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The New Bethel Church Cemetery |
WARNING! The New Bethel Church is a very nice, quiet...and to many, sacred place. DO NOT go there with the intention of destroying, desecrating or causing any other form of vandalism. We can go there now, and conduct our research in peace. If trouble starts, I've no doubt that signs will be posted and we will no longer have this wonderful opportunity.
Date- April 15, 2006
Times- Approx. 9:30 to 11:30 PM
Those Present- Kenny, Rachael and Greg
Moon Phase- Just after a Full Moon
History- The History of the New Bethel Church can be found on
previous reports and in Berks County Ghost Stories by Charlie Adams.
Reported Activity- Everything that can be reported...has been reported. Apparitions, mysterious lights, EVPs, and extremely eerie feelings have been associated with this small cemetery. Author Charlie Adams wrote about some of the strange experiences to come from this little cemetery in one of his first books. Since then, it has been the focus of an ongoing investigation by this...and many other teams.
Report of Events
After arriving, Kenny showed Rachael and Greg where the
infamous grave of Matthias Shambacher was located. We then headed up to the top
of the hill, to the very last row of headstones. We settled in the area where
Kenny had gotten the "Red Eyes" (though he still doesn't know what
caused that effect). Since this was more-or-less a relaxed ghost hunt, rather
then an investigation, it was more informal then usual. 
The three of us sat for a while, taking random photographs and video footage of the headstones surrounding us. There were no unusual noises or sightings to report. We moved around the top rows of headstones, simply taking random shots and discussing past activity and other general topics.
We gathered together for an EVP session.
Greg was designated the Q&A guy this time around. He did pretty good for his
first time. This session lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. However, about one
minute in, Kenny's audio recorder shut off. He still had over 12 minutes of
space left on it, so there was no reason for it to stop. Kenny hit the record
button again and it continued to record the rest of the session. Unfortunately,
up review of Kenny's recordings, there were no EVPs detected.
We closed the session and moved about separately
for a few minutes. After checking the time, we decided to pack it up. On the way
down the hill, Kenny caught movement between rows of headstones. He described it
as being about three feet tall, but looked like it was hunched over and running
away from us. This may very well have been some kind of animal...however, Kenny
did not see it actually leave the area. It was running towards the woods, but
never made it. It pulled one of those vanishing tricks.
As we approached the area, we stared recording. Greg had a significant power drain on his video camera, from 3/4 to 1/4. Both Greg and Kenny experience a drop in temperature at this time as well. Kenny's video camera displayed the "Low Battery" symbol and then went dead. Upon returning home that night, the battery was found to still have 48 minutes left on its charge.
Conclusions
As this place always has....it surprises us. The good stuff always happens when you're about to leave. This was a good night for us. Greg and Rachael got some more experience under their belts and we had a few, little "wierd" things happen. And...in speaking with Jeff later on, I found that he has also witnessed a three foot tall thing move through the cemetery. Jeff described it going into the underbrush, but making no noise at all. I believe this is something to keep our eyes out for...