Dog House Bar & Grill

SYNOPSIS

The Dog House Bar and Grill is located at N5254 Hwy. A, in the Town of Bryant, Wisconsin. Currently owned by Jackie Bauknecht and Joe Hulman the building was first used as a bar. It is unclear as to when the building was constructed but after touring the site the structure looks indicative of 1930’s to 1940’s construction. During its early history it is possible that it was used as a “speak easy” due to its location and the enforcement of prohibition; however this has not been established as fact. During the 1950’s it was commonly referred to as the Cresent Club. In 1962 it was converted to a bar/supper club and operated as such until 1998 at which time the business was closed down. The following 6 years the building lay vacant until just recently. Co owner Jackie Bauknecht contacted the WPRS on 01/05/05 regarding various strange occurrences which she believed to be paranormal in nature. She invited us to investigate the property to try and determine whether anything paranormal could be detected. Investigators, Shawn Blaschka and Alissa Geurink went to the Dog House Bar & Grill on 03/12/05 to perform an investigation of the site. This case file contains our findings regarding that investigation.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY THAT WAS REPORTED

WPRS members Blaschka and Geurink began the investigation on March 12, 2005. Some first hand accounts of paranormal activity had been reported to us by the owners during a prior phone interview as well as during a recorded interview today. Listed below is some of the information gathered.

1. Reports of feelings of strong presence in the building. During our investigation we felt feelings of presence as well in an area of the basement that used to be used as a bar/dance floor many years earlier.

2. A commercial sized coffee maker flew off a counter unaided in the bar area in front of several witnesses on 01/01/05.

3. Many reports of occupants seeing movement out of the corner of their eyes.

4. Reports of a toy motion sensor device going off on its own when no one is near it.

5. Lights found turned on after they have been turned off.

6. The mysterious appearance of a live .308 caliber shell in the kitchen area.

7. Items stored or placed in an upstairs area are often found in the basement with no explanation.

8. Owner’s dog is afraid to go into the basement area and stays only in a small area of the bar. The pet will not eat while on the premises.

9. Strong feelings of despair that changed to one of acceptance after the building was blessed.

10. Several cold spots felt throughout the building with no explanation.

11. Posters that were made for the grand opening disappeared from the premises without a trace.

12. On a previous occasion a sensitive visited the site. She detected several entities present at the location, one of them being a female presence which seems to be more dominant. The sensitive also felt that a possible shooting or death occurred in the old basement bar room area in the past; however this has not been verified as fact.

INVESTIGATION RESULTS

The investigation of The Dog House Bar and Grill took place on March 12, 2005 from approximately 8:15AM to 11:00AM. Investigator Blaschka and Geurink were present. During the investigation 1 roll of high-speed (400) 35mm color film was shot in all areas of the building including the basement areas. One photograph taken in the old bar room basement area contained two “orbs”. Also several photos were taken with a Fuji ® digital camera. Several of the photo’s shot in the basement area had an odd double image result which could be due to the lighting conditions. One photograph has what appears to be a shadowy figure in the foreground which was not present when the photograph was taken. It is possible that the shadow seen in the photograph was cast from an object within the room as a result of the camera flash. Also one photograph contained an “orb” in the old bar room basement area. No other photographs taken of the dwelling had orbs in them. Several temperature readings were obtained and all seemed to be within normal range. The first floor was between 55 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The basement ranged between 33 to 47 degrees Fahrenheit. The owner informed us of unexplainable cold spots in the old basement bar room area. While investigating that area it was noted that the North wall is indeed colder and is most likely caused by drafts from the old foundation. The exterior temperature was approximately 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire building was scanned with an EMF meter and no anomalous readings were obtained. The first floor had static readings ranging from 1.0mg to 1.5mg; the kitchen had slightly elevated levels of 3.0mg to 4.0mg. This is most likely caused by the large amount of electrical equipment located directly below the kitchen. The basement had static readings ranging from 1.0mg to 8.0mg. One short session of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) was conducted on the first and second floor. Upon review of the EVP recording no anomalous voices or sounds could be heard. A Geiger counter was used in the old basement bar location with no anomalous readings obtained. Also various personal observations were made through out the investigation. Investigator Geurink and Blaschka both noted that a strong presence was felt in the old basement bar area which could not be readily explained through scientific means. In conclusion the WPRS was unable to obtain evidence that could be considered paranormal in nature. Due to the overwhelming feelings of presence in the old bar room basement area the WPRS may return to concentrate further on that area at a later date.

UPDATED 06-04-05

Investigators Geurink and Blaschka returned to the site of the Dog House Bar on June 4th, 2005 at approximately 8:15AM. During this re-visit we brought in a psychic (Pat) to walk through the dwelling to see if she might be able to pick up on any impressions. Prior to Pat’s visit we did not inform her of were she would be going nor did we provide her with any information about the site. During the walk through Pat’s observations were recorded with a digital audio recorder. Also several photographs were taken with 35 MM cameras.

We started our investigation in the basement area. Pat was mostly drawn to that area. Pat first went into the North basement room. In that room she told us of a man in his late 50’s. He was stocky, balding, walked with a limp and wore long sleeved flannel shirts that he often rolled up. Pat felt that his name may be Charlie, she also felt that he had died about 10 years ago of a possible heart attack.

Pat then proceeded to the South end of the basement. On the way there she picked up on a name; “Tommy” whom she felt was a possible child spirit. Pat also was drawn to an old high chair that she felt had some sort of spirit attachment but was unable to explain whom it may be. Pat proceeded to the fruit cellar where she explained to us that her heart was racing in that area. She also told us that she could see the spirit of a young boy who she explained had been lost. This child spirit was dressed in turn of the century clothing and had blonde hair that was cut in a bowl style. She said that the spirit was a very negative energy and that it kept asking where “Tommy” was. Pat also told us that this boy had died as a result of drowning. She saw an image of the boy sinking to the bottom of a lake or pond and felt that the death was accidental. Pat also felt that the owner’s should have the building cleansed or blessed. A psychic that had visited the site prior to our investigation also explained to the owner that she felt a boy drowned on site and that his name was either Jonathon or David. It should be noted that the nearest body of water is located at least 2 miles away. It is unlikely that a drowning of this nature could have occurred on site.

Once upstairs, Pat did not pick up on any other impressions other than by the far Northwest corner of the dining area. She said she could feel a lot of energy and vibrations in that area.

We reviewed our photographs and audio tape that was taken during the visit and no anomalies were found. Blaschka also reviewed a 90 minute audio recording that was given to him by the owner. The owner explained that she had left a tape recorder running in the basement area after locking up one evening. On the tape I could hear clicking sounds on several occasions and once a sound like someone sliding a box or heavy object across the floor. I could not ascertain where these sounds came from.

The information collected by Pat was presented to the owner and no correlation could be made to the past other than the possible drowning, which has not been confirmed as fact at this time. More research will be needed to confirm any of the information provided to us.

Photo by: Shawn Blaschka

Any use or reproduction of this documentation is prohibited without the sole permission of Shawn Blaschka and the WPRS.