2010 Happenings

5 Jan. '10 - Chuck and I have been sleeping  in Room 1 because our room is sooooo cold.  Our room / office is in the old horse stable building, and there is no heat in there.  We have a space heater going, but when it is in the minus-degrees outside, like it has been lately, the space heater just can't keep it warm enough to sleep in there.  Anyway, all the guest rooms have their own heaters and are nice and toasty warm, so we have been sleeping in one.  Almost every night we hear footsteps up in Room 6, when there is nobody up there.  They have discovered the loose board under the carpet and it makes a very distinct 'bonk' sound when stepped on.  So now we hear creaking and bonking.  One night we heard tapping on our headboard and I tapped back.  Another time we heard what sounded like fingernails scratching the wall near Chuck's head.  That was a creepy sound.  Last night there was all kinds of clicking and popping sounds moving here and there around the room.  I think Johnny found us.  I have also seen a tiny little bright light floating here and there.  I've seen this same little bright light in the dining room.  I wonder who it is.

14 Jan. '10 - Yesterday was a busy day.  It started with running footsteps up and down the staircase and in the foyer.  I thought "It can't be 7am already!", thinking it was Jinni getting ready for school.  I looked at the clock and it was 2:35am.  Not Jinni!   Later, I heard two distinct knocks on the wall beside my head and then two taps on the window glass.  I looked at the clock and it was 7:39am.  Later, Chuck heard two pops from next to the bathroom door.  We have had clicking and popping and tapping sounds in our room when we turn out the light to go to sleep.  This has been going on for a few nights now, but last night there was nothing from Johnny, but then we got all the other noises.  This morning, I heard what sounded like a squirrel scampering across the ceiling, but that is not possible.  I told Chuck about it and he was not sure what to think of that.  But then, in a few hours, he was in Room 1 by himself and he heard the same squirrel-scampering sound coming from Room 6.  He went up to see if a cat was up there, but all the cats were in the Keeping Room downstairs.  He admitted it was weird and could not possibly be an animal between the floors as it is stuffed with insulation between the floor board of 6 and the ceiling boards of 1.  (We had redone the ceiling in Room 1 a few years ago and I know we stuffed it with insulation so the two rooms could not hear each other.)

27 Jan. '10 - Last night was pretty noisy upstairs.  Starting about 9pm, Chuck was in Room 1 and he heard alot of running noises, back and forth in Room 6.  He went up to see if maybe there was a cat up there running around, but all the cats were accounted for in the Keeping Room.  When we went to bed about 11pm, we continued to hear alot of creaking and banging upstairs.  During the night I heard some heavy footsteps in the foyer, headed for the dining room.  They were followed by some smaller, quicker footsteps following behind.  Chuck said he heard knocking sounds on the wall next to his headboard.  And then, this morning, there were more running sounds back and forth and around and around upstairs along with tapping and scratching sounds on the ceiling.  I went upstairs to do some laundry and I heard Chuck's whistle.  I thought he was trying to get my attention or maybe a cat's, but I found him in the bathroom shaving and he said he had not been whistling.  I wonder if it was Curtis again.  Two days ago the ice in the river broke up and it is running again, quite full.  I wonder if they get energy from it flowing again.

7 Feb. '10 - There was a ghost hunting group here last night from Minnesota.  They had some pretty good personal experiences.  Early in the evening, one man saw a moving shadow that could not be accounted for.  The woman heard the scratching / tapping sounds that we have heard in Room 1, except she heard it in the Parlor.  The K2 meter reacted whenever the group talked to Harold.  They heard little running footsteps in the hallway, like those of a child.  The woman had an experience in her room during the night that disturbed her enough to go sleep in another room.  She did not say at the time what it was that disturbed her, and she left early, so the leader is going to talk to her tomorrow to see what happened.  They are going to review their video and audio recordings and let us know if they get anything interesting.  I'll let you know what the woman says as soon as I find out.

13 Feb. '10 - This morning, Jinni and I were in the kitchen.  She was making her own breakfast and I was making breakfast for the guests.  She looked at the wall calendar and noted that tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  So she said "Happy Valentine's Day!", and a man's voice said "Thank you".  She looked at me and I looked at her and I asked her who said that.  She shrugged and answered that it must have been Dad (Chuck).  I went and looked in the dining room and there was no one there.  Chuck, I knew, was in the bathroom shaving, and it was not his voice anyway, it was a deeper tone.  It must have been Curtis again.  I think he likes to hang out in the kitchen.

8 March '10 - Sorry I haven't been keeping up with my journal lately.  It is so cold in this room that I can actually see my breath!  My fingers freeze up fast.  But I wanted to update you on all the activity that has been going on.  Feb. 27th and 28th we had another Ghost Hunter University class here with pretty good attendance in spite of the weather.  We learned that it was indeed Curtis who said "Thank you" in the kitchen in answer to Jinni's greeting.  In the 102 advanced class, Chris Moon introduced a new gadget on his touch phone called Ghost Radar.  Two other people in the class also downloaded the app onto their phones too and we used this while doing the Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) session and Telephone to the Dead.  It was interesting to see the colored spots show up, but I have my reservations about it.  During the TttD session, a man's voice came through who was identified as Thomas Edison.  He has an accent, British or East Coast sounding.  He was very interested in the new device.  With the colored spots (reportedly the electromagnetic ghost energy) the app has a voice saying single words.  When one spirit started talking about his wife whom he lost to a car accident, the Ghost Radar said "Ellen" at the same time that the spirit said his wife's name was Ellen.  That was interesting.  During the nights, everybody had something happen in their rooms.  Chris reported footsteps walking back and forth in the hallway outside his bedroom door.  He looked and did not see anybody, but when he went back to bed the footsteps started up again.  In Room 5, they heard footsteps in the room next to the bed.  In Room 4, the man got hot and stuck his feet outside the covers, then he felt somebody tickle his toes, but he did not see anybody.  In the morning, his doorknob rattled and then the handles on his dresser started rattling.  In Room 7 there was knocking on the headboard and around the room.  In Room 8, they announced they were going to take a picture and anybody wanting to be in the picture to get on the bed and when they took the picture there were lots of orbs on the bed and hovering over it.  They thought that was exciting.  To read the Telephone to the Dead transcripts, click here.  Last Friday morning, I was sleeping when I heard a whisper behind my head say "It's almost time.  Alarm."  (At the time I thought it was Chuck but he said he did not say that.)  I looked at the alarm clock and had about 10 minutes to go before the alarm would ring, but then I saw that I had forgotten to set the alarm and would have over slept if Curtis did not alert me.  That was nice of him.  One couple heard a dog bark in the bedroom.  They said it was a single bark.  And later there was another single bark.  (Purdy, our dog that died in 2008, used to do that to get our attention.)  On Sunday morning, I heard a loud POP at the foot of the bed (Room 1) and then a crackling sound for a second.  I looked at the clock and it was 3:35am.  I got up and went into the bathroom and while in there I heard shuffling footsteps outside the bathroom door.  I thought Chuck was wanting in so I opened the door, but he was still fast asleep.  I guess somebody else wanted in.  After I went back to bed, I heard alot of footsteps in the foyer hallway and up and down the staircase.  It sounded like several children running back and forth and up and down.  At breakfast, the man staying in Room 5 commented that he was awakened at about 3:30am by a loud pop sound somewhere in the house and then there were children playing in the hallway.  I'm glad he heard it too.

14 March '10 - Last night the people staying in Rooms 4 and 5 had a very interesting evening.  Soon after they arrived and settled into their rooms, they were in the twin-bed side of Room 5 when they heard a dog bark.  It seemed to come from the big-bed side of the room, but no dog was over there.  They said it was just one yip, just like Purdy used to do.  They saw a mist float past the window, and thought it was from the laundry exhaust, but that is out back not in front of the house.  It was not foggy out and nobody was around smoking, so that could not be explained either.  Then, while sitting on the twin-beds talking, one corner of the twin bed next to the wall raised several inches and fell with a THUD.  The lady on the bed was pretty startled.  Everybody saw it happen.  Some of the people heard music coming from the far corner of the room, but could not figure out where it was coming from.  During the night, the lady in one of the twin beds was visited by Josephine, our ghost cat.  She said it was a comforting feeling.  One lady heard a loud CRACK sound about 3:30am.  I also heard this sound from Room 1.  It sounded like it was in my room, but she thought it came from within her room too.  Then she heard a man talking but could not make out what he was saying.  In Room 1, after I heard the loud noise, I listened for children's footsteps like before, but instead there was a tapping sound like Morse code.  It went on for several minutes and I woke Chuck to hear it too.

22 March '10 - This past weekend we had a ghost hunting group here from the Des Moines area.  Right away they started having some interesting experiences.  While looking at the doctor's equipment in Room 5, the bathroom door swung closed and latched.  Nobody was near it and there were no windows open, no breeze, no explanation.  Later, the doctor's equipment started swaying and swinging on their hooks.  The group tried to duplicate it with walking around and near it, but could not duplicate it.  During the night, one member saw a girl in a white nightgown standing on the landing and took a picture.  Hopefully they will send it to us to share here in the Journal.  They heard music and people talking, but could not figure out where it was coming from.  The twin bed in Room 5 by the wall was shaken during the night, it really surprised the young lady sleeping in it!  They heard footsteps in the hallway and up and down the staircase.  And they heard footsteps up on the third floor when nobody was up there.  In Room 6, the people saw moving shadows and heard footsteps in the room and hallway.  About 2am, there was a loud bang, but nobody could explain where the sound came from.  They got lots of orbs in the pictures and had wild temperature swings during the EVP sessions.   While sitting in the Parlor, they heard footsteps and a sound of chairs moving in the dining room, but nobody was in there.   All in all it was a very exciting and interesting night for them.  Their web site is www.AdrenalineParanormal.weebly.com .

23 March '10 - We received this note from some guests who stayed in Room 4 during the Feb. Ghost Hunt Class.  Here is what he had to say:     On the morning of our last day, I was awakened by a rattling sound at our door.  It was as if someone was trying to get in the room but was just able to rattle the door handle.  This lasted long enough for me to sit up and hear it from a dead sleep.  I heard it for another three seconds or so and then just as it stopped, the knobs on the desk next to the bed started rattling.  This went on for about 5 seconds or more and then stopped.  I laid back down trying to make sense of it all and our alarm went off.  I guess the ghosts were just trying to make sure we were on our way when we needed to be.  I thanked them as I left the room and headed down to breakfast.  On your next TttD session, I hope you can ask who it was that was in our room that morning.  See you guys in August!  CC

28 March '10 - Last night the SRSOI group was here again.  They had such good results last time that they decided to visit us again.  And a group from Springfield, Illinois (Light Paranormal) joined them.  During the evening's investigation, one of the men had his hair played with twice.  He thought it was un-nerving.  We later talked to Harold on their Word Box and he admitted to doing it.  During the evening and overnight they heard a dog bark, one yip, inside the house, when there is no dog here any longer.  The ladies in Room 5 heard walking-around sounds from the third floor, when there was nobody up there.  There was a loud THUMP sound that could not be explained.  They heard footsteps running in the hallway when nobody was up.  The group from Illinois had infrared cameras in various areas of the building and they saw a shadow pass across one area of Room 5 when everybody was downstairs at the time.  They are going to listen to their EVPs and let us know if they get anything interesting.  They gave us three photos that they took the last time they were here.  We were in the parlor talking to Curtis with the "sticks" and one of the girls took my picture.  There was a shadow on part of my side that could not be explained.  She was sitting right next to me and there was nothing between us to cast a shadow.  So she took another picture and the shadow had moved and there was a mist around me.  Then she took the third picture and there is no shadow or mist.  Here are the pictures:

31 March '10 - Cindi and her family are here this week to help with Spring cleaning.  She said that one night, she saw two little bright lights flying around the bedroom they are staying in.  The next day, my granddaughter, five year old Aurora, said, "This place has little tiny people who fly around like angels."  And then she started singing a song about angels so I could not get any more information out of her.  But I thought the comment was interesting.  Last night, Cindi and I were in the dining room watching TV and she saw a little boy standing next to her.  At first she thought it was my grandson, Brennen, but then realized that he was in the keeping room playing with some toys.  She said the boy had dark hair and a white shirt and was about three feet tall.  Sounds like Morris.  We went to bed and about 4am, I was awakened by some footsteps outside the bedroom door, in the foyer.  I thought Aurora or Brennen had gotten up and was running around, so I looked but nobody was there.  I went back to sleep and was awakened again at 5:30am by the same little feet running around and around in the foyer.  Today we are working on cleaning the back yard, and took some items over to our neighbor.  He commented that Cindi's kids sure are cute.  One fair, one light brown, and one dark headed.  He thought it was funny that she had such a range of colors.  I answered that she has two kids and not three.  He gave me a funny look and shrugged.  I wonder if he saw Morris too.

15 April '10 - Chuck and I have moved back into our room in the stable.  It's still pretty chilly in here, but we needed Room 1 for guests.  This morning, Chuck did his bathroom stuff first and I stayed in bed to catch an extra wink or two.  When he came out, he asked if I had been up walking around outside the bathroom door.  I told him I had stayed in bed.  He said he heard footsteps outside the bathroom door like somebody was shuffling back and forth.  He thought I wanted in, but when he looked he did not see anybody, but he thought he'd ask anyway..  Maybe it was Herma.  I'm glad he finally heard what I and Cindi and others have heard.  He said "It really sounds real!"

25 April '10 - The three ladies who stayed in Room 7 this past weekend had a busy time.  The two sharing the big bed said that every time they closed their eyes, the bed would shake like somebody was bumping against it.  They were watching a movie on their laptop, and one saw a little girl run across the room behind the computer screen.  The lady in the twin bed said she felt a cat jump onto the bed and curl up.  The other lady took a picture and they got what looks like cat eye shaped orbs.  They went around the Inn taking pictures of the different rooms and got a very bright orb in Room 6 with the face of a bald man in it.  They also got two orbs outside Jinni's door that have the face of a girl and a cat.  They have been here several times and always get some interesting interaction.  I think the spirits like their energy.

9 May '10 - The two college-age girls who stayed in Room 6 last night said they heard children giggling and whispering in their room.  One heard three bangs on the wall next to her bed.  One girl said that her mom and step-dad had gotten married in the Inn in 1995 and had stayed in Room 5.  Her mom told her that during the night she woke up to find a man dressed in a Civil War uniform standing at the foot of the bed, staring at her.  Then he faded away.  She said she was not frightened but thought it was very interesting.

20 May '10 - It has been rather quiet for a while, but now that Chris Moon is coming this weekend, things are picking up again.  On Tuesday, we gave a tour of the building to a group of third-graders.  While the kids were in Room 7 listening to Chuck's stories, I stood at the doorway waiting to guide the group to the next room.  I heard shuffling feet noises over by Room 6.  I went and looked to make sure none of the kids had stayed behind, but there was nobody there.  I went back to Room 7 and heard the little feet follow me in the hallway.  I guess the other children were taking the tour too.  The man who has been staying in Room 5 for the last 5 days said he was getting poked in the back while trying to sleep in the twin bed.  His friend was in the big bed fast asleep.  The man who stayed in the Caboose last night said he was in the back yard taking a picture of the Caboose from that angle when he saw a man wearing a flannel shirt crouching beside the shed.  It kind of surprised our guest because it looked like the old man was trying hard not to be noticed.  After taking his picture, the guest looked for the man but he was gone.  There was no noise of him leaving and no footprints in the wet grass.  The two sisters who stayed in Room 7 last night said they had laid some pictures on the little table at the foot of the twin bed, there is a book about Abraham Lincoln sitting on that table too.  They took some pictures around the room and noticed a large orb sitting on the Lincoln book on the little table.  When they took another picture, the orb was gone.  They went to look where the orb had been and found the pictures were gone!  They looked and looked all around and under the little table and finally found the pictures under the Lincoln book!  They could hardly wait to come down to breakfast to tell me about it.  One of the women said her hair was played with during the night.  She was alone in the bed as her sister was in the twin bed on the other side of the room.  That same night, I felt a cat jump on the foot of our bed and walk around.  It was quite light-footed and my first thought was that it was Patches.  But when I looked, there was nothing there and all the cats were in the Keeping Room, not in our bedroom.  It must have been Josephine.

24 May '10 - We had another successful GHU here this past weekend.  There was alot of activity in the rooms and during the class.  Guests began arriving Friday night and right away things started happening.  The lady in Room 4 was in her bathroom about 1am, and she heard knocking on the wall coming from Room 8's bathroom.  But there were no guests in Room 8 that night.  Then she heard a buzzing sound coming from Room 8.  She went and got the other guests who were outside talking and they all went to see what was going on.  They found the alarm clock buzzing, it was set to ring at midnight and the alarm was set to "off" anyway.  One of the men went to pick it up and it quit.  They could find no reason for it to ring and could not duplicate it, like a loose wire or something.  On Saturday, we had the 101 class.  Chris Moon's mom was going to stay in Room 8 and she started moving her things into the room.  She did not close the door or lock it, but then when she went to get something, the door was closed and locked.  Later that night, the alarm rang when it had not been set.  Again they looked at it and it was ringing at 2:20am, but was set for midnight and the switch was "off".  During the Telephone to the Dead session, we asked what was going on with the alarm clock.  We were told that a 5 year old named James was trying to get our attention so he could get some help.  Harold helped him go to the light.  The alarm did not ring after that.  All the bedrooms had tapping and knocking sounds.  During the 102 class on Sunday, Chuck and I heard footsteps up in Room 7, but when I looked there was nobody up there.  I went back to the dining room and we both heard the thumping coming from Room 7 above our heads.  Several people had their hair played with, including me.  Harold said it was the children playing.  On Sunday, when Aurora was helping Cindi clean in Room 7, Aurora asked her mom a question and Cindi answered "I don't know."  But Aurora heard another woman say "probably".  We found out that it was Mary who answered Aurora.  While Cindi and I cleaned Room 5, I saw a man standing in the doorway.   But when I went to go see who it was, he disappeared.  We found out his name was Michael and he did not know I had seen him.  Aurora kept running up the back staircase and down the front staircase and going around and around.  When I told her to stop, she said she was playing with her friend who told her it was okay because he does it all the time.  We found out her 'friend's' name was Andre and that he likes running through the house.  I wonder if he is the one we heard running up and down the stairs and in the foyer last winter.  To read the transcripts of the TttD sessions, click here.

1 June '10 - The young couple who stayed in Room 6 last night must have been liked by the spirits.  After a very quiet weekend here, they had lots of action.  Right away when they checked into their room, they started hearing tapping sounds.  They were sets of three taps that were here and there and back and forth in the room.  They heard footsteps in the hallway outside their door, but when they looked there was nothing there.  (They were the only guests up there, and Jinni had already gone to bed.)  They walked down the hallway toward Room 7 and heard heavy breathing in there, but nobody was there.  They decided to try doing some EVPs and photos in the hallway, and during the session, the young man saw a shadow slide from Room 4 to Room 5.  That surprised them enough to convince them to stay in their own room!  During the night, the young man was pinched and, from where he was laying in the big bed, he could see the adjoining room (where the twin bed is) in the dresser mirror.  He saw a mist forming, but when he started trying to wake the young woman, it dissipated and she did not get to see it.  They both heard footsteps above them on the third floor.  (Nothing up there but storage.)  Early in the morning, they heard the doorknob and lock being played with.  During breakfast, he broke out in goosebumps on his arms and my hair was played with.  They want to come back for the August GHU class to find out who the shadow was and who the mist was.

6 June '10 - There were 5 ladies who stayed in Rooms 7 and 8 last night who had quite a busy night.  Things started happening right away.  They checked in and put their things in the rooms then locked the doors and went to supper.  When they came back and tried to unlock Room 7's door, it was pushed shut again from the inside.  Then they heard someone in the room walking around and then there was knocking on the door.....from inside the room!  That really surprised them, but when they finally got the door open, there was nobody in the room.  We gathered in the parlor and talked to Harold with the pendulum and during the session, the light bulbs in the lamp dimmed for no explainable reason.  Harold said he and Amanda and Curtis were going to party in Room 7.   When the ladies went to bed they experienced alot of different things.  Some were touched, pushed, poked, hair pulled, and the bed was bumped and sat on.  One lady felt a cat rub her legs but nothing was there.  One of the ladies just called me to say that she took a picture in the parlor and there is a little girl in the picture that she can't account for.  She said she will try to email the picture to me so I can share it with you.  The ladies are nurses at a nursing home and have all experienced paranormal activities at the nursing home.  I think Harold knew they were receptive to him and he had a good time with them.  Here is an email from one of the ladies:   I think we mentioned most of our experiences to you. After reading the book though, so many similarities. The lamp turned off and on twice, I was touched 2 times in bed and once in the hall, one of the other girls was touched on the back putting on her shoes, and one of us had our legs sat on while in bed sleeping. There was knocking on the walls throughout the night and "moving furniture" in the room above us most of the night. Sunday, after breakfast, we got out the pendulum and Harold was with us. Amanda asked him if he was sitting with us because both of us got very cold and the hair on one of my arms was standing on end. He said yes he was. Three of us heard a noise down the hall way and went to look - it was coming from the room in the back by the steps. We heard it three times and there was no one there. I think now that it was a woman falling down the steps.  Now that we are home and looking more closely at our camera screens, we have a lot more orbs than we realized.  Quite an experience. We will be contacting you to come back again.  Thanks again!

13 June '10 - My son and daughters and their families and my parents have all arrived for a family reunion.  This morning, my grand-daughter, Aurora, told me she had heard her cousins playing in the hallway behind Rooms 2 and 3 about 6am.  But when she looked, there was nobody there.  So she went back to bed, but she could still hear them in the hallway, so she looked again and nobody was there.  I asked Cindi about it and she said she'd heard it too.  We asked Jeremy about it and he said the girls did not wake up until 7am and were not playing in the hallway at 6am.  There must have been some other children playing back there.  I have heard this before and so has Chris Moon when he has stayed in those rooms.

20 June '10 - We went on a little vacation last week and when we returned we found quite a surprise.  We had cleaned all the rooms before we left, knowing we had guests arriving as soon as we got back.  I had done a check of all the rooms to make sure they were ready before we left.  When we got back, several beds were messed up.  Room 5's twin beds had cat footprints in them and the pillow had a head divot in it.  Room 6's big bed looked like somebody had sat on it (rear-end marks).  And Room 7's twin bed was really messed up.  The quilt was pulled down and the pillow was in the middle of the bed.  Somebody had pulled a "Goldilocks" on us and tried out the beds!  The next morning, my parents, who have been staying in Room 1, said they heard footsteps up in Room 6 all night long.  Somebody was up there walking back and forth and back and forth.  They thought somebody had checked in already, but nobody was up in that room during the night.

10 July '10 - Not much happening right now.  Most of the guests have been staying in the outer rooms.  Two little things that happened a few days ago........The lady in Room 6 felt a push on her back when she was laying in bed.  She thought it was her husband, but he was asleep and turned the other way.  She said it felt like somebody put a hand on her shoulder blade and shoved her a little.  That same morning I heard my name called at 5:33am.  It sounded like a man was in the Keeping Room calling my name like "Joooooy!"  Kind of long and drawn out.  Chuck did not hear it and I did not go investigate.  Cindi and family came for the 4th of July weekend and they stayed up in Room 4.  Aurora did not report any thing strange, but Cindi said her bathroom door handle turned and the door opened but nobody was there.  (Make sure you use the lock on the bathroom doors!)

13 July '10 - The couple who stayed in Room 5 last night were hoping for a little activity and they got more than they hoped for.  Right away, things started happening with the chandelier swinging.  It will swing a little when the air conditioner is on, but he said it was really going fast.  Also it looked like the gas lamps were lit.  He flipped the light switch and they went out and then he could not get them turned back on.  He came and asked me how to do it and I told him they are kerosene lamps and there is no oil in them.  They could not possibly have been lit, nor turned off with the light switch, but he insists that they were!  Then he was sitting on the bed and felt something jump on the bed behind him and scratch his elbow.  He thought it was one of the cats, but all the cats were downstairs and accounted for.  It must have been Josephine.  Did she not like him or was she just trying to get attention?  During the night, they both heard people talking and music playing, like it was somewhere else in the building, but they were the only people up there.  They also heard some footsteps next to the bed.  That really surprised them.  After that they left the light on so they could get some sleep.

18 July '10 - The ladies who stayed in Room 5 last night had an interesting night.  One lady heard her name called, but the other two ladies said it was not them.  Her sister felt a cat brush up against her legs and she thought for sure it was Misty, but no cat could be found in the room.  During the night they heard tapping sounds that could not be accounted for.  They have been here often and always have something happen to them.  I think Harold and Josephine like them.

21 July '10 - There was a ghost hunting group here last night and they got some interesting evidence.  They had K2 meters that lit up several times and stayed lit for awhile.   Three of the members felt ill and had panic attacks when they were in the dining room at 11pm.  As soon as they left the dining room they felt fine.  (I think they were picking up on James VanGannen's residual panic.  Many people have felt it.)  They asked Harold to knock on the wall and then heard knocking coming from the hallway.  Everybody in the group was in Room 5 and nobody was in the hallway.  Why Harold knocked out there instead of in Room 5, I don't know.  He has done this before, when asked to do something in one room, he will do it in another room.  The asker is disappointed, and the people in the other room are wondering what is going on! 

22 July '10 - Two members of the previous night's group stayed a second night in Room 5.  The lady in the twin bed by the wall reported that the bed shook when she was trying to sleep in it.  (Julia claims this bed and also the vanity on the same wall.  She does not like people using her bed.)  They said it was a quiet night, compared to the night before, but they did get some interesting photos.    Another thing that happened was that the alarm clock in Room 8 started buzzing at 12:44am.  They went to see what was going on in that room and found the alarm clock was not set to ring.  They actually had to turn it on to turn it off.  This group is After Hours Investigations from Byron, Minnesota.   

25 July '10 - The people in Room 1 said they were disappointed that not much happens in their room, but the wife said she felt like somebody was stroking her forehead and arm, very lightly.  The husband said he heard the people up in Room 6 walking around and around all night long.  The people in Room 6 said they hit the bed and did not get up until daylight.  So who did he hear walking around up there? 

1 Aug. '10 - The ladies who stayed in Room 5 last night got more than they expected.  They had used my pendulum to talk to Mary and Amanda and Julia.  They were thrilled about that.  During the night, the lady in the twin bed by the wall heard knocking sounds in the wall by the bed.  That's a solid brick wall.  She said the bed did not shake like previous people have reported, but she got a distinct 'get out of my bed' feeling, like she was not welcome in the bed.  The lady in the big bed was alone, but felt somebody get into bed behind her.  At first she thought her grand-daughter had come to get in with her, but when she looked there was nobody there.  But she saw that the bed covers had been turned down like somebody would when getting in.  ( Her grand-daughter was still asleep in the twin bed.)  So she said out loud "Get out!" and the weight got off the bed.  The lady said she hoped it wasn't her late husband because she just kicked him out of bed!  Then, during breakfast, everybody was downstairs eating and one of the ladies went back upstairs to get something from the room and she saw somebody go into Room 7.  Knowing nobody stayed in that room, and that everybody was downstairs, she went to see who went into the room, but nobody was there.  Who did she see go into the room?  Later they called me and asked if Chuck had been up in Room 6 the night before.  No, why?  They said they  had gone outside to smoke about 9:45pm, and they noticed that the lights were on in Room 6.  They thought that was strange since theirs was the only guest's car in sight.  Then they saw a man walk past the window.  They said he had dark hair and no shirt and was darkly tanned.  So they assumed the wife had taken the car and left hubby in the room, which would explain the lights on.  At breakfast they were introduced to the couple from Room 6, and were shocked to see the husband had gray hair and was definitely not darkly tanned.  As they were driving home, they discussed the situation and concluded that Chuck was in the bedroom fixing something, but we were in bed by 9:45pm that night, so it definitely wasn't Chuck.  So who was it?  None of the other guests fit that description either.  We'll ask at the Telephone to the Dead session when Chris Moon comes on Aug. 7 & 8.

11 Aug. '10 - We did have a busy time this past weekend with the GHU classes, and many people reported activity in the rooms.  On Saturday night, the ladies in Room 7 reported hearing kids giggling in their room and hearing knocking and the doorknob was rattled.  One lady was touched on her leg and ankle.  In the morning, she found that her covers had been tucked in, under the mattress of the bed.  During the TttD session, we found out that Mary had tucked her in.  The couple in Room 6 saw shadows on the wall that could not be explained.  He also felt a cat rub against his leg but there was no cat there.  The people in Rooms 2 and 3 both heard somebody walking back and forth in the hallway outside their doors.  Each thought it was the other until they compared notes.  During the TttD session, we found out it was a spirit named Daniel who was trying to get Paulette's (Chris Moon's mom) attention.  He wanted her help with something.  In Room 1, Chris saw a shadow of a very large man who was crouching in the corner and then stood up.  We later found out that was Bart and he did not know Chris had seen him.  He said he was "just standing there", all innocent-like.  The ladies in Room 5 were all disappointed because nothing happened to them except one lady had her foot touched.   Harold said it was Connie's fault because she did not want action in the room.  So, then, on Sunday night, Room 5 got all the action.  They heard foot steps, the lights went on and off, there was tapping sounds and feelings of being watched.  One cell phone beeped with a missed call message, but when she called the person who called, he said he did not call.  So how did she get a missed call message?  The tanned, shirtless man seen in Room 6 was named Frank, but Harold said he was just passing through.  Mary admitted that it was she who was seen going into Room 7.  And the spirit who got into bed with the lady in Room 5 was Amanda.  She said she thought the woman was her friend Becky, but did not explain who Becky is.  To read the transcripts of the sessions, click here.

15 Aug. '10 - The group of ladies and teenagers in Room 5 had a busy night.  The two in the big bed both heard knocking on the footboard, each thought the other was doing it until they asked and neither was doing it but both heard it.  One girl got her hair pulled.  One lady had her pillow pulled out of her hands.  She said it felt like it was a strong yank and rather surprised her.

24 Aug. '10 - The man who stayed in Room 4 this past weekend said that something finally happened to him.  He has stayed here several times and nothing ever happened, but this time it did.  He said he was in the bathroom about 3am, and the doorknob rattled and turned.  The door opened a few inches, but nobody was there.  He was really surprised.  Then, in the bedroom there is a chest called a commode that used to be where the "johnny pot" was stored.  The little door kept opening for no apparent reason.  I tried the door and it swings closed, not open.  I told him about Herma who is fascinated by the 'water closets' when somebody is in the bathroom, and next time to be sure to engage the lock.

26 Aug. '10 - A mother and two teens stayed in Room 5 last night.  They used my pendulum to talk to Harold and Curtis.  They recorded the sessions on their digital voice recorder and got audible responses too.  During the night, the twin bed by the wall was shaken so much that the boy jumped out of it and went running into the other room where his sister and mom were in the big bed.  The mother and son both got a feeling of being poked on their ankles, and the doorknob was rattled.  The mother heard a loud thump on the wall behind the headboard, but that is over the stairwell and there is nothing but wall there with nothing on the other side.  They considered the night a huge success.  Here is an email about what happened to them:

29 Aug. '10 - There was quite a bit of activity this weekend.  The couple in Room 7 said they felt somebody sit on the foot of the bed during the night.  When they came down for breakfast, they had made the bed and when they went back upstairs after breakfast, the bed looked like somebody had been laying on it.  Curtis is up to his tricks in there.  The ladies in Room 5 used the pendulum to talk to Harold, Curtis, Fannie, Amanda, and Mary.  During an EVP session, they heard two POP! sounds coming from the opposite corner of the room.  The twin bed by the wall was knocked on underneath the mattress.  The chandelier swung for about 20 minutes then stopped.  The ladies could not recreate it and keep it swinging for that long.  They locked their door and in the morning they found it unlocked.  The curtains were swaying in and out and they could not recreate that either.  I think Harold was having a good time with them.

7 Sept. '10 - There were a couple sightings this weekend.  Haven't had one of those for a while.  On Saturday night, two of the ladies staying in Room 6 had gone outside to smoke about 10pm and were coming in when they saw a movement on the staircase.  They looked up and saw a short, heavy older woman in a long white nightgown going up the stairs and then she turned right and went into Room 6.  The ladies ran up the stairs and looked down the hall and then looked into their room, but nobody was up there.  At breakfast they looked around the dining room to see if they could find the lady but nobody fit that description.  They asked me about her and I told them there was nobody staying here like that.  I think they saw Mary.  Then, on Sunday night, the lady staying in Room 1 was in the parlor reading and then went across the foyer to her room, passing the staircase.  She saw a movement of white up on the landing and had the impression that it was a child in a white nightgown.  We had no children here that night.  Later, about 3am, I heard what sounded like children running up and down the back staircase, which is right outside our bedroom door.  It was rather loud.  It sounded like hard shoes on wooden steps, but the staircase is carpeted.

10 Sept. '10 - Overheard on Jinni's monitor last night: (Jinni talking) "I have to go to bed now."   She gets into bed.  "You're keeping me awake."   Giggles.   "Stop, you're keeping me awake, that's rude."   Sighs.   "Well, go downstairs and get you're own room."   We asked Jinni who she was talking to and she said she did not know her name.  We told her to ask next time.

16 Sept. '10 - Dorothy took this picture in Room 5 yesterday.  We cannot explain the light anomaly.  There is no lamp in that corner and it is not a reflection off of something.  I'll send it to Chris Moon to see what he thinks.  The picture is blurry because the camera did not know what to focus on.  Also, the room was not dark, it was taken at 4:30pm, but the flash did not go off.  Other things that happened in Room 5 last night: She felt a cat jump onto the bed beside her but when she looked there was nothing there.  It must have been Josephine.  And when Dorothy was sitting in the rocking chair, she felt somebody walk past her but did not see anything.  She felt the vibrations and cadence of the footsteps.

17 Sept. '10 - Chris Moon had this to say about the above light anomaly: "Wow.  I have NO idea what to make of this!  My educated guess would be a remnant of a vortex opening or closing."       Tonight, Jinni was up in her room listening to her music with her headphones on and I called for her on the walkie-talkie: Me - "Jinni"    Voice of little girl - "Jinni!"     Jinni - "What?"  Who was the little girl up in her room?  Jinni said she did not know her name.  For some odd reason Jinni does not seem to find it important to know the names of her visitors.

11 Oct. '10 - This past weekend there were a couple of little things that happened.  On Thursday night, the lady who slept in the twin bed by the door in Room 5 heard somebody walking back and forth outside the bedroom door about midnight.  She knew they were the only people staying in the Inn that night, so she was excited to hear it.  Then, on Friday, I was cleaning upstairs when I heard Chuck say my name.  It was kind of faint and far away.  But when I asked him about it he said it was not him.  Later that  afternoon we were both in the kitchen when I heard him say my name again, and again he said it was not him.  It sure sounded like his voice.  I told Harold I heard him and asked what he wanted but he did not answer.  On Saturday, a woman came by to tell us that the last time she stayed here the McDermets owned the place.  And during the night she heard a man and a woman standing outside her bedroom door talking.  It was not loud enough to hear what they were saying, but loud enough to be annoying.  The talking went on for some time and the lady was really getting mad about it.  In the morning she asked around to see who was up at that time and everybody said they were asleep and did not hear anything.  Now that she knows the place has spirits, it makes sense to her and she wants to come back and see if something happens again.

23 Oct. '10 - The people who stayed in Room 7 on Thursday night said they heard somebody walking around on the third floor above their room at about 4am.  But there is nothing above Room 7 except the eaves and they are not even floored, just open rafters.  The people in Room 2 said they invited Harold to come play in their room and during the night they heard tapping on the walls like Morse code.  At first they thought it was the people in the next room, but there was nobody in Room 3 that night.  Then they remembered that Harold likes to tap on the walls, so they were thrilled that Harold came to see them.  During breakfast on Friday morning, the people in Room 7 were telling us about a friend of theirs who had died and they think he visits them in their house.  I was sitting facing the Parlor and while they were talking about their friend, I could see a shadow peeking around the corner from the Parlor into the dining room.  It was about 5 feet tall and rather skinny.  I told the couple about the shadow and they said that describes their friend exactly.  He must be attached to them and followed them here.

31 Oct. '10 - Wow, what a busy night we had last night!  We did one of our Ghost Stories Dinners (the next one is Nov. 6)  and had 21 people attending.  During our program about the things that happen around here, we heard alot of thumping upstairs on the second floor.  It was going on in Rooms 4 and 7 and in the hallway, we all heard it.  We made sure everybody was in the dining room and nobody was upstairs.  Later I asked Curtis about it on my pendulum and he said it was the children playing.  During the night, the people in Room 6 heard a woman singing up on the third floor above their room.  That must have been Mary since her room is up there.  The people in  Rooms 1 and 5 both heard children playing and giggling in the foyer and on the staircase.  The people in Room 8 heard shuffling footsteps outside their door about 2am, and they had a K2 meter and  they asked yes and no questions and found they had Morris and Harold in their room.  The K2 meter detects Electro-Magnetic Fields and will light up when something with electric magnetism gets near it.   She told the spirits to touch the K2 and make the "Christmas Lights" come on if the answer is yes.  She asked several questions to narrow it down to Morris and Harold.  During our evening program, the lady got really cold on one side and her leg felt like someone was sitting on her.  She asked if that was Morris sitting on her lap and the K2 indicated yes.  In a different room, I was talking to Curtis on the pendulum and he also said yes, Morris likes the lady.  They want to come back to a GHU class to talk to Morris on the TttD.  Speaking of which, the next class with Chris Moon is in two weeks on Nov. 13 and 14 and he is bringing a filming crew with him to film a pilot show for television.  Chris is going to have his own TV show!  That's exciting!  And, for those of you who have not seen it yet, KWWL out of Cedar Falls / Waterloo area (Channel 7) is doing a three-part special on the Mason House Inn.  The first part was Friday night, the second part was Saturday night, and the third part will be tonight.   I think they did a really good job of telling our story.  To read the written article, click here: KWWL Article.  Then you'll have to hit your BACK button to return to this Journal.

1 Nov. '10 - We had seven ladies stay in Rooms 4, 5, and 6 last night.  All the ladies were hoping to have some kind of experience and at breakfast were saying they were disappointed that nothing happened.  But then one of the ladies said, "Well......my bed did shake about 1:30 in the morning, but I just talked myself into believing it was my imagination, but it really did shake."  Then another lady said, "Well.........it may have been my imagination, but when I was in the bathroom, I thought I saw a mist forming in the corner and I rubbed my eyes and it was still there and getting thicker.  And as I watched, it gradually faded away.  But I just told myself it was my imagination, but I really saw it."  Then a third lady asked if things ever got moved around in the rooms.  I said, "Yes.  Why?".   She replied, "I had worn my socks to bed, but then my feet got hot so I took them off and dropped them beside the bed.  In the morning I went to pick them up and only found one sock on the floor.  The other sock I found on the chair with my other clothes.  None of my room mates had moved it, so who moved it?"   After comparing activities they decided they DID have an eventful night and four of the ladies signed up for the November GHU.

16 Nov. '10 - We had a very eventful weekend.  A filming crew was here filming Chris Moon for a show to be shown on television in the future.  It will be titled "The Ghost Box with Christopher Moon." , be sure to watch for it.  We will be in the pilot show.  They did not have a script and was just letting the story unfold naturally.  They were looking for somebody with a mission, looking for an answer that could be resolved with the use of the "Ghost Box".  In walks one of our guests with just such a mission.  She had found a headstone in a basement and had done research to find out where the headstone belonged.  She thought she had found the right place and had placed the headstone on an unmarked grave up at the Bentonsport Cemetery.  She was wanting to know if she placed the headstone on the right grave.  And, what do you know!, she actually talked to the man who had lost his headstone and he thanked her for her efforts in returning it to him!  When the filming crew arrived here in Bentonsport on Friday, it was a gray dreary day and they took shots around the town, then they did the class filming and on Saturday, it was sunny and bright and a wonderful day.  What a wonderful story for their film!   Activity in the rooms included: In Room 6, a lady got a sharp poke in her back.  She thought it was her friend playing a trick on her, but when she looked, there was nobody near enough to her to touch her.  In Room 5, a girl had her covers pulled off and the people in the big bed heard tapping coming from under their pillows.  Each thought the other was doing it, but neither was.  So they tapped on the pillow on top and were answered by tapping the same number of taps from underneath the pillow.  They thought that was a pretty good trick.  In Room 7, the lady sleeping in the twin bed heard a man and a girl having a conversation in the room.  She asked about it during Sunday's session and was told it was Harold and Anna and Martha Jo, and they were not aware she could hear them.   Cindi and her kids were staying in Room 2 and Brennen was afraid to walk in the back hallway.  He was shaking and crying and saying it was scary.  We found out that he had seen our ghost dog, Lady.  He does not like dogs at all.  During Sunday's box session, two women came through very strongly which affected Chris and me.  But in the end Chris was able to send the two women to the light and they thanked us for helping them.   Another thing that happened was that my spare key for Room 2 had disappeared last week.  I always keep it in a certain place in the back hallway and one day it was gone.  We looked all over for it but could not find it.  During the Box session on Saturday we asked if anybody knew anything about the missing key and we were told that Walker had taken it.  Walker said he was 16 years old when he passed and he would trade the key for a red car.  We asked him to please return the key and we'd see about the car.  (Chuck wants to get him a Matchbox car.)  On Monday morning, Cindi was cleaning Room 2 and right there on the dresser were the missing keys!  She'd been staying in that room for three days and if they had been there before, she would have seen them.  And there they were right in the middle of the dresser top.  I'm glad Walker gave them back, now we'll try to find him a little red car he can have.  (We got him a little red Matchbox sports car and put it where the keys had been.  We'll see if he takes it.)  To read the TttD sessions transcripts, click here.

7 Dec. '10 - Chuck and I have moved back into Room 1 for the winter.  Our room in the stable does not have any heater and it gets really cold in there in the winter.  Room 1 is our cozy little nest for winter's hibernation.  Last night we had guests in Room 6 which is directly above Room 1.  About 2am Chuck and I both heard somebody up there walking around.  We just assumed that one of the guests was up going to the bathroom.  The noise did not last long and after it quit, I heard walking-around noises in the foyer hallway outside our bedroom door.  The footsteps walked back and forth and then would pause outside the door and then walk back and forth again and pause again.  This went on for about five minutes and then quit.  I just assumed it was a guest who could not sleep and was thinking about watching TV in the dining room.  At breakfast the guests mentioned that their room was so quiet and cozy they slept soundly.  I asked if they had gotten up at all, like to use the bathroom or watch TV and they said they slept right through the night and did not get up at all.  They were disappointed that they did not hear any ghosts.  That's when we told them somebody had been up there walking around their room and in the foyer.  They were sorry they'd missed it.

10 Dec. '10 - Today I was upstairs in the laundry room and I heard what I thought was Chuck's slippered feet swishing toward me in the hallway.  I shouted to him that I was in the laundry room but the swishing went right by the door and did not stop.  Later the swishing went past the door the other way.  It was definitely Chuck's cadence and footstep sounds.  I went downstairs and found Chuck in the dining room and asked if he had been upstairs looking for me and he said he had not been upstairs at all.  It's funny that Harold's booted feet now imitate Chuck's slippered ones.

16 Dec. '10 - Last night there were three men here ghost hunting.  They brought a small "Word Box" (as Harold likes to call them).  Before the men arrived, Chuck and I used the pendulum to talk to Harold about acting as the Technician for the box and he said he would.  So when the men turned the box on, I was on hand to ask for Harold to help us.  He was there and we had a good conversation.  Here are some of the various questions asked:  We asked Harold if he had been married and he said "No."  We asked if he had a girl friend and he said "Yes."  We asked her name and he said "Marjorie."  We asked what her hair color was and he said "Brown" and that "She likes purple", then he said "Green."  We asked what was green and he said "Her eyes."  We asked if she was pretty and he said "To me."  We asked if Margery was here in the Inn and he said "No.  At her house."  We asked if he ever visits her and he said "Sometimes."  We asked how long he was in the Army before he died and he said "Eleven years."   (So he was already in the Army when the Civil War started.)   We asked what happened when  he passed and he said "Saw light."   And we asked him how he felt and he said "Worried."  We asked what he saw in the light and he said "Family."  We asked if he's still worried and he said "Happy."  There was a light bulb in the room that had been going off and on a few times and we asked if he was the one doing that and he said "It was me."  We asked him to do it again and he said "Already did that.", and then the bulb did not do it any more.  The men had gotten an EVP earlier in the evening that said "I'm right here", and we asked Harold if that was him or somebody else and he said "That was me."   In the background we could hear a child talking but could not make out what she was saying and we asked Harold to let the child talk and he said "No, I'm talking."  We asked who it was and he said it was Amanda but he would not let her talk.  (Well, we did ask him to be the Technician.)  We asked if Curtis was around and he said "No."  We asked if Mary was around and he said "Upstairs."  That was all the questions we had so we thanked Harold for his help and said good bye.  I went back down to Room 1 to watch TV and I was sitting on the bed with my head against the headboard, and I both heard and felt two knocks on the headboard, right behind my head.  It seemed to be coming from the back side of the headboard, but there is nothing back there except all wall.  I thanked Harold for the knock.  During the night, the man sleeping in the twin bed in Room 6 said he had been reading his Bible before he went to sleep and he still had the Bible in his hand.  During the night he felt and heard some tapping on the Bible.  He said it felt like someone was tapping the Book with a finger or knuckle several times.  He thought that was very interesting.

23 Dec. '10 - Last night our guests had checked in and then went out to dinner.  Chuck and I went to bed about 10pm, even though the guests were not back yet.  We turned off all the lights, and the TV in the dining room, but left the front door unlocked so the guests could get in when they got back.  We heard them come in about 11pm and they locked the front door and went up to Room 7.  Later, I heard them come down to the dining room, maybe to watch some TV, but then they went right back up.  In the morning, during breakfast, the guests commented that they were going to watch TV, but it was already on even though nobody was around.  This is strange since I know we had turned off the TV when we went to bed.  I wonder who turned the TV back on.  The guests said they did not touch it and left it on when they went back up to their bedroom.  But when I got up to make breakfast, the TV was not on.  I guess who ever was watching it was nice enough to turn it off when he was done.

28 Dec. '10 - Dan finally had something happen to him!  He's so excited about it.  Kristin and Dan came to spend Christmas with us and stayed in Room 4.  Early in the morning of the 24th Dan heard footsteps outside their bedroom door.  He said it sounded like somebody was out there and wanted to come in but was being hesitant to disturb them.  He thought it was one of Cindi's kids (they were staying in Room 6 across the hallway).  He opened the door and looked but nobody was there.  (Cindi said her kids were not up at that time of the morning.)  Dan went back to bed and listened and he heard it again...footsteps shuffling back and forth outside the door.  He was so excited and could not wait to tell us that he finally heard something.  Cindi did not experience anything during their stay in Room 6, but then, she'd asked the spirits to leave them alone.  Jeremy and his family stayed in Room 3 and did not experience anything either.  Chuck and I stayed in Room 1 and we could hear somebody walking around in Room 6 about midnight last night, but Cindi said it was not them.  Everybody left on the 26th and the house got very quiet after that.  But this morning, Chuck and I both heard somebody walking around in the foyer hallway outside our bedroom door.  Then the door rattled on the latch like somebody pushed on the door.  Jinni was not home at the time and there was nobody else here except Chuck and me. 

    That wraps up another exciting year here at the Mason House Inn.  We can hardly wait to see what the New Year will bring!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

To read the 2011 Journal, click here

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