The Charles Blodgett House Investigation

The current house was completed in 1849 in the style of Greek-revival by Israel and Avis Blodgett, replacing the family’s earlier log cabin. The house started construction in 1846. Around 1890, the house was moved to the south end of the property, currently known as 812 Randall Street. The house originally had aluminum siding which was later removed.

In 2008, the house was moved back to Maple Avenue; now part of the Downers Grove Museum Campus and the exterior was then restored back to 19^th Century architecture. The Blodgett’s were very important to early Downers Grove history. Israel Porter Blodgett, Sr. owned and ran a blacksmith shop and was credited with designing the self-scouring plow used to cultivate and plow the prairies of Illinois.

His second son Israel Porter Blodgett Jr. helped to build to much needed sawmill. The family was also considered to be very friendly with the Native Americans in the region.

The family was stern abolitionists and created a link to the Underground Railroad which meant freedom for many slaves who escaped the vicious treatment of their owners. The surname Blodgett was first found in Shropshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. Many of the family were buried in Main Street Cemetery.

Address: 831 Maple Ave, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Telephone: 630-963-1309

Owner: Downers Grove Park District

Website: www.1846blodgetthouse.org

Hauntings: Five people have passed away inside of the Blodgett House. Emma and Charles both died from pneumonia in 1920 and 1921, respectively. Harry Blodgett, their son, died from heart trouble in 1923 at the age of 56. William Blodgett, their second son, died of a stroke in 1933 while he was shoveling snow out front. He was 64.

The house’s most tragic death occurred in 1950 when 28-year-old Ann McGowan, Martin McGowan’s daughter-in-law, was found shot in the head. She was visiting her in-laws with her two-year-old son and newborn baby while her husband, Donald, studied for an examination at Michigan State College. Her death was ruled a suicide.

According to park district personnel, there has not been any recorded paranormal activity in the house to date. It is just an old house with some interesting history

The Ghost Research Society investigated the Charles Blodgett House on October 8, 2021. Team members included: Ron Lovatt, Andrew Puccetti and Dale Kaczmarek. This was a public investigation.

Equipment setup: A REM Epod was placed in the upstairs hallway, Nightshot camcorders and cameras, digital recorders, Ovilus V, Phasma Box, SB-11 Ghost Box and ParaTek app were employed.

Experiments performed: Ovilus V, Phasma Box, SB-11 Ghost Box and ParaTek app sessions were conducted in the downstairs Living Room, upstairs hallway and an upstairs office.

Personal experiences:

Ron Lovatt: The Blodgett House was interesting we did two EVP sessions in the family room for two different groups with a Phasma Box and then Dale took each group upstairs to try and make contact with the women who committed suicide. There was equipment deployed in different locations in 1 bedroom there was a Melmeter and K-II and there was a REM Epod left in the hallway both upstairs. Sadly my evidence of the evolution sessions from the house disappeared but I do remember getting a few responses especially when the younger girl in the second group started to ask questions and at 1 point we heard a thud and at the same time the remind upstairs went off.

Andrew Puccetti: This was a public event where we taught guests about the paranormal and investigation techniques. I was assigned to the Blodgett House with Dale Kaczmarek and Ronald Lovatt. We shared with the group and demonstrated a variety of paranormal investigation tools. We didn't get much with the group, and I was only able to take some full spectrum pictures and a small EVP myself at the house, which turned up with no evidence. However, I think the guests had a great time!

Dale Kaczmarek: This was a very historic location and our team conducted a public investigation event for the Downers Grove Park District. There were some strange wheezing sounds which were later debunked as someone with a clogged nose.

The REM Epod did alert during EVP session #3 in the upstairs hallway; however our group at the time of the alert were conducting an EVP session downstairs. There were also a few noises that multiple people heard audibly during that same session. The SB-11 Ghost Box did pick up several low voices during EVP session #4 in the upstairs hallway but they were impossible to discern.

Evidence collected:

Abe blodgett.MP4 – while conducting an Ovilus V session #1 in phonetic mode in the Living Room, a question was asked, “Can you tell me who the president is?” The device replied with what sounds like, “Abe.” (Abraham Lincoln?)

Did you call me down blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #1 in the Living Room, the device blurted out, “Did you call me down?” (This wasn’t long after Kaczmarek made a comment about anyone upstairs to come downstairs and join us.)

I can’t auf wiedersehen blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #3 in the Living Room, a question was asked, “If you’re upstairs, come downstairs with us?” The device said, “I can’t (in a female voice; followed by a male voice that said, “Auf wiedersehen.” (That last phrase was till we meet again in German.)

Johnson blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #3 in the Living Room, a question was asked, “Who’s the president of the United States right now?” The device responded with, “Johnson.” (There were two presidents with that same last name; Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969). However due to the age of the house, I would assume that someone was referring to Andrew Johnson.)

My time with him blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #1 in the Living Room, the device said in a female voice, “My time with him.”

People worn out blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #1 in the Living Room, the device suddenly said in a deep, gruff male voice, “People worn out.”

Seven blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a ParaTek session #5 in the upstairs office, a question was asked, “How many spirits are in this house?” The app responded with, “Seven.”

To anybody’s house blodgett.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session #3 in the Living Room, the device said, “To anybody’s house.”

Words spoken by the: Ovilus V session #1, dress, we, need, puncture; Ovilus V session #3, yours, describe, hour; in phonetic mode – help and yeah; SB-11 Ghost Box session #4, yeah; ParaTek app session #5 – error, kept, taste, equation, clack, orb, maybe, their, idea, Abby, son, indicate, seven and informed.

Conclusions: This was a fascinating place to investigate. I wish that we could have darkened the house and provided flashlights to those who paid for this event as the atmosphere would have been more conducive for experiencing anything as well as the operation of our Nightshot cameras. I understand that there was a safety concern for those individuals especially walking up and down the stairs.

There was a little background talking which created some contamination. This could have been due to visitors communicating with one another.

Since there weren’t any past paranormal events and we were among the first to investigate here, we were grasping for anything or anyone who was still hanging around since there were a few untimely deaths here. It would be of interest to investigate this location again as a private.