Investigation:
"Zip Printing" Business in Bethel, Ohio
Built in 1850
Built in 1850
Date: 5.4.13
VOLP Investigators Attending:
Garry, Johnathan, Shelly, Ericka, Connie
Guest Investigators:
The Business Owner, Priscilla, & Her Friend, Janice
Victory of Light Paranormal was called and asked to come to Bethel, Ohio to investigate a historic 160+ year old building with numerous claims of activity. After arriving and speaking with the gracious business owner, Priscilla & her friend, Janice, we learned that they had just wrapped up filming for an episode of "My Ghost Story" because of the variety of claims and the evidence they had collected.
*** Click Here to watch a video, "Zip Printing Tour & Possible EMF Communication": ***
Honestly, this blog will be just a little different than my previous investigation blogs in the sense that I will tell our story through using more photos than words for one simple reason: I seemed to pick up a lot earlier in the night (mediumistically speaking), but after only an hour or two I was unable to pick up on much of anything. I felt strongly that whatever had been inhabiting this building had either crossed over recently (but still visited the location from time to time), was residual energy (replaying like a broken record), or simply didn't want to talk. Who knows! Every investigation is different, and every medium is presented with different information that we are then responsible for piecing together with one another, so this was just another puzzle for VOLP to figure out - which is what we are good at!
Garry, another fantastic medium on our team, did feel he had significant spirit communication throughout the night, so I will post his medium review once he has completed it.
*~*
I will say that upon entering the building I was able to pick up on quite a few things that were able to be validated by either the current business owner or research.
Above: Probably the most interesting photo taken throughout the course of the night. The building was very old, dilapidated, and dusty, and we had been staring at dust through our cameras all evening. However, several photos were snapped both before and after this one, and this is the only one with these anomalies present. Could be dust, obviously, but why didn't the dust show up in any of the 9 other photos taken directly before and after this one..?
I was the first to venture upstairs while the rest of the group stayed on the first floor setting up equipment and getting ready for our investigation. It was dark, dirty, dusty, and very old - wallpaper falling from the walls, papers strewn all over the old wooden floors, boarded up windows - the place definitely had the creepy-factor going on, but it would take more than just sheer creepiness to convince this seasoned paranormal investigator of a possible haunting... so I ventured on.
Above: Shelly investigating alone.
As I got to the top of the stairs, I immediately felt a heaviness, as if someone were pushing on my chest). Connie & Ericka later verified that they, too, had experienced the heaviness at the top of the landing.
I felt as if someone was very aware of my presence as I walked the second floor trying to pick up on anything I could. The first room held a mop bucket with stagnant brown water that looked as if it hadn't been touched in ages, a half naked barbie doll facing backwards against a wall, and some old chairs that I was immediately drawn to. I placed my hand on the top of the back of the chair, and immediately I was overcome with feelings of sheer mournfulness. I wanted to verbalize it as 'depression' or 'sadness'.. but instead the word "mournfulness" seemed keep flashing in my mind until I said it out loud. I didn't feel this energy was attached to the building whatsoever; instead this energy was directly attached to these chairs. I had noticed that the business owner had several of these chairs both on the first and second floors, so I made a mental note to ask her where they came from, and moved on.
Later in the night, Garry reported he also felt a sad or depressed energy attached to these same chairs. He asked Priscilla & Janice where they had originated from, and they said they don't really know where they had originally had come from, but they had been used in an old opera house in town that had burned down, which needless to say we found very interesting.
Above: Second floor, first room.
Old chairs both mediums picked up held residual energy of their own.
Notice the anomaly in the chair second from the right.
Possibly dust.
*~*
Click here to watch a very short video, "Debunking High EMF's" in the first room, second floor:
As you walked further back into the second floor space, the heaviness became more and more prevalent. I wasn't necessarily scared or uncomfortable even in the second room, but I could sense that the further back I walked I would become more and more uncomfortable.
John had joined me at this point, and we made our way to the back room. Admittedly, I hesitated at the entryway for a moment - I felt very strongly as if I were not welcome in that room. As always, I try to put my empathic thoughts into words that you can understand and relate to, so think of it this way. Imagine the feeling you get as you walk through a dark alleyway at night alone, or the feeling you get if you walk into your bosses office when he/she is in a horrid mood. You simply don't feel welcome. Don't feel safe, and definitely not at ease. That was the feeling I got while standing in the doorway of that room.
John entered first, and stated that he did feel slightly uncomfortable, but not to the degree that I had felt. I shrugged it off, then proceeded into the dark room (you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The room had no lights and the windows had been covered and boarded up many years ago.).
I felt as if there were a male presence that hid in this room. It was a strong, grumpy sort of energy. I hesitated to use the word 'angry' because I feel that can sometimes carry a stigma for people in which they automatically assume 'angry' means 'evil'... which I assure you simply isn't the case. This was a man who was not exactly the nicest guy in life, and of course carried his personality into his afterlife.
Now, I will say that Garry says he had a rather morbid vision of this man later in the night in which he claims to have seen this man kicking a fetus across the room (in spirit - this was something he said the man choose to show him in that moment, not something that took place in the past that he was picking up on). This obviously indicates more 'evil' than 'grumpy'...but I can only relay my own experiences as being my own personal truths.
As I walked out of that back room, I heard a very distinct, very gruff sounding, "Come 'ere.." in my left ear.
*~*
Above: Second floor hallway.
As we walked back down the hallway of the second floor heading towards the stairs to rejoin the rest of our group on the first floor, I caught a faint glimpse of a woman in spirit. I didn't really 'see' her or 'hear' her, but I felt her. I wouldn't be able to describe her physically, but I can say that from an energetic standpoint she was a very strong, proud, and outgoing woman. That's all I got from her, until Garry later joined us and began communication with this woman. I hadn't yet told him about the woman, I had only mentioned it to a couple of other group members, so when he started describing this woman he was picking up on, of course we exchanged excited glances at one another.
He went on to say that she was a very proud, strong woman (the two exact words I had used to describe her earlier in the night), who was very proud that she was "the first" at something. We felt it could have been something along the lines of first to drive, first to own a business (which is what I felt), etc.
Click Here to watch a video, "Zip Printing Tour & Possible EMF Communication" where you can hear Garry speaking with the female spirit briefly in the beginning of the video:
*~*
As we ventured down to the first floor I got the sudden impression of two girls, or young ladies. I felt maybe preteens to teenagers, and these two girls were close. I'd even say siblings, but I had a feeling that it was just a friendship bond that was as if they were siblings. I felt that one of these girls had recently crossed over, and the other had not. The one who had crossed over did come back to check on the other from time to time, and try to urge her to cross over, but she simply wasn't ready yet (but I will say that I felt like she would be ready to cross very soon).
Upon speaking with the business owner, who also possesses some mediumistic ablities, she stated that she had also felt these two girls, and that one had had a baby at some point. She stated that at one point she had (in her minds eye) actually gone through the process of childbirth as this young girl had, and it was a very tragic, horrific experience. She was standing and actually felt the gush, and the pressure as the baby fell to the floor. (Garry later expressed he feels this baby could be the fetus that the man had 'kicked' across the floor in front of him.) She also felt that one of these girls had in fact crossed over, and the other had not, so she was able to validate that for me.
*~*
Later on in the investigation, a few of us were sitting in the front room of the first floor. We were conducting what we call "quiet time," with our digital recorders running. In my head, I asked the spirits to show me what this place looked like when it was in its prime, while they were here; I asked them to show me how they see it. In that moment, I was shown a glimpse of the inside of an old-fashioned barber shop. I saw a few stools on either side of the room, with men getting their faces shaved and hair trimmed by a husky looking male with a dark curly q mustache and slicked dark hair, wearing a white apron. I even saw the little cylindrical red, white, and blue, spinning barber shop doohickey. I was a little confused by this vision, because we had been here for several hours at this point and the business owner hadn't mentioned anything about it being used in the past as a barber shop. However, when I told my fellow investigators Connie & Garry about my vision, Connie relayed that there was, in fact, a barber shop across the street and to the left a bit - that could be seen in one of the old photos. It no longer existed, as a theater now occupies that space, but when I was shown the picture it helped validate it just a little bit. I'm now curious if the spirits inhabiting this building had a connection to the other building, because honestly I'm not real sure why I would have been shown this barber shop unless there were some significance to it.
Above: The Zip Printing building years ago; on the far left.
If you look closely (you can click on the picture to see it larger), you can see a barber shop fixture just past the "Shell" sign on the right side of the photo.
Above: A photo showing the building we were investigating versus the location of the barber shop as it had existed circa 1948 according to the writing on the photo.
Above: A larger view of the barber shop pole outside.
Very interesting! And let me just say, GREAT EYES, CONNIE! I don't think I could have ever noticed that. Really great work. Definitely validating for myself, but it leaves me with more questions as to why I was shown this barber shop. There has to be some connection...
*~*
Here are a few more old photos of the building... Enjoy!
Above: The building is located behind the car;
was apparently used as a hardware store at one time.
Above: The building is on the far left with the man standing in front.
Interestingly enough, Priscilla says this man in the photo
strongly resembles the man she's encountered at her store several times.
*~*
And a few more photos and videos of our investigation...
Above: The stairs leading to the second floor.
Above: Second floor, second room.
***Click here to watch a short video, "Debunking High EMF's" in the first room, second floor: ***
Above: Another interesting anomaly in the top right corner. Again, several photos were taken both before and after this one and there were no dust particles in any of them.
We were stationary, so we weren't kicking up unsettled dust at this point.
We were stationary, so we weren't kicking up unsettled dust at this point.
Above: Second floor, second room.
A car parts store had rented this building prior to Priscilla and her husband.
Employees reportedly left in such a hurry they refused to get any of the merchandise and customer receipts they had stored on the second floor. Priscilla made numerous attempts to contact them to have them come pick up their things, but they refused to go back to the building, and especially the second floor.
Above: Shelly (myself) in the second floor, second room.
Above: The business owner sets out dolls for the
reported child spirit that resides in the building.
Above: Ericka during our initial walk-through of the first floor.
Above: Connie and Ericka investigating the second floor, middle room.
Above: A mess of paperwork, invoices, and merchandise left behind by
Napa Auto Parts who rented this building prior to the current tenants.
No one would come to the second floor to retrieve their belongings,
so the second floor is literally cluttered nearly wall-to-wall
with things they've left behind.
Above: Garry reviewing audio evidence.
Above: "Chris wuz here 11/19/87"
*~*
VOLP would like to personally thank Priscilla for allowing us to come into her building that night for our investigation. We would also like to thank both Priscilla & Janice for their gracious company, and wonderful conversations throughout the course of the night. We left that location feeling we had not only had a great investigation, but had also made two new wonderfully like-minded friends!
Great job, team! Looking forward to the next!
- Shelly, VOLP
----- UPDATE: 5.15.13 ----
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR HISTORICAL RESEARCH WRITE-UP BY VOLP HISTORIAN, TARYN.
VERY, VERY INTERESTING STORIES! AMAZING VALIDATIONS!
