Westside Business in the Wausau Area

 

SYNOPSIS

      The business is located in the City of Wausau, Wisconsin. Currently the business is a retail store specializing in unique antiques. The building was first used as a general store around 1940’s. There is some discussion that the building was built around the turn of the last century (1900’s). We were unable to find any reference to the building in the Wausau Historical Records. The building was then used for a candy store in the 1960’s and then a beauty salon and spa (1990’s). This is the first time that WPRS has investigated this site. This case file contains our findings regarding that investigation.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY THAT WAS REPORTED

      WPRS members Blaschka, Geurink, and Coscio began the investigation on January 15, 2004 at approximately 6:00PM. The current owners had reported accounts of paranormal activity to us. The owners also explained of paranormal activity occurring to the previous owners. Listed below is some of the information that was gathered during this investigation

1. Reports of the feeling of a presence in the building.

2. Sounds of men talking from several of the rooms where there was no one in.

3. The sound of someone walking in the upstairs section with no one present in the upstairs.

4. Unexplainable EMF readings found in the 1st floor living room, one of the upstairs bedrooms.

5. Some claims of witnesses seeing unidentifiable apparitions without any reasonable explanation.

INVESTIGATION RESULTS

      The investigation of the business in Wausau took place on January 15 from approximately 6:00PM to 11:15PM. Investigator Blaschka, Geurink and Coscio were present. During the investigation 1 roll of high-speed (400-800) color film and 1 roll of Black and white film was shot in all areas of the building including the basement areas. On two of the pictures we had some orbs captured. This might have been captured due to dust. No other unexplainable anomalies were captured on film. Several temperature readings were obtained and all seemed to be within normal range, 32 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit through out the interior of the building. The entire building was scanned with an EMF meter and several anomalous readings were obtained. In a first floor room that had a victrola in it we got spikes that ranged from 3.5 to 4 mg. We also received spikes of the same degree in the room adjacent to this room. There was a static range in this room of 2-3 mg. According to the owner this victrola started to play music during business hours previous to this investigation. A second floor bedroom had spikes ranging from 2.5-3.5 there was also a corner of the room that had an unusual cold corner of 53 degrees Fahrenheit. This might have been cause by insufficient insulation in this corner. The EMF readings did not seem to be static. Three sessions of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) was conducted near the second floor bedroom and in the basement wood room. During the sessions a researcher leaving long pauses for a response asked questions. Upon review of the EVP recording there were several unusual sounds of possible footsteps and doors closing. There was a recording in which Blaschka asked a question and a small voice/ high sound was heard. It is not quite clear of where this sound came from. The basement EVP had several unexplained noises. The owners had requested some EVP. A psychic told them that there were accidents and injuries down here that cause some "evil" sprits. Several of the weird noises could have been due to the traffic from the outside. Other unexplained instances included hearing some voices from a vent. Geurink and the owner of the building observed this. The owner explained that this is where she would hear two gentlemen talking at night. Also various personal observations were made through out the investigation. There was a feeling of something was there, but nothing threatening was felt. In conclusion the WPRS was able to obtain some evidence that could be considered paranormal in nature as no reasonable explanation could be found regarding the EMF readings. However, this evidence is not considered solid proof of paranormal activity. Further study of this site would need to be conducted. We would plan to have further EVP sessions concentrating on being as quite as possible due to the level at which noise does travel through the house and from outside. We would also plan to have a video recording of the basement wood room.

UPDATED 02/12/05

      The investigation continued with Members Shawn Blascka, Alissa Geurink, and Jim Coscio. The WPRS arrived around 8 pm that night to do some additional EVP recording and to do a video recording of the basement. The WPRS choose this time with the hopes that traffic noise would have subsided. First volume levels around the house were checked to determine how sound sensitive the house was. Investigator Coscio went upstairs to listen as Investigator Blaschka and Geurink walked through the house talking at different levels. This allowed us to determine the location that would work out best for EVP recording on the second floor. Coscio claims to have heard the same music box music that he heard during the first investigation. A tape recorder was placed at the end of the hallway on the second floor, and was allowed to run for 2 hours. The results of the tape recording were inconclusive, although a number of clicks and taps were captured on tape. All three of the investigators experienced a “very creepy vibe” while in the upstairs. A video recording was placed in the corner of the basement where the owner claims that a table that was placed in front of the door had been moved. Noise levels were again checked to determine if sounds could be picked up on the video from other locations in the building. A hour and a half of video recording was completed and a couple of knocks were heard, but nothing solid. Given the evidence the WPRS collected proof of a haunting at this location was inconclusive. The WPRS asked the owner to continue collecting evidence on her own. A return trip to the location is not warranted at this time.

*Any use or reproduction of this documentation is prohibited without the sole permission of Alissa Geurink and the WPRS.