Investigation: Trenton, NJ

Investigation: Trenton, NJ - Residence

Date of Investigation: 11/3/06

Investigators: Arthur Matos, Jason Stroming, Laura Pennace, Jeannine Stroming

The Scene

On Friday, November 3rd, the EPIC team visited an old Victorian townhouse in Trenton, N.J. The home, once a 3-story residence, has been converted in apartments that are rented to local college students. The EPIC team had access to the third floor apartment, belonging to students named Lindsay and Lisa, as well as a second floor bedroom and bathroom.

Most of the activity that the residents reported was centered around Lisa's bedroom, as well as the second floor bedroom, which belongs to another male student. But the bathroom has also been cited as having an "eerie feeling." An apparition of a woman has been seen both in Lisa's bedroom, as well as the second floor bedroom. A clock radio would seemingly turn on even when it was not set.

The EPIC team set up its base of operations (or "safe room") in a fourth bedroom on the third floor, in the back of the house. An infrared camera, connected to the DVR system, was set up in Lisa's bedroom, while the second floor bedroom and bathroom were monitored by camcorders. A camcorder was also placed in Lisa's bedroom, to capture a different angle. Each bedroom also had a digital audio recorder running throughout the investigation.

The Investigation

The EPIC team split into two smaller teams to cover the house. Artie and Jason on Team 1, Laura and Jeannine on Team 2. Team 2 started the investigation with some EMF sweeps and EVP work in the downstairs bedroom, while team 1 monitored the live feed on the DVR. Team 1 also investigated Lisa's bedroom, conducting EMF sweeps, taking photographs, and also doing some EVP work. Team 2 also did a walkthrough of the bathroom. Once each team was done with their floor, a short break was taken, and the teams switched floors. Once each team had covered the "hot spots," the investigation was ended.

The Findings

During the investigation, the EPIC team did not experience the most commonly reported occurrence, the radio turning on by itself. All EMF readings were low, normal, and steady throughout the investigation. Considering the age of the home, this is, ironically, unusual! But nothing could be discerned from EMF readings.

As far as photographic and video evidence, nothing visual showed up on film. We caught the usual dust orbs in a few pictures, and saw them on video, but these were obviously dust, and nothing impressive. Digital cameras were used, as well as standard 35mm film, but nothing of note was found.

As for the audio evidence, a few interesting things were found on playback. The first occured in Lisa's bedroom, during Team 1's investigation of the room. At one point, Jason says he feels something touching his head. A few seconds later, a sounds is heard, much like the light plucking of guitar string (probably a low E string). There was an acoustic guitar in the room at the time, though neither investigator was near it, or heard the sound at the time. hardly impressive, but a bit unusual.

The second piece of audio evidence, while still not a full-fledged EVP, is a bit more impressive. During Team 2's investigation of Lisa's bedroom, the Team grows impatient, and begins to provoke any possible paranormal presence. It is during this time that Laura has a very personal experience, and feels the sudden urge to leave the room. The team decides to end the investigation, and quickly leaves the room, as Laura feels very uncomfortable. The team is clearly heard leaving the room, and the door clicks shut behind them. A few seconds later, a sigh or an exhale is clearly hear, apparently close to the recorder. Interestingly, this "sigh" is corroborated on the camcorder audio that was also recording in the room. This verifies that the girls had indeed left the room. While not as impressive as an EVP, it definitely sounds like someone exhaling, and it immediately followed the girls exiting the room after a personal experience.

Listen to the audio evidence

Conclusions

The EPIC team is not prepared to say the house is haunted, since we really didn't catch any conclusive evidence to prove that to be the case. While we did catch a few unusual audio clips, and Laura had an extremely unsettling personal experience, none of these things constitutes what we would consider proof of a haunting. The residents seem very sincere, and we honestly believe that they have experienced some sort of activity. Even the EPIC team experienced some activity, but it just wasn't conclusive enough to label it as "paranormal." For now, this case will have to remain unexplained.