THE INITIAL INTERVIEW

The report of a haunted house in Tumwater, WA seemed to be something that was worth investigating. On Thursday night, January 10, 2002, Ross and Patricia took the hour drive to do the initial walk-through.

Arriving in Tumwater, Ross and Patricia were greeted by Diana, the owner of the house, and Lisa and Julie, friends of Ross who had initially told him about the house. While interviewing Diana, it was learned that she had seen many strange occurrences in the house since purchasing it about two years prior. Lisa had also been witness to a strange incident while house-sitting one night.

The house, which is about twenty years old, was owned by an elderly couple whose last name is believed to have been Humphries. Mr. Humphries passed away, while his wife was eventually admitted into a nursing home, where she passed away, as well. After sitting empty for about four years, the house was purchased by Diana and her husband, still containing the clothes and furniture of the deceased owners. The clothing was removed, but most, if not all of the furniture remains to this day, along with pictures on the walls and drapes on the windows. One particularly interesting piece is an organ that sits in the living room that, reportedly, Mr. Humphries loved to play.

Diana has stated that, in the summertime, the curtains on the living room windows are left open during the day and one can see directly through the house into the back yard. On several occasions, upon driving into the driveway after work, she has seen the figure of an older man, getting up from the stool in front of the organ and then disappearing as he walks away. She also stated that she had once caught a glimpse of him in the master bedroom.

Diana definitely feels that there is a presence in the house, but does not consider it to be threatening.

Following the initial interview, Ross and Patricia proceeded to do the walk-through, taking pictures with their digital cameras. Ross was having problems with the batteries, so was unable to view the pictures on his camera screen as they were being taken. After going through each room of the house, as well as the outside yard around the house, Diana was thanked and the first visit was completed.

It was a few days before Ross could download his photos onto the computer, as he was in the process of installing a new hard drive. To his surprise, upon finally downloading the photos, one taken in the spare bedroom, the room in which Mr. Humphries slept, showed a strange black mass, which is definitely not a shadow on the wall and floor. Even more surprising were photos taken in the back yard, which show ectoplasm in which, upon examination, a distinct figure can be seen. These photos were particularly startling, as there was nothing there when they were taken.

THE FOLLOW-UP

Due to these discoveries, it was decided that a second visit would be planned before the actual investigation too place. So, the following Thursday, Ross, Patricia and Mark arranged to return to Dianas home, joined by Mark B. of the Washington State Ghost Society (WSGS) and friends, Lisa and Julie.

During this visit, more photos were taken, as well as video and an attempt at an EVP, however nothing more than a few orbs showed up on the photos. The EVP proved to be unsuccessful, however Mark B. did comment that the temperature in the room dropped about 10 degrees. No outdoor photos were possible, as it was raining.

THE INVESTIGATION

The following Sunday, January 20, 2002, the group, consisting of Ross, Patricia, Mark, Barbie, Chas, Rachelle, Shella, Tom, Darrell, Dina and Dana, trekked to Dianas for the official investigation.

Upon arrival, the group was broken into three smaller groups, each of which made their initial entry into the house at different times in order to see what feelings each would get. No one, at that time, had been told about the ectoplasm photos taken previously, so not to influence anyones perceptions.

Each group was followed by Mark, with the video camera, to capture each group on tape.

While the groups were making their initial entries, Ross was busy taking outside photos with the digital camera. Much to his surprise, and delight, several more ectoplasm photos were taken in the back yard.

It was then that the findings were revealed to the group, who then sat down in the living room to discuss their initial feelings upon entering the house.

It was unanimously agreed that there was a definite presence in the house...perhaps more than one.

Rachelle felt that there was a woman, nervously checking out the doors and windows, perhaps Mrs. Humphries, lonely and confused, looking for her husband who had gone before her.

After the discussion, it was decided that a seance, conducted by Rachelle, would be performed. As everyone relaxed, the seance began, with Rachelle asking anyone that was present who may want to speak, to please do so.

Throughout the course of the seance, several entitles were felt, including a woman who was a neighbor of the Humphries, and a young girl, assumed to be the twin sister of Dinas boyfriend, who has passed away as a child, the result of a blow to the head.

Shella felt the presence of a woman, looking for something, perhaps a ring, in the vicinity of a cedar box with brass handles. Diana believed this to be her deceased grandmother, whose ring had been removed from her finger prior to burial.

At one point, Darrell felt someone put their hand on his head, which he said felt like that of a woman, while Tom witnessed a pencil, which he had placed on the floor, roll across the carpet with no one touching it.

Suddenly, several members detected a very rank odor, associated with an entity that Diana thought might have been her ex-stepfather, who was alcoholic. He was quickly asked to leave, and the odor dissipated.

All the while, Diana felt the presence of Mr. Humphries, once feeling him sitting on top of her and later, actually catching a glimpse of him by the organ.

During the discussion prior to the seance, video was taken which showed many orbs shooting around in different areas of the room. During the seance, a stationary camera was set up and orb activity was also noticed.

After the seance, a few members did one final walk-through of the house, while the rest packed up and got ready to go.

Shella, still talking to Diana about the woman looking for the ring, described, and then drew a picture of it, which Diana stated was the ring that belonged to her grandmother.

With that, the investigation ended and the group headed for home.

ONE MORE ATTEMPT

Still intrigued, we arranged one more trip to Dianas on Wednesday, February 13, 2002. The idea was to walk through with the digital and video cameras in the dark, in order to see what might be seen.

Attending on this outing were Ross, Mark, Patricia, Darrell and Lisa.

While nothing much showed up outside the house on this occasion, an EVP was done in the back yard, and some odd sounds were recorded.

Inside, a sit-down was conducted, with the lights out. One stationary video camera was set up facing the group, while Mark operated another hand-held camera to catch action from other areas of the room. Both cameras are equipped with night-vision for use in the dark. A tape recorder was set up on the coffee table, as well.

During the course of the sit-down, many orbs were seen in various areas of the room. Darrell and Lisa heard a voice when Ross asked if the entity was looking for its family.

Suddenly, Lisa, Darrell and Diana detected an odor, similar to that noticed during the seance of the prior visit, though not quite as strong.

There were some strange noises and the shape of a woman seen by Darrell, which quickly turned to a shot of light and jetted across the room between he and Mark.

After the sit-down, it was time to leave and, while packing up to go, it was noticed that a large blue bowl which had been directly in the center of the dining room table, was now pushed to one side, though no one had been present in that area to cause it to move.

We again, thanked Diana for our intrusion and went on our way.

OUR CONCLUSION

We feel that there is a definite presence in the house. One that we feel is curious about our activities, but is not out to do any harm, and may not be interested in making contact with us.

In viewing the majority of the ectoplasm photos, which appear to be directly in front of Ross and the digital camera, a figure of a man can definitely be seen. The further back one stands from the photos, the more distinct the images become.

We hope to make another trip to Tumwater in the near future. perhaps the next time, we will make clear contact with the spirit which is believed to be Mr. Humphries. Perhaps he may even play a song on the organ that he enjoyed so much in this life.