Ghost hunters call Marsh House haunted

/Home/Haunted Locations

Ghost hunters call Marsh House haunted
May 19, 2009
Chloé Morrison
timesfreepress.com

After two all-night investigations and hours of taking video and audio recordings, the evidence is clear — there are ghosts at the Marsh House, a group of paranormal experts concluded.

“It is our opinion that the Marsh House is in fact haunted,” ghost hunter Rick Howard said Monday night.

More than 40 people crowded into the antebellum home Monday night to hear the results of an April investigation by the nonprofit group Ghosts and History of Southeast Tennessee, or GHOST.

Last month’s investigation was the second at the Marsh House.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Marsh House was built in 1836 and was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. For more information visit http://www.marshhouseoflafayette.com/.

At both investigations, GHOST members took hours of audio and video recordings in an effort to explain the unexplainable. They also took photos and documented personal experiences.

After the first investigation at the home, ghost hunters identified paranormal activity, which included six audio recordings that caught unexplainable voices, which are called EVP’s or electronic voice phenomena.

Voices that cannot be heard with a human ear, but are picked up by an audio recorder are called EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena, Vice President of GHOST Jeff Holder said.

Monday night Mr. Howard showed more evidence, such as four additional audio recordings and one photo that shows a shadowy figure. Many investigators also had “personal experiences,” from hearing constant tapping to having their hair pulled, Mr. Howard said.

“We go into an investigation with a completely open mind,” he said. “How many times can I stand up here and say, ‘This is not a human voice, but it’s not a ghost?’”

Many curious residents from Northwest Georgia to Chattanooga listened to the ghost hunters’ results.

Some were convinced and others weren’t.

Chattanooga resident John Parker said he has always been interested in ghosts. He said the audio recordings were convincing.

“I really believe that they exist,” he said. “I think there is something beyond (us).”

Sysco Torres, from Chattanooga, said he isn’t so sure.

“It takes a lot for me to believe,” he said.

Despite the varying opinions, Mary Smitherman, with the Marsh House Task Force that maintains and operates the old home, said the results and the “Certified Haunted” plaque she accepted from GHOST members is “fantastic.”

Many visitors ask if the Marsh House is haunted, and now she has an official answer, she said.

“This group is very professional,” she said of the ghost hunters. “They are very credible.”

GHOST has completed about 50 investigations, and the Marsh House is just the fifth one ever classified as haunted.