Augusta: A Paranormal Investigation

Augusta: A Paranormal Investigation
10/27/09
Reported by: Jessica Noll
kypost.com

AUGUSTA, Ky. – There is one city in Kentucky that can claim the Clooneys as their own, all the while treasuring a very animated past; a past that may have left behind some of the most active spirits in the Tri-State. In short, a paranormal investigator’s dream.

The scene is set in Bracken County, along the Ohio River with a Ferry in plain sight, traveling from Kentucky’s riverbank to Ohio’s. It’s dusk and the massive homes built in the 1800s cast indescribable shadows upon Riverside Drive. The historic homes become less and less visible as the sun sets and the moon begins to rise. The streets are dark and quiet.

The crisp September night began with a meet-up at The Beehive Tavern between investigators to take on the adventure that awaited them. Following a quick introduction and review of equipment they would use, the Tri-State Paranormal of Northern Kentucky (TSP) investigators split up and started their walk along the streets of Augusta, Ky.

Along the way, neighbors stepped out onto their porches, turned on their lights and chatted with the newly formed group of investigators. Cars driving past the team stopped to tell their ghost stories. Everyone seems to have a story and an enthusiasm about the spirits that inhabit their Augusta and have for centuries.

That same energy is what attracted TSP to come to their 200-year-old streets to investigate.

“[There has been] a lot of chaos and tragedy,” said Chris Maggard, co-founder of TSP. “The history is phenomenal.”

Co-founder Marybeth Stagman said that the people of Augusta, a city with heavy ties to the Underground Railroad, claim that it is no big deal to see a Civil War solider walking the streets. There have also been several personal claims of activity throughout the town, such as shadow figures, children sounds and women crying.

“When we walked the streets of Augusta, it gave you the feeling of stepping back into history,” she recalled from the team’s first visit to Augusta.

This time, their walk landed them at the main investigation of the night: the city's jail.
The TSP team: (L to R) Daryil Hicks, co-founder Tracy Wilson, Christine Hart, co-founder Marybeth Stagman, Ellie Barbarone, co-founder Chris Maggard, Josh Holmes and Stephen Bernstein. (Jessica Noll/KyPost.com)
The TSP team: (L to R) Daryil Hicks, co-founder Tracy Wilson, Christine Hart, co-founder Marybeth Stagman, Ellie Barbarone, co-founder Chris Maggard, Josh Holmes and Stephen Bernstein. (Jessica Noll/KyPost.com)

The Team, Their Stories—

The team, who formed in April, are made up of people who have either had experiences to tell about or believe that there is something else out there and are interested in learning what or who that may be.

Co-founders Marybeth Stagman, of Alexandria, Chris Maggard, of Fort Wright, and Tracy Wilson of Fort Thomas, all have had their own experiences and have investigated the paranormal for the past two years together and for decades apart.

“We all have had some paranormal incidents happen in our lives,” said Stagman. “We all believe that there is something out there and we want to get the proof.”

Chris Maggard, founder-
His past helped create his future need to find out what else is out there. The paranormal investigator grew up in California. When he was 9 years old he said he remembers waking up at 2 a.m. to his sister screaming in her bedroom. He explained that she was dangling her leg off the side of her bed when, she said, something grabbed her leg and pulled.

Following the incident, their parents took his sister to the doctor to make sure she wasn’t crazy and didn’t have any ailments that would contribute to her anxiety. Nothing was found. She was healthy.

In another instance, Maggard said, a shadow figure appeared to him and his brother.

But maybe the most terrifying experience that his entire family witnessed was one morning when they were all sitting together having breakfast. He remembered that it looked as if someone had pulled his sister by the shoulders and threw her through the window. He came to the conclusion that this was a poltergeist attacking his sister.

They had the house blessed and Maggard’s curiosity spawned from there. He started studying history, religion and science to help him figure out the paranormal, spirits, ghosts.

Now he pairs the paranormal with science to explain away any doubt during his investigations. He said he looks for natural reasons to debunk paranormal happenings.

He said paranormal investigations are about physics, anatomy, weather and spirits.

Maggard, who has been investigating since the ’70s, said that he wants to prove through science and investigation that there is proof of a spiritual world. And if he can help clients, especially children, sleep better at night then it’s all worth it.

Marybeth Stagman, co-founder, investigator and case manager-
She never knew her father, but she knows what he looks like.

Stagman’s father died before she was born, but he has visited her, she said.

“I see things. I hear things. I hear my name.”

She could always feel him around her. She said he spoke to her in a deep, soft voice and had “emerald green” eyes. One day she asked her mom about her father, whom she said she’d never seen a photo of, what he looked like, sounded like? Her mother answered her, describing exactly what she had always seen and heard, validating what she had thought all along.

She never told people that she could see her father. But now, she said it’s a major part of her life and she wants to know what’s out there.

She has pondered this question all of her life. Stagman, an investigator for a few years now, said that the paranormal does exist and that it plays a bigger part in everyone’s lives than they realize.

Tracy Wilson, co-founder, investigator-
He has never forgotten about the time that his mother was sick in the hospital.

Wilson’s mother was sick with pneumonia, dying in the hospital, when the family gathered to say their “good-byes.” But miraculously, he said, she pulled through her illness and went home fully recovered. She left, but came back he remembered.

He wants his question answered. “Is there a heaven or Hell? What is there to the afterlife, where do we go?” He’s been investigating for 28 years now.

Other members:
Ellie Barbarone
Christine Hart
Daryil Hicks
Stephen Bernstein
Josh Holmes


Journey To Jail—

Once the clock struck midnight on Sept. 27, in Augusta, it was officially the anniversary of Morgan’s Raid. This was when, according to Stagman, Morgan's Raiders invaded Augusta and killed many of the area’s Confederate soldiers, led by Col. Basil Duke. Buildings were blasted on the riverfront with a canon in 1862, including The Beehive Tavern.

“A lot of the soldiers hid in homes, but were found and killed,” she said. And over the course of the night the group walked the streets checking on a few of the city’s most prominent buildings and homes associated with Morgan’s Raid and the Underground Railroad.

Formed in 1797, Augusta is home to the oldest jail in Kentucky, built in 1811 on top of a hill in the center of town. It sits in the same location as it was originally built.

Made up of massive stone walls, the Augusta City Jail was once home to slaves caught in the Underground Railroad. It was used to hold runaway slaves for transport to the south as well as to imprison Civil War soldiers. The front lawn was used for slave auctions and hangings, said Stagman.

“Augusta has a lot of torn history,” she said. “A lot of death and a lot of mayhem.”

The jail is closed to the public now and is currently under restoration. It will re-open to the public once it is finished.

As the team peered into the historic building, through the iron bars, a few members heard a deep voice coming from deep within the jail.


Going In, Capturing Evidence—

The September night was cold and rainy, as the team approached the jail and entered through the front door. Seemingly the perfect atmosphere was set for ghost hunt.

The jail’s interior was surrounded by cold, stone walls, and was rather small with two floors.

On the first floor, the prisoners’ quarters, there were carvings, drawings, names and dates covering the walls from past occupants. A sketch encompassed one wall, from floor to ceiling, showcasing an old-fashioned sheriff. Behind the drawing sat a table and chair, which were in front of two small holding cells, complete with two prisoners’ cots in each.

In the middle of the jail, was a room, which was used as a dungeon, holding several slaves or prisoners at once. It was larger than the two cells in the adjoining room. This room was surrounded by four walls, which made up the walkway of the rest of the jail’s space.

Upstairs was the jailer’s living quarters and is in the process of major renovations.

The total team, which consists of eight active members, all paranormal enthusiasts, set up shop in the jail.
TSP investigator Christine Hart checks the temperature in the Augusta Jail. (Jessica Noll/KyPost.com)
TSP investigator Christine Hart checks the temperature in the Augusta Jail. (Jessica Noll/KyPost.com)

They used:

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Dowsing rods – These metal rods come in sets of two. Holding one in each hand, the investigator can communicate with spirits by asking questions. It can be a tool to help get ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers.

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K-2 meters – Meters measure the electromagnetic fields—sometimes referred to as EMF detectors. If the meter picks up a change in the field, the lights will change from green to orange to red, depending on the significance of the energy detected. It is believed that ghosts are made up of energy that can be detected by these meters. The K-2 meter also however, detects electrical appliances and electronics nearby. Therefore, the team does a base reading in each room that they will investigate prior to beginning.

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Audio recorders – Audio recorders pick up sounds or voices, known as EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), that normally cannot be heard by the human ear alone. When investigators ask questions, the spirit may communicate with him/her but cannot be heard. When a recorder is present, it can pick up the minuet sound of the answers the spirit is giving to the investigator. It has been known to pick up names, yes or no answers, as well as ask questions of their own.

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Video cameras w/night vision – The team sets up a montage of cameras on tripods and on tables that are monitored on a split screen by two investigators in the ‘control room’ of the investigation. Cameras are also carried by investigators as they move from room to room and ask the ghosts questions.

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POV camera – Point of view camera is important said Maggard, because he mounts it on a hat, therefore as soon as he sees something, the camera has recorded it and he doesn’t have to worry about catching what he saw with a hand-held camera.

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Still cameras – The team debunks most any form of an ‘orb’ found in their photos, because there are several explainable factors that can make up an orb—which looks like a fuzzy light or white ball of light in a photo. It can be mistaken for a spirit in the photo. Dust, bugs and glares off of windows or shiny objects are all easily mistaken for orbs in a photo. The team uses still cameras to capture any spirits that may manifest themselves in the photo in other ways such as an apparition—a ghost manifesting itself to appear as the person that they use to be.

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Infrared dual thermometer – This is used to detect a ‘cold spot’ or drop in temperature which is evidence of a possible entity. It is believed that if a spirit is present, it takes much of the room’s energy to manifest, leaving the area colder than what it was. The team will take a base reading on the temperature in each room in order to compare the temperature when it changes throughout an investigation.

The team also captured a photo that Maggard said is unexplainable. After much review, he said that within a light obstruction in the photo, there appeared to be a face.
The team also captured a photo that Maggard said is unexplainable. After much review, he said that within a light obstruction in the photo, there appeared to be a face.

What They Found—

Maggard said that the team tries to debunk paranormal happenings with scientific explanations.

“[You] have to be a critic with an open mind,” he said of investigating ghosts.

The team captured four EVP recordings (attached). According to Maggard, one sounds like a little boy talking and another sounds like an older man moaning or humming, then it sounds like he is saying “yes” to questions posed: “Are you hear?” and “Did you die here?”

In another voice recording the team captured within the jail, Bernstein asked the spirit, “Do you know how long you were hear?” The spirit responded by saying, “first 13 years.”

The third EVP documented was recorded while Bernstein asked, “If I knock on the wall, can you finish this?” He knocks: “shave and a haircut” … but leaves out the “two bits” for the spirit to finish the knock sequence. The response heard on the EVP was “Yes, absolutely.”

The final EVP was recorded after the investigators left the building, leaving the recording in the jail for documentation. “Got the flashlight" was recorded.

While in the jail, the team used the dowsing rods to speak to a male spirit between the ages of 13-18 years old, who was a slave. According to the team’s questions and the spirit’s ‘yes/no’ answers, he died in Augusta after escaping from slavery. He died of cholera.

Upstairs, investigators heard footsteps, then asked the spirit to perform a manual task. Maggard and Bernstein placed a flashlight on the floor about 10 feet away from them and then asked the spirit to turn the flashlight on. The flashlight turned on and stayed on. This was captured on one of the hand-held video cameras (attached).

The team also captured a photo (attached) that Maggard said is unexplainable. After much review, he said that within a light obstruction in the photo, there appeared to be a face.

“In the pic, there seems to be a face with a Civil War hat. It’s kind of hard to see, but after going over this pic several times, we are at a loss to what caused this image.”
Ms. W says: 2011-09-23 23:34:11
I have family that is connected to the jail in Augusta, Ky. My great grandparents were the jailer and the cook for the prisoners.

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