by Maureen Wood
PRAISE FOR THE GHOST CHRONICLES
“Ron and Maureen are the perfect paranormal investigation. Ron brings combination for a his skepticism and his belief in equal measure, as his dowsing crystal and EMF meter testify, and Maureen is one of the most genuinely gifted mediums I know.Together they inform, entertain, and intrigue their guests, both on this side of the veil as well as those looking on from the other!”
—David Wells, Most Haunted
“Not since Hans Holzer and Sybil Leek has there been such a perfect ghost hunting team!”
—Christian Day, witch, Salem, Massachusetts
“If my experience in Gettysburg with Ron and Maureen is any indication of their other forays into the world of the paranormal, the reader is in for a thrill-filled ride!”
—Mark Nesbitt, author, historian, and paranormal investigator
“I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in a couple of investigations with the New England Ghost Project. I like to think I maintain a healthy skepticism, but Maureen Wood’s abilities have left me seriously impressed. Ron Kolek manages to display a wry sense of humor while keeping a professional attitude toward his work. Together, they’re entertaining, profoundly thoughtprovoking, and fun.”
—Jeremy D’Entremont, author, historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation
“Reading The Ghost Chronicles is like taking a joyride with your crazy uncle and favorite aunt—you know your parents probably wouldn’t approve, but you can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.”
—Lesley Bannatyne, author of Halloween: An American History
The Ghost Chronicles
A MEDIUM AND A
PARANORMAL SCIENTIST INVESTIGATE
17 TRUE HAUNTINGS
MAUREEN WOOD & RON KOLEX
Copyright © 2009 by Maureen Wood and Ron Kolek
Cover and internal design © 2009 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover Design by Dawn Pope/Sourcebooks
Cover Photo © Jupiter Images; Rebecca Floyd/Jupiter Images
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.—From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
(630) 961-3900
Fax: (630) 961-2168
www.sourcebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wood, Maureen.
The ghost chronicles : a medium and a paranormal scientist investigate 17 true hauntings / by Maureen Wood and Ron Kolek.
p. cm.
1. Ghosts. 2. Haunted places. 3. Channeling. 4. Parapsychology. I. Kolek, Ron. II. Title.
BF1461.W66 2009
133.1--dc22
2009025669
Printed and bound in the United States of America
CHG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Disclaimer
Episode One—Channeling the Dead
Deep in the basement of the Windham Restaurant,Maureen trance channels an angry spirit. A confrontation develops between Ron and the spirit while reporters from Boston.com look on.
Episode Two—First Contact
On her first investigation, Maureen joins Ron and the New England Ghost Project at the Windham Restaurant. This is the first of a four-part series with reporter Brian Bates and WNDS News.
Episode Three—The Phillip Knight House
The second in the four-part WNDS News series, the Ghost Project visits a B&B that was once the home of the niece of one of the ill-fated witches of Salem.
Episode Four—The Mexican Standoff
In the third of the four-part WNDS News series, Ron and Maureen visit Tortilla Flats in Merrimac, New Hampshire, a restaurant believed to have been a part of the Underground Railroad.
Episode Five—The Crypt Keeper
On Halloween night, the Ghost Project ends their four-part series with WNDS News on a cold night in Old Hill Cemetery.
Episode Six—The Exorcism
A woman and her dog are being tormented by a demon in an old Victorian townhouse. Maureen and Ron accompany a Franciscan monk on an exorcism to free this woman from her demonic stalker.
Episode Seven—Ashes to Ashes
When a young family moves into their new home, they find the ashes of the former owner in one of the closets.Things move by themselves, the little girl sees a strange figure, and the whole family hears voices from the woods.
Episode Eight—Houghton Mansion
It was the home of a former mayor and is now a Masonic temple. The Ghost Project stumbles into a netherworld soap opera rife with secret affairs and a suicide.
Episode Nine—Dangerous Pursuit
Sometimes there is more to fear from the living than from the dead. Maureen and Ron go to a small ranch to investigate poltergeist activity, only to find that the owner has a dark past that has come back to haunt him.
Episode Ten—The Stone House
Strange occurrences in a government office lead its frightened manager to contact the Ghost Project.
Episode Eleven—Dream House
Answering a plea for help, the Ghost Project ventures to a small town in Connecticut where a couple remodeling their dream home discovers a nightmare.
Episode Twelve—The Spectral Hitchhiker
An uninvited guest joins Ron and Maureen on the way home from America’s Stonehenge.
Episode Thirteen—The Concord Colonial Inn
A remote broadcast of Ghost Chronicles in haunted Room 24 provides Ron and Maureen with unexpected results.
Episode Fourteen—Dancing with the Dead
Ron and Maureen join Jeff Belanger of Ghostvillage.com to investigate the light anomalies appearing on film at a dance studio.
Episode Fifteen—The Lizzie Borden House
The Ghost Project teams up with its British counterparts on an investigation at this infamous house, which is now a B&B.
Episode Sixteen—The House That Went to Pot
A family is about to lose their old farmhouse to foreclosure. Before they leave, the Ghost Project is called in to do an investigation, but something smells fishy.
Episode Seventeen—Wood Island Lighthouse
The story of a murder-suicide echoes through the walls of the lighthouse for this overnight investigation.
Conclusion
About the Authors
FOREWORD
Don’t tread lightly into the realms of the paranormal, because it can be a dangerous place.There are so many other subjects that intersect with and overlap the topic of ghosts and hauntings, including psychological issues, religious beliefs, history, science, legends, and even popular culture. Don’t think you know everythi
ng there is to know about ghosts because you watched a television program or two.
Do read on.
All over the planet there are individuals and groups whose passions involve paranormal investigation. These are folks who spend a great deal of time and their own money digging through old buildings, historical documents, and sometimes through the spirit world, looking for evidence of things that go bump in the night and answers to their own spiritual questions. Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood are two such people.
Think you have what it takes to hunt the supernatural? The demands often include all-night vigils in cold weather, waiting for something to happen. You hear a strange noise above you, and your senses come alive as the adrenaline courses through your veins.You think you’re about to find indisputable proof of a haunting, only to discover it’s just a raccoon in the attic. It’s all part of the job. But once in a while, when conditions are right—and with a little bit of luck—something happens while you’re watching and your cameras are rolling. It’s these moments we all live for, when we brush the plane that exists between life and death, where ghosts—and sometimes darker forces—dwell.We gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back.
What you’re holding in your hands are some of the documented experiences and evidence collected by the New England Ghost Project. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Ron and Maureen and working with them for several years now, and I can tell you that they bring total dedication to the subject of the paranormal.
Through hosting their popular radio show, their myriad investigations, and being out in the field for many years doing research, these folks are well-qualified to be your paranormal tour guides through some of their more fascinating cases.
New England is ripe with hauntings. Some paranormal legends go back generations and seem to hover over certain areas like a morning fog. When the stories become more than just tales, witnesses and families go looking for help, so they can better understand their situation or, worse, protect themselves from potential harm. In New England, when people ask around for someone who looks into these kinds of things, they often discover the New England Ghost Project.
When Ron, Maureen, and their team walk into a potential haunt, they’re trying to establish contact. Maybe there’s a mundane explanation for the phenomena, but maybe there isn’t. Being psychic, Maureen will reach out to what may be waiting in any given location as Ron, with his EMF meters, cameras, and other equipment, attempts to scientifically validate any oddities in the environment. When his EMF meter beeps, and Maureen’s face gets that faraway look, you know something is happening. I’ve watched Maureen’s shoulders slump and her head drop, and I’ve heard her voice deepen as she takes on a new personality—channeling someone the rest of us can’t see. Ron has seen this before and immediately reacts, asking questions of the “entity,” but always mindful of Maureen’s safety. If events turn violent, if Maureen starts to shake or swing her fists, Ron is there to subdue her, to bring Maureen back to our world, and to help her drive the entity back out.
When the information Maureen channels can be later verified by historical documents, you have what we in paranormal research call a home run. By combining scientific acumen with psychic intuition, Ron and Maureen bring you a complete picture of a haunting investigation. From lighthouses to spooky mansions, from ancient sites to private homes, this book takes you inside the haunts and into the world of a real paranormal investigation team.
Don’t tread lightly as you read through the chronicles of the New England Ghost Project. Do know there are forces and realms we don’t fully understand just yet.
—Jeff Belanger,
author of The World’s Most Haunted Places
and founder of Ghostvillage.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MAUREEN
Dear Reader, thank you for taking this journey through The Ghost Chronicles and walking beside us as we encounter what may seem like surreal paranormal events. However, truth be told, these glimpses into our world, as the saying goes, are often stranger than fiction. So sit back and buckle yourself in, because you’re in for a wild ride.
I’d like to thank a few of the special people in my life:
To my mother, Lorraine Couture, I thank you for quieting my fears while growing up as a medium and telling me without a shadow of a doubt that despite society’s interpretation of normal, I was normal just the same. If it hadn’t been for your acknowledgment of my gifts, I may not be as psychically open as I am today.
Jim and Marie Apitz, friends and family of my heart, thank you for being there in my tumultuous youth and believing in not only me, but also my blossoming, sometimes horrific, psychic abilities. It was through you both that I met my metaphysical mentor, Carol Waldie White, a woman who studied under Laurie Cabot, the official witch of Salem, Massachusetts, and who played an important role in teaching me how to control and not fear my gifts.
To the past and present members of the New England Ghost Project, you have always accepted me for who I am—thank you! Ron Kolek, my partner in crime, thank you for your openmindedness, your strong faith, and for having my back when the going gets tough…and oh boy, can it get tough!
To my family and friends too numerous to mention, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me in all I do. Yet there are a few I must mention: To my sisters Donna Fereira and Evon Tudisco, thank you listening to my spirited tales and loving me all the same. And to my friends Bety Comerford, Debbie D’Orazio, and Marky Gibson, thank you for your guidance, love, and encouragement, and for helping to solidify my vision.
Deidre Knight, our agent: you are amazing! Thank you for your keen insight and persistence. Shana Drehs, thank you for sharing our vision in our quest to bring our stories to print and for having the patience of a saint to see it through.
Most importantly, I want to thank my husband, Stephen, and my children, Sabrina and Joshua. Stephen, I thank you for your warmth of spirit, for your patience and understanding, for your support, and for your unending encouragement in all my endeavors. But most of all I thank you for being my balance, for catching the occasional glimpse of my paranormal life (as, Reader, you will later attest to) and, to my amazement and my unyielding gratitude, still welcoming me by your side. I love you.
Sabrina and Joshua, thank you for believing in me. You are the light that guides me through any storm. I love you both with all my heart.
RON
When I founded the New England Ghost Project, I had no idea where it would take me. After all, my degree was in environmental science—who’d ever thought I’d be chasing ghosts? But it happened. Perhaps it is my scientific background that pushes me to find the truth. Whatever it is, it has become my mission. Like so many other people before me, I really don’t care what others say or see; I want to experience it for myself. I want proof! It is that goal to which I strive. But what constitutes proof?
It would be great to be able to walk up to one of these spirits, touch its substance, and converse with it without the aid of a medium or psychic, but chances are, it ain’t going to happen. So I strive for the next best thing: photographic, video, and audio evidence. It is these physical things that we are more apt to believe, and yet to the unbeliever, no amount of evidence will suffice. Therefore, it is my goal not to try to convince you, but rather to share my experiences as I walk along the thin line between the living and the dead.
I cannot say enough about the people who have helped me in my quest. From scientists to witches, from psychics to skeptics, they have all opened my eyes to the many paths I have traveled. I would especially like to thank Maureen Wood, my partner in this journey, who taught me the ways of the metaphysical; Janet, my faithful wife of thirty-six years, for putting up with me; Dr. Karen Da Silva, who saved my life and started me on this journey; the many members and former members of the New England Ghost Project, who have assisted me with this voyage; Brian the Monk and Jeff Belanger, my spiritual and literary mentors; Shana Drehs and Sourcebooks for giving me the oppor
tunity to share my story; and most of all, my mother, Catherine Kolek, who never stopped praying for me.
So as you travel with me through the pages of this book, you will see what I have seen, hear what I have heard, and feel what I have felt. Is this proof of the existence of ghosts? You be the judge.
INTRODUCTION
Come with us on a journey to the unknown, the unexplained, and the unbelievable. Enter a world in which science and religion clash…or do they? The episodes in The Ghost Chronicles will test your senses and challenge your thinking. You will meet real people and hear real stories. But what will you believe?
Let the New England Ghost Project take you on a new kind of paranormal adventure, with investigators Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood leading the way.
Before we dive into the ghostly case files, there are a few things you may want to know:
Q: What is the New England Ghost Project?
RON: It’s a select group of people who volunteer their time to investigate the paranormal. Our goals are to assist those in need and to educate the public.
Q: How did the Ghost Project start?
RON: It all started with me, New England’s own Van Helsing, as I like to call myself. Back in the late 1990s, I cut my fingers off in an industrial accident. The doctors at the hospital were able to reattach them, but one of the doctors had a “feeling” that something was not quite right, so she sent me for a CAT scan. They discovered a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that had traveled to my lungs, which usually results in death. But they rushed me to the ICU and saved my life. While in the ICU, I had a strange experience: I saw the light, if you will. Everything was bright white. I felt warm, as if I had come home, and there were people all in white (not doctors) and angelic music. Then all of a sudden, it all disappeared, like the closing of an iris. The bright white light was replaced by the dim lights of the ICU, the “people in white” were gone, and the pleasant sounds were replaced by the beat of my heart on the monitor.
