Edinburgh Manor, Iowa 2016
In June 2016 on a Sunday morning we all packed up our gear and headed south. A little over 9 hours later we arrived in Scotch Grove Iowa. Jeremy, Emily, Jordan and Brandi had rooms in nearby Anamosa. Brian, Kristy and Kelsey stayed in the “safe house”. A building behind the Manor set up with three bedrooms, a full bath, and a full kitchen. Some of the You Tube videos people have put out from their experiences there claim the safe house was active as well. We didn’t experience anything like that, just a good nights sleep. We brought a grill, bought some food and cooked out like we were camping.
We arrived about 6pm. We met Cindy, the Manor coordinator, for a quick tour and keys. Here is a video with Cindy as she tells us the history of the Manor.
Click here for a little more on the background of this location We were asked of our experience’s at the manor by this journalist.
Once she was done we got started. Started with supper that is, it was a long trip. We got going with the investigation about 8pm. The group split up. Some of us on second floor and others down in the boiler room. Brian and Emily are in the boiler room looking for some feedback. Shortly after he says “here we go” another voice is heard over his foot stompin’. This was caught at 10:20pm
A couple hours later Brian was walking down the hall. You can hear Kristy, Brandi and Kelsey laughing in the distance. In between the girls and Brian is a whistle. Rule number 3 when ghost hunting – NO Whistling. It wasn’t us.
So at 1:40 am Brian, Kristy and Kelsey were on the balcony. Brian covered his recorder with his shirt to block the wind noise. Kristy was going to get some eye drops, someone wanted her gone.
This was caught within a minute after the “GO” clip. Same balcony session. Brian hears a voice.
So that was it for the first night. Exhausted, we all went to bed. Brian, Kristy and Kelsey stayed in the Safe House remember. So they got up and started investigating before the other four showed up. Throughout the first night we had heard footsteps but always in a different area than us. At 8:41 am the recorder picked up the footsteps as well.
The rest of the group showed up at 10:30. We unpacked the DVR and set it up. We always have recorders going when at a location. During setup this was caught while Kristy and Kelsey were putting cameras up. Just having some normal conversation.
We got hungry and broke for lunch. If you are ever in this part of Iowa go see the Anamosa State Penitentiary. It is beautiful, and they have a museum in the old cheese factory. John Wayne Gacy spent time there. Shortly after his release he moved to Chicago and became the serial killer we all know.
After the side track trip down the road we got back to it. At 7:13 pm Brian, Kristy, Kelsey, Jordan, Brandi and Jeremy…so everyone but Emily, were in the same room. Emily was back at base camp watching the DVR cams. Group EVP sessions typically have had good results. Positive energy with the laughter often attracts strong reactions. A few times during our stay someone thought Brian had said something. They would hear his voice say their name or say something directly to them. He wasn’t even around the area when they heard him. Might have been a mimic. This time Kelsey, sitting next to Brian, thought he said something again. It’s just a whisper but you can make out a voice that doesn’t fit.
Shortly after this event we went out for a quick bite on the grill. Emily went back into the Manor to check on recorders and the DVR. Making sure we weren’t missing anything. She heard someone else in the building. Walking down the hallway, stopping at a door, then walking again. She thought one of us followed her in and were taking pictures. She looked at the DVR cams to see who it was, but didn’t see anyone. She called out on the radio asking who was in the building with her. After a long pause the phrase she didn’t want to hear came over. “No one is in there with you” She called back “Can you send someone in here please?” Brandi and Kristy went to her aid. She explained what she was hearing and they tried to gauge about where in the building the activity was happening. It was down the men’s wing. They caught the next to clips. The first at 8:17 pm the next at 8:34 pm.
We all went back in shortly after. We continued to hear noises in other rooms, but didn’t get anything we feel is evidence. This next clip is Unexplained. Emily and Jeremy were at base camp just to the right of the entrance doors you are about to see. We always put a camera at the exits. It’s important to see who is coming and going and what is going on outside. At 11:19 we heard a loud bang. As if someone had thrown a basketball at the front door. Brian and Kristy were a couple rooms away and heard it to. In the following clip the DVR video and the Hi-8 video are paired up to show you what happened. We could find no cause for the bang. Brandi, Jordan and Kelsey come from the back of the building. You will see their flashlight go across the windows as they search for anything that could have caused it.
Some things to note, if you find yourself going there. The basement is a fear cage. The sprinkler pipes were giving off EMF reading into the double digits at times. EMF can be responsible for many different effects on your body, even hallucinations. We heard on the recorders what sounded like furniture moving and other loud bangs. We never saw any of it to know for a 100% that that’s what we are hearing. So we didn’t include any of it. What we experienced was a lot of activity but always in other areas from where we were. Prepare to do a lot of chasing. We even split up and had people down the hall from the group conducting the EVP session keeping silent. Just to see if they could hear or witness any of the far off noises.
We had a good time. If you want to check the place out for yourself here is a link edinburghmanor.wixsite.com/edinburgh