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Paranormal Investigation Case Report

Case: #007 - Burlington Methodist Episcopal Church
Type: Initial Preliminary Investigation
Location: West Burlington, PA
Date: 11/12/08
Time: 4:15PM to 5:30PM
Weather: Temp: 47°F
Sky: Mostly Cloudy - Visibility 10 miles
Humidity: 65%
Pressure: 30.24 ↓
Wind: From SSW @ 3mph
Moon: 100% of Full
Solar X-rays: Normal
Geomagnetic Field: Quiet
Investigators: Steve
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.
History / Reported Activity: The Methodist Episcopal Church of Burlington (aka the Old Methodist Church, Burlington Methodist Church, "The Church of the Damned") was established in 1796. Originally a log cabin, the current Church building was built in 1822 over the same foundation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places for it's greek revival architecture.

The Church ceased having regular services in 1856. It was kept open for other groups, religions, etc. to use as needed. The Church is surrounded on three sides by a graveyard that dates back to the late 1700's.

Although a local legend for many years, it has gained national attention in the past 5 years due to the findings and experiences of other paranormal groups and psychics. It has been featured in documentaries by Ghost Hunters, Inc. and it's listed in Jeff Belangers "Encyclopedia of Haunted Places".

Activity
Reported (unverified) activity includes: A Pastor that experienced a roomful of Bibles all turn to the same page, people getting pushed and shoved, objects being thrown, someone being choked, stomping and banging, shadows and mists, and EVP's captured by investigators. Many believe there is a negative-type entity inhabiting the Church, plus other entities.
Investigation Notes: This was just a quick preliminary investigation to determine if a Full Team Investigation is warranted. I was alone, which is probably not recommended when going to a Church supposedly haunted by a violent demon, but as the song goes - "I ain't afraid of no ghost".

I conducted EMF sweeps, EVP sessions, a lot of audio and video recording, still pictures, and a K-II communication session (experimental).

I had the infrared Hi8 video camera in the back center covering the entire first floor. I set up the digital voice recorder and the K-II in front of the altar.

Overall, the actual investigation was pretty uneventful. The only personal experiences I had was I kept seeing fleeting shadows from the corners of my eyes, and once I thought I saw someone standing on the balcony out of the corner of my eye. At the time I believed that the sun going down combined with the unique architecture was causing a trick of light.

I tried both respectful communication and very confrontational communication with no apparent results. I also tried speaking German due to information personally received from Jason Gowin (thanks!) about EVP's captured there in German. The German language was very common in early Pennsylvania.

After an hour of no perceived activity I honestly got bored and moved outside to study the graveyard for a while, then I left.
Findings:

Anomalous Pictures / Video: None
EVPs: Several
Anomalous EMF: None
Cold Spots: None
Personal Experience: "Corner of eye" shadows and events.

I captured nothing unusual in the video, and still photography.

Audio was a different story. I suprisingly captured several possible EVP's. The first sounds like a child singing "la la la" or a similar 3-syllable sound. The second is a series of low pitch hums the instant before I thought I seen someone on the balcony. The third was captured right before I started to pack up and was wondering out loud about the lack of activity. It sounds like a male voice saying "I'm here".

I also captured 2 EVP's at different times that sound like piano music playing, but they are too weak for posting online.

At this time I don't have logical explanations for the sounds captured.

There are photos from the investigation posted on the GHOST-PA MySpace page.

Burlington Child-like EVP

Note: This is enhanced with Standard Hiss Reduction and 10db Amplification Boost in Audition 2.

Burlington Strange Hum EVP

Note: This is enhanced with Standard Hiss Reduction and 10db Amplification Boost in Audition 2.

Burlington "I'm Here"

Note: This is enhanced with Standard Hiss Reduction and 10db Amplification Boost in Audition 2.
Status: We are planning a Full Team Investigation here in the future.

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