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| OLD BARABOO INN |
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| ANOMALIES IN PICTURE CAUSED BY SNOWFALL |
The Old Baraboo Inn was built in 1864, and has had many different
owners over the years, including one who still allegedly haunts the establishment. Current owner B. C. Farr has seen much
paranormal activity, including dishes flying off a rack, a floating broom and doors opening and closing on their own. He's
not alone in seeing these things. At last count, more than a dozen people have reported seeing things since Farr renovated
and opened the restaurant and bar in 2002.
The Inn is a former tavern and brothel, located across from the site
of the old Baraboo train depot. Baraboo once was a railroad hub between Minneapolis and Chicago. A prostitute named Mary reportedly
bled to death in the building around the early 1900s. Several other people have reportedly died in the building, including
two former owners. Farr said the old inn has seen a lot over its history. "There were gunfights in here. There are bullets
in the walls".
Farr bought the building in 1998 and first renovated the upstairs
apartments. The first tenant of those apartments reported hearing honky-tonk piano music, people laughing and singing in the
downstairs bar before it even opened and seeing a female figure dressed in a saloon dancer costume. Another of the tenants
in an upstairs apartment, who is trying to get out of his lease, claims he hears a woman's voice calling his name.
Investigation
December 10 & 11, 2005 4:00pm - 6:00am
February 17 & 18, 2006 5:00pm - 5:30am
Equipment:
TriField emf meter, Trifield Natural em meter, noncontact infrared thermometer, Nikon digital camera, olympus digital camera,
3 digital voice recorders, digital 8 track recorder with external microphone, 2 mini Dv video cameras, Hi8 video camera, 4
security cameras with night vision, DVR, 2 passive IR motion detectors and Toshiba laptop computer for real time analysis.All
video cameras equipped with night shot
Investigators:
Jim, Trevor
Baseline readings:
12/10/2005 - 12/11/2005
Kitchen: Emf 4.5 - 10mg Temp 55° - 64°
Living room: Emf 7.5 - 20mg Temp: 54° - 62°
Bedroom: Emf 2.5 - 4mg Temp 56° - 60°
Bathroom: Emf 3.5 - 5.5mg Temp 58° - 67°
Hallway: Emf 4 - 6mg Temp 58° - 65°
Hallway closet: Emf 3.5 - 4mg Temp 61° - 66°
Bedroom closet: Emf 3 - 4mg Temp 61° - 64°
02/17/2006 - 02/18/2006
Kitchen: Emf 9 - 12mg Temp 56° - 61°
Living room: Emf 15 - 25mg Temp: 51° - 63°
Bedroom: Emf 4.6 - 6mg Temp 49° - 60°
Bathroom: Emf 6 - 9mg Temp 57° - 63°
Hallway: Emf 7 - 10mg Temp 54° - 63°
Hallway closet: Emf 3 - 4mg Temp 60° - 64°
Bedroom closet: Emf 3.5 - 5mg Temp 59° - 63°
Weather:
12/10/05 - 12/11/05
Temperature: 14°
Dew Point: 21.2°
Barometric pressure: N/A
Wind: 7.2 MPH
Precipitation: 1.5 - 2 inches of snow
02/17/06 - 02/18/06
Temperature: 17.6°
Dew Point: 15.7°
Barometric Pressure: N/A
Wind: 4.83 MPH
Precipitation: None
Investigation:
After reading reports of the alleged
phenomena at the old Baraboo Inn, an investigation was decided upon. We were met at the location by the owner, B.C.
Farr, who told us some of the history of the building, along with stories of unexplainable activity. The majority of
our investigation would take place in the "haunted suite", where activity has caused tenants to move out prematurely.
We went upstairs and took baseline readings in every room of the suite, noting the abnormally high emf readings caused by
the power lines outside of the windows. The digital 8 track recorder and external mic were set up in the bedroom, where
claims of disembodied voices have been recorded. Video cameras were set up covering every room in the suite. A
passive IR motion detector was set up in the adjoining apartment to guard against possible fraud. Another IR motion
detector was set up in the living room of our suite, to be turned on when we were gone. An attempt was made to record
evp's, but we were unsuccessful. We then went down stairs to interview B.C. and some of the regular customers, who backed
up B.C.'s accounts of strange happenings. Afterwards, heading up to the suite for the rest of our time there.
During which we did numerous sweeps with emf meter and IR thermometer. At 1:40 am the Trifield natural em meter's alarm
went off and a series of spikes was recorded on the Trifield emf meter, from 3 mg up to 10mg. Audio recordings were
made in an attempt to contact the former owner, tenant and resident ghost, Dombrowski. After analyzing all audio
recordings, video tapes, digital photographs, and data collected from the location, we were unable to document any paranormal
activity.
Although we were unable to capture or experience any evidence of paranormal
activity during our first visit to the Baraboo Inn, we decided one more investigation was necessary. We had to determine
if it was a "slow" night on our first outing. After our arrival at the location we spoke with B.C. and were told
more stories of ghostly activity in the location. Some of them were the same stories from our last visit told more elaborately
this time, and others were new stories. Of course there were local patrons of the bar present to verify his claims.
One of the stories was that the cardboard beer advertisements hanging from strings above the bar had mysteriously spun around
in circles a few nights prior. As he told us this we noticed that the same ads were spinning and blowing around as people
opened and closed the door to come and go. We were then escorted back up to the haunted suite by B.C.'s employee.
He used to live across the hall and he repeated the stories of ghostly activity he had told us on our first visit, along with
the claim that 85% of the visitors have a paranormal experience, which was slightly down from the 95% claim during our last
visit. We then unpacked and set up our equipment. The audio recorder was again placed in the bedroom in an attempt
to record the woman's voice that is said to be heard there. This time we didn't have access to the other apartment so
all of our cameras were setup in our suite. One camera was placed in the bedroom, one camera was set to cover the livingroom
and kitchen, a camera was set in the kitchen aimed back at the livingroom from another angle, and a camera was placed in the
bathroom to film the door which we left open. The reason we were filming the bathroom door was because of a new claim
that people staying there had experienced the door closing on it's own. While taping down the cords to the cameras Trevor
brushed against the bathroom door which easily swung shut on it's own. When he went to reopen the door it was discovered
that the blowning air from the furnace was causing a vacum effect in the hall outside the door with noticable pressure holding
the door shut. We started recording with the cameras and the audio at 9:35 pm. We then walked through the location
recording emf levels and temperatures. It was again noted that the whole suite contains high emf readings due to the
power lines outside of the windows and the Baraboo Inn sign hanging from the corner of the building. We then attempted
to record evp's with no success. Throughout the night we did emf sweeps and evp attempts. We experienced nothing
paranormal in our second stay in the "haunted suite." After watching all of the video recorded, we found nothing that
couldn't be attributed to dust or other foreign objects in the air. No anomalies were photographed, and all audio recordings
contained nothing paranormal. Our Natural EM Meter didn't go off on this investigation. After reviewing the circumstances
of the alarm on the previous investigation, we determined that it was more than likely caused by something natural in the
environment, due to the high emf levels already present in the location.
Conclusion:
Although there are many stories surrounding the supposed haunting of
the Old Baraboo Inn, we were unable, on two investigations to find anything paranormal. To be honest to our standards,
based on the fact that we were unable to find evidence of a haunting in two investigations, we have concluded that there
is no paranormal activity in this building. This is the opposite opinion of the many psychics that have visited the
location, and that is the reason we do not incorporate psychics in any of our investigations. Although we believe that
some people possess real psychic abilities, they are rare, and even real psychics are unreliable, as they are interpreting
feelings and visions. Nothing they could tell us could be presented to the world as undisputable evidence, because there
is no way to record their experiences. We do believe that some of the experiences at this location were caused by hallucinations
due to the exposure to the high electromagnetic fields present in the building. While others can be attributed to the
power of suggestion, put forth by those with a vested interest in the haunting of the building.
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