McInteer Villa Investigation

McInteer Villa was built in 1890 by John McInteer who was born in Ireland in 1827 and began work on this house in 1889 at a cost of around $14,000 He owned a very successful leather and harness shop at 8^th and Commercial. W. Angelo Powell was the architect of the building. In the 1870s Atchison had more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the United States.

There have been nine documented deaths in the house. McInteer’s first wife, Alice, died in 1892. He married his second wife Anna Conlon in 1895. John McInteer died in 1902; Anna continued to live in the house until her death in 1916. From around 1916 to 1925, Anna’s brother, a prominent lawyer, Charles J. Conlon lived there with his family. He shot himself in the head with a 22 caliber in the right side of his head. He was 34 year-old-at the time of his suicide. His brother found him and shot himself in 1922. Between 1924-1952, this building was run like a boarding house called the J.N. Arthur apartments. In 1952, the building was bought by Ms. Isobel “Goldie” Altis who was an accomplished violinist. She dressed in black and hardly ever ventured from her home. Neighborhood kids called her a witch due to her outfit and the house, “The Witch’s House.” Shortly before her death on December 15, 1969, she sold the house to George Lee Gerardy. She was found dead in a chair near the fireplace by neighbor, Dorothy Bond. Her physician said that she probably died of natural causes and had been dead for 24 hours or more.

The current owners purchased the building in 2008. They didn’t do much to change the appearance of the house except repaired the carpet. Ann’s son Fred’s son Peter once was a journalist in London and Montreal and wrote for the Atchison Globe and Kansas City Globe.

Address: 1301 Kansas Ave., Atchison, Kansas 66002

Phone: 785-218-5824

Owner: Stephanie and Jeff Neal

Hauntings: Objects seem to move from room to room by themselves. In the Attic a girl was slapped and some have had their hair pulled and even touched on occasion. In another upstairs room there sits a marionette doll. A psychic visiting the house claimed the doll was evil. When an investigative team was there, Stephanie asked the question, “Are you happy here?” When the recorder was played back, a man with an evil-sounding voice came through and said, “No, I’m not! Stupid bitch! I’m never leaving!”

A light ball rolls by itself and light up when Goldie’s name is mentioned. There are no pictures of John McInteer that have ever been found. The only original piece of furniture is the rocking chair that belonged to Goldie. The same chair that she died in!

In the Side Staircase, shadows are often seen coming down the stairs. Faint voices say something like, “That’s nice” or “Very nice!” when the owners are working on repairs in that area. A flowery perfume smell is encountered here. The odor dissipates quickly. The oak wood handrails are all original.

The first room at the top of the stairs, the door mysteriously opens. Some tried to debunk it because it doesn’t latch properly. Doorknobs jiggle and the sound of the door latch have been heard.

In the Sitting Room, a shadow of a person possibly holding a child comes up from behind a chair. The sounds of footsteps are heard.

In Goldie’s Room, one of the current owner’s dogs suddenly went airborne and ran behind a chair like it was chasing something.

The Hallway has had REM Epod activity noticed by past investigators. Many have had the feeling of being stared at or get right in your face. Creaks outside of doors have been heard. The sounds of children running up and down the upstairs hallway and even the sound of a ball bouncing have been reported.

In the Library/Master Bedroom, light balls go off. This room was used by Mr. and Mrs. McInteer during the winter due to the large fireplace. Nearby, the Small Kitchen/Powder Room there have been lots of EVPs recorded.

The Library upstairs, is where one afternoon, Stephanie was replacing a wall socket in an upstairs bedroom. There was a heavy chest that sat in front of another door that leads to the bathroom. Suddenly there was a loud bang on the door that sounded like someone was trying to get out of the bathroom. Stephanie left the room without finishing her project. Lots of activity in that bathroom has been reported. This was the room where Charles committed suicide. Noises and human sounds stem from the bathroom and the sound of three knocks.

Attic was possibly the scene of a hanging in the tower however there is no documentation of that event ever occurring. Some strange feelings and shadows have been reported.

The Ghost Research Society investigated McInteer Villa 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: Hand-held equipment was used like the Ovilus X, Phasma Box, digital recorders and cameras, REM Epod and Melmeters.

Experiments performed: EVP, Phasma Box, Ovilus X, Echovox, Ghost Radar and Ghost Hunting Tools sessions were conducted in the Main Parlor, Upstairs Hallway and the Mirror Room.

Personal experiences:

Dean Thompson: This was an amazing unexpected side tour for us while in Atchison, KS. We were given a full house tour and a few moments to conduct a mini-investigation. I personally didn't have any paranormal experiences at the McInteer, however, the basement and attic seemed to grab my interest. The basement as there was a little room in the back that may have been used for illegal abortions. The owner claimed that her K-II meter was going crazy and when she asked if there was a Doctor in the house it stopped. The attic was just this wide-open area that I can see was used for more than just storage. Another observation that I had was the number of mirrors in the home, for example, there were 9 in the children's room. The children's room is the home of the marionette. The marionette, I believe, came from Arkansas and it was noted that the hair is real human hair, possibly part of the scalp as well. The owner claimed that the house amped up once they brought the marionette into the home, and it is said that there is a spirit of a 13-year-old child. We must go back!

Dale Kaczmarek: We did receive some intelligent responses during the short time that we were there. I can only imagine if we had had more time with cameras monitoring the various hot spots within the building. We could have easily amassed quite a lot of evidence!

One of the rooms that should have been investigated was the room where Charles killed himself and where the door rattles on its own. The Upstairs Hallway was active and would be a great place to blanket the entire area with cameras, Geophone, REM Epod, laser grids and digital recorders. I feel that could be the most haunted area of the building.

I did not experience anything strange while in the building; of course, we were in there during the daylight. I’m sure that the building takes on a completely different air at night!

Evidence collected:

Good bye mcinteer.MP4 – while concluding a Phasma Box session in the Main Parlor, a question was asked, “How about a good bye?” The device responded with a faint, female, “Good bye.”

I will shoot him mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Main Parlor, the device blurted out in a female voice, “I will shoot him.”

Its Goldie mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Main Parlor, a question was asked, “Can you tell me the name of the person who used to sit in this rocking chair?” The device responded with what sounds like, “Goldie.” (In fact Stephanie clearly heard this response and repeated the name.)

Its Ken mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Main Parlor, a question was, “Who’s the person that slams the bathroom door up there? Can you tell me who he is?” The device responded with a clear male voice that said, “Its Ken.”

John mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting an Echovox session in the Mirror Room, a question was asked, “Can you tell us the man’s first name that built this house?” The device responds with, “John.”

Me mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting an SB-11 Ghost Box with the antenna disconnected in the Upstairs Hallway, a question was asked, “Who’s the person who opens up the bathroom door in that room?” The device responds with, “Me.”

Two knocks mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting an EVP session in the Upstairs Hallway, a question was asked, “Is there somebody downstairs? Can you come up the stairs and join us? Is Goldie here?” A very faint “Two knocks” was recorded.

Very special mcinteer.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Main Parlor, a question was asked, “Whose rocking chair is this?” The device said, “Very special.”

Words spoken by the Ovilus X in dictionary mode: Upstairs Hallway – exit and various; phonetic mode – hi, Stillwell and out. Mirror Room – center and same; phonetic mode – you; Echovox – strange people.

Conclusions: This is an absolutely beautiful house that is meticulously maintained with TLC by Stephanie and Jeff! A true Gothic-looking building with gorgeous furniture from the same time frame of the house, however the only original piece of furniture is the rocking chair in the Main Parlor that once belonged to Goldie.

This was a freebie for us as everyone seems to know everyone else in Atchison. A simple phone call from the Air B&B got us in for a free walk-through and investigation! A very similar call also allowed us to investigate The Hardware Store and another before GHS left. Very friendly people with stories to tell and personal experiences as well.

There was some contamination in two of the three EVP sessions including the one in the Main Parlor and later in the Mirror Room. There was a lot of background talking by Thompson and Davies while Stephanie and I were attempting to ask questions via the Phasma Box. Later, a cooling fan in the room created some background noise which wasn’t too bad and as Thompson stated, “White noise” for background EVPs.

A Facebook live video was conducted while we were investigating the Upstairs Hallway.

This is a wonderful home with marvelous people and if we are ever in the neighborhood again, we should definitely conduct a full investigation with an over-night stay!