Paranormal Investigation: Lansingburgh, New York

• Site Type: Private Home
  
• Location: Lansingburgh, New York
  
• Date: April 17, 2010
  
• Client Status: Specified: Kristina and Scott
  

April 17, 2010 ~ (Lansingburgh, New York) The ISIS team conducted a paranormal investigation in Lansingburgh after being contacted by a couple experiencing paranormal activity. The clients report experiencing paranormal events at three locations, all in the Lansingburgh area. Primary reports include hearing voices, seeing black, shadow-like anomalies, feeling cold spots, seeing apparitions, hearing unexplained noises, and the couple complained that their five year old child was interacting with something unseen.

Case Statistics

• Moon Phase: 4 Percent Waxing
  
• Geomagnetic Field: Quiet
  
• Solar X rays: : Normal and no storms expected
  
• Weather:Rainy/ Cloudy 50F
  

Client Background:

The client did not contact clergy about their paranormal experiences, and they have not had the house blessed prior to our initial investigation. No other investigation team has been called into investigate the claims. Kristina was raised Catholic but she is currently non-practicing. Scott was raised Catholic, but later became atheist. Kristina believes that there is an afterlife, but she is not one hundred percent sure what happens after death. Scott is unsure what he believes as far as the afterlife is concerned, although atheist, his recent paranormal experiences has left him questioning what happens after death.

No prior rituals have been conducted in the current home where the couple now resides and the couple has not used any Ouija boards. They have not conducted séances and they have not conducted any rituals in any of the prior locations they have lived in. They did try to burn sage in the home in hopes of getting rid of the activity. The use of sage to smudge the home was unsuccessful. Kristina and Scott have not experimented with herbs to have visions, and the only herbs that the couple has consumed are Ginseng and Echinacea. Kristina and the children in the home do not have sleep issues, but Scott sufferers from sleep apnea. Kristina does report experiencing the some occasional nightmares and she has experienced sleep paralysis on several occasions.

The couple uses alcohol in moderation and socially only. The couple has not been treated for any mental disturbances, and they have not been hospitalized for any health issues. Scott, Kristina, and their children have not been diagnosed with any rare illness, and no unexplained wounds or rapid healing have been reported. Kristina is interested in the paranormal and she watches paranormal television on a regular basis. Scott had no interest in the paranormal until he began having his own experiences.

Just days to our visit, the couple began experiencing difficulties with appliances and machines. The radiator in the home failed, the transmission in the car broke down, and a mirror in the home broke by itself without explanation. The mirror just fell off the wall from where it was placed and smashed. Twenty-four hours before our visit to the location, one of our investigators got strange phone calls at all hours of the night. Each time the call would be nothing but static and the caller ID would not identify the source of the call.

Interview:

The couple and their children have been residing in their newest Lansingburgh home for about a month. They explained that the paranormal activity was far worse at their previous homes. Their paranormal experiences began around three years ago when they were living in a Lansingburgh apartment. The couple reports that their first apartment was always cold, despite adequate heating and insulation. They also report that when putting their daughter to bed the first night in the new home, Kristina found her daughter, age 5, seemingly talking to herself in her bedroom. Kristina questioned the child and asked her what she was doing. The child responded, “Talking to my friend.” Kristina asked, “Who’s your friend.” Her daughter responded, “Marky.” Kristina asked, “Who’s Marky?” Her daughter said, “He’s right there.” Of course, Kristina could see nothing there.

Kristina went on to explain that from that day on, the issue did not go away, and Marky was more than an imaginary friend. The child continually referred to “Marky” being in the home. Kristina and Scott would often question the child about “Marky.” They asked her what he looked like. The child explained that he is “short, with big ears and big teeth." The child even approached her mother one day and asked her: "Mommy, is it okay to like black people." Kristina assured her that it was absolutely okay to do so and then asked her daughter why she would ask such a question. Her daughter told her: "Because Marky told me not to because that's who killed him."

Kristina then told us of a night when her sister came over to spend the night. Around midnight she heard her sister screaming in fear. Kristina yelled to Scott, “Scott, go out there, somebody’s out there!” Scott looked and found no one. Kristina ran into the room where her sister was staying and asked her what was wrong. Her sister demanded to know “Who’s that guy?” Kristina asked her, “What guy?” Her sister said, “The one that just ran in your room.” Kristina assured her sister that no one had run into her bedroom. Her sister replied, “I saw him. He had big ears and big teeth.” After this incident, Kristina’s sister refused to stay at the home, and she slept the next night in town in her car.

The couple explained that their belongings would disappear without explanation and would then reappear. Scott had an electric razor for four years. Suddenly, the cord disappeared and it could not be found. The cord for the razor went missing for an entire year. It later showed up in a sock and underwear drawer after the couple had moved into another apartment. He could not explain how the missing cord appeared “neatly folded up in a drawer on top of the clothing inside, especially when the drawer gets used every single day.” In a similar incident, the lock to the family’s freezer went missing right after they had gone shopping and filled the freezer to capacity. They searched everywhere for the lock but could not find it. The lock could not be picked. The couple got a new lock made from a locksmith so they could get into the freezer. The key only reappeared after they had the key replaced.

After a year’s time at the location, the couple moved in hopes of getting away from the source of the unexplained events the family was experiencing. The family moved to another location in Lansingburgh not very far from the first into a second floor apartment. When they first moved into the empty second floor apartment, Kristina was also cleaning up the downstairs apartment for another tenant to move into later on. They found tiny rocks all lined up along the window sills and on the ledge of the doorways in the first floor apartment. Kristina cleared all the stones away while cleaning up the apartment. As Kristina reported this to our team, Scott advised us that there was an old Jewish man that formerly lived in the location and died in the home.

The couple reported an increased strain in the relationship at this time; there was a lot of anger, aggression, and familial disputes. They also report that they experienced exhaustion, and that they never wanted to get out of bed. The couple always had the curtains drawn, and the location always felt very dark and dreary. Kristina and Scott explain that the neighbors that moved in downstairs had tremendous difficulties at the location too. They were continuously fighting and there was domestic violence involved. After moving out of the location, the issues ceased.

At the new location, Kristina reports seeing “three black swirling things all the time on the wall.” Whenever she would see the black anomalies, she would pray for protection and ask for them to go away and they would disappear. Nevertheless, the black anomalies would continue to return. The couple also reported feeling the bed shake one evening without explanation. The television also shook on the dresser even though the floor and the dresser did not shake. The couple also saw a light shining down through the attic vent at night and after inspection found nothing out of place or any explanation for the strange source of light.

The couple reported smelling a continual sour smell in the bathroom of this location, even after the bathroom had been repeatedly cleaned.

Scott asserts that he never believed in ghosts, hauntings, or paranormal activity before he and his family began having their own experiences. One night as the couple lay in bed, they heard something speak to them. At around 1 am Scott saw the bedroom door move by itself. There was no draft and the door opened about six to eight inches on its own. Scott looked at Kristina as they both wondered what made the door move. As Scott looked back at the door he saw a dark shadow over the corner of the doorway. Scott explained that from that day on the paranormal events accelerated.

One day, Scott saw a toy sword leaning on the children’s toy box. The sword fell over and slid down the toy box. Instead of hitting the ground, bouncing, and flopping on the ground, it fell, landed on the plastic blade, and stayed in an upright position for about sixty seconds before finally falling to the floor. Scott also reports hearing what sounded like a “football game” going on in the attic between the hours of 1 and 3 am. He could hear running back and forth upstairs when no one was in the attic at the time. He explained to our team that there was nothing in the attic but wiring and insulation.

Scott’s 16 year-old daughter briefly saw a man sitting in the living room chair one day when she was visiting the family. When describing the man she saw, Scott’s daughter gave the same description that Kristina’s daughter and sister gave when referencing “Marky.” Jenna also reported seeing her dad come into her room as he was looking for his cigarettes between the hours of 1 and 3 am one evening. Scott had remained in his room all evening and never went looking for his cigarettes in the middle of the night.

One night while in bed, Scott heard a voice say “Come here.” The voice repeated the words “Come here.” Scott turned to Kristina and asked her if she had spoken to him. The voice said “Come here,” a third time and both Kristina and Scott heard the voice. This location is the same location where Kristina reports having had several episodes involving sleep paralysis.

The children would have night terrors at this location. The children would wake up screaming in the early morning hours and Kristina and Scott would have trouble getting them to speak or awaken. During one incident, all the children awoke screaming at the same time. They were fearful of something near the closet door. The next day, none of them had any memory of the incident.

Kristina and Scott explained that the current location where they reside is dated back to the late 1800s. They have lived in this new apartment for about a month. It had been vacant for about a year before the building was turned into apartments.

Kristina explained that the children’s toys always “go off” in the room without explanation. The day before our visit a toy musical mirror kept making musical sounds throughout the day. The children were at school at the time. The toy mirror has folding doors and it only makes musical sounds when the mirror doors are opened. Kristina explained that the toy was found in the basement of the location when they moved in. Kristina admits that she has no idea how long the toy was in the basement before she discovered it. She had never replaced the batteries in the toy before giving it to her child to play with.

The day before our arrival, Kristina's daughter was visibly upset. She told her mother that she didn't want Marky to go and that he had told her that he was going to heaven.

Brief History of Lansingburgh:

Lansingburgh was at one time home to the Mohican Indians as well as the Mohawks. The original land area was once called “Taascamatick.” In the year 1970, several miles of land just north of the capital city of Albany and on the east side along the Hudson River were granted to Robert Saunders by the Provincial Governor Francis Lovelace. Thirteen years later the land was sold off to Johannes Wendell. Eighty years after that the land was transferred to Wendell’s heir, Robert Wendell who sold the land to Abraham Jacob Lansing. Lansing helped the town become a major river port and mercantile town. In 1790, the town was the very first town in the state of New York to become incorporated.

Lansingburgh was formed by merging Petersburgh and part of Troy in 1807. The area extends along the Hudson River and the high bluff in the east is identified as “Diamond Rock.” The village of Lansingburgh was originally founded by Jacob Lansing circa 1770. A year later, the location was organized and identified as “Stone Arabia.” By 1790, the village was incorporated and included as part of the town of Rensselaerwyck. A year later, the area was considered part of Troy, New York. Lansingburgh was the onetime home of Herman Melville and it was also a location involved in the Underground Railroad. Today, Lansingburgh has several historic districts including those located on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Avenues.

Photographic Captures:

We have also captured an orb just over the master bed where the pendulum spun widdershins and a positive EMF reading was captured. The orb was captured as we conducted EVPs. No other photographic images were captured, but we offer our psychic artist images in our gallery.

Video Footage:

No video footage was captured at this location.

EVPs Readings:

We have gotten several EVPs collected from this case. At one point an investigator asks, “Why are you here.” An interactive evp response is captured stating “this was our house…helping.”

During another evp, when an investigator questions the spirit(s) at the location about their age, four answers appear. The investigator asks “How old are you?” A male voice responds with “eleven,” another male voice responds with “eight-seven,” a female voice responds with “I’m old, and a fourth voice tells us to aggressively “get out.” The evps captured correlate with some of the psychic impressions our investigators had. Angela sensed the presence of an older male and an old woman and both Jessica and Angela sensed the presence of a young male child.

We have several aggressive evps indicating that our presence was not wanted. These evps include a male voice saying “get out,” and another male voice saying ““Get out of my f*@cking house” followed by aggressive laughter. At one point, when an investigator asks, “What is your name,” we get an evp response that says “My name is to tell nobody.” This evp correlates with statements made by Kristina’s daughter who said that she was not suppose to tell anybody about “Marky.” A female voice also appears and says “Jessica.” We do not know if this is a spirit’s name or if it is calling out to our investigator with the same name. We do know that it is in a voice we do not recognize.

We did capture an evp of a small, young voice saying “Mommy.” This voice may correlate with the reports of a small female presence at the location. Evps of rapping are captured, and there is also an evp that states: “save us from the bad person… he wants to keep us here.” When asked if in need of assistance to cross over, we get an evp response of “yes, that’s right.” Evp samples are offered in our evp gallery for review.

EMF Readings:

At 10:26 am, a positive EMF reading ranging between 4 and 5 Milligauss is detected in the master bedroom. There was no outlet or light fixture in the area that could explain such a reading.

Temperature Fluctuations

At 10:02 am we took a base temperature reading in the kitchen of 79.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Moments later, the temperature dropped to 73.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

At 10:10 am, the client suddenly reported feeling cold despite the normal temperatures in the room. No one else in the location was cold at the time.

At 10:16 am a temperature reading was taken in the living room; base reading was 70.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Moments later the temperature began to fluctuate between 69 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit without explanation.

Dowsing Rods

At 10:10 am, Patricia used the dowsing rods in the boy’s bedroom. They began to spin wildly when positioned over the top bunk bed.

At 10:15 am, the dowsing rods were used in the daughter’s bedroom. When brought toward the closet area, the rods would move away from the closet and point to the wall just behind the child’s bed with repeated consistency.

Pendulum Readings

At 10:13 am, a pendulum reading was conducted in the boy’s bedroom which began spinning widdershins fast and then began to slow down.

At 10:16 am, a pendulum reading in the living room was taken; the pendulum spun deosil in big circles.

At 10:30 am, a pendulum reading was conducted in the master bedroom. The pendulum spun widdershins rapidly directly over the center of the bed.

At 10:45 am, a pendulum reading spins widdershins in the boy’s room near the closet.

Psychic Artistry and Impressions

At 9:50 am, Angela senses and “older man, well dressed, bald male with glasses the living room of the location. Images are offered in our gallery. Angela also senses an elderly, hunched over woman dressed in black, possibly an immigrant in the same location.

At 9:50 am, one investigator notes the sudden sensation of pain between the shoulder blades upon our arrival at the location.

At 9:56 am, Justyn notes sensing negativity coming from the master bedroom upon entering the location. The repeated sensation of pain occurs; Justyn notes “ a sharp pain in the upper left arm.”

At 10:00 am, Angela senses a “small, friendly looking black dog.” The client later confirms that she had a “black lab” that had passed away.

At 10:04 am, one of our investigators sensed the presence of a “small girl in the center of the kitchen.” They sensed a sadness from the child and felt like the child was being kept there for some reason.

At 10:05 am, Justyn reports experiencing a slight bout of unexplained nausea.

At 10:05 am, Angela gets “an image of a child/young male playing a trick by pouring out contents of a tea kettle. She senses that this child “causes trouble and hides things.” This assertion correlates with the reports made by another investigator of the spirit “young boy, five of six years old,” at the location. Neither investigator had knowledge of the other investigators notes when these images were documented.

At 10:10 am, Angela senses “a young African American female, perhaps a teenager or adolescent. She also senses African American male presence.

At 10:20 am, Angela sensed a “large shadow figure” in the kitchen. She feels that it is very negative.

At 10:22 am, Justyn reports still feeling an “oppressive feeling coming from the master bedroom of the location.” Four minutes later a positive EMF reading is detected in the same bedroom.

At 10:25 am, Angela notes that she suddenly feels the onset of nausea and chills that cannot otherwise be explained in the Master bedroom. This assertion correlates with the same feelings that Justyn reports in his notes: neither investigator knew of the other investigator’s notes at the time they were documented. Angela also senses the presence of an “older woman, perhaps from the turn of the last century,” in the master bedroom. Images are offered in our gallery.

At 10:27 am one of our investigators sensed the presence of a small boy; “the boy had brown hair, kind of messy, and looked about five or six years old. He was wearing blue night clothes and appeared distressed or sad.”

At 10:28 am, Angela senses a “miscarriage/loss of a baby.” She also started to experience back pain at that time. Later, during the interview process with the client, the client told us that she had indeed lost a child.

At 10:30 am, Angela senses a presence by the closet door in the daughter’s bedroom.

At 10:30 am, one of our investigators notes feeling a shadowy presence in the master bedroom. Bear in mind that our investigators knew nothing about the history of the location before entering and they had no knowledge about the shadowy figure or the voices heard in the master bedroom before making a note about what they sensed.

At 10:35 am, Angela notes that that “she feels heart palpitations near the television set in the boy’s bedroom.” Immediately after this incident the bedroom door closed by itself without explanation.

At 10:39 am, one of our investigators sensed a Native American spirit.

At 10:40 am, Angela notes the sensation of another presence: “a dark skinned, older woman, perhaps foreign, wearing a headdress or scarf around her head.

At 10:45 am, one of our investigators notes “felt an evil or dark presence by the closet in the boy’s room. This coincides with a pendulum reading spinning widdershins in the same location.

Issues with Equipment

Two out of there digital cameras malfunctioned upon our arrival at the site. One camera failed to work completely and another camera experienced immediate battery drain despite being fully charged upon our arrival.

Conclusions: Interactive Haunting.

It is possible that the clients have been followed from one location to another by the same preternatural source. It is also possible that the family is encountering new activity with each move. Many of the evps were in direct response to our questions. A number of psychic impressions correlate with reports that the couple provided to us only after our investigative processes were completed. We conducted a clearing at the location. We have since spoke to the client and all seems to be well at this time. We have advised the client that if they require further assistance to keep in touch with our team.

Special Notes: The ISIS Paranormal Investigations team would like to thank Kristina and Scott for allowing us to investigate and for being open with us as they shared thier experiences.

Additional Evidence:

• View our Photo Gallery for paranormal photos associated with this case.
  
• View our EVP Gallery for Electronic Voice Phenomena captures associated with this case.

History sources:

USGenWeb: "http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyrensse/lansing.htm."

Lansingburgh Historical Society: "http://www.lansingburghhistoricalsociety.org/A_Brief_History.html."