GHOST HUNTERS
The results of their nighttime vigil are in:
Springfield's ghost hunters are leaning toward the conclusion that the
Ye Olde Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs is haunted.
By Andrew McGinn
Staff Writer
Monday, October 16, 2006
It's apparently too much to ask the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to march down the street.
Instead, proof of the paranormal comes in the form of photos with
specks of light in them and sound recordings with the faintest of noises in the background.
It could be evidence of the spirit world.
Or, you know, not.
"I'm ready to see something," said Dave Frevert,
founder of the Springfield Ghost Hunters Society. "I've been ready forever."
The local ghost hunters have had a busy year,
with their services being called to a private residence in Marion
and a farmhouse outside Dayton.
But the ghost hunters have had their sights set on investigating
Ye Olde Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs for a while.
They got their wish recently when owner and Springfield native
Cathy Christian reluctantly gave the OK.
Reluctantly?
Yeah, because anytime word gets out about the tavern's ghosts,
"You'll get a bunch of nuts calling," she said.
Then again, it's not like the nuts don't already know about the place
— it's been featured in a couple of books about haunted locations.
And so away the ghost hunters went,
armed with their digital cameras, video recorders,
electromagnetic detectors, digital voice recorders,
digital thermometers and Mountain Dew.
Hey, the hunt ran from 3 a.m. to about sunrise
— wouldn't want to doze off and miss the dead doing whatever the dead do at 3 a.m.
Christian isn't exactly sure why ghost hunters want to
investigate her business during those wee hours.
"We had more stuff happen at 8 and 9 then we have
at 1 o'clock in the morning," she said.
So what's happened?
Well, one time she saw a power cord lift up and smack itself against the wall.
Then there's what Christian refers to as an invisible beam
that runs from the basement to her second floor office.
"There are times you can walk through it
and it feels like your hair's standing up," she said.
The "beam" also just happens to
freeze all the beer in a certain part of the beer cooler.
Bummer, eh?
As for the ghosts, a woman in a blue dress and
a little girl are believed to inhabit ye olde building, built in 1827.
Group founder Frevert,
who popped off more than 150 photos during the hunt,
isn't ready to say whether it's haunted.
"I'm leaning toward yes," he said.
He cites a photo that a member took in the basement,
showing what appears to be an apparition of a woman dressed in — get ready — blue.
Then there's some "electronic voice phenomena" on the recorders,
including what sounds like a kid saying, "Get out."
Could it be? Who knows.
Where's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man when you need him?
At 3 in the morning, probably sound asleep like most everybody else.