The Ghost Chronicles

“Ron and Maureen are the perfect paranormal investigation. Ron brings combination for a his skepticism and his belief in equal measure, as his dowsing crystal and EMF meter testify, and Maureen is one of the most genuinely gifted mediums I know.Together they inform, entertain, and intrigue their guests, both on this side of the veil as well as those looking on from the other!”

—David Wells, Most Haunted

“Not since Hans Holzer and Sybil Leek has there been such a perfect ghost hunting team!”

—Christian Day, witch, Salem, Massachusetts

“If my experience in Gettysburg with Ron and Maureen is any indication of their other forays into the world of the paranormal, the reader is in for a thrill-filled ride!”

—Mark Nesbitt, author, historian, and paranormal investigator

“I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in a couple of investigations with the New England Ghost Project. I like to think I maintain a healthy skepticism, but Maureen Wood’s abilities have left me seriously impressed. Ron Kolek manages to display a wry sense of humor while keeping a professional attitude toward his work. Together, they’re entertaining, profoundly thoughtprovoking, and fun.”

—Jeremy D’Entremont, author, historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation

“Reading
The Ghost Chronicles
is like taking a joyride with your crazy uncle and favorite aunt—you know your parents probably wouldn’t approve, but you can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.”

—Lesley Bannatyne, author of
Halloween: An American History

MAUREEN WOOD & RON KOLEX

Copyright © 2009 by Maureen Wood and Ron Kolek
Cover and internal design © 2009 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover Design by Dawn Pope/Sourcebooks
Cover Photo © Jupiter Images; Rebecca Floyd/Jupiter Images

Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.—
From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wood, Maureen.

The ghost chronicles : a medium and a paranormal scientist investigate 17 true hauntings / by Maureen Wood and Ron Kolek.

   p. cm.

1. Ghosts. 2. Haunted places. 3. Channeling. 4. Parapsychology. I. Kolek, Ron. II. Title.

BF1461.W66 2009

133.1--dc22

2009025669

Printed and bound in the United States of America

CHG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Disclaimer

Episode One—Channeling the Dead

Deep in the basement of the Windham Restaurant,Maureen trance channels an angry spirit. A confrontation develops between Ron and the spirit while reporters from Boston.com look on.

Episode Two—First Contact

On her first investigation, Maureen joins Ron and the New England Ghost Project at the Windham Restaurant. This is the first of a four-part series with reporter Brian Bates and WNDS News.

Episode Three—The Phillip Knight House

The second in the four-part WNDS News series, the Ghost Project visits a B&B that was once the home of the niece of one of the ill-fated witches of Salem.

Episode Four—The Mexican Standoff

In the third of the four-part WNDS News series, Ron and Maureen visit Tortilla Flats in Merrimac, New Hampshire, a restaurant believed to have been a part of the Underground Railroad.

Episode Five—The Crypt Keeper

On Halloween night, the Ghost Project ends their four-part series with WNDS News on a cold night in Old Hill Cemetery.

Episode Six—The Exorcism

A woman and her dog are being tormented by a demon in an old Victorian townhouse. Maureen and Ron accompany a Franciscan monk on an exorcism to free this woman from her demonic stalker.

Episode Seven—Ashes to Ashes

When a young family moves into their new home, they find the ashes of the former owner in one of the closets.Things move by themselves, the little girl sees a strange figure, and the whole family hears voices from the woods.

Episode Eight—Houghton Mansion

It was the home of a former mayor and is now a Masonic temple. The Ghost Project stumbles into a netherworld soap opera rife with secret affairs and a suicide.

Episode Nine—Dangerous Pursuit

Sometimes there is more to fear from the living than from the dead. Maureen and Ron go to a small ranch to investigate poltergeist activity, only to find that the owner has a dark past that has come back to haunt him.

Episode Ten—The Stone House

Strange occurrences in a government office lead its frightened manager to contact the Ghost Project.

Episode Eleven—Dream House

Answering a plea for help, the Ghost Project ventures to a small town in Connecticut where a couple remodeling their dream home discovers a nightmare.

Episode Twelve—The Spectral Hitchhiker

An uninvited guest joins Ron and Maureen on the way home from America’s Stonehenge.

Episode Thirteen—The Concord Colonial Inn

A remote broadcast of
Ghost Chronicles
in haunted Room 24 provides Ron and Maureen with unexpected results.

Episode Fourteen—Dancing with the Dead

Ron and Maureen join Jeff Belanger of Ghostvillage.com to investigate the light anomalies appearing on film at a dance studio.

Episode Fifteen—The Lizzie Borden House

The Ghost Project teams up with its British counterparts on an investigation at this infamous house, which is now a B&B.

Episode Sixteen—The House That Went to Pot

A family is about to lose their old farmhouse to foreclosure. Before they leave, the Ghost Project is called in to do an investigation, but something smells fishy.

Episode Seventeen—Wood Island Lighthouse

The story of a murder-suicide echoes through the walls of the lighthouse for this overnight investigation.

Conclusion

About the Authors

Don’t tread lightly into the realms of the paranormal, because it can be a dangerous place.There are so many other subjects that intersect with and overlap the topic of ghosts and hauntings, including psychological issues, religious beliefs, history, science, legends, and even popular culture. Don’t think you know everything there is to know about ghosts because you watched a television program or two.

Do read on.

All over the planet there are individuals and groups whose passions involve paranormal investigation. These are folks who spend a great deal of time and their own money digging through old buildings, historical documents, and sometimes through the spirit world, looking for evidence of things that go bump in the night and answers to their own spiritual questions. Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood are two such people.

Think you have what it takes to hunt the supernatural? The demands often include all-night vigils in cold weather, waiting for something to happen. You hear a strange noise above you, and your senses come alive as the adrenaline courses through your veins.You think you’re about to find indisputable proof of a haunting, only to discover it’s just a raccoon in the attic. It’s all
part of the job. But once in a while, when conditions are right—and with a little bit of luck—something happens while you’re watching and your cameras are rolling. It’s these moments we all live for, when we brush the plane that exists between life and death, where ghosts—and sometimes darker forces—dwell.We gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back.

What you’re holding in your hands are some of the documented experiences and evidence collected by the New England Ghost Project. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Ron and Maureen and working with them for several years now, and I can tell you that they bring total dedication to the subject of the paranormal.

Through hosting their popular radio show, their myriad investigations, and being out in the field for many years doing research, these folks are well-qualified to be your paranormal tour guides through some of their more fascinating cases.

New England is ripe with hauntings. Some paranormal legends go back generations and seem to hover over certain areas like a morning fog. When the stories become more than just tales, witnesses and families go looking for help, so they can better understand their situation or, worse, protect themselves from potential harm. In New England, when people ask around for someone who looks into these kinds of things, they often discover the New England Ghost Project.

When Ron, Maureen, and their team walk into a potential haunt, they’re trying to establish contact. Maybe there’s a mundane explanation for the phenomena, but maybe there isn’t. Being psychic, Maureen will reach out to what may be waiting in any given location as Ron, with his EMF meters, cameras, and other equipment, attempts to scientifically validate any
oddities in the environment. When his EMF meter beeps, and Maureen’s face gets that faraway look, you know something is happening. I’ve watched Maureen’s shoulders slump and her head drop, and I’ve heard her voice deepen as she takes on a new personality—channeling someone the rest of us can’t see. Ron has seen this before and immediately reacts, asking questions of the “entity,” but always mindful of Maureen’s safety. If events turn violent, if Maureen starts to shake or swing her fists, Ron is there to subdue her, to bring Maureen back to our world, and to help her drive the entity back out.

When the information Maureen channels can be later verified by historical documents, you have what we in paranormal research call a home run. By combining scientific acumen with psychic intuition, Ron and Maureen bring you a complete picture of a haunting investigation. From lighthouses to spooky mansions, from ancient sites to private homes, this book takes you inside the haunts and into the world of a real paranormal investigation team.

Don’t tread lightly as you read through the chronicles of the New England Ghost Project. Do know there are forces and realms we don’t fully understand just yet.

—Jeff Belanger,

author of
The World’s Most Haunted Places
and founder of Ghostvillage.com

Dear Reader, thank you for taking this journey through
The Ghost Chronicles
and walking beside us as we encounter what may seem like surreal paranormal events. However, truth be told, these glimpses into our world, as the saying goes, are often stranger than fiction. So sit back and buckle yourself in, because you’re in for a wild ride.

I’d like to thank a few of the special people in my life:

To my mother, Lorraine Couture, I thank you for quieting my fears while growing up as a medium and telling me without a shadow of a doubt that despite society’s interpretation of
normal
, I was normal just the same. If it hadn’t been for your acknowledgment of my gifts, I may not be as psychically open as I am today.