Rolling Hills Experiment 8-19-07
On August 19, 2007, an experiment was performed by one of the members of S.P.I.R.I.T. The experiment was measuring two things:
1. Contact via a visible meter (a lighted Electro-Magnetic Frequency detector) to see if a spirit could consciously manipulate the object (or learn to do so) on command and therefore create the possible ability to have yes or no responses based on questions (thus proving interactive contact.) The device used was a hand built black meter about the size of a small notebook, with an on/off switch and which could detect electric and magnetic fields. It was set to 'magnetic', after being tested against a standard EMF detector to check the response levels, and set on the floor about three feet in front of the investigator to rule out accidental human interference with the dials.
2. Document the level of activity when the researcher is scared *less.
The reasons for the first part of the experiment is self evident: Most of the information or evidence collected during an investigation is through incomplete or incidental contact. If pictures or video are captured it is generally luck. Very rarely can input be captured on command. Also, any audible evidence (captured as an EVP ) is not completely interactive. Since the information gathered is only heard upon later evaluation, the opportunity to truly interact is severely limited. This experiment was devised so that responses could be 'seen' immediately by the investigator, and allow immediate feedback in both directions between spirit/entity and the investigator.
The second part of the experiment was to try to gauge the level of response based upon the investigator's emotional (or energetic) level. We at S.P.I.R.I.T. have noted that as the familiarity of the location grows upon us, the level of activity seems to fall off. Yet newcomers to the facility seem to continue to capture evidence, be it via EVP, photographs, personal experiences or other means. In order to re-capture that nervous energy and see if it has any effect upon the results, the experiment was devised to isolate an investigator, thereby increasing the level of anxiety or anticipation. This information could be extremely useful in helping people trying to deal with a haunting. If it is true that the more upset the people are the more reactions they may get, it could be very helpful to counsel them by letting them know that if they remain calm, or don't react to mild/non-violent interactions (a 'peaceful' haunting) that the level of activity may taper off. With no reaction from the living, the entity may well go away or become inactive.
At no time was the investigator at risk or in danger of any kind. Another member of S.P.I.R.I.T. was on the floor with some guests, (in another wing, but well within earshot) and there was also a small group of guests in the main foyer of the floor. Also, at different points during the experiment the investigator was filming in order to record any information on two sources: a digital recorder and a Sony Night Shot camera. The investigator was physically 'alone' in the room, but had the companionship of the camera's all seeing eye. As a measure of security the investigator also had a walkie-talkie to turn on and contact the other investigator if the need arose.
The time frame was limited to about 10 minutes, at which point the second member of S.P.I.R.I.T. would seek out and go to the area of the experiment and ensure that all was well.
So, leaving behind the familiarity of staff and companions, and venturing alone into a room on one of the most haunted floors of the old alms house, the experiment began. Here is the investigator's story:
"Although I have been at Rolling Hills many times, both as a tour guide and as an investigator, I have always been uneasy on the third floor. There is no light source in the main foyer: There are no windows to allow the introduction of moonlight or artificial light from the outside. It is so pitch black that you cannot even see your hand held in front of your face.
I admit that it took a few moments to muster up the nerve to even continue up the stairs once I reached the landing that leads to the main foyer of the Third, as we call it. Without companions, and without light of any kind (having switched off the flashlight and traveling via night vision) the feeling is akin to being swallowed whole. The feeling up there is 'thick', like walking through molasses. I could feel my respiration accelerate, as if I had been running and was out of breath. The feeling of the foyer in the third floor is similar to a feeling many of us may have experienced in our school days when being summoned to the principal's office. (Oh my, I may have just confessed a bit of my youth there!) It is a feeling of dread, of a disapproving gaze being leveled on you, an authority you do not wish to face.
After having a private little argument with myself ("Don't be such a puss") I finally stood in the foyer to get my bearings. After a few moments of further self debate I went down one of the three long hallways to what had been the head dietician's room. It is a good sized room at the end of the hall, just past the small kitchenette where the live-in staff for the infirmary cooked and ate their meals.
Once in the room I announced myself, turned on the digital recorder and the lighted EMF detector. In order to get a good reading, I noted the ambient (current surrounding) magnetic energy in the room, and then 'zeroed' the device out by turning the knob until no lights showed at all. I set it so that any change in the magnetic footprint near the device would register. As I did so, the lights all lit up briefly, as I moved the dial, and then brought the measurement down so that no lights showed at all. Placing it on the floor, with the recorder next to it, I stood up and took a large step back, and began speaking again. I began by asking anything that was in the room to light up one of the lights on the device for me. I also asked that whatever was in the room to come right up to it and learn how to work the lights. At no time did I walk around in the room (I was rooted to my spot, because even though there are two small windows in that room, there was no light whatsoever, and part of my experiment was to not use a flashlight unless there was an emergency) as I did not want to stir up dust in the video or create other noise that might be picked up on the recorder. I also, as mentioned, could not see at all and I didn't want to end the experiment with a bonked head if I fell over anything. The thought of lying on that floor before anyone came, even if it was for only a few moments kept me firmly in place at all times. I had positioned myself so that I could see if anyone with a flashlight came to the end of the hallway so that I could end the experiment when someone came.
I could hear the small group that was on the floor with me, but they did not venture down the hallway where I was, and I noted that there was a bit of background noise for the benefit of the evaluation of the recording later. The lights did flicker a bit on the device, but never lit up one light fully. At one point, I even bent down and adjusted the meter so that one light did shine, brightly, and encouraged anyone or anything to do the same to the next light, trying to help with the learning curve. My own responses to the flickering ranged from encouragement to sterner commands, trying to elicit the desired responses.
About 8 minutes into the experiment, I could hear the low voice of the other member of S.P.I.R.I.T. as he spoke to a guest (he was conducting a test to see if the guest was empathic) and with relief knew that he would be joining me in the room soon, and I ended the recording. At no time did I hear anything, and visibly I did not get any good reaction from the meter other than some random flickering that sometimes seemed to respond to me and other times just seemed to be picking up some transient readings of some kind.
It was upon review of the evidence that I shockingly heard one of the strongest EVP's I have ever captured, occurring (as many EVP's seem to do) within the first 20 seconds after I had entered the room. It is of something with a male sounding voice remarking upon the meter as I set it on the floor and adjusted the lights. It says "Oooh. That's a nice book!"
The inflection or accent of the voice seems to be Germanic or even Amish in nature, as it pronounced the word "book" as you would in German (sounding like "boook") and comes just before I say "Light up the light for me please...just come near it." Unfortunately there is a bit of background noise from people down the hall, however their noise does lend some good comparison between distant sounds and the close sound of the EVP.
As I told it to come closer, ("Come on") there are distinctive shuffling sounds, like footsteps in the room with me. The lights started to flicker on the device, and I say "That's it. There you go." Three times during the recording there are several distinctive (almost frustrated) sighs, one of which actually occurs while I am beginning to speak, ruling out that I may have been sighing myself out of boredom. (Not that boredom was something I had to contend with, mind you!) There is also a very loud laugh, or shrieking sound, as if to startle me or as if excited. It sounds exactly like something out of a ghost story, a loud, almost laughing "wooOOOOoooOOOO" in response to my saying "There you go!" when the light flickered strongly. It is almost a laugh of delight at accomplishing that flicker.
Examination of the reverberation trails on the .wav files show the EVP's t to have the same 'echo' to the voice and shufflings as to my own living voice, proving it to be in the room with me. A sound will register in a recording with its own reverb trail the same as is produced in the equal environment (the natural echo quality of the room) as the subject voice (my own.) The trails of my voice, and of the noises picked up on the recorder were the same, as were the validating recordings from the audio of the video camera. We later tried various noise cancellations and filtering by capturing some of the distant background noises and then filtering that out, but at no time did the voices or noises in the room with me lose their characteristics nor did they lose quality during the noise cancellations and filtering, as they would have if they had, in fact, simply been noises from down the hall.
The first part of the experiment was sadly unproductive. I was not able to determine if I was getting any kind of reading that was influenced by a spirit on the EMF detector. However, the second part of the experiment begs further examination. As my level of anxiety and anticipation grew, so did the volume and frequency of the responses, almost as it would if the spirit or entity were 'feeding' as it were, from my own nervous output. This is good information and good experience that can be used for further investigations at Rolling Hills, and at private residences."
Here are some of the EVP's captured during that digital recording. Because there were other people on the floor with some resulting background noise the integrity of the information as being 'pure' cannot be claimed, which is always a drawback. The EVP's were so startling, however, that we thought it important to release them here.
You may draw your own conclusions.
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