Tag: Samuel Miller Mansion

What’s the most important paranormal tool?

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According to Dustin Pari, the most important paranormal tool is skepticism. That will stick with me from now on, along with my flashlight, which is the only other paranormal tool I don’t leave home without.

Trey Bader, Andy Lendway, Gina Dunham, Christy Mannering, Sherri Logan, Maureen Lipsett, Jeff Bader and Debbie Simmons

This past weekend, several Diamond State Ghost Investigators (DSGI) took a trip up to the Samuel Miller Mansion in Columbia, PA. (Thank you Andy for driving, you were incredibly patient with your passenger seat meteorologist.) As you learned in one of my last posts, this is the location for My Haunted Manor, USA (MHM). For some of us this was a first, for others, like myself it was my third trip. I really believe that once you’ve visited this place, you’ll feel called to return. There’s just something about this building that speaks to each person who visits. Once you learn the history the pull grows strong. (Shout out to Megan Hansen-Bisignaro from Interstate Paranormal Research (IPR) for being the location historian. She is a fount of knowledge.)

On Saturday, August 3, Dustin Pari (Ghost Hunters and Rebellious Spirits w/ Kris Williams), Ron Yacovetti and Lourdes Gonzalez (The Staticom Project) joined Daryl Marston (A&E Ghost Hunters), Trey Bader and Jeff Bader for a jam-packed evening of investigating and sharing research techniques at MHM. Several members of Interstate Paranormal Research were also there to guide the various groups roaming around the manor. (Shout out to Sierra and Megan for the emotional support hugs!)

Gina, Andy, Maureen, Sherri, Debbie, her partner Scott, and I were the members from DSGI who visited. We love Daryl and the Bader brothers (the latter being members of DSGI, too) and are always looking for ways to show our support. But also, we have really grown to love the location. Columbia, PA is like a little diamond in the rough. I almost don’t want to write about it because I don’t want it to get strobe lights and beacons, but it’s absolutely worthy of that fandom.

Group C

Attic Cold Spots

Image of a thermal camera with a cold spot

We were placed into groups of around 10, and we split up into various levels of the manor throughout the night. My group’s first stop was the 2nd floor, and we went up into the attic. For those in the area you know how hot it has been, well the attic was about 95 degrees, so we weren’t up there long. However, Maureen used her thermal camera while we were up there, and in the room with the “magic window,” we found a peculiar cold spot. The spot was a good ten degrees cooler than the rest of the room. I won’t tell you what Andy said it looked like, but to me, the shape looked like a small child kneeling near a ladder.

The “magic window” is a small window on one side of the attic that you can climb into. I did the climbing Saturday night so we could see if the cold spot was coming from inside that room. It was not. That room had a consistent temperature throughout. It’s very quiet in that space. I’d love to do a solo in there one night. Saturday night, the space was soothing. You could hear the rain on the roof. If it hadn’t been 95 degrees and humid I probably would have sat in there for awhile.

What caused the cold spot? Could it have been rain seeping down through the bricks and under the floor? Maybe. We’ll test it out again next time we visit. We didn’t see or feel water, but it’s also best to try to replicate things like this.

The White Room

The guys will have to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this room on the 2nd floor is called the white room simply because it’s a relatively empty room painted white. Their cameras in the control center all have names, so when they download footage to collect evidence, they will know where it came from. Tony from IPR told us that many groups do not stay in the white room long. We wanted to test that theory. Looking back, we didn’t stay in the room long. But it was because we heard voices from other places in the manor. When looking or listening for evidence and outside contamination, it’s hard to want to stay there. I didn’t feel that anything was trying to push us out of the room. It’s another spot I’d like to visit again

The Print Shop

Ron Yacovetti and Lourdes Gonzalez were set up in the print shop with their Staticom Project. Admittedly, going into this, I knew very little about Ron and Lourdes. While they explained the Staticom Project, I have to admit I still don’t fully understand it. I normally feel relatively tech-savvy, but it went right over my head when Ron was talking about quantum something or other. However, that didn’t stop it from being completely riveting. I am not motivated to learn more about how it all works.

Dustin Pari was in the room while we were standing in a half-moon shape around the Staticom setup. He asked each of us to introduce ourselves, provide an answer to the question and then ask the question. Another admission – the entire time I was panicking, thinking I’m going to have to say “Hi my name is Christy, intense anxiety, how does being put on the spot make you feel?” However, I listened to others in the group all being cool, calm and collected, and I sucked it up. Plus, it was wild to hear this machine responding. Imagine a garble of voices talking back and forth as if spirits were conversing in the same room. Then, one of us asks a question, and the voices almost pause, stopping, and as if they realize we are talking to them.

Otherworldly validation

One woman asked how many bracelets were on her arm. She held out her arm. I heard the Staticom machine count 2, 3, 4 at one point. I wasn’t brave enough to speak up and say it, but that’s what I heard. Tony talked about oatmeal raisin cookies and the voices says raisin. When it was my turn I said, “Hi I’m Christy, I like to bake cookies and I like boxing, what hobbies do you like?” (Or something like that, when I’m put on the spot my memory kindly blurs everything). The response wasn’t an answer to my question. Instead, the voice through the Staticom said, “Keep it up, you’re doing great.”

When life gets tough put on your boxing gloves.

WHAT!????

Validation of my efforts from the spirit world!?

Come on now. That’s just about the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.

Later down the line Trey introduced himself, he said his favorite sport is football and asked what their favorite sport it. The response was almost immediate. “Boxing.” Were we communicating with a spirit who has an appreciation for boxing? When I introduced myself as someone who boxes, did I make a connection? I don’t know. I can’t explain what happened. All I know is that at that moment, it really did seem as though something out there that we couldn’t see was indeed making intelligent responses.

Shadows in the basement

The basement is the only place where I’ve actually heard an honest to goodness voice. I heard a woman screaming. It sounded far away. She sounded like she was trying to talk, but a male voice cut her off. That experience was a couple of weeks ago. This past Saturday, I didn’t hear anything. There were multiple shadows, though. How do you see a shadow when you’re in the dark? Usually, for me, it’s because the shadow will block out a light that I know is there. This happens a lot. Could other people be adjusting in the space near me or my eyes playing tricks on me? Sure. When the person standing next to me sees the same thing and says it before I say anything, that helps to confirm what’s happening. Perhaps the shadows walking by represent residual energy from the individuals who escaped through the underground railroad in the basement tunnel system.

Another woman in our group seemed to have a strong connection to the energy around her. She spoke to a woman she sensed. She asked the woman what she had been doing in the basement. It’s not a question I would have asked, or at least I wouldn’t have phrased it that way. It is believed that a woman was raped and murdered in the basement a long time ago. As far as I know, there are no news reports about this, but several different mediums and gifted individuals have sensed the same thing. The MHM crew is looking into ground penetrating radar to see if they can find out more information on what exists beneath the dirt.

I hope that the spirits know they are safe to communicate with me if they wish. I am a safe space. No one deserves to go through what this ghostly basement woman potentially went through. As someone who is a survivor of sexual assault, it just makes me think differently about the types of questions to ask.

We need more time

So, now, I just have one more question. When can we go back? We need more time.

My Haunted Manor, USA, is part of a larger project called My Haunted Project. It is recognized as the world’s most documented multi-venue paranormal investigation initiative. My Haunted Project is an innovative initiative dedicated to exploring and documenting paranormal activities across various historical and intriguing locations, including the My Haunted Hotel, My Haunted Mansion, and My Haunted Manor.

If you have any interest in the paranormal, you absolutely must book time to visit the Samuel Miller Mansion, it’s just an incredible space. Subscribe to their YouTube Channel and VHX so you don’t miss a moment!

As to the spirits at the manor, don’t worry, we’ll be back soon! ~ Christy

The Samuel Miller Mansion of Columbia, PA

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This past Friday night, the Diamond State Ghost Investigators joined forces with the guys of My Haunted Manor USA and Interstate Paranormal Research to investigate the Samuel Miller Mansion in Columbia, PA. There were a lot of people and one spunky, spooky cat, so at times it was difficult to capture concrete evidence. Difficult, but not impossible, and paranormal investigators are not known to shy away from a challenge. When you put a lot of trained investigators in one place, you’re bound to learn something new, experience something chilling and create lasting friendships. The meatballs didn’t hurt either 😉

Group photo of folks in the parlor at Samuel Miller Mansion
Photo Credit: Andy Lendway

My Haunted Manor USA

The Samuel Miller Mansion is the new home for My Haunted Manor USA. This is an extremely exciting endeavor because it will be a year-long investigation that includes the public. The crew behind this is Daryl Martson, Trey Bader and Jeff Bader, and they are pouring their hearts and souls into My Haunted Manor USA. They have been working on the location to ensure it is safe for the public, while also setting up IR lights and cameras in every rooms to ensure night filming is successful.

But they also want investigations to be authentic, which is the best part about all of this. We can all watch amazing paranormal shows on YouTube or TV and get enthralled by the stories and captured activity. But at the end of the day, we’re watching 45 minutes of sometimes a 72-hour experience. How so we know what was cut up and put together? How can we trust what we’re watching?

With My Haunted Manor USA, the public is leading the experience. Each time a new group enters the property and stays for the night, a new group will validate what trained investigators have been claiming for decades. An once they reach the end of a year, imagine all that will have been collected and explored? It’s just incredible.

The Location

Aerial photo of Columbia, PA
Photo Credit: Matt O’Neil

One interesting thing to note about this property is that it is about a 10 to 15-minute walk from the Clyde W Kraft Funeral Home and two cemeteries. When you look at a map of this location, you’ll see many churches, too. When researching the location, I was inundated with obituaries. I couldn’t figure out why, but realizing the location is truly triangular, when looking at a map, with the funeral home and cemeteries made sense. Say what you will, but if the Samuel Miller Mansion is as haunted as we think, it would make sense for the mansion to be at the tippy top of a supernatural hub.

The Samuel Miller Mansion is also very close to the Susquehanna River. Many paranormal investigators have found that supernatural activity seems heightened or increased when near bodies of water. There has even been research stating that thunderstorms can cause an increase in activity.

Google Maps

Looking beyond things I can’t prove, like triangles I draw on maps and proximity to water, I realized my research job would be tricky because the Samuel Miller Mansion has an extremely uncharted history. Usually, I can look through historical archives and old newspapers and at least find mentions of places, even if they are in job listings or advertisements, but not this place.

The History of the Town

Wright's Ferry Bridge
Photo Credit: Matt O’Neil

I spoke with tour guide, historian, and paranormal enthusiast extraordinaire Megan Hansen-Bisignaro. Megan graciously let me know that the town of Columbia was initially called Wrights Ferry. That knowledge helped me better understand the naming convention of other things around 131 Locust Street, like the present-day Columbia-Wrightsville bridge known as the Wright’s Ferry Bridge and the Wright’s Ferry Mansion. I also stumbled upon another ghost story.

In the 1800s, several ferries ran on the river. According to legend, one ferry was operated by a father and son. One morning, the ferry had an accident, and the son was thrown into the water. An unusually strong current pulled the boy underwater and drowned him. The father later died while searching for his son’s body. Perhaps a story to further research another time.

In 1788, Samuel Wright, the grandson of Wright’s Ferry founder John Wright, laid out 160 lots in what is now the central section of the Borough. Samuel called the town Columbia, naming it after Christopher Columbus. The growing importance of Columbia became evident in 1789 when the town narrowly missed being selected as the nation’s capital. Columbia became an incorporated borough in 1814.

The Wrightsville Bridge, connecting Columbia and Wrightsville, had significant historical importance during the American Civil War. In June 1863, the Confederate Army invaded Pennsylvania. The rebels planned to take the state capital, Harrisburg, but to get there, they would need to cross the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville. To prevent Confederate troops from advancing across the river from Wrightsville, Union forces decided to orchestrate the burning of the bridge.

Wrightsvillbe Bridge on fire
Click the image above to read the Harper’s Weekly, July 18, 1863 article about the bridge fire.

Knowing that such profound historical moments happened in this area really sets the tone for what one might experience when doing a paranormal investigation in Columbia, Pennsylvania. This place has been through a lot, and they’ve been on the right side of history which greatly impacted the very making of our country. As our fearless leader Gina always says, there is no paranormal without the history.

The History of the Samuel Miller Mansion

Exterior photo of the Samuel Miller Mansion
Photo Credit: Matt O’Neil

I read that Samuel Miller built this house in 1804 for his family at 131 Locust Street in Columbia, Pennsylvania. According to Chris Vera, president of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, the building was bought in 1811 by the Columbia Bank & Bridge Company and used by the company as an office until 1872. It makes me wonder why the family only lived there for seven years. Though I did find where the family moved, their next house wasn’t built until 1815. Known as the Eagle Tavern, it was built first as a house for Samuel Miller and his wife, Anna in 1815, as noted in a date stone centered on the western
gable.

I’ve read that after the bridge company left in 1872, Breneman’s Feed Mill built the carriage and mill building. However, I cannot find any additional information about Breneman’s Feed Mill. Perhaps they went by another name at one point? They don’t appear in any of the historical news databases I use for research. Though I did find a Breneman’s Feed Mill that existed at this time in Virginia.

In the 1920s, the Baker Toy Company occupied residence, where many patented products were designed and manufactured over the following six decades. After that, S & G Printing operated out of the building until 2017, when Art Printing, owned and operated by Chris Raudabaugh, moved there from Lancaster.

Additionally, this location has been home to Rivertown Theatre Productions, LLC, founded and owned by local Columbian Sara Mimnall. They did murder mysteries like “Murder at the Miller Mansion” and various plays in the space, as we all as a Columbia’s Haunted Lantern Tour. In their recent Facebook post, they shared their excitement for My Haunted Manor USA.

Awakenings Energy Healing Reiki Master Chicks also works out of this property. Their Facebook page says that they offer humans and animals Reiki Energy Healing & Chakra Balancing and intuitive spiritual advising.

There have been and continue to be various people moving in and out of this property. Is it possible that some of those people never left and their spirits remain behind? Or could some spirits pass through this area because of the energy it stores?

As always, if anyone has additional history or sources, they’d like to share them so we can better understand the location. We’re already happy to listen and learn 🙂

The Underground Railroad

Map Credit: William J. Switala

In addition to constructing bridges, the Bank and Bridge Company also familiarized themselves with the navigation of tunnels, as a participant and safe haven of the Underground Railroad. One of those tunnels emerges from the brick walls of the hand-dug basement below this building.

In the basement of this building, the floor is all dirt, and the walls are brick and mortar. An archway appears to be the entrance to a tunnel leading under the street. Local historians believe that the tunnel is one of a network of tunnels under Columbia once used to hide and transport slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. Columbia stands out as the western endpoint of the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, founded in 1834 as the nation’s second operational railroad. Research shows that by 1838, freight cars on this railway were adapted with concealed compartments to transport escaped slaves to Philadelphia and other destinations. During our investigation, we could hear and feel the trains rumbling by from where we stood in the mansion. For me, the presence of the trains was a reminder that bold, courageous people once lived in the borough of Columbia, and they worked to help those escaping slavery.

Click the image above for the complete Special Resource Study of the Underground Railroad, published by the United States Department of the Interior • National Park Service • Denver Service Center

The Underground Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania will open just down the street from the Samuel Miller Mansion at 331 Locust Street in a couple of years. I’d love to visit it when it is complete!

When I think about investigating a space that once brought people to safety, I wonder what those spirits must think. Are they scared? I imagine when they were hiding and trying to escape through tunnels they probably listened for every little sound and tried to be a quiet as possible. Then we go in and ask for entities to answer us.

It makes me pause and wonder, when we come in with all our equipment, how can we explain our purpose to spirits unfamiliar with what we’re doing and very likely terrified of being found.

Our investigation

I went into the investigation without having any of the information I just shared. I was unfamiliar with the area, so it was nice to walk around seeing what I saw and feeling what I felt without any bias or presumptions..

The sub-team I walked around with included Kyle, Melissa, Andy, Matt, and me. We were paired with two fabulous investigators from Interstate Paranormal: Sierra and Brian.

We started off in the basement.

As the first group in the basement for the night, we didn’t know what to expect. It was cold and extremely dusty. The basement having been hand dug and still sitting atop dirt without anything else placed down as flooring, meant that we were all covered in dirt by the time our 35-40 minutes were up. It was just in the air. I mean, that’s definitely a spot where you need to place equipment down and then sit and stop moving.

The trip wire went off a lot, but almost in a glitchy way. Only once did it really seem to react communicatively as if something was responding to us, asking, can you come out here? A REM post set in a back nook area went off regularly, even though no one was there. The electricity had been turned off, but with the infrastructure so close to the street, it’s possible there was some EMF interference in at least the corner closest to the alley.

The water above the basement runs frequently whether someone is flushing a toilet or not. It often collects and releases water as if something isn’t sealed right somewhere in the plumbing. But let’s face it, the building is 220 years old. I say all this because it impacts what we can consider paranormal evidence when we review our video or audio recordings. Plus, it will help future investigators know where they should strategically place equipment for less contamination.

At one point, Andy was looking up while standing close to the far wall in the basement, parallel to the street outside. He could see into the room above us as there wasn’t any insulation between the floors. He saw a shadow pass over as if someone was leaving the room. Thanks to Sierra’s walkie-talkie direct line to the command center, we knew no one was above us, and we didn’t hear footsteps. But the event that stands out the most to me is when we heard the sound of something heavy dragging across the ceiling above us. When Melissa and I were near the back nook area in the corner of the basement catty-corner from the tunnel, it sounded like a heavy piece of machinery was being dragged across concrete.

The second floor of rooms.

Melissa and I camped out with Sierra and Brian in a room representing a child’s room. As our investigation continued, I watched the temperature drop five degrees on our equipment within a 20-minute span of time. At one point, I had to walk around into other rooms because my feet were so freaking cold.

2nd floor child's room
Photo Credit: Adam Stinson

In the child’s room, Sierra set up “Twinkle Twinkle, ” a REM pod lantern that plays nursery rhyme songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Super excited about this gadget friends, it was awesome. The music played four times, without any of us touching the lantern. Looking for a fifth interaction, we asked, “Can you please play the music again?” We all heard a distinct yet eerie, breathy voice say, “Noooooo.” I really hope someone picked that up on audio or camera because it was audible to all five of us without equipment.

Melissa asked many questions to learn more about the spirit interacting with us. We believe the spirit was a young boy. He very much enjoyed turning the flashlights on and off to answer questions. Often times the flashlights would turn on as if in direct response to Melissa. She would ask, “If a child is here with us, can you turn on the torch?” Right away the flashlight turned on and it happened that way each time.

Interestingly enough, Melissa’s husband Kyle also had a direct response experience while one floor above us in the attic area. He felt as though a spirit touched his right arm. He asked if it could touch him again and he felt the same type of touch on the same arm.

The printing rooms are alive.

The functional printing area is perhaps where we had the most consistent activity. Some of it we debunked as Spooky, the very real, live and breathing kitty cat, but most of it we can only hope we captured on camera. We saw shadow figures and heard plenty of noises, only some of which were Jeff dropping something. (We love you, Jeff!) The REM pods and EMF detectors blipped with noise and lights. We could ask for a spirit to interact and engage without the equipment; sure enough, it would light up or make noise.

Laser grid set up in printing area of 131 Locust Street
Photo Credit: Andy Lendway

I wonder if the spirits linger in that area because they know it is where people are during the day. Maybe they once worked in that space. Maybe they don’t realize they are no longer living, so they go through their routine and work hard as if they are on the clock getting the job done. I always wonder if the spirits we talk to understand that they are gone. Depending on their state of being, it makes sense that they don’t always know what to do or how to respond.

The amount of energy it takes

It takes A LOT of energy for any spirit to interact with our equipment and respond to our questions. Whatever is staying behind at the Samuel Miller Mansion or perhaps floating through between the river and the cemeteries, there was a lot of energy. I do not doubt that other groups who stay and investigate will also experience something while they are there. I’d like to think that this year-long investigation for My Haunted Manor USA will help to authenticate what we felt, heard and saw.

If you are interested in spending time at the Samuel Miller Mansion, please visit their website to learn more about booking a night. Daryl, Trey and Jeff are ready to help capture your experiences, whether as paranormal evidence or something they can debunk. Their grand opening investigation is coming up this month on Friday, March 22. You don’t want to miss it!