by Chad Alan

 

 "Dark Shadows"

 

Seaview Terrace - Newport, Rhode Island

 

TAPS becomes the first group to perform a paranormal investigation at the gothic mansion used in filming the 1960's vampire series called "Dark Shadows."  The mansion, built by liquor millionaire Edson Bradley, was moved from its original spot in Washington D.C. in 1927 and combined with an existing mansion built in 1885 to create a 40,000 square foot fortress.   In 1950 it was turned into a boarding school and from 1966-1971 used for the exterior filming shots of the aforementioned "Dark Shadows" T.V. show.  Disembodied voices, especially those of females, have been reported throughout the property and some believe it is the voice of Mrs. Bradley.  After Mrs. Bradley died, people reported seeing apparitions and the most frequent spot seems to be at the organ where she used to play.  Loud pounding in uninhabited parts of the building are also common occurrences.  The current owners are now in the process of rehabbing the building, which always seems to awaken the spirits of the past. 

 

TAPS co-founders Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes started their investigation in what is called the "Great Hall" where lights are said to turn on by themselves and where Mrs. Bradley is said to appear and play the organ.  Loud footsteps coming from the second floor grabbed their attention.  They ran upstairs but found nobody around.  They headed to the third floor and the footsteps continued.  Mattie, the ghost hunting dog, accompanied them.  A door opened by itself and there was no breeze to blame it on.  After the door experience, they thought they heard the sound of a young girl coming from a large storage closet.  They entered the room and found many pieces of furniture, including some child cribs.  More sounds of footsteps accompanied them. 

 

Amy Bruni and Adam Berry spent their time in the third floor landing.  They began an EVP session and believed they heard a voice.  They played back their audio device and it seemed as if somebody was right next to them talking.  Hopefully what was being said would be revealed later in the show.  They spent some time in the basement and had a few personal experiences of someone touching their heads but there wasn't much more to report.

 

Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango headed to the organ room where people heard the organ being played the day Mrs. Bradley died and of course no one was sitting at the organ at the time.  They brought out their "Ion Generator" devices which are used to add extra energy to the air hoping to help out any spirits trying to appear.  They thought they might have heard someone talking but could not make out what was being said. 

 

Brett Griffith and K.J. McCormick headed to the basement of the mansion which looks forgotten in time.  Thick cob webs were everywhere and it wouldn't take long to set the place up for Halloween.  As they began their EVP session, something knocked over their thermal imager.  A few other noises caught their attention and they wondered if there were more than just one spirit among them.  They headed up to the "Tower Room" where people have heard voices, heard banging sounds, and felt cold spots.  They both reported hearing voices and footsteps coming from above them, which happens to be the roof where nobody was standing. 

 

Jason and Grant had plenty of audio evidence to show the client which backed up the bangs and footsteps reported by current and former residents of the mansion.  Unfortunately, none of the EVP's came out clear enough to decipher what was being said.  Jason and Grant did believe the mansion had paranormal activity but did not believe it was harmful. 

 

Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Barry FitzGerald, Amy Bruni, Kris Williams, and Adam Berry at this year's Reality Rocks Expo!

 

 

Ghost Hunters airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Syfy.  Check your local listings.  HD channels offer different times for the show.

 

(Image courtesy of Syfy)

 

 

Contact Chad Alan at [email protected]