COMING UP
Would you like to tour the Old Jail Museum? Private group ghost tours for 6 or more people are available with advance registration. Group discounts apply!
Call us at
860-608-2214
July 19th Pocket Pendulum Class
Design your own pedulum in this class taught by Amy Williamson from Haunted Hillsdale. Learn to program and cleanse your pendulum as well as how to use it to investigate the paranormal! This class size is limited so please contact us for more information and to reserve your spot now.
This summer...
Overnight camp-out and investigation
Haunted Allegan Walking Tours
Old Jail Museum Ghost Tours
Check back for details!
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Ghosts of Sprucevale Ghost Hunt/Campout
June 7th, 2008
click here for more information
Recent Media Coverage
10-18-07 Allegan News - Nu Yang
10-22-07 Penasee Globe
10-25-07 Kalamazoo Gazette
10-25-07 Grand Rapids Press
10-26-07 WZZM Channel 13 - Take Five
WKZO Radio - Morning Show with Lori Moore - 10-22-07
10-31-07 WZZM Channel 13 - Investigation in Muskegon
10-27-07 Kalamazoo Cable Access - Old Jail Museum, Allegan
WSJM AM 1400 - Matt Orlando - Interview with Kathy Conder 10-07
August 10th interview on WZZM Channel 13 with Stephanie Webb - see it here.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 11:44 AM EDT
Allegan County News
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These newly trained paranormal investigators participated in their first ghost hunt at the Old Jail Museum in Allegan. Pictured (from left to right) are Kali Frankhauser, Kass Hillard, Debbie Ready, Valerie Emmons and Chuck Martin. (Photo by Nu Yang) |
Editor’s note: Last May, staff writer
Nu Yang was invited by the Michigan Paranormal Encounters team to join them
in an investigation at the Allegan Elks Lodge. She was invited to join them
again as they investigated the Old Jail Museum in downtown Allegan.
It was a night of many firsts on Saturday, March 3. For a group of five local
residents, it was their first time out on a paranormal investigation. For the
building at 113 Walnut St. in downtown Allegan, home of the Old Jail Museum and
the Allegan County Historical Society, it was the first time a team had ever
investigated there.
The building was used as a jail and the sheriff’s home from 1906 until the 1960s
when the current jail facility was built across the street.
Inside the building are old jail cells and remnants from World Wars I and II,
the Spanish American War and the Civil War. The residence is even furnished to
look like the early 1900s.
In an earlier walk-through at the old jail, investigators Kathy Conder of
Galesburg and Kass Hillard of Allegan detected a lot of activity and energy in
the building. It led to them to gather a group of people to stay the night.
For Hillard, Martin resident Debbie Ready and Allegan residents Valerie Emmons,
Chuck Martin and Kali Frankhauser, it was their first time on an investigation.
After attending two training sessions, they felt prepared to hunt for ghosts.
Conder, who recruited the team members, was unable to
attend the investigation, but even with her absence, the team still wanted to
conduct their investigation.
“Kathy prepared us well,” Hillard said.
Spending the Night
The night starts at 9 p.m. Hillard and Frankhauser spend the first hour sitting
in jails cells that had housed male prisoners. Emmons, Ready and Martin sit in
the dark where solitary confinement used to be located.
During this time, the five of them try to communicate to any spirits that may be
keeping them company. They take pictures and use tape recorders. All material
will be reviewed later to see if anything supernatural has been captured, but
for now, all they can rely on are their five senses.
Every now and then a soft bang or knock is heard. A distinct smell wavers
through the area. A cold shiver goes down our spines. Is it something that can
be explained or is it truly a visit from beyond the grave?
Having an open mind is important to this team, according
to Ready. For Martin, who claims to be a skeptic, he’s on this investigation
because he finds the subject interesting.
When the group gathers again—this time with the lights turned on—they move to
the sheriff’s residence. Again, Hillard and Frankhauser team up upstairs in the
bedrooms and Emmons, Ready and Martin investigate the parlor on the lower level.
Another hour goes by of sitting and waiting in the dark. Not much activity takes
place, but that’s later explained when the five of them meet again after
midnight to discuss their findings and end their investigation for now.
“It was our first time here,” Hillard said. “(The spirits) aren’t as open.”
The group returned to the jail site for a second trip later in the month, where
spirits were more “outgoing.”
Michigan Paranormal Encounters may be contacted at
kathy@encounterspri.com or
kass_hillard@yahoo.com. More information can also be found at
www.michiganparanormalencounters.com.
Nu Yang can be reached at
nuyang@allegannews.com or at (269) 650-7359.
Monday, October 31st, 2006 -- "Take Five" Channel 13 WZZM
"Ghost Hunters"
May 31, 2006 -- The Allegan County News
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Interview with Cindi Kolean and Kathy Conder |
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June 15, 2006 -- The Allegan County News "A Night with the Spirits of the Elks Lodge"
October 30, 2005 -- WZZM Channel 13 -- Interview with Kathy Conder
April 2006 -- "The Montel Show" with Sylvia Browne with Cindy Kolean and Kathy Conder
January 2005 -- EVP Interview with Monty Norton