topmenu |
Spike's Pizza Place - January 25, 2008Spike’s Pizza Place
Date: January 25, 2008 Investigation Team: Troy Hartman, Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinin, Jen Lauer, Carol Mack, Eric Brant, Judy Dobson, and Dennis Dobson,
The owner, via phone, regarding possible paranormal activity occurring at his business, contacted the SWPRG. After talking with the owner, and reviewing the question set, it was decided that a pre-investigation should be completed. The pre-investigation interviews and the amount of personal experiences of the owners and employees were indicative that a full investigation should be conducted.
The members of SWPRG that were present were, Judy and Dennis Dobson, Carol Mack, and lead investigator Troy Hartman. Investigators map the premises and preformed the pre-investigation questioning of clients. Audio and video were taken of the pre-investigation (see pre-investigation Audio 1-14-08), including walk through and interviews.
Clients that were present during the pre-investigation were, Rich and
Deb Lares, and Rich’s mother Teresa. Rich started with his description of his
personal experiences, which included seeing a mist in the upstairs hallway,
having a stereo turn up full blast, hearing voices and an upstairs hanging lamp
moving on command. Deb experienced a door slamming against her chair in an upstairs
office, and the feeling of being uneasy.
She and Rich also described experiences that some of their employees
experienced, including the chicken boxes falling to the ground while the
employees were in the basement and a wire whisk which apparently flew off the
shelf and landed on the floor. Teresa described a few experiences she had, but
mostly discussed a family, who are “sensitive” and what they said they saw and
felt. They felt there were several “portals” open in the upstairs dining and
office areas, allowing traffic from the spirit world in and out of the
building. THE HISTORY The building was built around 1850 by John Jung (Young) he was the original owner. He and his brother Nicholas built and owned all the buildings on the block and on many on Racine. John Jung was a physician and businessman who immigrated with his family from Germany. He was appointed Jefferson County Coroner in 1856. It appears that he first operated a general store on the corner of Main directly across from the Jefferson House. In 1860 John built yet another building on Main St. It appears that the building on the corner (now a bar) and the building, which is now the drug store, were connected and used as one building, housing John’s general store. The upstairs of the buildings were offices. Judge I.W. Bird had an office from 1862-1897, also the Bird and Lilly War Claims Offices were located in the building from 1862-????.
In 1867 Jung dug a foundation
next to what is now the drug store, and moved that building to the 3rd
one, which is your building. In the open
spot he built a new 2 story brick structure, which is now the drug store. In
1867, the building was used as McCullough’s drug store, Jung’s physicians’
office, and Meiswinkle’s Hardware Store.
The main floor was the hardware store, with offices being on the 2nd
floor. In 1869, a fire destroyed 5 buildings on the block. It started in the meat market owned by C.
Muck, spread to Meiswinkle’s Hardware and the new building that Jung built
between the corner and what is now your building, also burnt. I could find no fatalities other than
livestock that were in barns, where the parking lot now is. Jung rebuilt his
buildings the same year. In 1870 there was an Express Office and Dentist’s
office in the building. There was
another fire in the building in 1870, with no fatalities. The upstairs was used as numerous offices: 1875-1876 Mrs. Wyman Millinery 1877 Dr. Mansfield Dentist 1886 J.E. Peebles Dentist 1889 Mrs. John Buchta Millinery 1893 Mrs. Zimmerman Millinery
Occupying the downstairs was: 1869-1872 McCullough Drugs 1872-1874 Given & Stiles 1873 D.W. Birkhauser 1874 A.A. Bullard Jewelry 1874 Reed & Son 1884 Bachman Drugs Occupying downstairs or entire building: 1885? US Post Office ???? Carrie’s five and dime 1964 Allbee’s Shoe Store 1973-???? Cabinets Unlimited 1995-Present Pizza Restaurant. It was added to the state historical register on 1/7/1998, with the Historic name of Bachman Drugstore. Building stood vacant between 1993-1994, owners were eager to sell, business name during this period, Stengel’s Fire Place and Cabinetry. A fire took place in the upstairs of Tan A Latte some time after 1994, when the current owners purchased the building.
INVESTIGATION SUMMARY:
Equipment & D.E.A.D System: Dave Schumacher EVP Specialist: Cindy Heinin Sweep Team Leader: Jen Lauer Investigators: Carol Mack, Eric Brant, Judy Dobson, and Dennis Dobson, Equipment Used: 4 infrared cameras, Lorex L124A‐81 4 channel DVR with 80GB hard drive, Non‐contact IR thermal probe scanner, Taylor Temperature, Tri‐field natural EMF meter, Tri‐field meter, Temperature gauge (x2), Air ion Counter. Positive and negative ion counts are displayed as ions/cm3, Non-contact Thermal Scanner, Digital Cameras. IC Recorder: Panasonic RR-QR240, Cassette, Recorder: Radio Shack CTR-122, Microphone: IC recorder - internal, Cassette recorder - Schreiber Acoustic SA-125 Omni-directional, Electrets Analysis tools: Computer, Cool Edited Audio Editor, Clear Voice Denise Upon arrival at the location, SWPRG members did a walk through/tour with the owners; set up equipment with the base of operation in the upstairs dining room: took base readings with the EMF meters, Thermal Probe, and pos/nag ion counter; and searched for possible natural explanations of reported paranormal activity. Four IR video camera where se up in kitchen/ dish washing area, downstairs hallway, upstairs dining room, and upstairs. The SWPRG also conducted EVP sessions in the upstairs dinning room, the upstairs office and the first floor kitchen/dishwashing area. Investigators conducted some quiet observation during EVP sessions. EMF: Base line readings with the handheld meters. Reading taking in the form of magnetic and electric. Based line readings were conducted at 11 pm. Upstairs Backdoor, Hinge High: 15-25 mG Hallway: 75 mG Across from bathroom Mid Stairwell: 18-25 mG Sockets: 15 mG Telephone power Box: 100 mG Backdoor: 12 mG Bathroom: 1.5 mG Electric socket; 10 mG Switch: 35 mG Average: 2-5 - -4 mG Stairs going down: 12-14 mG Landing: 25 mG Hallway/ Power box: 50 mG
Woman's
Bathroom: 7 mG Downstairs Front Door: 13 mG Hall Light: 75 mG Breaker Box: 100 mG Sink Area: 25 mG Freezer Door: 35 mG above thermostat Ice cream Compressor: 22.5 mG Heat Lamp: 60 mG Basement Water Pipe: 100 mG Hot Water Heater: 50 mG Freezer Air Compressor: 4-10 mG
Electric Reading Hallway: 1 mG Kitchen: 1 mG Dishwasher Area: -.5 mG Railing: 1 mG EMF remain constant there all sweep. No anomalous readings were discovered.
TEMPATURE: Base temperatures readings taken at 12:15 a.m. Office- 67° Upstairs Hallway- 67° Small Dining area upstairs- 67°/68° Upstairs front Windows- 66°/67° Stairs- 64° Downstairs Hallway- 64° Lobby- 64° Front Kitchen- 64° Back Kitchen (dishwashing area)- 65°/66°
Temperature
remained constant all night except in upstairs above oven due to rising heat. ION COUNT: Ion count readings with conducted at 11:45 pm well as throughout the night. Investigator tested for both positive and negative ions. ions/cm3 Upstairs Positive Readings Sweep 1 Hallway: .09 - .11 ions/cm3 Office: .05 - .11 ions/cm3 Dinning Room : .15 - .30 ions/cm3 Front Railing: .20 - .30 ions/cm3 Downstairs Positive Readings Sweep 1 Stairs: .03 ions/cm3 Lobby: .60 ions/cm3 Hallway: 1.29 ions/cm3 Backdoor: 1.20 ions/cm3 Women's Bathroom: .06 - 1.20 ions/cm3 Average: -.60 ions/cm3 Kitchen Area
Stairs:
-.35 ions/cm3 Upstairs Negative Reading Sweep 1 Office: -.5 - -78 ions/cm3 Hallway: -.80 ions/cm3 Dinning Area: .-75 - -1.03 ions/cm3 Booth Area/Lamp: -.10 - -.15 ions/cm3 Front Railing: .20 - .30 ions/cm3 Railing Area: -78 ions/cm3
Downstairs Negative Reading Sweep 1 Backdoor: -1.24 ions/cm3 Woman's Bathroom: -.25 ions/cm3 Hallway: -.25 ions/cm3 Lobby Area: No Readings Taken Kitchen: -.15 ions/cm3 Dishwasher Area: -.30 ions/cm3
Freezer:
.05 ions/cm3 Upstairs Positive Readings Sweep 2 Hallway Backdoor, Office: Average: .40 ions/cm3 Office door: 1.01 ions/cm3 Downstairs Positive Readings Sweep 2 Stairs: .03 ions/cm3 Lobby: .03 ions/cm3 Hallway: .05 ions/cm3 along the floor the reading went up to 1.50 ions/cm3 Kitchen: .30 ions/cm3 Dishwasher Area: .30 ions/cm3
Office: -.15 ions/cm3 Backdoor: 1.01 ions/cm3 Bathroom: -.65 ions/cm3 Dinning Area: -.50 ions/cm3
Downstairs Negative Reading Sweep 2 Freezer: .22 ions/cm3 Dishwasher:-.70 ions/cm3 Rack Utensil: -.95 ions/cm3 Kitchen: Readings Up and Down “One strange occurrences was in the downstairs hallway. We kept getting ion spikes (I think they were negative ions, Judy documented) in front of us. The spikes stayed in front of us all the way down the hall. We had to move forward to get the spike back, it would then move forward again. It disappeared at the end of the hall.” - Investigator Eric B.
CAMERA AND VIDEO: 100+ photos: Nothing of note captured. 15+ Hours of Video Footage: Nothing of note captured. (see Video Footage 1-25-08)
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES Nothing to note.
EVP SUMMARY: Submitted by Cindy Heinen Pizza Pit Investigation Jan. 26, 2006
EQUIPMENT: Panasonic RR-QR160 (#1, #3) IC recorders Schriber Acoustic SA-125 Unidirectional Electret microphone Audio-Technica AT804 Omnidirectional Condenser Dynamic microphone Marantz PMD221 cassette recorder Schriber Acoustic SA-125 Unidirectional Electret microphone
LOCATION: Upstairs no smoking area EVP RESULTS: No EVP found. There was a 1500 Hz hum that faded in and out during this session. It is probable that the hum was caused by a compressor or other machinery in the building. There was no 1500 Hz hum during the soundscape recording. COMMENTS: At 12:36 someone came in the downstairs back door SOUNDSCAPE RESULTS: Nothing abnormal in soundscape, background sound consistent. Easily hear vehicles from outside and voices from other areas of the building.
SESSION 2 1:15am - 1:25 LOCATION: Upstairs back entry by office EVP RESULTS: No EVP was found COMMENTS: The sound of snow plows and vehicles was heard outside the building during this session. SOUNDSCAPE ANALYSIS: Nothing abnormal in the background noise. Even with the door closed you can hear sounds from other areas of the building including the bathroom and people talking downstairs.
SESSION 3 1:50am - 1:59 LOCATION: Kitchen sink area EVP RESULTS: No EVP found COMMENTS: The background noise from this area was very loud and fluctuated depending what appliances were running. There was occasional metallic rattling from the vibration of appliance motors and compressors. If not careful in the analysis of the audio this rattling could be mistaken for a faint, rough voice. Soundscape Analysis: The background noise from this area is caused from the appliance motors, fans and compressors. This excessive background noise, which alters the signal to noise ratio, is not considered optimal for collecting EVP.
Also
this loud background noise can cause actual phantom frequencies as well as
produce audio hallucinations. Since our brains are programmed to listen for and
recognize patterns in sound it is easy to think we hear faint voices in this
type of noise. Under spectral analysis it becomes apparent that these are not
voices but just modulating white noise. The poor fidelity of digital voice
recorders using limited sample rates and compression can alter these mundane
sounds even more. Conclusion During the three EVP sessions, three separate recorders were used. Two were identical IC recorders and one was a professional cassette recorder. External microphones were used on all the recorders. The sessions were also recorded on a camcorder. All suspected EVP are compared against the other recording devices including the camcorder. This technique enables us to determine whether a suspected EVP is just poorly recorded sound, forgotten sound, or a sound artifact of the specific recorder. If we can rule out that a sound is none of these things we will then start to analyze the sound through audio and spectral analysis programs. In the case of this investigation all the suspected EVP found by Cindy Heinen were compared to the other recorders and camcorder. This proved all the suspected EVP to be poorly recorded sound. Another investigator submitted three-suspected EVP. After analysis it was determined these faint sounds were either sound artifacts produced by the specific recorders or misinterpreted modulating background noise. Spectral analysis of these sounds showed no voice formation. Also the times of these suspected EVP were compared to data from the DEAD system to see if any environmental changes occurred at the time of these sounds. No changes were noted in the DEAD data at these times. DEAD SYSTEM SUMMARY: CONCLUSION – At this time Spikes Pizza Place remains inconclusive. The large quantity of personal experiences leads me to believe that we were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is recommended that the clients continue to track their experiences to better determine a peak time frame for paranormal activity. Such information could help in planning possible future investigations.
CONTACT INFORMATION OF THE SWPRG: If you have any question please feel free to call use, thank you.
Troy Hartman, Lead Investigator Cell: 414-530-4170
Jen Lauer, Director & Founder of the SWPRG Cell: 608-931-3633
Group website: www.SWPRG.com
|
