NORTHLAND FARMHOUSE - STRANGE EVENTS

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During the course of the investigation we had several interesting situations arise. We were constantly searching for natural explanations for anything that happened which appeared to be out-of-the-ordinary. For something to be considered paranormal, all natural explanations must be examined and excluded as possibilities. Here are the strange events and our analysis of each of them.... TAPPING SOUNDS DURING EVPs EFFORTS There was some fairly interesting tapping that occurred at several points during our EVP exercises. The first time we encountered this we were in the SW bedroom. As we asked questions and gave spans of silence to allow for potential answering on our audio tape, we kept hearing tapping. The timing of the tapping seemed to be timed to our questions, but not 100% consistantly... We set about trying to find a natural explanation for the tapping, and outside we discovered that several trees in close proximity to the house were tapping on the outside walls when the wind blew. We listened to that for a few minutes, and then went back inside and continued to listen to the same tapping. It was clear to us at that point that the tapping was merely the trees and what seemed like the purposeful timing of the tapping to our questions was happen-stance...just a misleading coincidence. FEELINGS OF BEING TOUCHED IN THE NW BEDROOM Mike, Chris, and I split up and quietly sat down in three different rooms. We normally stay in pairs, but since we had been in the house for three hours at this point and were within ear-shot of each other, we decided that doing solo vigils would be safe. Chris was located in the NW bedroom, standing in the center of the room. Chris felt something touch the back of his head. Chris thought that a string from a ceiling light or something hanging from the ceiling had touched him, but when he looked for such a thing...there was nothing that could have touched him. Chris did not know it at the time, but he was in the bedroom where the 12-year-old girl was touched on the head and shoulders (see the Background & History section of this investigation report). Chris told us what had happened, and Mike and I joined Chris back in the room to do some more EVP work, take some photos, and shoot some video. We all re-examined the ceiling and could not find anything hanging from the ceiling or in the area he was standing that could have made him feel that way. Chris and Mike left briefly to figure out a setting on a camera they were having difficulty with, and I was standing alone in the room in the dark. As I stood there, I felt something touch the top of my head, on the right side of the crown of my head. I immediately reached up and rubbed the spot. As Chris stated there were no cobwebs or other items hanging from the ceiling of the room. My immediate reaction was to chalk the feeling up to the "power of suggestion," though I'm not sure I should have immediately disregarded the experience out-of-hand. Does the fact that Chris felt as if something touched his head, and then I had the same sensation minutes later actually "prove" anything? Well...we wouldn't call it proof. But it was interesting... CHILD'S MARBLE SUDDENLY APPEARS? At the very end of the investigation, I walked back into the living room to get something, and I heard what sounded like a rock or marble falling to the ground at my feet. When I looked down there was a shiny marble sitting there on the floor. The sound the marble had made had me wondering where it had come from...at it really did sound like it had fallen to the floor, hit, and bounced.   Mike and Chris came back into the house, and Mike confirmed that he had seen the marble on the floor earlier. Some quick experimentation made it clear that the most likely explanation was that I had unwittingly kicked the small object up into the air, causing it to fall at my feet. We were able to recreate this in two different ways...and it was clear there was nothing unnatural or parnormal about the whole marble episode at all. VIDEO CAMERA MALFUNCTIONS IN SW BEDROOM We had some trouble with our video camera battery throughout the investigation. Instead of being firmly locked into the camera, it was just a little bit loose. If you bumped the battery it would lose connection with the camera, and the camera would shut off. This happened a few times in different parts of the house. But it happened at least 15 times in the SW bedroom. Mike and I both manned the video camera for different parts of the investigation, and both of us had trouble keeping the camera and its battery connected in the SW bedroom. At one point, we figured out the only way to make the video camera work in that room was the hold the battery firmly in place with your thumb. This was not necessary in the rest of the house. Even Mike, who is our resident skeptic, at one point said, "I just can't understand why the camera won't work in here, but it works everywhere else." Does the increased number of malfunctions in the SW bedroom prove anything? No. But it was immensely frustrating, and gave even our resident skeptic pause to wonder at the disproportionate frequency of occurance in that room. PHOTOS & VIDEO After analyzing all of the standard film photos, digital photos, and the analogy Hi-8 video we taped, we did find some anomalies and items of interest. We located white translucent "orbs" on six different photographs taken in the living room, NW bedroom, SW bedroom, and the basement stairs. For a full analysis of these photos, please go to the Orb Photos section of this investigation report.   Later, while doing EVP work in the NW bedroom, bright orbs were visible on the viewing screen, and appeared to be flying around the room where Mike Cross was holding the audio recorder. To see the video and read our analysis of the orbs that appear, please go to the Orb Video section of this investigation report. At the very end of the investigation while doing a final walk-through with the video camera, I was in the SW bedroom saying aloud that the house was going to be torn down the next week and that we were leaving.   Reviewing the video tape later on I found what appears to be a face other than my own reflected in the window of the room. Its located next to the reflection of my face, just over my shoulder in the reflection. To see the video and read our analysis of the tape, go to the Face in the Glass section of this investigation report. -Mark Stinson

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