Wednesday, February 25, 2009

A Haunted Church Part 2


This past January 10th Erie County Paranormal once again did an investigation at our church, St. Paul's United Church of Christ here in Erie. While the findings were not as numerous as their previous visit they were still as striking. From 7pm until 2am they recorded video, audio and had personal experiences of the unexplained.

Frank, the team leader and Jerry the lead Tech both heard unexplained voices and sounds from our third floor which houses a shelter for the homeless during daytime hours.

While downstairs in the fellowship hall/kitchen area both Frank and I saw tiny specks of white light dancing across the ceiling. It was not electric or hallucinatory, but tiny balls of quick moving light about the size of a pea.

While they did get many EVPs the most startling is this one: EVP1 which was recorded on the third floor near a poolstick holder.

But for me the most startling incident is once again the appearance of shadow entities. Here is the original video from-once again- the chapel.





The activity is in the upper right camera. Here is an enhanced version:


Here is one of the enhanced stills from the video:



What is this thing? Originally from the direct video feed we thought it was the head of a small child, perhaps Katie from the previous investigation detailed here. But with this enhancement you can see the head, ears, snout and eyes of....?

There was an investigator sitting on that very same pew just a few feet away, and did not see anything. There were no 'natural' animals in the church.

Until Next Time,

Pastor Swope

Update:
This church sits in downtown Erie, where the Eriez Indian tribe one had their main settlement until they were wiped out and assimilated by the Seneca in the early 1600's. The records on the Eriez are very scant having only once been encountered by French settlers before their extinction as a tribe. One of the few details we have about the tribe is that they were called 'The Cat People' and wore destinctive dress made up of wild panthers from the area.

Hmm.

I wonder what the area where the church now resides was used for during the time of the Eriez.
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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks like a "ghost kitty."

Jeff Crook said...

It does look rather animalish, doesn't it?

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio...

Jeff Crook said...

That EVP is odd. It almost sounds like there is an editorial cut in there.

Sam said...

Hmmm, i can't seem to see the videos on my work computer. But if im looking at the right thing in the photo, it almost looks like the face of a bear. Is there any background info on Katie that she may have had a favourite teddy bear. If so could this aparition be of her holding a bear or a soft toy of some description?

Howard said...

There are fluctuations all over the place, and where a few random black pixels come together, it must be a head? And the "eye" is clearly an artifact of the enhancement process. Sorry, there would be no tradition of ghosts if this was all they were!

cryptidsrus said...

Good video and story, Swope.

If I attended that church, I would say...

"You've got ghosts??? Heck, we've got Animal Ghosts!!!"

Sam said...

Y'know the Indian tribe thing was my second theory that I was gonna suggest, but don't have a knowledge of native americans or their spiritual beliefs other than what is portrayed on television.
I was gonna suggest mountain lions though. Is the panther native to eerie?
The shoe fits in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Its a cat. So obvious.

Pastor Swope said...

Thanks for the comment anonymous,
Yes.

And Yes.

Except like I explained there were no animals in the church at the time and there were two investigators in the chapel at the time.

In the original video (which has less distortion) it looked like a small child's head. If you go to the ECP website as I linked that is what they had deduced-a child's head.

But only after I highlighted a still from the video did the feline like features take shape.

Is the photo manipulation showing what is really there, or is it a mirage of distortion? I do not know. I swear this is not a 'hoax' or simply a cat popping it's head in the frame.

Anonymous said...

to me it looks like a human figure sort of learning on the pew in front with one arm resting on it? does anyone else see that?
and once again i can't help myself..."wiped out AND assimilated? neat trick!
did the evp relate to any information you had re the haunting?
love your site.

Pastor Swope said...

Thanks for the comment anonymous,

Yes wiped out and assimilated would be the best term. Their cultural distinctiveness ceased to exist as the few remaining women and children who were not slaughtered were assimilated into the Seneca and as the culture dictates 'became' Seneca and no longer Eriez.

Of course the Eriez were already a homogeneous group since they had over centuries welcomed refugees of other tribes in their own after those tribes were wiped out by waring factions. A fact that spurred the massacre by the Seneca itself.

Mojo Mom said...

Seriously, that's EXACTLY what I thought, "it's just a cat."

Then I scrolled down and read your history of the land....