Paranormal Experiences
After encounter, I'm a believer
BY BRENDA NEUGENT Danville Register & Bee 08/23/2013
When it comes to the paranormal, there are those who believe and those who say they wouldn’t be swayed even if a poltergeist hit them in the head with solid proof. But I think those who don’t believe in visits from the spirit world just haven’t had an experience yet. My brush with the afterlife came a few months after my grandfather passed away. I had always been very close to him, as I was to all of my grandparents, but my relationship with grandpa was particularly special. We lived in the same small town, and as a child, I loved staying overnight at grandma and grandpa’s house, watching Liberace and “The Wild Kingdom” while eating homemade cookies and hearing about life as it had been on the farm.
My grandfather was the first of my four grandparents to pass away. He had suffered from depression through his later years, which was troubling to most of us, but afterward, I realized that we should have done more to help him deal with his illness, and I felt guilty that we hadn’t. After he died, I was running up the stairwell at the local college where I was taking a class. I was totally alone on the steps. Suddenly, I noticed the unmistakable aroma of Copenhagen snuff, a constant companion to my grandpa, who carried with him a Styrofoam spit cup stuffed with paper towels wherever he went. I stopped, felt the absolute warmth of love from this man who had been so special to me, and the scent of snuff slowly dissipated.
He visited me again, a few years later, also in a stairway — but this time, at the lakefront newspaper where I covered arts and entertainment. He was only there for a few seconds, but I couldn’t mistake him. I think he chose to reveal himself through that familiar smell because there was not only no way to mistake what it was, but also not much likelihood that someone else was chewing that old-time tobacco.
It was like hugs from beyond, and it made me an absolute believer.
My husband experienced more tangible contact when he saw the vision that would cement his beliefs.
It happened when he was staying overnight at his grandmother’s house, where he slept on a screen porch so he could catch the evening breeze. One night, as he was settling in, he saw illuminated in the moonlight a man wearing a dark coat and hat. My husband watched the man walk past the Screen in front of him and melt into the doorway of his grandmother’s house.
Later, after describing him to others, my husband learned that the man he’d seen was the former owner of the property, and was perhaps keeping an eye on what was once his land.
Almost everyone has a story, and Danville — the last capitol of the Confederacy and the site of the Wreck of the Old ’97 preserved forever in folk music and passed-down memories — seems destined somehow for legends, ghost stories and reports of paranormal activity.
Stories range from a headless ghost wandering Oak Hill Cemetery, trapped like a Washington Irving character in search of a head, to ghosts walking the halls of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.
When I was looking for an apartment to rent many years ago, one of the places available was above the museum, though my real estate agent suggested that it might come with a ghost or two.
I ended up choosing another place to live, so I was never able to see for myself, but the official story is “No, there are no ghosts living upstairs at the mansion.” (Translated: Ghost hunters aren’t really welcome at the museum.)
Still, there have been a few alleged reports of paranormal activity, including the aroma of cigar smoke, sightings of fi gures in mirrors and a decorator who had an encounter with a poltergeist who threw an ornament at her while she prepared for an upcoming exhibit.
Too, it would be hard to imagine that Maj. William T. Sutherlin was not hanging around during the days of mourning that just wrapped at the museum. The exhibit, which explored Victorian mourning rituals, was held in honor of Sutherlin, who served as a quartermaster during the Civil War. He died on July 22, 1893.
But even if ghosts don’t make their home at the museum, there are plenty of other places in the region where paranormal activity has been confirmed by members of the Virginia Investigation of Paranormal Science, a Danville-based group of ghost hunters known for short as GhostVIPS.
The organization was founded in 2009, when shows like “Ghost Hunters” sparked an interest, and members have since been involved in several investigations that offered a glimpse into the other side.
According to Will Moore, new batteries have been drained, rooms have gone cold, tape recorders have picked up voices and images have been captured on camera at several area sites where either legend or experiences have suggested visits from the afterlife.
As in real life, Moore said, some spirits have been chattier than others, but the EVPS — or Electronic Voice Phenomena — that have turned up on recording devices — have been particularly successful in capturing ghostly evidence.
At one home, the Doss House, family members had not only experienced doors slamming, lights turning on and off and toys turning on seemingly by themselves, they had also seen their nephew, Michael, walking around in the kitchen, even though he had died several years before.
An EVP not only turned up the name “Michael,” but also the words “Anybody home?” which the crew later learned was Michael’s unique way of knocking when he entered his uncle’s home.
“That was truly amazing,” said Moore.“They were comforted that their nephew was still there, visiting, and that he was OK.”
The VIPS also helped verify a local legend as part of their research.
In 2010 and early 2011, the team found themselves at Carter’s tavern, a Halifax County construction with portions dating back to 1773.
As the legend goes, one night in the 1800s, two newlyweds were celebrating their nuptials there when another reveler got too close to the bride when he cut in for a dance. The groom was apparently the jealous type, and shot the man dead.
When Moore and his team showed up, their audio recordings picked up the voice of a man who said the name “Jack,” and when asked who Jack was, responded with — “person at top of steps, who saw me dancing.”
It could be, Moore said, that Jack was the jealous husband, and his victim was still at the tavern, eager to tell his tragic tale.
And who really knows for sure? It’s a question that will keep the GhostVIPS hunting new cases and the rest of us forever speculating on those stories from the afterlife.
For more information about the VIPS, visit the group’s website at http://ghostvips.yolasite.com
Almost everyone has a story, and Danville — the last capitol of the Confederacy and the site of the Wreck of the Old ’97 preserved forever in folk music and passed-down memories — seems destined somehow for legends, ghost stories and reports of paranormal activity. Stories range from a headless ghost wandering Oak Hill Cemetery, trapped like a Washington Irving character in search of a head, to ghosts walking the halls of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.
it’s all about her august • 2013
