You can now go here to watchWOLFE MANOR - CLOVISin it's entirety on a different page in this blog. Clovis Wolfe Manor on Jan. 8
This once stately manor is often referred to as a black hole, because during its 7 decades of operation as a sanitarium and convalescent home, thousands perished, at times averaging 1 death per day. Some locals affix rosary beads and crucifixes to the fence surrounding the property to keep the evil spirits inside.
On a tiny, deserted island in the middle of Long Island Sound, lies Execution Rocks Lighthouse. Etched into a landscape of rocks and isolated by water, the lighthouse's history is full of dark stories of shipwrecks, torture and a serial killer.
Execution Rock Lighthouse - Part 2
In the muddy waters of Long Island Sound off the coast of New Rochelle, NY, low tide reveals a group of menacing and jagged rocks. Known as Execution Rocks, condemned Revolutionary War prisoners and Colonials faced death in these unforgiving waters at the hands of British soldiers. Chained here at low tide, fated prisoners slowly drowned as the tide rose.
By the 19th century this brutal practice had ended, but the area was still a great danger to ships traveling the busy trade and commercial routes of the LI Sound. While some ships were destroyed and others suffered heavy damage, those who owned, stocked and crewed the vessels all agreed that protection from these harmful rocks was necessary.
Execution Rock Lighthouse - Part 3
Therefore, the solitary Execution Rocks Lighthouse was commissioned in1847 when the US Congress appropriated $25,000 for its construction; 20 years later the keeper's quarters were added and the first resident moved in. The beacon protected the island and surrounding waters almost without incident for the next 70 years. At which point, Execution Rock Lighthouse and its surrounding waters became hosts to unimaginable evil.
Execution Rock Lighthouse - Part 4
A Serial Killer’s Dumping Grounds
In August 1920, Carl Panzram was a thief in need of a house to rob. At 113 Whitney Ave. in New Haven, CT, he plundered the rooms, making off with pricey goods and some valuable bonds. It wasn't until after he left the residence and was en route to Manhattan that he noticed the name on the stolen bonds: William H. Taft, former President of the United States and now a professor at Yale University. He sold them for top dollar and continued his spree.
In New York, Panzram robbed yachts and boats all over the Long Island Sound before setting his sights on much darker crimes; he began killing in cold blood with the .45 Colt automatic stolen from William Taft's home. Panzram's pattern of killing involved tying rocks to each body, rowing them out to into the Long Island Sound and dumping them just 100 yards from the Execution Rock Lighthouse.
Execution Rock Lighthouse - Part 5
In his autobiography "Killer: A Journal of a Murder," Panzram writes, "In my lifetime I have murdered 21 human beings, I have committed thousands of burglaries, robberies, larcenies, arsons … For all these things I am not in the least bit sorry." Many of Panzram's victims were mercilessly tossed into the waters near Execution Rock Lighthouse.
In 1979, the lighthouse became fully automated. Grateful Coast Guard members happily abandoned shifts involving nightly watches at this lonely island and the waters that claimed so many. With countless souls meeting their end here, it's no wonder that strange sounds have been heard and ghostly images seen at Execution Rock Lighthouse.
EXECUTION ROCKS LIGHTHOUSE, LONG ISLAND SOUND, NEW YORK
Zak, Nick, and Aaron are the first team to investigate Execution Rocks. Many other paranormal teams have called to investigate this island, but Zak and the boys were the only ones to show up. Execution Rocks has been home to executions, murder, and accidental death, and is given its name because British soldiers used the rocks around the island to carry out executions. They would chain the prisoners up at low tide and wait for the water to slowly rise until the prisoners were drowned. The prisoners were in the water for up to twelve hours before the water rose high enough for them to drown.
In 1847 the lighthouse was built on the island to prevent all the boats from crashing into the jagged rocks surrounding the island. Twenty years later the keeper’s house was built. Many of the lighthouse keepers were so scared by all the paranormal activity that happened on the island that they were able to cancel their contracts and leave at any time without incident.
Carl Panzram (aka Captain Carl O’Leary) was a notorious serial killer and once boasted that he murdered 21 human beings. He picked the lighthouse to dump the dead bodies of his victims. He was hung for all his murders. While waiting to die, he spat in a guards face and said “hurry it along, I could have killed 10 people by now”.
While walking around being told the history by a coast guard, they were told that many felt that the ghosts on the island have crashed many boats that got too close. Some say that they could smell the sweet odor of flowers on the island but it was barren and had no vegetation growing there. A physic said that a male dominate spirit is the one haunting the island and it could be Carl Panzram. Inside the keeper’s house, Dave their guide said that he felt like something was pressing on his chest with two hands. He said that he couldn’t breathe and felt like a ghost was attacking him. In 1978 the lighthouse became automated and there was no need for a lighthouse keeper to live on the island.
Late in the afternoon before their lockdown, they decided to have some fun and go fishing. Zak did manage to catch a pretty good size fish but it escaped before they could reel it in. They got their gear and got ready for lockdown. This was their first lighthouse investigation.
LOCKDOWN: Matt takes off on the boat leaving the boys trapped on the island. They check out where their X’s are located before starting the investigation. They BBQ burgers before the sun goes down and the fun begins. They start things off using the video goggles which have a word data base inside the gun and has an infrared built into it. Right off the bat the word “remote” shows up on the goggles. They start out in the keeper’s house and head into the room where Dave felt he had two hands put on his chest. Zak asked questions while Aaron fixes the camera. While he was doing that the word “camera” showed up on the goggles. They head upstairs and hear a loud bang. After asking for the bang noise again, they heard a voice but couldn’t determine if it came from outside. They did, however, hear a growl noise which came from inside the building. They decide to head back downstairs to find the source of the loud bang. Since they couldn’t find anything that would cause the loud bang noise, they asked the spirits if they made the noise. They do an EVP session and get a spike on the EMF, Aaron gets chills and the word “drink” showed up on the goggles, all at the same time. The word “Mercury” was next to showed up which propped Zak to go to the top of the lighthouse. During the walk through, he remembered seeing a barrel which said “Caution Mercury Poison”. He felt that they might be solving an undisclosed death or murder. They then headed downstairs where the poisonous mercury might have dripped down inside the lighthouse mixing with the fresh water. They leave a digital recorder and static night vision camera in the area. After reviewing the footage later, they found no voices or visuals to coincide with the words they heard earlier.
They left the lighthouse and went back to the keeper’s house. Zak put the EMF back on the floor where they got the high spikes and this time got nothing. They decided to use the infrared still cameras which records temperature, time, and date. While walking around, Zak taunts the ghost into showing himself but they didn’t get any action.
As the lockdown neared the end, they decided to investigate the outside where it was pitch dark. They take the infrared still cameras but got nothing on all the photos that were taken inside and out. Next they set up a static night vision camera pointing at the rocks where many of the drownings took place. As they finished setting up the camera, both Aaron and Zak heard a crying coming from where the rocks are at. They decided to head down to where the jagged rocks were to investigate the crying sound. Zak puts a digital recorder on the rocks but didn’t catch any EVP’s or sounds. Throughout the entire investigation of Execution Rocks, they got no visual or audio evidence to support the claims of ghost that were reported on this dreary little island.
The girls are Kirsten Thorne, Layla Halfhill from the Los Angeles Paranormal Association. You can visit their website here at the following link. Their website is one of my absolute favorite places to visit.Los Angeles Paranormal Association
Los Angeles Paranormal Association was fortunate to be asked to participate in an episode of the Ghost Adventures series, starring Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, and which airs on the Travel Channel. Kirsten and Layla were initially taking the guys on a tour of the location to describe our paranormal experiences from a prior investigation – but it turned into a real paranormal happening when we started hearing and experiencing some very wild things during an EVP session!! Source: Los Angeles Paranormal Association
The Ghost Adventures team returns to Virginia City, NV, the site of their very first investigation and documentary. The angry spirits in this old western mining town have been waiting for their return. Now they'll get their chance to confront Zak, Nick and Aaron once again during the Washoe Club lockdown.
Virginia City, NV, rose to prosperity as a center for silver mining in the Old West, becoming the nation's first true industrial city. The mining industry made way for a bustling and even cosmopolitan city life with cultural institutions like the opera and famous residents like Mark Twain, who wrote for the local newspaper.
Today the town only hints at the former wealth of the mid-1860s when adventurers and prospectors risked everything to grab a piece of the rich earth. At the time, danger lurked at every turn -- cave-ins, gunfights and greedy claim jumpers. Nowhere was this drama more prevalent than Virginia City, or "Old Virginny Town" as the locals called it, where the mining industry turned men into millionaires.
The Spirits of Chollar Mine
Chollar Mine was one of Virginia City's most successful mines. Businessman Billy Chollar discovered the silver lode and established the mine around 1859. To keep close tabs on his riches, Chollar built a mansion nearby, which became the mine's main office. The mansion was later dismantled and rebuilt at its current location on D Street to make way for the mine's pumping station.
Chollar's men worked at furious speeds to bring in the rich silver before other companies found it. His greatest rival was Potosi Mine and the competition was intense. Arguments between the 2 companies led to violence and lawsuits that were finally settled in 1865 when the mines merged to form the Chollar-Potosi Mine.
The mines brought riches and glamour to their owners, but the miners were vulnerable as they tunneled through the ground searching for silver. Cave-ins were common and an explosion in the main shaft killed many men. But even death didn't stop the owners on their quest for more wealth.
Today there are reports of roving apparitions and disembodied voices in this otherwise silent place. Visitors share accounts of being touched by unseen forces or experiencing the distinct sense of being watched as they pass through the old central shaft. Perhaps these apparitions are still driven by the same greed that brought them to Chollar Mine over 100 years ago.
Bottoms Up at the Washoe Club
With money to spend, the residents of Old Virginny Town needed someplace to blow off steam. The Washoe Club, appropriately nicknamed "The Millionaire's Club," was where the newly rich lived out their wildest fantasies. Men bellied up to the bar for heavy drinking and business talk as they imagined new ways to expand their growing empires. They played games of chance and caroused with prostitutes.
Like any good VIP hangout, the Millionaire's Club had 1 respectable main entrance and 2 secret rear exits for the patrons' discretion. Prostitutes could come and go through these secret doors and tipsy patrons could be removed quietly. But not all of the people coming and going were so feisty -- or, for that matter, alive. One room in the building was used as to hold dead bodies while gravediggers waited for the ground to thaw during cold winters.
Today this space is still home to a working bar said to be haunted by a trio of ghosts. An attractive blonde apparition known as the "Lady in Blue" is often spotted at the top of the spiral staircase. Some patrons have also spied the ghost of a scared little girl. The third ghost, an old-time prospector, causes a ruckus by snatching unattended drinks from the bar. Modern-day bartenders indulge his penchant for the drink by leaving a full shot of bourbon on the bar before closing down for the night. Come morning, the glass is always empty. Disappearing drinks, mysteriously locking doors and tipping barstools are just some of the bar's paranormal activities. It seems the whiskey-loving ghost also keeps his eye on the ladies -- witnesses have seen the front door swing open for some women as they enter the bar.
