The
Hardware Store Investigation The
Hardware Store Investigation 
A hardware store in the heart of
Atchison that has been in business since 1986. The building has multiple floors
and a working elevator inside to bring additional inventory to the various
floors or storage.
Overhead in the next building
was a Dorothy’s Beauty Shop which we were allowed access to, as well as the
former Youngtimer’s Association. Franklin indicated that this could possibly
date back to the 1950s.
Address: 609 Commercial Street, Atchison, Kansas 66002
Phone: 913-367-7616
Website: www.atchisonhardwarestore.com
Owner: Derek Franklin
Hauntings: There have been some reports of noises and sounds in the
attic and on the main floor. An occasion, a fleeting glimpse of an apparition or
dark shadow. There was a person named Dorothy who used to work in the beauty
shop overhead in the next building.
The Ghost Research Society investigated The Hardware Store on July 27, 2019 and the team members included: Dale Kaczmarek, with help from Dean Thompson from Ghost Head Soup and Bob Davies from Champaign Urbana Paranormal Society
Equipment setup: All hand-held equipment was deployed including:
digital cameras and recorders, Sony Nightshot camcorders, Phasma Box, Ovilus X
and Melmeters.
Experiment performed: An Ovilus X session was conducted in the
former Dorothy’ Beauty Shop and a Phasma Box session was conducted in the
attic of The Hardware Store.
Personal experiences:
Dean Thompson: I wondered how a Hardware store and previously shoe stores
could be haunted, until we climbed the stairs to the business on the upper
level. The place was abandoned and was sitting like a time capsule from the
1950-60's. The placed housed Dorothy's Beauty Shop, Lotus Engraving Company, and
Young People Atchison Young Timer's club. As we toured the upstairs I was
over-come with one of the strongest feelings of Deja-Vu that I have ever had. It
took me about thirty minutes to shake it, and I didn't want to leave the area
until I knew it was away. Besides the Deja Vu impression nothing stood out for
the short time we were there, but would love to spend a night investigating this
space.
Dale
Kaczmarek: I really did not fell anything in either
location where EVP sessions were conducted. It was hot in both locations however
Franklin turned on a fan to circulate the air while we were in the attic.
Everyone was very cordial and
friendly and were very willing to talk about their paranormal experiences.
Evidence collected:
Female voices beauty.MP4 –
while conducting an Ovilus X session in the former Dorothy’s Beauty Shop, the
faint sounds of a female was heard and recorded. Some tried to debunk the sounds
as people entering the movie theater across the street, however when I quickly
checked, I only saw one person anywhere near the theater or us.
Twenty-eight beauty.MP4 – while conducting an Ovilus X session in the
former Dorothy’s Beauty Shop, a question was asked, “How many people are up
here right now?” The device said what sounds like, “Twenty eight.” Link
provided by Dean Thompson.
Phasma Box: “the change so
evil”, “sweet”, “apple”, “investigate”, “actually” and
“investigate.”
Conclusions: Both locations were interesting even though we did not
get very much as far as evidence. There was a lot of contamination during the
beauty shop session caused by a train passing by and people shuffling and moving
about upstairs. According the owner, there was probably no real ghost reports
upstairs in the beauty shop or other businesses; he just wanted to show up
around.
In the attic, where there was some past activity, it was very quiet for our session. The Phasma Box did spit out some words and phrases, but nothing that apparently answered any questions asked. We did get to ride up to the attic in the old freight elevator and that in itself was pretty cool!
Ghost Research Society (www.ghostresearch.org)
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