Some History About The Lambertville High School- The
school was built in 1854. A fire destroyed much of it in 1926, but was remodeled
in 1927. According to rumor, there was another fire in 1992 which destroyed
the school for good. I could not find an "official" closing date, but my
guess is that the school wasn't touched after that fire.
My Visits- Our original visit to the Lambertville High School
was due to teh reputation it has of being haunted, as well as abandoned.
The following is taken directly from our PIRA report.
Those Present- Kenny, Patty and Steve of PIRA and Diana and Mike of
WeHaveGhosts/BCPI
Weather- Rain, constant rain.
Moon Phase- Waxing gibbous with 99% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
Historical Background- The school was built in 1854. A fire
destroyed much of it in 1926, but was remodeled in 1927. According to rumor,
there was another fire in 1992 which destroyed the school for good. I could
not find an "official" closing date, but my guess is that the school wasn't
touched after that fire. Most of the information available on the web are
simply stories from other adventure seekers. Our next trip will be to the
local library to find out more.
Reported Activity- There are several things reported to happen
at this old school. Most of which consists of strange lights and noises
throughout the school. I would wager that most of that can be attributed
to the young adventure seekers and/or kids having drinking parties.
One thing that brought out people like us were
the "haunted" black boards. Several have claimed that in one of the classrooms
on the second floor, the black boards were covered with drawings of children
crying and burning.
Another local legend is that of "Buckeye". There
is actually two versions of this story, but with the same basic back story.
There was a championship football game between Lambertville and New Hope
(PA). An intense game was going on. During a normal play, one of the New
Hope Buckeyes was tackled to the ground. When all the players got up, this
boy was left lying still on the grass. His neck was broken and his head was
doing a 180. Because of this tragedy, the parents of the New Hope students
had football removed form the schools extra-curricular activities. Urban
legend #1- You are to stand on the landing between the first and second floors,
just inside the front doors, and say out loud "I challenge Billy (or Buckeye,
depending on who you ask) to a football game!" Then, out of nowhere, a football
is supposed to fly straight at your head, breaking your neck. Urban Legend
#2- While on the football field, located somewhere further up the hill, one
is supposed to say out loud "Buckeye, I challenge you to a race!" A wind
blows in, then either a mist arises or a pair of glowing, red eyes appear
at one end of the field. A voices is heard saying "Run to the other end of
the field or die!" Ok, most of the sites that I found this on had stories
from "a friend of mine" who always swears it's true.
Investigation Report- Unfortunately, the rain and some kids
who showed up all but shot down any chance of doing any kind of real
investigation. But, there was still the thrill of exploring an old, abandoned
building. We started by taking a walk around the perimeter, checking in doorways
and windows. We found the infamous "Tombstone" of Lambertville High. Yes,
the students that dedicated this to the school (The Class of 1927) should
have stepped back, taken the first look at it…then said "This is a BAD
omen".
We walked through the front door and headed to
the basement. We found what we think was the shop class, as we found many
tools and some sort projector. There looked to be mostly maintenance offices
and storage throughout the basement. We were greeted by some local teens
that were "checking if we were cops". (Note to teens exploring abandoned
buildings- If you're afraid that there are cops in the building and you'll
get in trouble…DO NOT GO TOWARDS THEM! This will lead you to the "trouble".
Although the area was NOT posted, there is always the chance you're trespassing.)
We ventured up to the first floor, pausing so
Kenny could "challenge Buckeye". Kenny is still with us. I would like to
note here that Diana snapped off several pictures with her digital camera.
One photo, taken when Kenny was challenging "Buckeye, came out blurry. Since
the flash went off, it seems odd to me that the camera was out of focus for
only one photo. But, alas, it was out of focus for two photos…keep reading.
The team explored each room, taking their time to look into every corner
and cubby hole. All of the black boards have long since been destroyed, with
only the outline of where they used to be still on the walls. We didn't find
any pictures of burning or crying children.
The top floor is mostly fallen through to the
main floor, but there's still enough up there to explore. There is a ton
of plants all over what is left of the hallways and rooms. Take note that
if you venture up there, walk slowly and test EVERY step. Don't just go strutting
through thinking you'll be fine…because that's when you'll fall.
We went down to the ground floor and made our
way over to the right-side building. When one visits the school, the first
doorway they see accesses the left side, or wing. We didn't find a connecting
hall in the basement, and the main floor connecting hallway was blocked by
the collapse of the top floor. The left side had more of the top floor collapsed
into it, as seen in each room. Most of the doors to the classrooms are still
intact and the small "offices" inside the rooms are still standing (barely).
We also discovered a cabinet with a felt board inside. This piece actually
looked to be in good condition. We also met one of the residents, a bat that
made Patty jump!
We found what we think was the Chem Lab. There
was a kitchen, complete with a stove and an actual "Ice Box", the kind where
one would place a block of dry ice in the bottom. We found several rows of
old glass bottles in the same room, one of which is now our possession. Now,
this is where we got the second blurry picture. Diana snapped a photo of
the rest of us which turned out blurry, but that's not what is interesting
about this photo. It seems that the camera focused on a red "orb" that is
free floating in space. We've looked over the reference photos and could
not find a suitable cause for this effect.
The top floor on the left side seems to have
been the gym and showers for the school. Most of that has fallen through
to the main floor.
Conclusion and Impressions
Kenny- Well…at this time, I'd have to say this place might
have something, but then again it might not. I'm not convinced it's haunted
yet. This trip was a Preliminary investigation, simplified to the max. As
I mentioned in the beginning, it rained. This means that EVP recordings were
out of the question and pictures simply can not be trusted- this is simple
science. However, the place does show potential. I plan on visiting the place
again, this time with the full gear for readings and recordings. Many of
the strange lights that have been reported here can easily be attribute to
the kids that explore the building. If one group is up there looking around
the top floor with a small flashlight, another group that's just coming up
the hill could easily mistake it for "ghost lights". Poof- you've got a ghost
story.
Patty- I would like to see if we could find the old football
fields that were part of the school. With the local folklore, I think we
should go back and do some recordings. I think that pictures will be a waste
of time, unless we catch an apparition! |
