|
The
Topton House |
Those Present- Rick, Vicki, Megan (BCPA), Kenny (PIRA), the owners of the restaurant, a few tenants, and a reporter from the Kutztown Area Patriot (the local paper).
Weather-
Clear
Historical Background- Built in 1859, the Topton House Hotel was used as an Inn and Restaurant by people using the railroad and has been pretty much in continuous operation ever since. During prohibition it was used as a Speakeasy, there is evidence of this in the basement of the building. An old staircase is still intact and a beam is still charred from a fire many years ago that probably was the result of an illegal still. Several owners of the establishment have passed away during ownership and there is the report of a possible suicide on the third floor.
Reported Activity- The owners have had several mediums visit, as well as the members of the Berks Lehigh Paranormal Association. Several people have reported the scent of roses in the basement, as well as the scent of sulfur. Servers have reported being tripped by unseen feet as they walk through the dining room towards the bar area. Residents of the hotel also report being touched by unseen hands, while one resident reports seeing a depression appearing at the foot of her bed… as if someone had just sat on it. After the BLPA started investigating the building, the owners said they’ve been plagued by electrical problems, as well as frequent phone calls that simply hang up without a word.
Investigation Report-
I (Kenny) had been invited by Rick,
president of the BLPA, to take part in their third investigation of this site.
We had all gotten together here on Saturday night for the first official
Pennsylvania Paranormal Association meeting. After getting a look at the place
and Rick’s constant nagging, I decided to come back the following night and
attend their investigation.
On a previous investigation, a member snapped a photo in the Kitchen which they believed had produced an apparition. The photo was at the end of a shelving unit and seemed to be a head. Within a few minutes time, I was able to debunk this photo. I found that at the end of the shelving unit, the front cover of a cereal box was secured. A flash from a camera hit the creases in the cardboard, causing the illusion of a face. The effect was reproduced several times that night.
After the test shots in the kitchen, I joined the others in the bar area. Unfortunately, there were just too many people present to conduct a serious investigation. One of the residents was kind enough to relate an experience she had while on the stairs going from the second to the third floor. She had experienced a kind of “stoppage of time” when she witnessed a figure of a man coming down the stairs she was going up (with her boyfriend). She described him as a solid form, with a blue flannel shirt. The area of this figure’s head was “fuzzy”. She said it looked like when faces are blurred out on TV. She also described the figure as “going in slow motion”. When the image disappeared, she became dizzy.
We decided to check out the area where this event occurred. We crowded into the stairway and hall of the third floor. I didn’t detect any anomalous EMF or thermal readings in the area. Due to the amount of people and the heat, I ventured back down to the first floor area. I scanned the first floor dinning room area for EMFs and thermals, all within normal ranges or had natural sources. Reference photos were taken at this time, no anomalies found.
The others came back down and Rick decided to try some EVP recordings in the kitchen area. Rick asked questions for about 6 minutes. I video recorded the entire session on night vision, but no anomalies were captured. The audio was analyzed and found to contain nothing abnormal.
Rick and I then moved down to the basement. We also conducted an EVP session down here as well, but we had to cut it short due to a generator that kept kicking on.
Our last EVP session took place in the bar area. Everyone but one owner was asked to wait outside. During this session, Rick had his laptop computer working as a recording device. Several possible replies were seen on screen, which will be analyzed.
Conclusion and Impressions- At this time, based on my findings and over all impressions…I’m not convinced that there is activity here. But again, I must stress the “at this time”. I feel that there were just too many people there to really focus on the investigation as a controlled environment.
I had no positive readings in any part of the building, not even a twinge of a feeling that something was there. There are several natural explanations that could be applied to the experiences here, some of which I was able to prove on site. The only one that escapes me at this time is the event described by the resident (the faceless man in the blue flannel). This is the only reason I would like to conduct a follow up visit.
Follow-up Warrented- Yes, in order to verify findings
Account Written By- KennyB of PIRA