A Conversation with Governor William Franklin…from Beyond the Grave?

All paranormal researchers have their way of doing things; some are conventional, others are not. The way I use was stumbled upon by accident last year, when we sat in the tea room of the Proprietary House with a lit candle. Whenever we asked questions or asked any spirits present to give us a sign of their existence, the candle would flicker, sometimes to the point of pulsating uncontrollably, making us think that someone (or something) was trying to blow it out. We have developed a simple code, which we announce to any ghosts that are with us. If the answer to a question is yes, make the flame move, if no, then do not do anything. We wait no more than ten seconds for a response, before moving on to another question.

Time and time again, we have tried to figure out if there is any draft in the room or any air current whatsoever that could cause this flame to move on its own. After months now, we have concluded that there is nothing that could interfere with it. Sometimes, we will hold sessions and absolutely nothing will happen. It also does not matter how many people are in the room—it has worked with amounts of people ranging from one to six. We have even tried to cause the flames to move ourselves, from our seats, which is a table located about 10-15 feet away, by blowing and waving our hands, and still, the flame will not flicker.

And so last night was another one of these occasions. I was all alone with my friend Dan Breen, who has been with us quite a few times there. We sat in total darkness in the tea room, except for the candle. We asked simple questions for about twenty minutes, and the flame did not move once. Finally we hit pay dirt. Below is the transcript of what happened:

DB: Are you a woman?

Candle: [Nothing]

DB: Are you a man?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Are you an old man?

Candle: [Tiny Flicker]

GC: Are you a young man?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: Are you a middle-aged man?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Are you married?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Do you have any children?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Do you have three children?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: Do you have two children?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: You you have one child?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: What is your name? Is it Ben?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: Is it Byron?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: Is it Andrew?

Candle: [Nothing]

The three names we asked about are names of spirits we know are in the house, based on psychics who have communicated with them. Because this spirit was not one of them, I decided to just throw the name out there of our humble former Royal Governor William Franklin, who lived in the house from 1774-1776, before he was arrested.

GC: Is your name William?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Are you William Franklin?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Are you the governor?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Is your wife’s name Josephine?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: Is your wife’s name Elizabeth?

Candle: [Pulsating Flicker]

By asking a trick question, this rules out other entities in the room who may be trying to pass for another ghost. This is why objects such as Ouija boards are so dangerous, because you think you may be talking to your dead grandfather, when you are really communicating with an evil spirit.

GC: Is your son’s name William Temple?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Are you angry with us?

Candle: [Pulsating Flicker]

GC: Do you want us to leave?

Candle: [Nothing]

GC: So you want us to stay?

Candle: [Flicker]

At first, we were scared when it responded to us asking if he was angry with us. The one thing you do not want on a paranormal investigation is an angry spirit, but then it also responded to us asking if he wanted us to stay. The only reason for this is that maybe he had a message to give us. We tried to figure out what the message was, and I recorded some audio later on, but unless an EVP shows on the tape, we were unable to decipher what he was telling us, through only Yes and No answers.

GC: Do you have a message for us?

Candle: [Pulsating Flicker]

GC: I am going to turn on my recorder. If you have a message, please say it now.

[Waits two minutes]

GC: Are you angry with the Americans for arresting you?

Candle: [Flicker]

GC: Do you love King George III?

Candle: [Pulsating Flicker]

GC: Are you sitting at the table where the candle is?

Candle: [Pulsating Flicker]

After we asked that last question, the flame continued to violently flicker, and would not calm down enough to ask more questions. We definitely felt something in the room with us, and while skeptics will regard this evidence as inconclusive, to be there was to witness something very strange. There was no delay between our questions and the responses. This only lasted a few minutes, but it is possible that we were communicating with the house’s lone celebrity, William Franklin. Of course we cannot be absolutely sure, that what we saw was not just coincidence, but if you have done this form of questioning enough times like I have, you just know deep down when it is real, and when a spirit is just making the flame flicker to cause a stir.

Please visit the new and improved official website for the Proprietary House for the complete history of the house.

Haunted Gettysburg: Ghost Tour Rip-Offs and Sachs Bridge

The small unknown town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was transformed into one of the most well-known towns in the country, after three days of ferocious and bloody fighting in July of 1863. During that time, an approximate 51,000 soldiers would be either wounded or killed, before the Confederate army retreated south through Maryland while the Union army chased after them. But many have seen evidence that some of these soldiers did not leave after all. It is expected that an old town would be haunted, furthermore, with so many dead and dying people laying in the surrounding fields and streets. The passion exerted by both sides during the heat of battle is the perfect set-up for a haunted city. But unfortunately, the town of Gettysburg has blown it out of proportion, sparking different available ghost tours at almost every gift shop in town–there must be at least twenty to choose from.

Each tour comes built up with drama and commercialization, and with an experienced, period-dressed guide that will walk you through a section of the town of your choice. Many take place right on the main street in town, Steinwehr Avenue, but many venture closer into the battlefield on Seminary Ridge. Also take note that you will never seen one price listed anywhere, for the cost of this little walk. After doing some research, many cost around $10 after tax, which is not all too bad, but if you have a family with children (because all kids love ghosts), then the money can soar.

In the nine years I have been coming to Gettysburg, I have been tempted time and time again to go on one of these, but I still have not. I see it as a sort of disrespect to the soldiers who gave their lives here almost 150 years ago. In just a few years, Gettysburg has gone from a historic Civil War town to a tourist trap, and the ghost tours located all over town prove that.

In talking to people who have went on these tours, not one has ever seen anything pointed out by the guide. Jeff Huber, who went with his niece Karli, saw something only once, and that was when the guide had her back to where he was looking. These tours have too many people with them, and when you have a group of loud-talking, camera-shooting, bumbling tourists, no ghosts will come out. It’s fascinating how they advertise these tours, but still I will not participate. At least the tours Jeff and I conduct at the Proprietary House are free, and we don’t build it up so much that if you see nothing you’ll be angry at us.

In the early 1990′s, Mark Nesbitt published Ghosts of Gettysburg, which started out as only a minor publication. But that has since sparked the ghost-mania in this sleepy town, and of course, five sequels to his original book. Many of the tours use his investigations as the basis for what they present to customers. These can be trusted more than the others because he at least has some shred of credibility.

But the one thing that Jeff noted which was worst of all, is the fact that if only one person sees something, whether in a tour or on their own, these ghost tours will make it a part of their talk for tours to come. This information, which has been uncorroborated and could have been made up out of thin air, then becomes the driving force for the next tour. This is exactly not how to conduct paranormal research work, but I would expect nothing less of the tourist trap Gettysburg has become.

Now we move onto Sachs bridge, the place that Jeff and I said we were going to investigate. We made it out there at about two o’clock in the morning, only to find more than we bargained for. “More” as in people, lots of people. It seems that Sachs bridge is the new hangout spot in town, and everyone from teenagers to adults were walking around, taking pictures, smoking cigarettes, and eating McDonald’s, because of all the fast food wrappers tossed on the ground. If this is how it is every night, than you can be sure no ghost will ever again be spotted there. By my count, there must have been thirty people wandering all over the place, ruining any chance at all of seeing a ghost.

The bridge arose to prominence after numerous ghost sightings in photographs, which can be found online. It was used the day after the battle when Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army retreated, and crossed over, and there was even a small skirmish at the base of the bridge as the Union army tried to slow them down.

Sachs bridge itself is very creepy–there are no lights except for the moon, and there are woods surrounding it which make it only darker. If I were to guess, I would say the best time for an investigation there would be in the winter, when kids are in school and the adults may be turned away from the cold weather. It was an interesting experience to go and see it, but I was disappointed because, quite frankly, I figured we would have the place to ourselves at such a late time.

Also, if you plan on investigating this bridge at odd hours, please beware that the police come there for a look every few hours, as told to us by a local who was there when we went.

I have no doubt that Gettysburg is haunted, and may even be the most haunted place in America, but make no mistake, if you want to find ghosts you will have to do it on your own. Don’t fall into the trap and shell over money to a tour guide. Ghosts are not parlor tricks, and they do not show just because you’re on a tour. Find a quiet spot on the battlefield before closing and do some searching. They are there, and if you look hard enough, you’ll find them…or they’ll find you.

Return to Spy House Confirms Sighting from Previous Visit

Jeff and I returned to the Spy House for the second time in less than a week, mainly because we got something on camera that was unexplainable. If you look at this picture closely, you will notice something in the bottom, right window, next to the door. Before I explain what I think it is, look for yourself and make a decision, because the power of suggestion can make people see things that they would not normally see. Please click on photo to enlarge.

Now that you have seen for yourself, I will explain what we think it is. It caught my eye the first time I reviewed it on the computer, and after maximizing the size and zooming in as best as I could, I can say, almost without a doubt, that it looks like a head half in shadows. If you look closely at the left side of the head, the side in shadow, you can see something protruding outward, like a nose. Because this is seen sticking out of the shadow, that means that whatever it is, is not a flat object.

Here is a closer look at it, after zooming in and cutting it out of the original photo. It’s gets blurry, but it is still noticeable.

When we returning to the house last night, our goal was to take pictures of every window individually, because again, we saw shadows moving by them on the side that is not adjacent to the road. We did not really notice anything, but after Jeff takes a closer look at them, we may find something.

But to confirm this head in the window, I took a shot of the house last night, from almost the exact same spot. It was as close to where I was originally that I could get. Notice how the same light is in the window, but this time, there is no object.

Whatever the object is, it’s not a permanent fixture, and since no one is allowed in the house (not even workers at this point) no one could have possibly moved anything around to make that object visible to the camera lens. We are not quick to call something a paranormal sighting, because so many things can contribute to playing around with the mind.

But this object is clearly visible, and as of right now, all things considered, we still do not have an explanation for it.

Jeff will be trying in the next few weeks to make an effort to actually get us in the house to investigate. That will be easier said than done, considering all the stories we have heard about why the house closed down, such as people getting pushed down the stairs and seriously injured.

What is even more eerie, though, is the fact that there are no signs for the house, and no official website. For a house that is famous for it’s hauntings and has been covered by establishments such as Weird New Jersey, it is so strange that the people in charge are acting like they do not want anyone to know it exists.

If we were to get in, though, it would definitely be worth our while. After doing some research on the house, we have learned that a pirate who used this as a station in the early 1700′s used to store the dead bodies of all the people he killed in the basement. It may be because of that why such an evil and cold presence can be felt when standing on the property.

We got the feeling the first time, and we got it again last night; a ghost being in the house is one thing, but it becomes entirely more personal when you realize that the ghost knew we were there, and he wanted us to go away.

We are going to stick to short, twenty minutes bursts when investigating the house, especially after I found out that spirits can latch onto a person, and follow you home. After which they leave whenever they see fit. Most of the times it is not for long, but there have been instances where priests had to be called in to do an exorcism of the house.

There is something enigmatic about this house, that will inevitably call upon our return there again in the next few days. Because of this sighting of what we think is a head, I want more pictures of that window from every angle possible, to see if that object appears again. If it does not, then we will confirm it as a sighting with 100% confidence. Currently, I am at about 95% sure.

Greg Caggiano and Jeff Huber are the founders of FRANKLIN AND HEARD PARANORMAL. Please visit their website here.