Paranormal Investigation Case Report
| Case: | #006 - Mansfield University's North Hall |
| Type: | Full Team Investigation |
| Location: | Mansfield, PA |
| Date: | 10/04/08 |
| Time: | 6:30PM to 11:00PM |
| Weather: |
Temp: 56°F Sky: Clear - Visibility 10 miles Humidity: 51% Pressure: 26.72in. → UV Index: 0 Wind: From SW @ 5mph Solar X-rays: Normal Geomagnetic Field: Quiet |
| Investigators: | Steve, Matt, Anthony, Cindy, November, Cherrie |
| Reported Activity: | This was an investigation of Mansfield University's
North Hall. Currently a library, it was originally a woman's dormitory.
North Hall was completed in 1878. Major additions were done in
1908. It was closed and condemned in 1975, but rebuilt into a
world-class library in 1996. Link to M.U. North Hall site The Legend of Sarah According to a legend, at one time, a lovely music student was sitting on the rail of the well on the uppermost floor of North Hall. Inspired, she began singing the Alma Mater with such beauty that all of the girls living there immediately stopped what they were doing and went to listen to her in awe. In their presence, the young lady sang with even greater enchantment. But, soon she reached a point of such emotion that she slipped and fell into the well. Of course, upon seeing her fall, the students screamed with horror, but, the young lady did not. In fact, as she fell, she continued to sing the Alma Mater. In fact, for the few moments, it could be heard above the screams. It is said that the young lady was the most beautiful woman ever to appear on the Mansfield campus and that her spirit still seeks the hearts of Mansfield music students. It is also said that if one looks closely at the floor of the well one can find the imprint of her body. It moves in the rhythm of the Alma Mater. Source: Life at Mansfield: A Visual Reminiscence, p. 119 The above is from the Mansfield University website. Another variation of the story is that she jumped and commited suicide over a relationship. Activity Reported activity includes apparitions of a young woman, hearing piano music, books flying off shelves, feelings of being watched, mysterious shadows, and more. |
| Equipment Used: | Sony CCD-TRV68 Hi8 Camcorder -w- Infrared NightShot, Sony HVL-IRM Infrared Light Extender, Sony DSC-P32 CyberShot Digital Camera, K-II and Gaussmaster EMF meters, Olympus VN-3100 Digital Voice Recorder, Cen-Tech Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer -w- Ambient Temp., CCTV Camera System with night vision, Hitachi Video Monitor, other mini-cassette and cassette recorders with mics, etc. |
| Investigation Notes: |
We conducted EMF sweeps, EVP sessions, a lot of audio and video recording, and a K-II communication session (experimental). We had access to the
entire building, and investigated from the basement to the 7th floor above the atrium. Overall, the investigation was fairly uneventful, but there were a few unusual occurrences.
Part of this investigation was also filmed by a TV crew for an episode of "Round the County". We had the infrared cctv camera covering the second floor where an apparition of a young woman in period dress has been seen. We also set up audio recording in the 6th floor atrium, and had several other cameras and audio recording devices with the teams. The unusual occurrences detected by the team were on fourth floor south, fifth floor south and the sixth floor atrium. On fourth south, in the middle of the book stacks the EMF meters picked up a source that seemed to come up through the floor, stop about 6 ft. high, then drop down back through the floor. While on fourth floor south, the team heard what sounded like footsteps running above them. When they went to investigate no one was there. On the sixth floor in the atrium, the EMF meter spiked very strongly, but it was one quick flash and then nothing. The South wings of the 3rd and 4th floors had very, very high levels of EMF, most likely caused by the wiring in the building. These areas were much higher than the rest of the building. |
| Findings: |
Anomalous Pictures / Video: None EVPs: None Anomalous EMF: None Cold Spots: None Personal Experience: Hearing possible footsteps, some anomalous EMF events. In our research we were not able to discover any record of someone dying in the building. Others have searched as well and not found anything. Upon returning to the site after this investigation, I believe the sound of footsteps we heard seems to be from the lighting units in the ceiling expanding and contracting with the heat. It appears to be most prevalent when the lights are first turned off or on, and can last a half hour or more. It really does sound like footsteps above you and could easily be mistaken. The EMF we found on the 3th and 4th floors may explain the creeped out, being watched type feelings that some people report. In some cases they could even be causing hallucinations, although more testing with appropriate equipment would need to be done to determine if the frequency of the fields are consistant with that effect (i.e. in the 10hz area). We had nothing unusual in all the audio, video, and still photography. In conclusion, we found nothing during this investigation that could be deemed "paranormal". There are pictures from the investigation posted on the GHOST-PA MySpace page. |
| Status: | This investigation was inconclusive. We would love to conduct another investigation in the future to test our hypothesis . |