kind of wished I had come up with a better more sarcastic answer or something but what can you do?

Now originally this was the end of the trip. We would start driving back and sleep in the car before finishing the trip home. But it was cold, we were pretty far north, so I didn't think sleeping in the car would be a good idea. And Gypsy Rover and Domino were taking turns annoying each other and needed some space. So I looked for a hotel and found a LaQuinta for a mere $68 a night. Well I couldn't pass that deal up so we drove over there to rest for the night.

Domino lying in the middle of the seat so Gypsy can't lie down. Alternatively Gypsy standing over Domino to annoy her.

Apparently, and I don't exactly know where, there was a nearby cat convention. Almost every room on the first floor had a pet and most of the rooms were cats :-) The woman at the desk had a huge stack of pet policy forms just ready to hand out. I laughed and said the two dogs live with cats so they won't cause a scene. The room was small but still enough space for us and exactly what we needed. Gypsy Rover slept with me and Domino slept with Meghan so they got a break from each other. In the morning we fed the pups and then went and had breakfast in the lobby. Since we had stopped for the night and were now totally refreshed we decided to see some of the other locations I had originally cut from the trip.

The first stop was a giant "Last Supper" at a Megachurch in Munster, IN. Originally I was going to see it at night but we were too tired and it was better to sleep and see it the next day. The front of the Church had a giant cross worked into the facade. At the top in the "arms" of the Church was the large table with Christ and the Disciples seated at it. Directly below it was a statue of Christ holding the cross.

Now that had been all that I knew of but as we drove down the street we saw a few other interesting pieces of art. First, and you may not consider it art but I do, was a Pepsi plant that had two giant cylinders that looked like a mountain dew and a pepsi can. Next was a crazy multi-colored statue. I'm not sure what he was for but he certainly stood out. Then there was an amazing journalist sitting on typewriter keys outside the office building of the local newspaper, The Times.

We had passed a couple of statues on benches and Meg assumed it was a library but when we turned around we discovered it was the Pepsi plant and the statues were sharing sodas. Once again we took advantage to show off Gypsy's sit/down stay.

Next was one of the "well we are so close we might as well go" moments. Because we were super close to Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. Now if you have never seen a Great Lake I highly suggest you do. It is a Lake so large that it has waves like an ocean. I have seen both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on a previous road trip but Meg had never seen a great lake. In this picture you can see Chicago.

Next we found three quick statues. An elephant and hippo sit randomly in front of a small building. Across the street a hobo holds balloons in front of a car repair shop.

Then we began driving across Indiana to reach a spot where we could stand in three different states... but on the way we had to make a stop because we were close by and why not? In Goshen, Indiana is a rest area along the highway that looks like a castle. Inside was Subway, McDonalds, and a pretty nice convenience store with an amazing selection of local craft beers and wines. You know I never really thought of Indiana when I thought of wine but now that I know they have a wine tour around the state I think I might have to try some more.



Next we arrived at Freemont, Indiana/Camden Township Michigan/Northwest Township Ohio and a spot where we could stand in all three states. A large stone marker erected by the Hillsdale County Historical Society stands off the road near a good spot to pull over. Then in the middle of the road is a square with an "M" that marks the spot.

Now we were kind of in Michigan but it felt like cheating to count it as visiting the state since it was just barely in the state and it was lunch time and we were hungry. So we looked up a brewery in Michigan and picked the closest one to our location that was dog friendly- Ramshackle Brewing in Jonesville, Michigan. On the way to Ramshackle, actually just a few blocks away, we stopped at a small local restaurant to pick up some food to eat at the brewery. The restaurant was Rosalie's Roadhouse. We ordered Tammy's Quesadilla as an appetizer and then Meg got Rosalita's Fajita and I got the Roadhouse Burger. I had an option of house made chips or fries. I chose fries which were good but if you ever stop in I highly highly recommend the house made chips! They only take cash so be ready for that.

The food was ready quickly and we brought it and the dogs over to Ramshackle Brewing. The brewery front was so narrow I actually passed it and had to circle the block. We found it on the second pass thanks to this sign out front. A sign of the times and the rising fear of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. Inside the brewery had a few tables at the front by the window and then a bar that sat 8-10 people I think. It was definitely a small place. The walls were lined with artwork from a local artist and they were selling glasses with artwork from the same artist. Beside the bar they had a "buy it forward wall" the bartender told me to look and see if any applied to me because I could use it to get a drink. I looked but didn't really see anything but we did buy two and made one card for the next pair of twins who come in. 

Part of the reason why we chose Rosalie's was because it was 3/14 and we were looking for some place that would have pie on Pi Day. 

Meg got a piece of chocolate pie and I had a coconut pie and they were both delicious! After our lunch and splitting the flight we started on the 7 and a half hour drive home. So one cool thing that has resulted from all the road trips that I have taken is recognizing places I have been too. As we drove down 69 I remembered that we would pass the Nestle Quik Bunny by the Nestle plant, I recognized towns of names like Fort Wayne where there is an automated billboard that looks like sliced bread falling on to a plate, Hartford City where we had a paranormal investigation, and Corydon Indiana home of the Constitution Elm.

The pups fell asleep in the back seat for most of the ride home which was nice. I'd say they really seem to have bonded but Gypsy Rover started annoying Domino as soon as she woke up.  

Sadly this will be the last road trip I go on for a while as the Coronavirus has shut down a lot of the country and stopped unessential travel. I've already skipped a road trip to Arkansas and North Carolina. I also cancelled a road trip to the Florida Keys that we had been looking forward to for a long time. Hopefully as people heed warnings and testing continues this virus will be brought under control so that people can safely gather, travel, work, and just live their lives.

Referenced Road trips:
Paranormal Investigation in Hartford City
Previous Road trip in Indiana