Lane’s Thoughts on Investigating the Sallie House
The Sallie House carries a reputation among paranormal investigators which is matched by only a few other sites, at least in the Midwest. The strength of the phenomena, whether captured on film or shared as a chilling anecdote, is undeniably attractive for those brave enough to venture to Atchison.
Our group had discussed our approach before arriving at the home, deciding not to reference any of the evidence (names, dates, etc.) that other investigators have previously found. Our reasoning was that multiple different sources have told us that the house conforms to the information given to it. We chose instead to take an open approach, not focusing on any one storyline, but rather asking open-ended questions in the hopes of catching anything that might want to make itself known. For our investigative methods, we wanted to focus on electrical manipulation, as it seems there are many recorded instances of electrical phenomena in the house (especially from when the Pickmans lived there).
During our initial walkthrough and move into the house, I had no significant feelings come to me, unlike some places we visit. The only item of note was that, during that initial portion, we found a dead bat on the floor. One could call this an omen, but we wrote it off as nothing more than a critter that snuck into an old house.
Starting off the investigation, we conducted an uneventful EVP session - asking questions, listening back, and repeating to no avail. We then moved on to a Maglite setup, using 3 pen-size Maglites. We explained the setup to everyone in the room and began asking for the lights to be turned on in a specific order. Gradually, a presence began to manipulate the lights.
Some may question the validity of this method, and indeed, there is a level of skepticism that must be applied. The human mind is inclined to notice patterns, even where there aren’t any. Therefore, to be absolutely sure that this setup was being manipulated by an outside source, we proposed a number of challenges to the spirit(s) we were interacting with - i.e. “turn on all 3 lights” or “turn on just the middle light”. Satisfied with the results, we moved on to simple yes/no and 2 option questions.
Here is a quick sampling of the questions posed and answers we felt we received through the lights:
Are you a boy or a girl? - Signaled for Boy
Are you a grown up? - No
Do you like being here? - Yes
Do you like talking to boys or girls? - Signaled for Boys
Can you communicate another way? - No
Some responses were stronger/more concrete than others. Unfortunately, that last answer signaled the beginning of the end for this experiment. Whatever we were communicating with showed no willingness to try communicating using any other method or equipment. We asked similar questions at several points during the session, even moving equipment near the flashlight setup, and got no engagement.
All in all, the flashlight session lasted about 40 minutes before the energy seemed to dissipate, at which point we opted to let the room rest. Shortly after departing, our camera system seemed to catch some light anomalies moving from the room as well.
Throughout the rest of the night and into the early morning, we tried to pursue contact with anything that wanted to make itself known. Different members of the team did capture further evidence, but none was quite as strong as that early Maglite session.
As for who (or what) we made contact with, it is a bit hard to say. During the questioning, we received some answers that seemed to indicate we were communicating with an adolescent male - however, there were other responses that seemed like it could’ve been multiple entities trying to answers at once. Frustratingly, because we could not expand our questioning using other pieces of equipment, we couldn’t confirm either of these two possibilities. Some previous teams have reportedly made contact with a mentally challenged teenage boy, which could explain our responses, but without further evidence this can’t be verified.
As for why the findings we had were so limited, our team had a few thoughts. As with any location, activity varies from day to day and interacts differently with each person that enters - this is a constant variable. However, our team hypothesized an explanation based on current events: We fear that due to COVID and the drop in visitors to the home, the spirits may no longer be used to, or welcoming to, strangers entering the home. The lack of visitors may also contribute to the overall energy brought into the home, which can affect the ability of paranormal phenomena to manifest. The guestbook, with its sparse and uneventful entries, provide support for this theory.
All in all, I feel that I can speak for the whole team when I say that we were underwhelmed by what we found, almost to a level of disappointment. In paranormal investigation, any finding is still exciting, but for a location as storied as the Sallie House, we admittedly hoped to find something more compelling.
What are your thoughts on our findings at the Sallie House? Have you visited the Sallie House recently, and if so, what was your experience? Do you think the pandemic has had an impact on paranormal occurrences worldwide? Write us at ghostorical@gmail.com, we’d love to hear from you!