SI 3.31.07

Investigation: Staten Island, NY - Residence

Date of Investigation: 3/31/07

Investigators: Arthur Matos, Jason Stroming, Laura Pennace, James Bricks

The Scene

On Saturday, March 31st, the EPIC team visited a 1-family home in Staten Island, N.Y. The home sits in a residential neighborhood, near Silver Lake Park and Clove Lake Park. The EPIC team had access to the entire home. The residents are a family of 5, father, mother, and 3 children.

Most of the activity that the residents have reported is audible. They have reported hearing footsteps, light switches clicking on or off, and other activity described as "movement." Cold spots have also been noticed, as well as "light orbs" and papers seemingly moving by themselves. A rocking chair has also been reported to move on it's own.

The EPIC team set up its base of operations (or "safe room") in the basement of the building, the furthest place we could be from the actual scenes of activity, to avoid any contamination. A total of six infrared cameras, connected to the multi-channel DVR system, were set up in the master bedroom, one in each of the 3 children's bedrooms, the living room, and a secluded, unfinished section of the basement. A camcorder was also placed in the master bedroom, looking into the hallway, and the kitchen, focused on the side entrance of the home. Two wireless microphones were also set up, one in the youngest child's room, and one in the living room. Digital and audio recorders were used by each team, as well as Mini DV recorders, to document the investigation.

The Investigation

For this investigation, two teams were established. Team 1 consisted of Artie & Jimmy, while Team 2 consisted of Jason and Laura. Team 1 began the night at approximately 10:45pm by investigating the secluded area of the basement, and then moved up into the living room/dining room/kitchen areas on the first floor. At the same time, Team 2 began by investigating the master bedroom, then moving into the youngest child's bedroom, then the middle child's bedroom, and finishing in the eldest child's bedroom. Each Team conducted EMF sweeps, took digital & 35mm photographs, and conducted EVP sessions in each room they investigated. Stage 1 of the investigation lasted until approximately 1am, at which time the Teams changed tapes in the camcorders, and reconvened in the basement to discuss the findings so far.

Stage 2 of the investigation started at approximately 1:15am, but this time Team 1 investigated the second floor bedrooms, while Team 2 stayed on the first floor, investigating the living room/dining room/kitchen areas. Again, each team conducted EVP sweeps, took photographs, and conducted EVP sessions for each room investigated. Stage 2 ended at approximately 2:45am. This ended the investigation, and at this point the Team debriefed the homeowners and packed up our equipment.

The Findings

During the investigation, the EPIC team did not experience any anomalous or paranormal activity. EMF readings were well within normal parameters for the entire evening, and no spikes were recorded. This was to be expected, as the wiring in the home was only redone a few years ago, so everything was new and up to code.

As far as photographic and video evidence, nothing unusual showed up on the camcorders, visually or audibly. As usual, digital cameras were used, as well as standard 35mm film. We caught the usual dust orbs in one picture, and also saw them on video, but these were obviously dust, and nothing impressive. We did have an issue with one roll of 35mm film, and it created an unusual (but identical) anomaly on each print, so this was obviously due to a defective roll of film, or a problem during the developing, but not paranormal. The IR cameras that were hooked up to the DVR also caught nothing unusual.

As far as the audio evidence is concerned, there was one anomaly caught on the digital audio recorder. Team 2 (Jason & Laura) were conducting EVP sessions in the youngest child's bedroom. Jason asks "What's your name?" and a few seconds later, there is apparently a response. It sounds like a whisper, but it is there. Not a superb EVP, but definitely an anomaly, especially since it appears to answer the question. We will not say what we heard, since we want each listener to make their own judgment.

As stated earlier, there were no personal experiences for any Team members on this investigation. Unlike other cases, all Team members felt very comfortable in this home, and didn't have any unusual experiences.

Listen to the audio evidence

Conclusions

The EPIC team did not find any conclusive evidence to show that this residence is definitively haunted. We did catch an EVP, but the quality is not as good as we would have hoped for. The family seems very sincere in their belief that something strange is going on in the home, and the witnesses are extremely credible, and we hope to be able to conduct a follow-up investigation in the near future.