Story By: Chad Alan

 

"Membership Denied"

 

Elks Lodge - Hartford, Connecticut

 

The Hartford Elks society was started in 1883 and the Hartford lodge was built in 1903 to serve as the local headquarters.  There are 4000 Elk chapters and the Hartford chapter was the 19th one, so its history is long and deep.  A man named Robert was found dead outside the lodge on the sidewalk in 1972 and ever since this time, paranormal activity has run rampant.  No one is sure what happened to Robert but some feel his ghost now haunts the grounds.  Apparitions and black masses have been seen and strange voices and noises have been heard by the members.  The spirits seem to antagonize woman the most, pulling their hair and telling them to "Get Out!" 

 

TAPS co-founders Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson started their investigation in the basement where people really tend to feel uneasy.  As they headed into the boiler room, Jason heard a male voice say "Jason."  When they replayed the tape the voice seemed to say "Stop it."  They continued to hear a male voice that always seemed to be a few steps ahead of them.  They headed to the bar area where more activity seemed to be occurring, but again, they could not "catch" the ghost.

 

Amy Bruni and Britt Griffith headed up to the roof area where some believe "Robert" might have either been pushed off of or willingly jumped.  Some also believe he might have fallen to his death trying to break into the lodge.  Unfortunately they did not experience any paranormal activity nor were the given any clues that might have explained the death of Robert. 

 

Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango headed to the 5th floor area where a woman had her hair pulled.  They had set up a device on the 4th floor by a chair where an apparition was seen and that device began making a noise so they headed back down a floor.  This situation all occurred while Dave was reading a letter of thanks to the lodge from the wife of a former member named Samuel Chamberlain.  As they headed down to the ghostly chair, they saw a plaque on the wall honoring Samuel.  Did they possible track down the spirit who is haunting the lodge?

 

TAPS believed it might very well have been Samuel Chamberlain who was haunting the lodge.

 

Morse Mill Hotel - Morse Mill, Missouri

 

Built in 1816, the Morse Mill Hotel has had a violent and famous history.  Jesse James, Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh, and Charlie Chaplin all have passed through the hotel but it's the murders of a prostitute and young child that may be causing the paranormal activity.  Former slave quarters in the basement, or better described as a dungeon, can't but harbor negative energy.  The original shackle chains used to secure the slaves still sit on the floor and are said to clang together when visitors are down in that area.  People have been physically assaulted, with one person being thrown to the floor while another thrown so hard against a door that it was heavily damaged.  Doors slam, voices are heard, and people are constantly being touched. 

 

Jason and Grant started on the second floor to see if they could make contact with the little girl that had been seen by multiple people.  What got their attention was their device in the attic going off.  They immediately headed to the attic but the minute they arrived, the device stopped beeping.  When they played their video recorder back later they would see one of the dolls, they had set up for the child spirit to play with, fall over for no reason.  Next stop was down to the basement where it is believed a former slave named "Edward" is said to push people around.  Both Jason and Grant heard the shackle chain move and this was followed by footsteps coming from the upstairs floor.  No other team member was upstairs.

 

K.J. McCormick and Brett set up some EMF detectors on the 2nd floor landing trying desperately to make contact with the young girl that seems to haunt that floor.  A giggle or a girl's voice caught their attention but no further contact was made. 

 

Amy and Adam Berry were the last to investigate the dungeon room.  As they began their EVP session something touched Adam on the elbow, the same would happen to Amy just a few minutes later.  

 

When Jason and Grant did their final meeting with the client, Grant said something I don't believe I've heard him or Jason ever tell one of their clients.  Grant told the current owner to make sure he or others did not provoke the spirits.  It's rare for TAPS to admit that what might be haunting the environment could be somewhat dangerous.   

 

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

 

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!

 

(Image courtesy of Syfy)

 

Contact Chad Alan at [email protected]