Paranormal investigators are quite familiar with classic cases of homes where everything changes when a piece of old furniture or another used object is brought in. These are those objects which have a history behind them and if they could speak, might tell a sentimental or dark tale. Scientific proof is pending on whether antiques may hold place memories or psychic imprints or that sentimental items may retain a psychic connection to a particular person. However, a lot of anecdotal evidence has been gathered which indicates that this may be true.
There’s a word for it
Terminology for the phenomena of determining if an object’s energy field retains knowledge of its history is called psychometry. Psychics “read” a historical item via psychometry by holding it or being in close proximity to it.
A famous case
One of the most famous incidences of a haunted object is the haunted bunk beds of Horicon, Wisconsin, which was featured in an episode of TV’s Unexplained Mysteries. Allen and Deborah Tallmann moved into a house on South Larabee St. in Horicon in 1986 with their two children. Deborah was expecting their third child. They soon purchased a set of used bunk beds for their daughters. That is when trouble began, and it was ongoing until they destroyed and buried the bunk beds in a landfill. You may find this episode of Unexplained Mysteries on YouTube here.
Antique stores are good places for paranormal investigations
One paranormal investigator, Dale Kaczmarek of Ghost Research Society in Chicago, thinks that an antique store is one of the best places to conduct a paranormal investigation. This Examiner spoke with him recently to learn of his experiences with antiques.
Collecting antiques may also collect strange events
Dale tells the story of an old home in the suburban section of Illinois that was converted into an antique store. This business was unusual even for an antique store in that it contained out-of-the-ordinary items such as an old-fashioned Ouija board, authentic voodoo dolls, and Kochina dolls (South American fetish dolls). The owners were experiencing sounds and movements which were not frightful but mischievous in nature.
Dale’s investigative group used a video camera and audio microphones and could see and hear all from a command center upstairs. Unexplained sounds as though someone were picking up objects and putting them back as well as footsteps were heard. The investigation occurred late at night in this small town historical district when there was no traffic so the sounds did not correspond to any outside activity.
Haunted cherubs
Another set of haunted objects was acquired for a home in Bartlett, Illinois. A woman collected antiques and her house was filled to the brim. She noticed things happening such as drawers pulled out in the kitchen and the silverware in disarray. Then one day, she saw a little boy walking to the stairs. Dale interviewed the woman and discovered unusual electromagnetic readings in the hall using hand-held testing devices.
The items she collected included a set of angel cherubs and upon further investigation, the energy deviations seemed to be centered around the cherubs. She asked Dale if he wanted them. He agreed, and she packaged them up in a box and mailed them to him. He placed the sealed box on his front porch. The front porch is enclosed with windows on the outside and the living room wall faces the porch. Suddenly one day, a rap was heard on the window. The rap was on the windows facing inside the enclosed porch and not outside. He went out to check and found no one there and nothing disturbed.
Dale worked the night shift then and his wife heard someone walking upstairs while he was at work. She thought he had come home, but no one was there. However, the footsteps persisted over time. Dale moved the cherubs to an upstairs spare room, and subsequently heard footsteps in that room, too. He has had the cherubs for over seven years but has yet to open the box. There’s been no reason to open it while they are stored in the storage room.
Dale has sought to experiment with other paranormal investigators in a double blind test using four boxes and only one with the cherubs in it. Each test volunteer would keep a sealed box for one week then switch boxes with another volunteer, writing down experiences to see if any paranormal activity occurred. However, Dale has not had any volunteers for this test to date. The box is scheduled to be opened at the September, 2011, Ghost Research Society meeting.
Victorian portraits and a peasant bust
Another antique store that Dale’s group investigated was called the Victorian House Antiques in Chicago, which is now out of business. This business acquired two portraits from the Catherine and William Devine residence when it was torn down. William Devine was a milk merchant in early Chicago.
Al Morlock, the owner of Victorian House Antiques, hated the portraits and considered them to be bad luck. The woman pictured in one gave him the creeps. Once, when he was walking past them, the woman’s portrait came off the hook and fell on his toe, breaking it. He wanted to either sell or burn them both.
Along came Warren Black, the interior decorator for “That Steak Joynt,” which is now out of business as well. He desired antiques from the Victorian era for the steakhouse decor and had accumulated a crystal chandelier, busts of copper and bronze, and other Victorian antiques. The pictures were perfect for his design, and they were placed on the wall of the staircase leading to the 2nd floor dining room. People passing the portraits soon reported a sudden chill in that spot no matter the season. The chill was not felt every time someone would pass, but only at certain times.
Another item in this collection of Victorian antiques was a bust of a peasant holding a flask, and it was placed directly behind the bar. This bust was donated to “That Steak Joynt” by the Mattesson Steamship Company. The bust gained a reputation of causing strange feelings when around it, and the figure’s expression was believed to change if stared at long enough.
Dale’s group had two overnight investigations in this building from dust to dawn in 1991. A psychic could feel energy coming from behind the bust to the front. One picture caught a misty bluish white form coming from the back of the bust to the front which was not seen by the naked eye.
Four separate areas of the building had sounds of creaking doors, disembodied voices, moaning, and footsteps, as well as a candle which flickered, and cold spots and chills were felt. “That Steak Joynt” was reopened later as the Adobo Grille.
Could some antiques really be haunted?
It appears that strange events may follow objects from place to place and are centered on some antiques. Perhaps care should be taken to prevent establishing your home as a haunted place.
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