SMITHFIELD - Hearing noises in your attic after midnight? Seen a spirit or two wander your halls? Who are you going to call?
The Historical Society of Smithfield recently called the Pawtucket Paranormal Society to investigate unknown happenings at its headquarters, the historic Smith-Appleby House, 220 Stillwater Road.
The paranormal investigators embarked on a ghost hunt on Aug. 11 at the historic home, which is furnished with antiques and collectibles from previous centuries. Elisha Smith, grandson of one of Rhode Island's first settlers and Roger William's original party that fled Massachusetts, built the Smith-Appleby House around 1696, according to the historical society's Web site.
Dianne O'Connor of North Smithfield, case manager for the Pawtucket society, proposed the house as a possible investigation site after meeting with a historical society member who was looking for paranormal investigators. "By luck of the draw, we got in," said Pawtucket Paranormal Society founder Dawn Torres of Pawtucket. "We feel very honored to be here."
Torres founded the Pawtucket society after meeting co-founder Chris Andrews, of Cranston, online at www.Iamhaunted.com, a paranormal discussion Web site.
"Anything's possible," said Andrews when asked what he expects to find. "We hope to find orbs, mist or even an apparition." The society said the "hot zones" of paranormal activity occur in the second floor loom room and at a first-floor fireplace.
"Another house was added in the 1700s and then another house was brought in from Johnston and added in the 1800s," Andrews said. "So, this is actually three houses in one put together."
"We're going to measure EVPs or Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which are unexplained voices on a tape," Andrews said. "When you go into a room and you ask questions, sometimes you receive answers to those questions and other times you receive random things that pop out that are not our voices. We measure them through wave patterns. Usually they are just whispers, so you really have to listen closely to them."
"We then measure the EVPs against our own voices, which are already recorded," Torres said.
The investigation is a long process, according to the society. Members need to listen repeatedly to the recordings for hours, comparing sounds with their own voice recordings. The members separate the sounds and their voices to reveal the unknown.
The society found evidence of ghostly activity at the historic house before the Aug. 11 investigation.
"We got six or seven EVPs or Electronic Voice Phenomenon on the first run through," Torres said. "One EVP had an exasperated sigh, like I don't like what you're doing. On one EVP, it sounded like a dog barking."
The society also discovered that a young girl between ages 10 to 12 said, "excuse me," according to the society. The group said they also recorded a voice, which complained, "They charge. I can't believe it."
"I believe there is residual and intelligent haunting going on," Torres said. "Residual haunting is like a tape recorder, which will keep playing itself over and over."
"It's like a moment stuck in time, where an intelligent haunting includes direct interaction with the living," Andrews interjected.
Other equipment used by the ghost hunters to scientifically document phenomena includes digital thermometers, digital and analog recorders, digital cameras and electro-magnetic field (EMF) readers.
Husband and wife team of paranormal investigators, Greg and Tracie Best, from the Oracle Paranormal Research Society in Danielson, Conn., joined the Pawtucket society to add their expertise.
"You need to be trained to investigate the paranormal," said Greg Best, who has researched the paranormal with his wife for more than 10 years.
Best used a special recorder in the loom room in order to pick up sounds from throughout the whole house.
"Digital recordings are not susceptible to broadcast," Best said. "There is no chance of contamination from radio broadcast with digital."
Margo Lopes of Warwick, who says she is slightly skeptical, volunteered to sit in the house's basement alone in the dark with only a voice recorder until midnight.
Lopes said she would like to see an apparition, but it
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takes a lot of energy. "I have a positive perspective of death and spirits, which aids in the investigation," Lopes said. "It's important to treat the spirits with respect and sensitivity."
The basement's dirt floor was used in past centuries to bury bodies in the winter since the grounds were frozen, according to Pawtucket society members. The bodies were excavated in the spring and reburied in the cemetery not far from the main house, according to the Pawtucket society.
"Some of these slates are not even legible," Lopes said as she walked throughout the graveyard, announcing her presence and asking for the spirits to respond.
"My name is Margo Lopes and I'm here with the Pawtucket Paranormal Society," Lopes said. "We mean you no harm. We come in respect. If you would like to notify us of your presence or tell us anything, we will be at the main house."
Elisha Smith died in 1766 and was the first individual buried in the cemetery, according to the historical society's Web site. The cemetery is also home to the graves of many locally famous family names, including Ballou, Harris and Brown.
The last residents of the property's current seven acres included the late Abbie Sargent, a lifetime friend of the late Maria Appleby, according to the historical society's Web site. Maria, which is pronounced "Myra," Appleby built and operated Smithfield's only golf course in the 1920s on what is now Interstate 295, according to the historical society's Web site. Appleby died in 1959, a few years before her friend Sargent's death in 1963.
Ernest Rehill was also one the last residents, living as a groundskeeper and handyman in the cottage behind the main house, according to the historical society's Web site.
Historical society members moved a dollhouse to the caretaker's house after furniture moved unexplainably in whatever room the dollhouse was placed, said the Pawtucket ghost hunters. Since its move to the caretaker's cottage, furniture has not moved, according to the Pawtucket society.
During the investigation on Aug. 11, Torres felt she was being watched in one of the sitting rooms. "I entered the room to find that it was unusually cold," said Torres.
The society said they took one picture that shows an orb near Torres when the temperature changed.
The investigation also included evidence of a girl spirit named "Abbie or Abby," according to the Pawtucket ghost hunters. The investigators heard the girl after sitting in a circle around a recorder and camera. After investigators played with a doll on the bed, the meters flashed indicating activity, according to Torres.
The spirit asked for the group's new member, Ian Massey of Pawtucket. Massey questioned the spirit, who later revealed it was not a little girl but a male who refused to give a name but answered "no" to whether he belonged to the house, according to the society.
"This night proved to be a hot bed of activity," Torres said. "I never thought I would encounter such a high level of phenomena there. Personally, I would never stay there, but I would love to return and further investigate."
"Being in the house for that short time proved to be both well worth it and productive. There is indeed a haunting going on."
Torres said the evidence showed not a "typical haunting." "The spirits that still linger there are not malicious or evil," Torres said. "They are there because they were more than likely extremely happy there and just refuse to leave that happy setting."
Torres said her experiences make her a stronger person and gives her hope.
"Experiencing paranormal activities lets you know that there is life beyond death," Torres said. "You know that these people are coming back to visit what could be the happiest days of their lives. If I come back after death, I want to come back to the happy moments of my life."
"This case is a big one for us, but we have a good team here and we work very well together." Andrews said.
Society members also include Allan Kallman of Canton, Mass., the group's chief information officer, and Carol Byron of Pawtucket, who joined the group after witnessing paranormal activity.
The Pawtucket Paranormal Society is a non-profit group dedicated to verifying or debunking paranormal activity. The group uses scientific methods and equipment, as well as includes members with personal experience in the paranormal.
The society does not charge for any investigation, but does ask for compensation if the group needs to travel more than 75 miles to a potential haunting. According to the society's Web site, "no case is too big or small" for the local spirit hunters.
For more information about the Pawtucket Paranormal Society or to hire these local ghost investigators for a sighting, visit www.pawtucketparanormalsociety.org.
The Smith-Appleby House is open for tours by appointment and during special events, according to the society's Web site. For more information about the house or historical society, visit www.smithapplebyhouse.org/.