Old Blackford County Jail Investigation

Date: September 26, 2015

Location: 126 E. Main St., Hartford City, Indiana 47348

Owner: Dann Allen

History: The old Hartford City Jail was built in 1879 and continued serving the area until its closure in 1995. Dann Allen purchased the property in 1996 and lives in the front part of the building.

No one ever escaped from this jail due to its granite ceilings, floors and walls which are eight feet thick. John Dillinger robbed his first bank approximately one mile north of the jail. The men were housed downstairs while the women were upstairs.

Hauntings: The sounds of hard-soled shoes have been heard walking around the catwalk on the 1^st floor prison cells. Sounds of prison doors slamming and frequent shadow figures have been seen in the past.

A psychic who once visited this location claimed that there is a troll or gnome-like creature lurking in the basement and first floor. Scratching sounds have been encountered.

Allen once encountered the sound of heavy footsteps descending down from the attic towards his upstairs bedroom in the front of the building.

The Ghost Research Society investigated Old Blackford County Jail on September 26, 2015. Team members included: Stan Suho, Marge Sucha, Kathie Para, Michael Wright, Katherine Meagher, Jim Piscopo, Charles Williams and Dale Kaczmarek

Equipment setup: Static cameras were positioned in the catwalk around the first floor jail cells while other static and handheld cameras were moved from floor to floor when EVP sessions were conducted. We could not do a full setup as there was some mix-up with the date of our investigation and another paranormal team was double-booked for the same night. We first investigated the jail for a time and then switched over to the nearby haunted Speakeasy and allowed the other paranormal team to investigate the jail.

Personal experiences:

Kathie Para: GRS members present for this investigation were Dale, Stan, Marge, Kat, Jim, Chuck and I. It is an old, well-built building that served as the county jail and sheriff’s residence from 1879 to 1995. The current owner, Dann Allen purchased the building shortly after it closed and has been restoring it. It is in remarkable shape.

Unfortunately, the building was accidentally double booked for that night and we ended up cutting our time short. Dann has another haunted location nearby and we split our time between the two locations so the other group of investigators could also have time in the jail.

We spent the better part of the night in the jail cells, which seemed most active. We had shadow detectors go off in the cells, heard unexplained noises and taps, whispers and two members of our team saw shadows. There was also whispering heard in the booking area, just outside of the cells.

As we were initially bringing our equipment in several of us heard a dog whining, as if he was in the next room and wanted to be let out to join us. There are only two cats in the building… no dogs. Unfortunately, no one had a recorder running at that time.

In spite of our limited time there I feel the activity we did get warrants a return visit. There were a few areas, like the attic and the basement that we didn’t get to spend much time in. I am anxious to return to the jail and spend a full night investigating there.

Jim Piscopo: We entered the jail about 7:30 pm and unloaded our equipment. As we did this we heard a dog whining very clearly but we were told there was no dog at the jail. I set up my IR camcorder in the far walkway by the jail cells. After equipment was set up we did an EVP session in the jail cells. We had Marge dressed as an inmate and I was a guard. We got some good results.

After the EVP session we started a walk through. When the group went upstairs I stayed down and sat in the booking room with a Mel Meter. I watched the temperature drop from 78 to 71 degrees in about two minutes while talking to Ed who was a sheriff there and died in the office next to the booking room.

During the walk through the temperature stayed about 73 degrees. We heard a lot of sounds throughout the jail through the course of the night.

After the jail we went to the speakeasy and I set up a camera and we did an EVP session. Didn’t seem to get much but everything is still being reviewed.

Marge Sucha: Equipment: FLIR, Ovilus, SB-11 Sprit box. I also dressed up as a prisoner and Jim Piscopo had Sheriff’ props for roll playing.

We were only going to investigate the jail but due to a scheduling conflict we split our time between the Jail and the Speakeasy. The speakeasy is about a block away from the jail so this was a great compromise. We first investigated the jail. The owner took the other group to the speakeasy. The speakeasy was only about 1 block away.

We first investigated the jail. The owner took the other group to the speakeasy and while we were waiting for him to return we did a short EVP session in the jail cells.

One of the first questions asked was, is someone here and can you give us your name. The Ovilus responded with Ed. We later learned on our tour that Ed was the name of the sheriff.

EVP/ Booking area / Sheriff's office.

Dale and Chuck both had their Ovilus going. It was interesting that when one was working the other one was quiet. Dale asked if anybody was here and it responded "I am". We also got "glass Ida" Listening on my headphones is sounds more like "glass item" and "Push" Several times Chuck's Ovilus became very chatty but could not make out everything that was said. Something about a "big deal" and when asked "Can you tell us your name?" Responded "Can you?"

EVP/ Jail Cell Part 2 - The group split up. Chuck, Jim & I decided to do another EVP session in the jail cell.

Chuck asked if any there were any female prisoners & what were their names.

We got the name Melody. We also got Dr. - Shy - hanging. Not sure if it meant a person named Dr. Shy.

EVP/ Jail Cells Part 3 - Dale asked "Can you tell us your name?" Responded "Art"

Heard a gasp and a knocking sound in another cell we could not debunk.

Due to the scheduling I did not have time to investigate the Sheriff's residence.

This was a great place to investigate. We had many direct answers to our questions.

I really hope to come back here soon.

Stan Suho: Well this investigation got off to a bass-akward start. The owner showed up late and announced he had scheduled another group for this time slot. Sure enough about 10 additional people showed up and were surprised to see us. As luck would have it there was a Dance Hall down the street that was also haunted. So we decided to split up and do a switch-a-roo after some time. Worked out fine. Because of the late start, no set up was attempted. Instead we grabbed our cameras and hand-helds and set forth into the long dark cell blocks. This was a sturdily built building with 2 floors and a spooky basement. The group formed up into a well-equipped EVP team with all the bells and whistles and started making the rounds. This gave me a chance to use my new Monopod IR camera set up. Hopefully this will stabilize the camera as the pictures are taken.

Conclusions:
In spite of the mix up at the start, it turned out to be an interesting evening. I think the Jail could use a follow up investigation. As far as the Ballroom, I still think there's more to them than meets the eye (or IR camera). Time will tell.

Chuck Williams: I remember the jail feeling quiet, even though Jim saw something move in the hall outside the cells, and I saw its shadow move. The audio had more EVPs than I expected to get, some intelligent, some residual.

Audio- session one- There seems to be a couple of EVPs in Jim’s voice, but the host was doing the walk through, and I don’t feel Jim would be doing that. One in Stan’s voice as well.

3 loud bangs- during walk through. In cell block, Kathy P. thought it was Dale making sounds, but we can all be seen in camera expect the host who was talking, and Stan partially. None of us made those noises.

Kat and Marge noted hearing a Dog whining, there was no dogs there, one was later heard outside, but there are EVPs of barking, whining, etc. We didn’t tag those.

I was making noise in the table in the cellblock, an EVP loudly says, enough, and I drop my device, could a spirit have knocked it out of my hands?

The Ovilus was quiet or spoke nonsense at the jail, and had one almost clear full sentence at the speakeasy, which has differing interpretations from audio to video.

A lot of camera movement while at the jail from the static Handycam. I left it looser, and at 1^st thought the movement was caused by people walking, but it moves independently when no one is near it.

Michael Wright:

Dale Kaczmarek: This was an amazing place to investigate. Too bad we didn’t have the full complement of time that we would have liked. Only part of the building looked like a prison while the front portion of the house was the original Sheriff’s quarters, and that is where the current owner lives currently.

I found this jail very reminiscent of Porter County Jail in Valparaiso, Indiana, Morgan County Jail in Indiana and the Old Jail Museum in Allegan, Michigan as they were all smaller county jails with a lot of flavor and history.

While I personally did not receive many EVP replies, those that I did capture are definitely not residual but intelligent responses from entities still hanging around this well-kept jail. It was a pleasure to investigate!

Evidence collected:

2 bangs blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the jail cell area, two bangs are heard in the background.

3 loud bangs blackground.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the jail cells, three metallic bangs are heard and everyone is in the frame except the camera operator and our host. Nobody says they accidentally caused the sounds.

Alright blackford.MPG – while just beginning our second EVP session in the jail cell area, a voice says alright.

Art blackford.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X session in the jail cells, a question was asked, “Can you tell us your first name?” The Ovilus responds with, “Art.”

Bangs blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder located in the catwalk picks up the sounds of two bangs.

Bang2 blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder located in the catwalk, picks up some bangs in the background.

Booking area thump and boy blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the booking area, a thump is first heard followed by a whispery voice that sounds like boy.

Booking area whisper blackford.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box session in the booking area, a whisper is heard.

Boom boom boom blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP in the jail cells, three quick knocks are heard on metal.

Breath blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through in the jail cells, over Dale’s voice, a breathy sound is heard.

Bump blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, a bump is heard by all.

Camera movement1 blackford.MPG – William’s static camera facing towards the kitchen area, begins to move as if being touched by someone or something.

Camera movement2 blackford.MPG – William’s static camera facing towards the kitchen area, again begins to slightly move.

Cell breath blackford.MPG – a breath is heard in the jail cell area.

Cell gasp blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, a gasp is heard by all.

Cell noise again blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through a noise is heard again by several.

Cell noise blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through a noise is heard in the background.

Cell taps blackford.MPG – during an EVP session in the jail cells, a question was asked, “Can you tell us goodbye?” A tap is heard in response.

Ed blackford.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X session in the jail cells, a question was asked, “Is there anyone in the prison cells? Can you tell me your name?” The Ovilus responds with, “Ed.” (Ed was someone who once worked and later died in the office.)

Footsteps jingle blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder in the catwalk picks up the sounds of approaching footsteps followed a jingle sound; could it be keys like from a prison guard?

Fucking chick blackford.MPG – while starting an EVP session in the jail cells, a loud, raspy voice says fucking chick.

Groan blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the jail cell area, a deep groan is heard off camera.

Hi blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through in the jail cells, a whispery voice in the background says, “Hi.”

Hi2 blackford.MPG – William’s static camera facing into the kitchen area, hears a faint, “Hi.”

I am blackford.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X session in the booking area, a question was asked, “Is there anyone here?” The Ovilus responds with, “I am.”

Jesus not here blackford.MPG – William’s static camera facing into the kitchen area, picks up a whispery voice that says, “Jesus not here.”

Kathy blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, just before Marge talks, another female voice in the background says, “Kathy.”

Lap top blackground.MPG – in the booking area, Dann was talking about his laptop, when a voice also says, “Laptop.”

Lead pipe sound blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder in the catwalk picks up, several times, the sound of a lead pipe.

Murmurs blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through while our host was talking about the area we were in, murmurs are heard by several in the group.

No chance in here we’re out blackford.MPG – setting up for our EVP session in the jail cells, William’s camera picks up whispers saying, “No chance in here. We’re out.”

Noise blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, a noise is heard in the background.

Not now blackford.MPG – while just starting an EVP session in the jail cell, a comment was made my Katherine, “Dale still wants to be poked in the back.” A voice says, “Not now.”

Oh god blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session a voice in the background says, “Oh God.”

Ok blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, Marge says, “I just want to…” A very weird sounding voice says a whole sentence which is hard to make out, but it ends with the word, “Ok.”

Ok they’re out blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cell, a strange whispery voice says, “Ok, they’re out.”

Ow gotta go out blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the jail cell area, William’s camera picks up faint whispers saying, “Ow, gotta go out.”

Right blackford.MPG – William’s static camera facing into the kitchen area, picks up a faint voice that seem to say, “Right.”

Scream blackford.MPG – Marge says, “Is that where your camera’s at; over there?” A faint scream is heard in the background.

Screams blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder in the catwalk picks up several weird-sounding screams.

Shadow discussion blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the jail cells area, what sounds like a faint whisper, then Piscopo saw a shadow while others are looking and discussing the encounter.

Sneeze blackford.MPG – the sound of someone sneezing was picked up, but no one reacted to the sound or the sneeze.

Thump blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, a really loud thump is heard but no human caused the sound.

Voices blackford.MPG – Piscopo’s static IR camcorder in the catwalk picks up the sounds of several voices.

Wait blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, a whispery voice say, “Wait.”

Wake up blackford.MPG – as equipment is being a voice says, “Wake up.”

What’s that blackford.MPG – several are discussing a topic when a weird voice quickly says, “What’s that?”

Where’s slim Jim blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the building, a voice can be heard saying, “Where’s slim Jim?”

Whisper light anomaly blackford.MPG – while setting up for an EVP session in the jail cells, a whisper is picked up followed an unusual light anomaly that drifts along the left cell wall.

Who blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through of the basement area, Dale says, “You could have just stayed in there” followed by a little laughter from the group and then an older woman’s voice saying, “Who?”

Who me blackford.MPG – William’s static camera picks up a faint voice saying, “Who me?”

Woo hoo blackford.MPG – William’s static camera picks up another faint voice saying, “Woo hoo.”

Working blackford.MPG – while conducting an EVP session in the jail cells, Chuck asks a question and over his question a voice says, “Working.”

Wow blackford.MPG – during our initial walk-through, Katherine says, “Something’s better than nothing.” A loud whispery voice says, “Wow.”

Conclusions: With the great amount of EVPs, responses on the Ovilus X and Ghost Box SB-11, I would say that the ghosts of Old Blackford County Jail have a lot to say and wish to be heard. While some responses were derogatory, others were very direct and answered distinct questions posed to them. Some of the responses, sounds and noises can be residual in nature due to the anguish of being held in a jail, maybe for a very long time.

I found the camera manipulation to be interesting as I have only once in the past, at a private residence, ever had a camera moved by a spirit. Either they were trying to get our attention or they didn’t appreciate us being there and filming the prison. This could have been their way of reaching out to be recognized and it was a most impressive way indeed!

This location needs to be re-visited sometime in the future with more time, equipment, cameras and visiting more areas of the entire building. A Command Center with video monitors and motion and shadow detectors would also be a plus.