Photo by |CIGAR|
The University of Rhode Island’s Paranormal Society held an evidence expo containing all the corroborating evidence they have to support the claim that paranormal activity exists.
“Basically we are getting together our best evidence from both on campus and off campus” Riley Pearson, the historian of the group, said.“I think it’s really cool that we get to go to academic building, places where people hang out. And we found some really interesting things.”
The group covered many places on and off campus at their presentation. The first that they featured was East Hall. This hall was built in 1906 to be a boys dormitory and inn 1960 it was remodeled to be used as an academic building.
In 2014, the Paranormal Society conducted an investigation at East Hall. Later, when the group listened back to the recording they took, they claim they can hear an unknown voice whisper “Paulie.”
Paulie was a member of the club and apparently he seemed to be upsetting whatever spirit was in the building prior to the voice whispering his name.
Another instance like this happened in East Hall when they heard a girl screaming on a recording. However, the recording was unexplainably lost. Other occurrences that took place included more voices whispering names and unknown knocking.
Davis Hall also had a good amount of evidence that was able to be shown. One member of the group described their stories from the building as weird and something they can’t explain.
At the expo, the group played a recording that they obtained from investigating Davis Hall where you could clearly hear high heels walking on the floor above them. The group members that were present for this say that no one was above them in the building.
Kate Marie Vasquez- Braun, the technology manager for the organization, made a point to say that their members understand the differences between buildings settling and unknown activity that can’t be explained- and that’s the evidence they were presenting.
The group was able to back up their next piece of evidence with a video recording of the event. The video shows a door opening on its own, members then said they recall the lights turning on. The group knew that they were motioned sensored lights that would not go off unless someone or something walked into the room.
The last paranormal experience that the group experienced from Davis Hall was quite troubling to them. The President of the Paranormal Society, Caitlyn Picard, says she doesn’t scare easily but this event rattled her.
The group was described to be sitting in the basement when they all heard an intense, low and distinguishable growl. They had all heard it at once and went running out of the basement. After that happened, they checked the area for any dogs, or people trying to trick them but they could not find anything that could disprove that instance of paranormal activity.
After the group went over the on-campus evidence they had, they went through their off-campus experiences, one of which was The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA. This is home to the famous killing of Andrew Borden and his second wife, Abby. The attacker allegedly wielded an axe that was used to commit the crime. Andrew Borden’s daughter, Lizzie, was accused of the crime,but was acquitted.
The Lizzie Borden House was where the Paranormal Society clearly heard an unknown voice say “shut up” on tape. Unfortunately, another group that was working with them at the time has that tape and the Paranormal Society was not able to show it at the expo but instead recalled their experience.
The last place that the group talked about was the Elder Ballou Cemetery. The President of the group remembers her experience from this place vividly and shared it with the audience.
According to Picard, when the group was trying to induce communication with a spirit, her shin starting to tingle. Once she looked at her leg to see what was bothering her, she saw a welt start to form almost as if, she claims, someone kicked her. As the night went on, Picard says the welt started to turn into a bruise.
Another member had a similar experience that night. Joe Barnes discovered not a welt, but a scratch on his leg.
After the group finished sharing the evidence that they have accumulated over multiple years, the audience also shared some stories they had of paranormal experiences.