Raven House
Location Information
Date:19th September, 2007 Type:Residential
Location Title:Raven House City/State:South Bend, IN
Investigation Times:12:00 PM - 11:59 PM Status:Analysis
Weather Information
Sunrise:07:29 AM Sunset:07:48 PM
High Temperature:84 °F Low Temperature:61 °F
Sky Condition:Clear Wind:WSW at 7 mph
Humidity:78% Precipitation:0%
Lunar Phase:First Quarter % disk visible:50%
Solar X-Rays:Normal Geomagnetic Field:Quiet
Pressure:30.11 mmHg
Investigators Present
Angela Kaplan
Bryan Kaplan
Location History
Home of Barabara the Grey Witch.
Investigators Notes
Bryan Kaplan:
BELOW IS THE REPORT I SENT IN TO RIPETV. I must thank RipeTV for the opprotunity to join them on this production. I am most grateful for their hospitality and kindness. I hope to join RipeTV on another production in the future.
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One Night In South Bend
It was my initial thought to keep my report strictly to what I was brought to South Bend, Indiana for, to observe and validate any paranormal experiences Miss Molly Shea and Miss Janelle Perry had during their overnight stay in the Raven House. My initial thought, however, has changed from just reporting on what the two young ladies experienced to my overall experience in the home. I have been an investigator with the Paranormal Activity Investigators since July 2003. Prior to that my experience was more of a research capacity. I conducted Electronic Voice Phenomena experiments, read scientific studies that looked into aspects of paranormal phenomena captured over the years, and essentially everything under the sun short of investigating supposed haunted locations. When it came to meeting others who actually wanted to investigate the phenomenon I was more than thrilled to join them. I was extremely excited that there was a group of people actually wanting to stay as scientific as they could, because it's hard enough to prove that the existence of life beyond death (or life beyond this life) and to add a mystical element just hurts (in my opinion) the cause even more.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there are genuine psychics out there, I merely think that in able to get a nonbeliever to somehow believe, that you shouldn't add yet another paranormal (or mystical) element when trying to investigate an area of the unknown. What I initially knew of the Raven House was very limited. I was told that the location was a Bed and Breakfast in South Bend, and that the homeowners were psychic. I was told that the homeowners had several experiences in the home and that they felt that there was several malicious entities that cohabitated the home with them. Through a few phone conversations I was told in so many words that the homeowners were eccentric but very nice and giving in nature.
When I initially arrived I was greeted by Barbara Rohrs, who was very kind and offered me a glass of water. She told me to let her know if I needed anything and we spent a few minutes talking about various general topics. My honest opinion at this point was that she, as well as her husband Tab were both very kind people. Barbara gave Angela and I a tour of her home sharing the experiences she has had since moving into the 150+ year old home. She stated that there had been activity throughout the home, but that a majority of the activity had been occurring on the 3rd floor, and that she hardly ever goes up to the 3rd floor, and the few times she does go upstairs she doesn't go alone.
I had an initial interesting experience up on the 3rd floor involving a stuffed animal that laid upright on the center of a table on the 3rd floor landing. Upon heading back to the stairs on my was back down to the 2nd floor, I found the stuffed animal to have moved from its initial location to the middle of the landing floor on its side. I put the stuffed animal back and made my way back down to the first floor and told some of the production staff what had happened. I was told by a couple of the production staff that the same thing happened to them during their initial walkthrough the previous day.
After some initial taping by production; which also consisted of a segment in which Angela and I walked through the house on our own, the production staff as well as everyone else had lunch. Barbara was kind enough to make lunch for everyone. Angela and I sat in a room which had been added to the house and was used primarily as an office by Barbara and Tab. Following lunch Barbara got on the telephone and invited a couple friends over to join in a séance. After I had finished lunch I got up to set up my equipment, while Angela remained in the back room with some of the production staff and Barbara.
After setting up some of my equipment I went back downstairs to get a drink of water as well as cool down. Angela then told me how Barbara had came up to her, leaned over and then in so many words said "I don't know how close you are to your male companion, but this marine that is coming over is very good looking and is very single. Now most psychics will tell you that they don't know it all, and are never 100% correct ... even Barbara "The Grey Witch" had told us that in regards to her ability, although she did told us within the first 5 minutes of meeting her that she can tell a lot about a person by touching them. To those who don't know Angela or I, we are in a serious relationship, but I don't expect anyone outside the group to know that we are because we act professional when representing the group. Simply put, we don't make out, hold hands, or get lovey dovey when working with the media or with the public in general.
It was also during the lunch break that Angela told Barbara that the two girls staying the night were going to be there at 5pm. Barbara in response told Angela that she was incorrect. Confused, Angela asked Barbara "What do you mean? They'll be here earlier?" Barbara then told Angela "They chickened out, they didn't even get on the plane." Angela asked "how do you know that?" To which Barbara responded with "I'm psychic". Barbara couldn't be more wrong, the girls had been in South Bend for several hours (they had taken the red eye from California to be exact). So far Barbara was 0 for 2.
The two main stars of the program arrived around 4pm and so production went into high gear. They taped a segment in which Barbara gave the two girls a tour of the home (not taking them up on the third floor...to add some suspense I suppose). Following, the girls tour of the home, production taped several interviews, as well as a segment involving Angela and I. The interview was like most interviews I've been on in the past. I was asked what my initial thoughts were on the Raven House and on Barbara and Tab. I responded that my initial thought was that based on the first few hours being there that something was likely present (I based this on the experience involving the stuffed animal as well as another experience I have yet mentioned in this report). I mentioned that I didn't really have an opinion on Barbara and Tab, that my reason for being there was to validate anything Molly and Janelle experienced during their stay. I did state that some of what has been experienced by Tab and Barbara could possibly be explained by a more scientific explanation. That when it came to anything Janelle and Molly might experience in the house that the initial fear of being in an unknown location, as well as being in a dark location can often lead someone to jump to conclusions.
I explained how I had walked through the third floor with an EMF detector to get base readings. I explained how high Electromagnetic fields have been scientifically proven to cause paranoia, and hallucinations. I did explain that it was a bit premature for me to respond nonetheless, and that the audio and video equipment I brought would help validate or invalidate anything experienced by the girls.
Following the interview I was pulled aside by Angela and was told that Barbara had a conversation with her. Barbara had told Angela that she did not like me, that she found me to be extremely arrogant from the moment I entered the house. She went on to tell Angela that she didn't have a good feeling about Angela and I from the very moment we pulled into the driveway of her home. She felt that we were extremely skeptical and accused us of being paid skeptics brought to the Raven House by RipeTV to debunk (discredit) Barbara and Tab as psychics. This in turn upset me, but I wasn't about to respond to the accusation because I wasn't about to hinder the production currently taking place. The last thing I want to happen was to start a huge argument which would result in Barbara asking everything to leave.
Angela told me that she believed she had cleared everything up with Barbara and told her that we were not being paid to be at the Raven House, that our services were free and that we were there to validate anything the girls experienced during their stay up on the third floor. Angela then mentioned to me that Barbara then told her how displeased she was with the two girls that were going to stay on the third floor, and that she mentioned how the girls were very superficial. It was then that the sound guy walked in and had told Barbara that he needed to turn her mic off. Barbara then gave Angela some sort of a psychic reading; which was more of an advise session instead of a psychic reading.
After talking with Angela, Barbara entered the kitchen and asked Angela and I to step out to her backyard so that we could talk. Out back we found several people sitting and talking, and so the conversation really never took place, other than the fact that Barbara apologized and told me that she was sorry for what she had said to Angela but that we should charge for our services and that there was nothing wrong with that. I then told her that the reason why we don't charge for our services is that we don't want others feeling that we would alter our findings because we were paid to investigate a location, and that if someone really feels the need to 'pay' our organization, that they can make a donation; which would reimburse us for the video tapes, batteries, gas, another costs involved in investigating a location. With that, everything seemed to be kosher between Barbara, and myself.
The evening for the most part was uneventful, as is most investigations. It didn't surprise me that nothing was experienced first hand. I knew that it would take a several hours of listening to audio and syncing it to several hours of video, in able to find any evidence of the paranormal.
I will mention that there was a séance conducted by Barbara and her husband Tab. The séance was what I expected. Barbara brought out a few occupants of her home (a child and another individual, who Barbara had indicated earlier had died in the home), whether it was real or not, it indeed took place. A skeptic would look at it and say that she set up the séance in everyone's mind by talking to us about the child and the other 'spirit' that she knows co-habituates in her home with Tab and herself. There was also an unfriendly, evil type entity that she brought out in her séance'. I will say that I got hit on the top of the head during that part of the séance and someone in front of me got tapped on the shoulder right after I got hit in the head.
After the séance Angela had informed me that she saw some very blatant foot and leg tapping between Tab and Barbara. I have no clue as to why there would be any tapping of the foot or leg between them because there was no need of it other than to perhaps signal time to move on to another entity or to indicate its time to end the sééance.
I think its important to note that Angela and I did not participate in the séance because of objectivity. We were flown to South Bend to observe and validate anything of the paranormal that the talent experienced. Again we were there only to observe the potential paranormal happenings (of a ghost/spirit nature) and not to observe or debunk or even for that matter to validate the abilities of Barbara or Tab.
Following the séance we had dinner and production interviewed the two girls who were staying the night on the 3rd floor, as well as a segment involving Molly's management rep making a garlic necklace because Molly felt it would protect her from ghosts. As mentioned before, the rest of the evening was fairly uneventful. I ended up having about 6 hours of audio on the audio recorder left in the room the girls stayed in, as well as several hours of video. I mostly expected the video to only be used as a source to sync the audio to, so that I could validate any findings as not originating from the talent nor any possible production crew that was in the room from time to time.
RESULTS:
2:08am: I spent about 20 minutes down in the basement with a video camera. I put a digital record in the laundry room; which was located next to the cannery. I put the recorder in the laundry room because Barbara had relayed a story in which a man had been murdered (stabbed) many times in the cannery and was then dismembered in what is now the laundry room. At 2:08am a loud knock was recorded (as if someone had knocked on the door leading into the laundry room. The knock was not heard by me nor recorded on the video camera I had with me.
THE RECORDER LEFT IN THE 'CHILDREN'S ROOM
I will note that there was a constant whisper throughout the audio recorder (occurring off and on during the 5+ hours of the recording).
I've provided a clip which took place 2 minutes into the recording of such whispering (titled: 2minsintowhispering.mp3)
6mins35secondsletmeout.mp3
As titled 6 mins and 35 seconds into the recording a voice was recorded as seemingly saying "let me out"
2hours29minsinto.mp3
2 hours and 29 minutes into the recording...a member of the production staff came up and checked on the girls. They had a short conversation about how the girls wanted something to eat, and with that the staff member left to get the girls some pizza as well as something to drink. After the staff member had left, the girls had a short conversation regarding something Bryan had told one of them. It is then that you will hear the girls talk, as well as an unknown voice making a comment.
I stopped reviewing the audio at 3 hours into it because I no longer had any video to sync the audio to and at that point didn't have a means to validate or invalidate any findings. I have since then been informed that the remaining video will be sent to me and at that time I will finish listening to the remaining 2 hours of audio.
POST INVESTIGATION COMMENTS:
The morning after the investigation I had told Barbara that I would be in contact with her, so that I could get to her any results I found. On a couple occasions Barbara invited Angela, and I (as well as the rest of the members of the PAI to visit her home and conduct another investigation. We had told her that we looked forward to that opportunity. It was on Friday October 5th that I called Barbara to tell her of the results I had found. Below is a paraphrase of that conversation.
"Hi Barbara, it's Bryan Kaplan from the ghost group, did you get my earlier message?"
"Sure did." - Barbara
"Well I just wanted to let you know that I did have some EVP results and I thought I would share them with you." - Bryan
"Oh yeah? What did they say?" - Barbara
"Oh [general] phrases, I didn't record anything malicious. Though I had to stop analyzing at about 3 hours into the audio because I haven't received the rest of my video, and don't have anything validate or invalidate any findings from that point on." - Bryan
"Well you remember about your cameras focusing up?" - Barbara
"................."
"Yes I do" -Bryan
"Do you remember why they were messing up?" -Barbara
"Um yes" - Bryan
"It was the spirits fooling around with the cameras, it wasn't the cameras causing them to go out of focus." - Barbara
(something about stuff floating on the camera) "for someone who's supposed to be (I believe she was beginning to say in tuned to my psychic ability)" - Barbara
"(I interrupt her by saying) Oh I know something was messing around with my cameras" -Bryan (I was humoring her...trying to settle the stormy tide she had created...it didn''t work)
"You know I heard what you said to Joe (one of the production guys). I heard what you said to him, that you were there to debunk what me and Tab did. (and also mentioned how upsetting this was to her)" - Barbara
"No Actually the opposite took place Barbara. What I said during the interview was that Angela and I were brought in to merely observe and validate anything the girls experienced of a paranormal nature. So if you saw me looking at the girls, it was because I was doing what I was brought there to do...observe the girls and try to validate any paranormal experiences the girls had."-Bryan
"You haven't been doing this that long. Only two and a half years. You're not really an investigator. I've been doing this (40) (I believe this is the number she threw out) years. You're not very good at what you do, You didn't even take notes. There was all kinds of shit going on. The production guys were getting locked out of the house. There was all kinds of shit going on, but you were too busy looking at those girls. Your girlfriend was very upset with you. Couldn't you tell? You spent most of the time just staring at those girls. Your girlfriend was very upset." -Barbara
"Again Barbara, the very opposite is true. I've had several conversations with Angela about this, and she was not upset with me at all during the investigation at your home." - Bryan
"She was very upset, I could see it on her face. If she told you differently, she was fibbing." -Barbara
"Nonetheless Barbara I did have some results and I'd be more than happy to email them to you. Do you have an email address?" - Bryan
"Yes, Tabber does. its " - Barbara
"As I mentioned before I do believe there is some activity in your home, and if the offer still stands, I would like to bring the group out there, if possible next spring." -Bryan
"It does stand, but it'll cost you one thousand dollars, its not free." -Barbara
"I'll be sure to pass that along to the group. Thanks Barbara, I'll be sure to email you those EVP's" -Bryan
"Thanks, I appreciate it." -Barbara
Let me say that this conversation was "a bit" upsetting. Upsetting enough that I decided that I should indeed report not only my findings on what was observed during the overnight stay in 'the children's room' but also my experiences with Barbara and Tab. It's a shame that my experiences with Barbara were so negative. I was initially willing to ignore the fact that when it came to Angela and I that she was wrong on both occasions. I wasn't even upset that she initially tried hooking my girlfriend up with a marine friend of hers. I didn't even acknowledge her poor psychic perception that Molly and Janelle chickened out and hadn't even gotten onto their flight to South Bend. But this conversation that took place on October 5th tipped the scales for me.
It has nothing to do with her wanting the PAI to pay her $1000 dollars to investigate her home. There's a snowball chance in hell that we'd pay a penny to enter her home. I do find it interesting that she initially made it sound that we were welcome in her home at no charge. After all there was a cost for us to get from Kansas City Missouri to South Bend Indiana. What was upsetting was her constant accusations of me as an investigator of PAI as well as boyfriend to Angela, and as a man in general. I'm sorry Barbara the Grey Witch, but my very initial opinion of you was not a negative one. It was important that I remained a neutral party when it came down to your abilities as a psychic and a medium. I was not there to gage your abilities. I was there to validate any paranormal experiences by Molly and Janelle. I'm sorry to say that based on my experiences in your home that while your home (in my opinion) does indeed have activity, that your ability as a psychic was fairly poor when it came to the 18 hours I was in your home. If I had to rate your ability as a psychic, I would have to give you a failing grade.
To RipeTV: Thanks for contacting us and allowing us to help out in your production. It was a very positive experience (in general) and I hope to get involved in any future project (or projects) . I appreciate the kindness you showed to both Angela and I. It was the positive atmosphere that the production crew provided that made the overall experience a very positive one. Thanks!