Devil in the Delta (10 page)

Other hot spots pointed out for us included an upstairs ballroom/common area called the Concord Room, which is said to have a female spirit that's often seen near the chandelier and the area around the tavern's main stairs where witnesses claim to have seen and heard things associated with a spirit or ghost.

A few other B&B rooms in the tavern have stories about them, too, but they would be occupied by other guests and thereby off-limits to us. Of these rooms, the one that I wished we could visit the most was a room that infamous gunslinger Jesse James stayed in while visiting.

According to legend, he had been sleeping in this room but woke when he realized there was a man standing at the foot of his bed. Without hesitation, he drew his firearm and shot at the intruder (most likely thinking him a lawman). Much to his amazement, the intruder then vanished right before his eyes! So it seems that Jesse James is, most likely, the first person to have ever seen a ghost in Talbott Tavern—and the bullet holes from his encounter are still present today!

After speaking to the innkeeper and working out the details of our visit with Mike (unfortunately, Brandon would have to miss out on this one), we were soon on our way to Bardstown, Kentucky.

Once we arrived and had checked into our room, we decided to take a trip around the tavern to get acclimated as well as to identify all the places the innkeeper had spoken about. During this walk, we quickly found out that we would not be investigating that night until the wee hours; the Bourbon Bar was in full swing with a band playing and the volume was loud enough that any audio or video recorders that we ran would be useless. The band performance was a detail we had not learned from the innkeeper.

We knew there was a bar on the site—and that it was a Saturday night that we were visiting—but we had neglected to see if there was live music. On a positive note, the bar did close at 1 a.m., so we would have the remainder of the night to do our investigation, so all was (for the most part) okay.

Shortly before the bar closed that night, the band stopped playing. At that point, we were able to go ahead and station some audio recorders in our room and in the Concord Room—as well as take some base readings with our EMF detectors and digital thermometers. All seemed perfectly normal until the tavern cleared completely out and the night set in. With the silence came the activity …

We were working in the Concord Room, taking readings around the chandelier and doing some EVP work, when two significant things happened in the space of ten minutes. According to locals, the reason a spirit is often seen around the chandelier is because a woman actually hanged herself from there! I had just asked an EVP question about this very legend when we heard/saw a door handle jiggle, then turn, and then the entire door swinging wide open.

This was done so matter-of-factly that neither of us thought it was paranormal until we saw there was nobody on the other side of the door. We thought that, perhaps, we had gotten too loud and disturbed a guest and that person was coming to let us know. Or that it was something else along those lines. But nobody was at the door, in the hall, or anywhere in the vicinity for that matter!

We were just digesting this event when I was suddenly blasted with the biggest, strongest cold spot that I (to this day) have ever felt. Have you ever gone into your house on a summer day and opened up your refrigerator's freezer to cool off? You know that blast of cold air that hits you when you open the freezer door? Multiply that times three and you will have some idea of what hit me.

I had just closed the hallway door that had opened and sat down in a chair when the cold spot swept across my entire back. I immediately stood and told Mike what had happened. Moving as quickly as possible, we took a temperature reading of the area and found that there was a 28-degree drop—and this was after a few moments of dissipating. Activity was clearly ramping up in the Old Talbott Tavern!

Now that we had the attention of whatever (or whoever) was with us in the B&B, we decided to do a Q&A with an EMF detector. The way this works is that we hold
out the detector, which should have a flat reading, and then we ask a yes/no question. If any entity is present, and wants to answer “yes,” it simply has to move toward the detector to make it light up (most investigators believe that spirits give off electromagnetic fields and, as a result, their presence will trigger an EMF detector).

After just a few questions, it was quite obvious that we were not alone. The EMF detector would go from 0 mG (milligauss) to 15 mG in the blink of an eye—but, stranger than that, the hair on my arm would actually stand up when the detector went off! It was almost like an electric charge was in the air. With several successful yes answers under our belt, I decided to try something else. Apparently I was feeling quite bold that evening.

With a grin, I asked if “anyone present” could come over and actually touch my hand. Much to my alarm, it did. Twice. The first time, the EMF detector slowly started to beep—then it got steadily faster until it lit completely up and I felt a heavy pressure actually slap against the back of my hand!

Even though I had just asked for this very thing to happen, I was not ready for it. I immediately jerked my hand away and the detector went completely flat. After a few moments of catching my breath, I steeled my will and tried again. I apologized and asked to be touched again. And it happened again. This time I tried to keep my hand in place, but it was impossible. As soon as there was contact, I jerked my hand back again. It was almost like an involuntary reaction.

I apologized, and we went back to doing more EVP work. Once we were finished with the Concord Room, it was almost 5 a.m., so we told the room that we were retiring to our quarters for the night, but anyone there was welcome to join us. Much to our surprise, we would not be retiring alone …

After settling into our beds for the night (the General's Quarters has two twin beds, thankfully), Mike and I were chatting across the room to each other. We had placed several audio recorders in the bedroom for the night and we had an EMF detector set up on a small nightstand between the two beds. This would serve as an alarm of sorts; if any entity was present, and it approached the beds, theoretically the detector would start beeping and lighting up.

Joking, I asked Mike, “If that thing starts beeping in the night, is it going to wake you up?” He laughed, saying, “Oh, hell yeah. You'll probably have to do a double take to find me because I'll probably be hanging from the canopy.” He was referring to the lace cloth that draped the tops of the canopy beds.

I laughed, but he suddenly got quiet and said, “I just felt a cool breeze that went across my face!” I got up and took the EMF detector over to the bed. Nothing. We laughed again and quickly went back to bed—and it wasn't long before we were asleep.

Interestingly, the audio from the room would reveal why Mike felt that cool breeze … When I listened to our conversation about the EMF detector a couple days later, there was a third voice in the room with us! Right after Mike said I'd have to do a double take to find him, a strange male voice answered with a quick guttural laugh! Then you hear Mike say he felt the cold breeze.

This audio clip, along with the personal experiences we had while we there, make the Old Talbott Tavern one of our most memorable ghost hunts. And I learned a few valuable lessons during the trip, too:

1. Even though you think you are ready for an otherworldly encounter, you're probably not.
   There really is no way to prepare for such a thing.
   
2. As long as you remain relatively calm, you can overcome fear. You may get startled, you may even get frightened, but take a deep breath and remain calm. If necessary, calmly leave the area. Just don't panic.
   
3. You can have some of the best personal experiences ever and still leave with very little actual evidence. During the heat of battle in the Concord Room, we had neglected to turn on our camcorder to record the events. We got it all on audio, but the video would have been much better in this circumstance. So after all that had happened, all we really left the tavern with as evidence was the EVP captured in our bedroom.
   

Regardless, it was a great trip and an even better investigation. We left the tavern ready for more. I would have to apply this enthusiasm to my ongoing investigation of the Martin home.

Though I had already experienced a few things in the trailer—specifically the loud rumble and the shadowy figure—the potential for more startling events was ever present. There was no way to know for certain whether Tim had actually experienced possession while living in the home, but it was quite obvious that at least one spirit present could actually touch people and move objects. Thankfully, my time at Talbott Tavern prepared me for just such instances.

Magnolia Manor

After spending an evening in the Martin home, one thing was certain: I would be going back. Having personal experiences during one short investigation is a rare occurrence—and is usually a sure sign that ongoing paranormal activity is most likely happening. Because of this, I knew that I would be making several more trips into the Mississippi delta in the near future (a thought that drew a sigh of resignation from me as I drove back to Tennessee).

Over the years since we first decided to relocate and base our group out of Memphis, Tennessee, we have spent a lot of time at a number of local haunted places. And this is a good thing. One thing we have learned during our investigations is that maintaining a good relationship with clients is essential if you plan to have a good, local reputation—and if you want to make a second trip there
.

In addition to this, there are some places that we just plain love! Such is the case with the haunted bed-and-breakfast in Bolivar, Tennessee, that's known as Magnolia Manor. Besides being honest about their haunting, the owners actually host haunted tours in the fall (leading up to Halloween), and welcome ghost enthusiasts who want to rent a room in the B&B.

We have had the pleasure of investigating this wonderful and historic antebellum home many times—and it is easily one of the most active haunted places we have ever been to. In fact, we have stayed in the home (as well as the small cottage out back) more than ten times and we have
always
come away with great evidence—and, on occasion, significant personal experiences.

Magnolia Manor, in its own way, has also been a sort of school for learning about the paranormal for us. Since we now know the place so well—and have learned to even recognize certain ghostly voices via EVP—we have been able to do far more experimenting here than at any other location. Typically, if we want to try a new investigative technique, we go to Magnolia Manor. Why? Because if we don't get a reaction there, we probably won't anywhere!

It was through our investigations at this home that we also formed and developed “DICE,” our basic method for conducting an investigation. DICE stands for “Detect, Interact, Capture, and Escalate,” and it is the foundation for everything we do. It's just one more reason why we love this location.

Magnolia Manor was built by Judge Austin Miller in 1849 and it served as the Miller family home until the 1970s. And though Judge Miller is, himself, quite a famous person in his own right, the home is mostly known for four other important people: Generals Grant, Sherman, McPherson, and Logan.

Prior to the battle of Shiloh, the Union generals stayed in the home despite the misgivings that Mrs. Miller may have had at the time (members of her immediate family were in the Confederate Army). It's thought that they may have even planned the Battle of Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing from there. But, unfortunately, the ghosts at the home are none of these men. More than likely they are members of the Miller family who passed away on the premises over the years.

Visitors who have stayed at the home have reported seeing spirits that match the descriptions of Lizzie Lea Miller and Annie Miller—and they are most likely not alone, since a male spirit has also been documented there, too!

Guests who stay at the B&B have four rooms to choose from—and we have had experiences in all of them—as well as the cottage behind the house. Here are a few of our more dramatic moments in this house (and what we learned from them) …

Our first big experience happened while we were shooting a segment of a documentary called
Ghosts of War
in the house. We were filming in a room called the C. A. Miller Suite next to a rocking chair that's said to often have a spectral woman sitting in it. I was asking some EVP questions and attempting to get the woman to appear for us. Of course, this was not happening.

Mike then suggested that I actually sit in the chair, thinking this might provoke the spirit into appearing, since I would be sitting in “her chair.” So we pointed our cameras at the chair and I did just that. No sooner did I sit down that I noticed a pale, wispy figure beginning to appear in the far corner of the room. It actually looked like the upper torso, one arm, and the bald head of a man!

I immediately leaped from the chair and began pointing at the figure. The cameras spun around, but it was already gone. Just like that. But the story doesn't end there. Because we were also doing an investigation (not just shooting a movie), we had audio recorders running in the room.

Right after I had seen the partial apparition, we were discussing moving the cameras once again so that we could get in frame the area that the apparition had appeared in. When we reviewed our audio recorder from that moment, there was an interesting EVP. Immediately after it is suggested that we move the camera, a strange male voice says, “Put that sucker over there!”

The entity was actually toying with us! And, possibly, even avoiding us to an extent. That simple EVP taught us that, try as you might, you can investigate in the most haunted of places and still possibly walk away with nothing. Why? Because if the spirits are intelligent, they may actually be avoiding you. This also teaches us that just because nothing paranormal is happening at a particular place during your investigation, something could very well be happening somewhere else.