Bedford Paranormal
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Avenel Investigation
Avenel is listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It's also part of the Civil War trail. It's an impressive home built in 1838 by Mr & Mrs Burwell and it's located in the city of Bedford, Virginia. The home was spared destruction during Civil War. In 1864 Union General David Hunter passed through Bedford but did not destroy the home as he had so many others during his destrcutive raid from Staunton to Lynchburg. Gen Hunter's force traveled from the town of Buchanan over the Peaks of Otter to Bedford and then to Lynchburg where he was defeated by Gen Jubal Early and sent back towards West Virginia. My Grandfather once showed me a cave just off of Route 11 near Buchanan where family members had told him many of the people in that area had hidden their valuables during the looting and burning. During his raid through the Shenandoah Valley Gen Hunter had left many women and children homeless as he burned their homes and crops while so many of their male relatives were off to war.
JW Ballard bought Avenel in 1906 and it stayed in his family until the mid 1980's. It's current owners, the Avenel Foundation make the beautifully impressive home available for social events such as wedding receptions, business meetings, and historic reenactments. Two of the distinguished guests in the home's past include General Robert E. Lee and Edgar Allen Poe.
Avenel's most written about ghost is the "Lady in White". There was a quote from Peggy Maupin in the News & Advance dated December 26, 1993. Peggy Maupin lived in the home for 80 years. She said ‘There was a crowd on the porch. We saw this lady, dressed old-fashioned way, walking up the street. She got in front of the trees and disappeared.’
Our investigation of the historical home named Avenel began just after 8pm. Team members present at the investigation were Amy. Alan, Robin, Alissa, Joe, and Scott. We had investigated Avenel several times before and had recorded some clear EVPs there. Taffney Mays came by and unlocked the home for us and stayed for a few minutes to talk to us about the home. She was always very welcoming and friendly to us in the past and tonight was no exception. She then wished us luck and was on her way back home. We started simply by walking through the house. After past investigations of the home I had come to believe that there definitely something there, but nothing mean or negative. I felt comfortable in the home. We then unplugged the refrigerator to eliminate the constant humming and began to set up our equipment.
We decided to start in the Lee bedroom where we have experienced a lot of activity in the past. One of the more common occurrences was that if we sat in the bedroom in the dark with the door closed, we would, after 10 minutes or so see what appeared to be a shadow under the door as if someone or something was in the hallway. It always seemed to move from right to left and was not a large shadow. In times past we had tried several actions to determine what causes this included posting one person or video camera in the hallway and opening the door when it appears but were never able to discover it's cause. Tonight we watched to see if the shadow would return and it did. I set up a low light video camera in the bedroom across the hall and focused in on the hallway and doorway to the Lee bedroom where we would be waiting. We had two new members present and while we had told them a little about what we were trying to see we did not say how big the shadow usually is or that it traveled in one direction. One of the newer members Scott tells the rest of us that he can see a shadow and that it is moving. I asked Scott which way it appears to be moving and he replied quickly "from the right side to the left". The shadow movement went away and we sat in the dark for a while longer listening for any unusual sounds. The heat turned off and as it did we heard an unusual noise. We discussed whether or not the noise was associated with the heat turning off and decided to listen carefully each time the heat was turning off to see if it repeated. We decided to get up and walk around and then meet back up in the "pink room".
On the way there we went through the bedroom that is now used as a meeting or board room. It has a wardrobe to the right of the door we entered. It was closed as we went in, but as I was checking my video camera in front of the fireplace I looked up and noticed it open. No one was near it. I had placed the low light video camera there to face the hallway and door of the Lee bedroom. Joe and Scott were nearby and I told them about it as I walked around the table to it. We opened and shut the door several times to see how easy it would be for it to swing open. Joe felt as if it simply opened by itself as people walked by. He said that since the floor was a little uneven in that spot as in many older homes a person's weight could cause enough of a shift to cause the door to open. We tested his theory several times and each time he could cause it to open. We found it open several times later in the night, and just closed it. As we were finishing up our experiment on the wardrobe, the women were standing on the landing just outside the pink room waiting for us. All three said that they heard a cough or the sound of someone clearing their throat and that the sound came from in between them as they talked. Joe said that he heard the cough, but I didn't. Hopefully Amy's voice recorder will pick it up.
The pink room was a bedroom was also on the second floor The three women sat on the couch in the room that faced the door and had it's back to the fireplace and two large windows. The three guys sat on the floor. With only one exception every time I've done an investigation at Avenel I've heard voices at some point in the night. It's always when I'm upstairs and the voices come from the downstairs. I've never been able to tell what is being said, but sounds as if a man is talking to a woman and his voice is slightly louder. It's hard to tell exactly where it's coming from, but it sounds to me as if the voices are coming from the room next to the kitchen or the kitchen itself. We've never heard a voice while anyone was downstairs, at least not yet. We sat in the darkened room and listened. Amy had her recorder going and my video camera was running in another part of the house. Occasionally we would hear a voice downstairs, but just as in times past we couldn't tell what was being said. The voices became more frequent causing members to look at each other to confirm to each other that we all hearing it. Presently we heard what sounded like several footsteps. At first it was just a couple here and there and then it seemed become more regular. It also seemed to be coming up the stairs to the room we were in. Tension was really building in the room at this point with everyone on edge, but still quiet. The steps sounds continued sounding closer and almost to the door. Sitting on the floor closest to the door I realized I'd have a front row seat if anything did enter the room. I had my camera ready as I'm sure others did. Suddenly Alissa said quietly "it's coming in here". At this point whatever was making the sounds should have been almost to the bedroom door. All was quiet as we waited for something to appear or make more sounds. I could see around the room somewhat because of the lights coming in the two large windows behind us. I felt good about how the team was excited and on edge from the sounds of footsteps and low voices coming to the room, yet no one looked scared. This is why we were here. We were nervous, not knowing what would happen but no one looked as if they would run or panic. Nothing happened. I sat on the floor straining to hear anything. Anything other than Joe's stomach growling that is. Joe is open minded about the paranormal, but pretty skeptical. He had never seen or heard anything he would have considered paranormal. We continued to wait and members started to talk in normal tones as they came down from the heightened excitement and tension. Amy said that she felt as if the footsteps had a heavy sound such as a large male would make. I thought that they were footsteps as well, but couldn't tell if they were male or female. After a while we heard another voice, very different from the voices downstairs. Alissa said out loud what the rest of us were thinking. "Hey, that's a human voice!" We walked to the windows of the room and could see three young people looking at the house from the outside. Amy asked me if the outside doors were locked and I said yes, I had checked them as we were getting ready to start the investigation. Alissa, who probably has the best sense of humor in our group placed her face in the window and tapped on the glass. The three looked up and when they saw her ran into each other and then ran all the way back to their van. We went downstairs to check the yard and porch to ensure no one else was out there. Two of the young people in the van stepped out of the vehicle and asked if they could take a tour. We said that they would have to talk to Taffney first and get her permission. They left and we decided to take a break for water, snacks and to talk about what had happened so far that night. Our smiles at the young people running into each other was a good release for tension. We also checked around the porches to be sure no one else was around. Joe the skeptic told the rest of us that clearly the voices from the downstairs interior were very different from those of the young people outside. I had to agree. After about ten minutes we decided to try the pink room again. We sat in basically the same places and waited quietly. Occasionally someone in the group would say that they heard something being said from outside our room, possibly downstairs. My hearing isn't the best after so many years of working with machinery and this time I only hear a voice a couple of times, maybe I should look into a hearing aid. No one could make out any words and no footsteps were heard. We kept waiting and then we all clearly heard a short sound as if maybe a chair was moved across the wood floor in Taffeny's office which is next door to this bedroom. Moments later the sound repeated itself but was longer. We had heard sounds from the office before, but respected Taffeny's privacy and did not enter it. The group felt as if they could hear the mysterious voices outside our room somewhere in the house, although not as loudly as before or as often. Amy quietly walked to the door and listened as everyone tried to be quiet. She then opened the door and said loudly "It's here, it's right here". Everyone seemed to jump up and go to the door at the same time. Several of us had cameras ready, but I didn't see anything. Amy told us that as she opened the door, it spoke to her. She couldn't see it, but heard it as if it was right at the door when she opened it. She couldn't make out what was said however. The look on her face showed how real it had been. Again I was glad to see how at how the group went to where they thought a ghost or spirit had spoke to Amy rather than freezing in place or having a "Dude Run!" moment. I had the video camera trained on the landing just outside the pink room door, hopefully something will show up when I review it. At this point we walked around a little to let nerves settle somewhat and decided to investigate the downstairs. We entered the front room on the right hand side of the house if you are facing it and Alissa remarked that she always feels odd in this room. She described it as a feeling of dizziness as if on a moving ship. Some of us sat in this room and some in the joining room next to the kitchen. No sounds were heard and nothing was seen. We moved to the formal parlor and discussed the night. The women decided to stay in this room and record while the guys went across the hall and then upstairs. It was the first time we had split up that night. Amy, Alissa, and Robin reported feeling a huge cold spot in the formal parlor and that it moved around the room. They followed it and took photos of the cold spot. Alan, Joe, and Scott didn't see or hear anything unusual upstairs. We met up again and decided to call it a night. It had been a good investigation. The team worked together well and we had experienced some things not many people get the chance to. It was getting late so we made a sweep of each room to ensure no trash such as a water bottle was left and that everything was exactly as we had found it. The Avenel foundation had always been generous to us in letting us visit, the least we could do was to show respect for the home.
We decided to start in the Lee bedroom where we have experienced a lot of activity in the past. One of the more common occurrences was that if we sat in the bedroom in the dark with the door closed, we would, after 10 minutes or so see what appeared to be a shadow under the door as if someone or something was in the hallway. It always seemed to move from right to left and was not a large shadow. In times past we had tried several actions to determine what causes this included posting one person or video camera in the hallway and opening the door when it appears but were never able to discover it's cause. Tonight we watched to see if the shadow would return and it did. I set up a low light video camera in the bedroom across the hall and focused in on the hallway and doorway to the Lee bedroom where we would be waiting. We had two new members present and while we had told them a little about what we were trying to see we did not say how big the shadow usually is or that it traveled in one direction. One of the newer members Scott tells the rest of us that he can see a shadow and that it is moving. I asked Scott which way it appears to be moving and he replied quickly "from the right side to the left". The shadow movement went away and we sat in the dark for a while longer listening for any unusual sounds. The heat turned off and as it did we heard an unusual noise. We discussed whether or not the noise was associated with the heat turning off and decided to listen carefully each time the heat was turning off to see if it repeated. We decided to get up and walk around and then meet back up in the "pink room".
On the way there we went through the bedroom that is now used as a meeting or board room. It has a wardrobe to the right of the door we entered. It was closed as we went in, but as I was checking my video camera in front of the fireplace I looked up and noticed it open. No one was near it. I had placed the low light video camera there to face the hallway and door of the Lee bedroom. Joe and Scott were nearby and I told them about it as I walked around the table to it. We opened and shut the door several times to see how easy it would be for it to swing open. Joe felt as if it simply opened by itself as people walked by. He said that since the floor was a little uneven in that spot as in many older homes a person's weight could cause enough of a shift to cause the door to open. We tested his theory several times and each time he could cause it to open. We found it open several times later in the night, and just closed it. As we were finishing up our experiment on the wardrobe, the women were standing on the landing just outside the pink room waiting for us. All three said that they heard a cough or the sound of someone clearing their throat and that the sound came from in between them as they talked. Joe said that he heard the cough, but I didn't. Hopefully Amy's voice recorder will pick it up.
The pink room was a bedroom was also on the second floor The three women sat on the couch in the room that faced the door and had it's back to the fireplace and two large windows. The three guys sat on the floor. With only one exception every time I've done an investigation at Avenel I've heard voices at some point in the night. It's always when I'm upstairs and the voices come from the downstairs. I've never been able to tell what is being said, but sounds as if a man is talking to a woman and his voice is slightly louder. It's hard to tell exactly where it's coming from, but it sounds to me as if the voices are coming from the room next to the kitchen or the kitchen itself. We've never heard a voice while anyone was downstairs, at least not yet. We sat in the darkened room and listened. Amy had her recorder going and my video camera was running in another part of the house. Occasionally we would hear a voice downstairs, but just as in times past we couldn't tell what was being said. The voices became more frequent causing members to look at each other to confirm to each other that we all hearing it. Presently we heard what sounded like several footsteps. At first it was just a couple here and there and then it seemed become more regular. It also seemed to be coming up the stairs to the room we were in. Tension was really building in the room at this point with everyone on edge, but still quiet. The steps sounds continued sounding closer and almost to the door. Sitting on the floor closest to the door I realized I'd have a front row seat if anything did enter the room. I had my camera ready as I'm sure others did. Suddenly Alissa said quietly "it's coming in here". At this point whatever was making the sounds should have been almost to the bedroom door. All was quiet as we waited for something to appear or make more sounds. I could see around the room somewhat because of the lights coming in the two large windows behind us. I felt good about how the team was excited and on edge from the sounds of footsteps and low voices coming to the room, yet no one looked scared. This is why we were here. We were nervous, not knowing what would happen but no one looked as if they would run or panic. Nothing happened. I sat on the floor straining to hear anything. Anything other than Joe's stomach growling that is. Joe is open minded about the paranormal, but pretty skeptical. He had never seen or heard anything he would have considered paranormal. We continued to wait and members started to talk in normal tones as they came down from the heightened excitement and tension. Amy said that she felt as if the footsteps had a heavy sound such as a large male would make. I thought that they were footsteps as well, but couldn't tell if they were male or female. After a while we heard another voice, very different from the voices downstairs. Alissa said out loud what the rest of us were thinking. "Hey, that's a human voice!" We walked to the windows of the room and could see three young people looking at the house from the outside. Amy asked me if the outside doors were locked and I said yes, I had checked them as we were getting ready to start the investigation. Alissa, who probably has the best sense of humor in our group placed her face in the window and tapped on the glass. The three looked up and when they saw her ran into each other and then ran all the way back to their van. We went downstairs to check the yard and porch to ensure no one else was out there. Two of the young people in the van stepped out of the vehicle and asked if they could take a tour. We said that they would have to talk to Taffney first and get her permission. They left and we decided to take a break for water, snacks and to talk about what had happened so far that night. Our smiles at the young people running into each other was a good release for tension. We also checked around the porches to be sure no one else was around. Joe the skeptic told the rest of us that clearly the voices from the downstairs interior were very different from those of the young people outside. I had to agree. After about ten minutes we decided to try the pink room again. We sat in basically the same places and waited quietly. Occasionally someone in the group would say that they heard something being said from outside our room, possibly downstairs. My hearing isn't the best after so many years of working with machinery and this time I only hear a voice a couple of times, maybe I should look into a hearing aid. No one could make out any words and no footsteps were heard. We kept waiting and then we all clearly heard a short sound as if maybe a chair was moved across the wood floor in Taffeny's office which is next door to this bedroom. Moments later the sound repeated itself but was longer. We had heard sounds from the office before, but respected Taffeny's privacy and did not enter it. The group felt as if they could hear the mysterious voices outside our room somewhere in the house, although not as loudly as before or as often. Amy quietly walked to the door and listened as everyone tried to be quiet. She then opened the door and said loudly "It's here, it's right here". Everyone seemed to jump up and go to the door at the same time. Several of us had cameras ready, but I didn't see anything. Amy told us that as she opened the door, it spoke to her. She couldn't see it, but heard it as if it was right at the door when she opened it. She couldn't make out what was said however. The look on her face showed how real it had been. Again I was glad to see how at how the group went to where they thought a ghost or spirit had spoke to Amy rather than freezing in place or having a "Dude Run!" moment. I had the video camera trained on the landing just outside the pink room door, hopefully something will show up when I review it. At this point we walked around a little to let nerves settle somewhat and decided to investigate the downstairs. We entered the front room on the right hand side of the house if you are facing it and Alissa remarked that she always feels odd in this room. She described it as a feeling of dizziness as if on a moving ship. Some of us sat in this room and some in the joining room next to the kitchen. No sounds were heard and nothing was seen. We moved to the formal parlor and discussed the night. The women decided to stay in this room and record while the guys went across the hall and then upstairs. It was the first time we had split up that night. Amy, Alissa, and Robin reported feeling a huge cold spot in the formal parlor and that it moved around the room. They followed it and took photos of the cold spot. Alan, Joe, and Scott didn't see or hear anything unusual upstairs. We met up again and decided to call it a night. It had been a good investigation. The team worked together well and we had experienced some things not many people get the chance to. It was getting late so we made a sweep of each room to ensure no trash such as a water bottle was left and that everything was exactly as we had found it. The Avenel foundation had always been generous to us in letting us visit, the least we could do was to show respect for the home.
The evidence and conclusion:
We caputured voices from downstairs on our equipment, but most of the time you cannot make out what is being said. We captured 7 EVPs. On Amy's recorder after the cough that the women heard between them you can hear what some people think is "I'm in the water", while others think it says "I need water". We also got something in one photo that we aren't sure what it is. The photo was taken in the Lee room. When you first look at it, it appears to be a lopsided orb, but everyone that blows it up says it looks like an eye. I tried to come up with an explination such as a reflection off of dust, but I'm just not sure what it is. We have decided to place recording equipment downstairs on following investigations to hopefully capture clearer voice recordings. Yes, we've already asked to come back for another investigation.
I think that Avenel is one of the rare homes that is really haunted.
