Tinker
Swiss Cottage Investigation 2015 Tinker
Swiss Cottage Investigation 2015 
The
Tinker Swiss Cottage is a
historic place, museum, and park in
Robert Hall Tinker was born in Honolulu
to missionary Reuben Tinker (1799–1854) and his wife Mary Throop Wood
(1809–1895) in 1836. Tinker moved to
Upon the death of the Tinkers, the cottage was left to the Rockford Park District. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on December 27, 1972.
Located
at
Executive
Director: Steve Litteral
Website: www.tinkercottage.com
Equipment
setup:
Experiments
performed: EVP, Ghost Box, Ovilus X and Dowsing Rod sessions were conducted
in the Red Room, downstairs Canning Room, Carriage House, the Barn and other
rooms in the main house.
Personal experiences:
Kathie Para: Kathi Kresol of Haunted
Rockford, along with Steve Litteral from Tinker’s Swiss Cottage, hosted a
public investigation of the Tinker property. Ghost Research Society participated
in this event. Our group was paired up and stationed at the four locations
throughout the property that were being investigated. We were mainly there to
answer questions, show how different equipment could be used and do short EVP
sessions. Those signed up for the event rotated to each of the area though out
the evening.
Present
from GRS were: Dale and Chuck (stationed in the carriage house), Mike and Stan
(stationed in the barn), Marge and Jim (stationed on the second floor of the
house) and Kat and myself (stationed in the basement of the house. Psychic Paul
Smith and his wife Lisa were also present. As
Paul picked up on any impressions he was getting he shared them with us.
Paul
said there was a small boy who kept peeking at us, shyly, from the hallway in
the basement. He very probably was from the orphanage for the terminally ill
children that had been located very near the house. Shortly after the Ovilus
said “Johnny”. We wondered if this could be the little boy’s name.
Dowsing
rods sessions were not very successful that night. None of the other equipment
reacted that night either. We had K-IIs, a Melmeter and a REM pod set out. We
did, however get a few interesting things from the Ovilus. It said “Paul”
twice (the name of our psychic present). At one point in the evening one lady
was asking questions and during her “conversation” the Ovilus said
“Debbie, saw, life, crossover, Jesus”. This was extremely interesting,
especially since this woman has some psychic ability but chooses to suppress it.
Lastly, right after this happened, the groups rotated. As our new group
came in a couple women sat down at the table and I went to pick up the Ovilus to
turn it off and it said “ashes”. One of the women asked me what it said so I
told her it said the word ashes. She picked up a pendant that was hanging from
her neck on a chain and said that she was wearing her father’s ashes. That was
pretty amazing.
Additional
interesting happenings that night were myself and others having trouble taking
photos. The camera just refused to snap photos or in some cases shut themselves
off. For me this was especially true in the “canning room.”
Kat had her camera sitting on the table and suddenly we could hear it
snapping pictures with nobody even touching it. I haven’t asked her yet if she
actually captured any photos but if she did I’m sure it will be in her report.
I
haven’t finished listening to my audio yet and don’t hold out too much hope
of catching any EVPs but I will add any to this report if I do get anything.
This
was another interesting and fun night at one of my favorite locations with some
of my favorite people!
Katherine Meagher: We were set up in the basement where Mr. Tinker spent the last years
of his life. It was extremely quiet tonight. We used multiple devises to try and
communicated with the possible spirits here. Unfortunately, Paul who is the
psychic could only really sense a child that was very young and shy. Kathy got
some interesting responses during the third and fourth group that came through.
I have gone through the recordings and found nothing that I could conclusively
say was spirit communication. There was good communication with the different
groups that came in to experience The Tinker Swiss Cottage. I am hoping that
Kathy got some evidence.
Jim Piscopo: We arrived at the cottage about 6pm and were split
into teams. Marge and I were assigned the Red Room. I set up my camcorder with
IR lighting the corner of the room facing the nursery door. Marge conducted the
EVP sessions. The first session with group one; we had quite a few responses but
not much after that.
Chuck Williams: Public Event put on by Kathy Kresol with GRS assisting the public at
2 stations within the Cottage itself, 1 in the barn, and 1 in the Carriage
House. This was my 1st
event with GRS, and I was assigned the Carriage House, assisting Dale.
This was my 1st time experiencing Tinker’s Cottage, and
found it fascinating!
I
arrived extra early, and took a general public tour of the house.
I walked over the expanse of the estate, taking many pictures.
This event gave the general public a glimpse into what we do, an
introduction to basic ghost hunting techniques, and introduction to tools of the
trade throughout the various stations they rotated through, as well as allowing
them a few minutes to investigate on their own.
Because
this wasn’t a full-fledged investigation, I only had a minimal setup.
A generic Go Pro full spectrum camera, which has a wide angle lens.
2 Phantom Lite IR lights, which I set in a corner, and should be able to
cover the whole room. I had a Cannon
SX170 full spectrum digital camera, a Zoom H4 digital recorder, and some
miscellaneous basic gear; compass, flashlight, thermometer/hygrometer.
Dale
led the sessions, and I threw my 2 cents in where needed.
Steve Litteral, who runs Tinker’s Swiss Cottage sat in on our sessions
and was very helpful with questions relating to the property and its history.
Among Dale’s arsenal of equipment was an EM Pump, but we still had
battery drain in the sessions, My Go Pro was out during the 1st
session, and Dale had a piece or two go out through the night.
The sessions were roughly 30-45 minutes.
Dale and I did an introduction to the equipment we were using, followed
by an EVP session utilizing Dale’s Ovilus X, and then a Spirit Box.
The public then was allowed to use the remainder of the time as they saw
fit; most enjoyed investigating on their own, some talked to Dale, Steve and
myself, a few used the facilities. The
groups were courteous, most participants were in good spirits, and enjoyed
themselves.
Findings:
I have found a few EVPs, some unheard conversation through the Ovilus X
or Spirit Box. The photos turned up
nothing paranormal.
Session
X- I stated my digital recorder during set up, and let it run as Dale and I
joined everyone in the Barn for the introduction talks for the night’s
activities. Footsteps were heard,
unexplained noises. I thought this
might be Steve, but he can be heard coming in, going into his office up the
stairs, someone else comes in, and Steve comes down and greets them, and they
both leave. 2 EVPs were picked up as
well.
Session
1- 1 EVP picked up of a disembodied voice while Dale is talking.
Many Ovilus X hits occurred, some words that cropped up with frequency
were; Up, Air (Which I later interpret as stairs), and Help.
The RemPod would go off wildly during this session.
Some Spirit Box hits happened. My
Go Pro camera battery was drained, that I know I fully charged before coming.
Session
2- 1 EVP picked up, possible cross contamination.
Frequent Ovilus X hits were; Up, look up, stairs, outside, help.
(Someone wanted us to go upstairs throughout sessions, and started to
become frustrated, cursing) Dale
heard “Tinker” during Ovilus X session.
One female visitor heard her name.
Session
3- Activity started weakening as the night continued.
Frequent Ovilus X hits were; Help, Us, Ooops, Oww.
More curing was heard. The
names Bill and Irma came through as 2 spirits names.
A few Spirit Box EVPs can be heard.
Session
4- Least activity. Ovilus X frequent
words; Help, Oww, Air (Stairs), Up. A
Few Spirit Box hits.
After
the public left, I did a small 10 minute or less session by myself near the
mound. Tinker Park, and neighborhood
voices could be heard, wind was strong, street traffic could be heard, not the
most inviting EVP conditions, but did pick up 1 EVP.
There
were no personal experiences noted, no olfactory sensations throughout the
night.
Of
a personal note: would love to do a full investigation here in the future!
Michael
Wright: The public event at Tinker Swiss Cottage was split into 4 group
sessions Stan and I were stationed at the barn and gift shop.
I did an EVP session with each group but overall
it was a very quiet night.
In the first session the padlock on the closet started swaying back and forth a
few minutes after that occurred someone in the group had experienced dizziness.
In the second session Paul was sitting in on the investigation and was
communicating with Nick who had spent some time at cottage working around the
horses.
In the third session we went upstairs in the gift shop to try to get something
and when we were all upstairs the door chime went off downstairs and there was
no one down there.
The fourth session was very quiet and did not get much evidence.
The recording sessions were very difficult to go through because of the
background noises, there were whispers all evening but could not verify that any
were paranormal.
Still enjoy investing the Tinker Swiss Cottage even if it is a quiet night.
Stan Suho: Back
again. Yet another demonstration/investigation. This time the team members were
changed around and moved into different positions. I was teamed up with Mike and
rotated into the Barn. My demonstration was the Remote Video Camera setup in the
Cottage and monitored in the Barn. This was accomplished by using a Microwave
Link for the Video picture and Sound. It was also the first time I used my 2.4
Ghz WiFi amp to boost the power. The signal was fed into a Wave Guided Antenna
pointed at the Barn. The signal had to penetrate several walls and misc. ground
clutter across the open court yard. The picture and sound came in very clear.
The sound was recorded on a Laptop running Audacity software.
After my presentation, Mike gave a demo on EVP with participation from the
group. I think they enjoy these sessions especially when they we get the various
Ghost boxes talking back.
Conclusions:
After the groups worked their way through the complex we all
got together for an exchange of results. Because of all the people present and
the noise, I didn't really record anything useful, but, I'm sure we made a
positive impression on the novice Ghost hunters.
Marge Sucha: We arrived as the location around 6:00
p.m. It was a sunny day.
Kathi Kresol, from Haunted Rockford
Paranormal hosted this investigation.
Our team broke off into 4 groups
with each group taking a location on the property.
I was teamed up with Jim Piscopo. Jim
& I had the upper level of the cottage.
We spent a majority of the time in the Red Room.
We used Spirit
Several
highlights of the night.
During our EVP
session we were told several times per group to get out.
Several times
shadows were seen.
At one point
right after we were told to "get out" someone saw an ORB by the door.
Someone from
one of the groups asked who the president was and we got a response Grant.
We learned
earlier in the evening someone had a Birthday.
One of the
questions we asked was "Can you tell us the name of the person in this
group who has a Birthday". The
Spirit box responded correctly with "Josh"
The groups that
came through were ready for some activity and the spirits at Tinker Swiss
Cottage did not let them down.
Dale
Kaczmarek: The first session was by far the most active session with the REM
Epod going off like crazy and even lighting up all four lights on command when
asked! Several intelligent responses were picked up throughout the evening
including a few humorous ones as well. It seems that the ghosts there have a
sense of humor. There were constant references to the upstairs, which was off
limits, to the investigation as well as outside. The Ovilus even interacted with
several of the public through its responses. I
only wish the Paul and Sara could have made it to our section as it was very
active and I’m sure that they would have had some interaction themselves.
The Ghost Research Society investigated Tinker Swiss Cottage on April 11, 2015. Team members included: Stan Suho, Jim Piscopo, Kathie Para, Marge Sucha, Katherine Meagher, Michael Wright, Chuck Williams and Dale Kaczmarek
Evidence
collected:
Ax tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Were you
injured on the property?” The Ovilus responds with, “Ax.”
Boo tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box,
Session #2, in the Carriage House, the Ghost Box says, “Boo.”
Color tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box
session in the Red Room, a question was asked, “What color is this room?”
The Ghost Box responds with, “Color.”
Fat bitch tinker.MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #2, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Fat
bitch.”
Footsteps tinker.MPG – during the pre-session
before any sessions started, a digital recorder in the Carriage House picked up
the sound of a knock, followed by distinct footsteps and there was nobody in the
house at the time.
Fuck you tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus
X experiment, Session #4, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Fuck
you!”
Get out tell her tinker.MPG – while conducting
an Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says,
“Get out, tell her.”
Go tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box
experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “If you
don’t want us to be here, can you just say good-bye?” The Ghost Box responds
with, “Go.”
Hello 1 tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost
Box session in the Red Room, the Ghost Box says, “Hello.”
Hello 2 tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost
Box experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, the Ghost Box clearly says,
“Hello.”
Help tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box
experiment, Session #4, in the Carriage House, the Ghost Box says, “Help.”
Here’s Hewey A tinker.MPG – while conducting
an Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says,
“Here’s Hewey A.”
Hey tinker.MPG – while a Ghost Box experiment,
Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ghost Box says, “Hey.”
Hey you tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus
X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Hey you!”
Joshua tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box
session in the Red Room, a question was asked, “Can you tell us your name?”
The Ghost Box responds with, “Joshua.”
Luff bur o tinker.MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #2, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Luff
– Bur – O.” Immediately someone in the group says that sounds like her
last name, Luffburough!
No tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost Box
session in the Red Room, a question was asked to Jim, “What time is it Jim? Is
it time for another room up there?” The Ghost Box responds with, “No.”
Oh I need help tinker.MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Oh,
I need help.”
Oops tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Did you
hurt yourself?” The Ovilus responds with, “Oops.”
Oops ow oh I did it, hurt it, help tinker.MPG –
while conducting an Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the
Ovilus says, “Oops, ow, oh I did it, hurt it, help.”
Oops I fall tinker.MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says, “Oops
I fall.”
Outside tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus
X experiment, Session ##2, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says,
“Outside.”
Pod1 tinker.MPG – while conducting an EVP
experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, the REM Epod begins to go off.
Pod2 tinker.MPG – while conducting an EVP
experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Can you
light up all four of those lights right now?”
All four lights light up.
Pod3 tinker.MPG – while conducting an EVP
experiment, Session#1, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Can you
do that again? Light up all four lights please.”
All four lights light up again.
Pod4 tinker.MPG – while conducting an EVP
experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Can you
turn on all four lights again please?” Again, all four lights light up on
command.
Response1 tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost
Box session in the Red Room, a question was asked, “Were you part of the
Tinker family?” The Ghost Box responds with an affirmative like someone
saying, “Ah ha.”
Response2 tinker.MPG – while conducting a Ghost
Box session in the Red Room, the Ghost Box says what sounds like, “Thank
you!” towards the beginning of the clip.
Shit yeah tinker. MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says,
“Shit, yeah.”
That’s ok tinker.MPG – while conducting a
Ghost Box session in the Red Room, a question was asked, “What room is
this?” The Ghost Box responds with what sounds like, “Mine,that’s ok.”
Tinker tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #2, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Anyone
here? Can you tell us your name?” The Ovilus responds with what sounds like,
“Tinker.”
Uh oh tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Were you
married?” The Ovilus responds with, “Uh oh.”
Up up tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #1, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Are you
on the same level we’re on, or are you above us?” The Ovilus responds with,
“Up up.”
Voice tinker.MPG – a static IR camcorder set in
the Red Room picks up a voice in the background that sounds like its saying,
“Hey.”
Warning tinker.MPG – while conducting an EVP
pre-session in the Carriage House, a voice is picked up that sounds like,
“Warning.”
What’s that tinker.MPG – while conducting a
Ghost Box session in the Red Room, the Ghost Box says, “What’s that?”
Yeah I am tinker.MPG – while conducting an
Ovilus X experiment, Session #2, in the Carriage House, a question was asked,
“What are you up in the ceiling?” The Ovilus responds with, “Yeah, I
am.”
Yeah tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Can I
call you Bill?” The Ovilus responds with, “Yeah.”
Yes boy office up tinker.MPG – while conducting
an Ovilus X experiment, Session #3, in the Carriage House, a question was asked,
“Did you fall down the stairs?” The Ovilus responds with, “Yes, boy,
office up.”
Yes tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #4, in the Carriage House, a question was asked,
“Someone’s upstairs?” The Ovilus responds with, “Yes.”
You there look up tinker.MPG – while conducting
an Ovilus X experiment, Session #2, in the Carriage House, the Ovilus says,
“You there, look up.”
You tinker.MPG – while conducting an Ovilus X
experiment, Session #4, in the Carriage House, a question was asked, “Which
one of us do you not like?” The Ovilus responds with, “You.”
Conclusions:
It seems that every station had its share of experiences and evidence during
this public event. I believe that the public attending this event really got its
money worth due to the interaction of the various devices like the Ovilus, Ghost
Box and REM Epod that were extremely active during the various sessions. I know
that the Carriage House was hopping during the first session and seemed to
really tamper off for the last session. This is very common as it does take a
great deal of energy for spirits to communicate and maintain a connection with
us for a long time.
Again Tinker Swiss Cottage does not disappoint us.
Ghost Research Society (www.ghostresearch.org)
© 2015 Dale Kaczmarek. All rights reserved.
Web site created by Dale Kaczmarek