From the second they set foot inside the Heritage Farm house around dusk May 9, three psychic/sensitives and seven investigators representing the Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits could feel that they weren’t alone.
“There’s definitely a lot of emotion going on inside there,” psychic Ashley Peshek said, pointing to the farm house. “It’s mostly calm, cozy feelings, but you can tell there was a lot of hard work that went on here, mixed with quite a bit of worry.”
Because the farm house has since been converted into a museum containing numerous artifacts from several of Brunswick’s founding families, the psychics agreed it was difficult for them to determine whether the presence they were picking up on was attached to the house itself or the objects inside.
“Either way, there’s something still here,” said sensitive Debbie Andres.
It turns out they were right—at least, according to their instruments.
After three weeks of analyzing countless hours of video and voice recordings, along with hundreds of still photographs taken during the nighttime investigation, the O.R.B.S. team has uncovered what they believe is substantial evidence proving that spirits—possibly including those of the city’s forefathers—may still be lingering at the farm.
“Actually, we’re pretty convinced that one of the farm’s original owners is still here,” said O.R.B.S. founder Chris Page, who points to a voice recording captured in the farm’s red barn.
On the audio clip, the spirit first refers to himself as “Dave,” then “David.” After conferring with Amber Dalakas, president of the Brunswick Area Historical Society, investigators believe the spirit is that of David Berdan, who purchased the original 325 acres on which the farm sits in 1818.
“We literally waited all night for that affirmation,” Page said.
Although the group did not find any video evidence to substantiate its claims that Heritage Farm is, indeed, haunted, it did gather dozens of recordings of disembodied voices—approximately 18 of which investigators call “direct responses” to comments made or questions being asked by researchers at the time.
The group also recorded unidentifiable sounds, including those of doors latching and footsteps, in places where people were not present at the time, Page said.
“We really have to be skeptical when it comes to everything we see and hear, which is why we spend so much time going over the evidence,” Page said. “We also got a lot of “yes” and “no” answers all night long, which is super common. But we also got quite a few unique comments, some that came out of thin air, and others that came about as a result of the ghost radios.”
A ghost radio, Page says, allows investigators to speak with ghosts in real time. Like a car radio’s scan button, the ghost radios continually scroll through all radio frequencies, but never stop on any channel. Doing so enables the spirits to communicate using the “white noise.”
Of the voices captured during the investigation, several requested “help,” which Page says is fairly common.
“It’s strange to think that of all the things these spirits could say, they ask for help,” Page said. “It’s a little disturbing sometimes, but at least they’re not telling us to get out.”
Other alleged spirits identified themselves, including one captured by a ghost radio in the basement of the farmhouse who referred to herself as Isabel.
After hearing the spirit’s voice, Peshek asked the spirit who Isabel was. The spirit immediately replied, “A person.”
“Does she live here?” Peshek asked.
“No,” the voice replied.
Among the more eerie conversations captured, one of the most chilling investigators presented was captured in the barn. That audio clip, which was caught with the help of the ghost radio, was the voice of a young child yelling, “Help!”
That sound was followed a few seconds later by “Please!” and then, “For me.”
“We’re not sure what it means or who it was, but it was pretty creepy,” Page said.
One of the more lengthy recordings took place in the upstairs bedroom of the farm house, which now serves as an office for the historical society. There, a two-minute conversation of mostly undistinguishable banter, took place followed by 30 seconds or so of questions between an investigator and one of the spirits.
“Are you afraid?” the investigator asked.
“No,” the voice said.
“How come you won’t talk to us then?” he asked.
“I have to,” the spirit said.
“What’s it like where you are now?” asks the investigator.
“Happy,” the voice says.
Page said that comment is one that reassures him as an investigator.
“It was sort of a weird sounding ‘happy,’ but it was good to know.”
Of the all the sound bites recorded, Page said he was amazed how several came through on the audio recordings without the assistance of a ghost radio.
Although investigators did not hear the spirit voices at the time, they were able to hear them once they reviewed the tapes with computerized software.
“These comments are particularly amazing because it takes a pretty strong spirit to pull energy out of thin air like that,” Page said.
One such clip was caught in the barn, where a investigators had just finished commenting that they hoped to stir up some paranormal activity that evening. Instantly, a whispery, drawn out voice can be heard in the background saying, “Good luck with that.”
“Even spirits can have a sense of humor sometimes,” Page joked.
Page and O.R.B.S. co-founder Karlo Zuzic say that all the evidence adds up to one conclusion—there is paranormal activity on the farm.
“The good news is this is still a very peaceful place,” Zuzic said. “This is very positive energy and these spirits are here to protect something, not to harm anyone.”
Page says he believes whatever spirit energy lingers had an incredibly strong love for the farm or one of the artifacts now preserved as part of the museum during life that it wants to protect it in death.
“I guess they want to stay behind and look out for it,” Page says. “And they’re probably glad to see this house, this land, has become a museum and will forever be preserved.”
O.R.B.S., a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Clyde, conducts free investigations on an on-call basis. The majority of its cases are residential haunts, in which the team is called in by the homeowners. For more information on the team, its members or to request an investigation, visit the O.R.B.S. Web site.
