Riegelsville Fire House
The Story:
The Claims:City Lights Paranormal Society took a personal interest in this case because one of the current fire chiefs is the father of a very good friend of ours. We were welcomed by all of the staff, and were told about the activity they have been experiencing. Men and women at the station had an array of reports, ranging from footsteps, to voices, to apparitions, to items moving on their own, and more. In the engine room where the trucks are stored, there is a metal grate running along the garage doors which is stationed in order to catch water. Firemen have heard the sound of someone walking along the grate. Occasionally, they would walk over to the location only to be assured that no one was actually there. At other times, the firemen could hear someone whispering. Another claim is beleaguered around cardboard boxes that are used as a fire prevention technique. The cardboard boxes get placed under the trucks to catch any leaking fluids. Sometimes while the working men were eating, they would hear the cardboard being slid across the floor, as if someone was removing it from its designated location. Another report of activity still surrounding the trucks is that of the truck doors and latches being opened, closed, and rattled. Off of the engine room is a series of rooms in a circle-like formation connected by one big box-like hallway. From the engine room, if you walk into the hallway, you are immediately standing in front of the office. In the office, people have heard the sound of footsteps walking along the hallway just outside the door. Upon going out to check on the source, it would quickly become clear that no one was actually there. At the other end of the hallway, there are two bathrooms to the left and right, disconnected by about 40 feet. In between the two bathrooms there have been many apparitions seen by many people. This is believed to be the desired location of the entity haunting the building. “This seems to be his hang out spot,” were the words offered to us. The last spot with reported activity is the kitchen. There are two entrances to the kitchen: one off the hallway and one off the engine room. On many occasions, a white mist-like form has been seen walking out of the door from the kitchen into the hallway. Summing up all the claims, it was clear that someone needed to help these heroes to prove the reality of what they have been experiencing all along.
EvidenceEvp recorder 3 placement "Get Out!"Evp Recorder 3 placement "Knocking"Evp Recorder 3 placement "I Know!"Documented experience!Evp recorder 1 engine room "Girls Voice Response" |
Riegelsville, PA, is the home to a supposedly haunted volunteer fire company. Over the years, many men in the station have been under this impression. They say a former chief, Howie, is the primary suspected entity, as he was very fond of the fire house and lived to serve it. The firefighters believe that he passed but stayed committed all these years. The Riegelsville Fire Station has a lot of history and a heart warming story. There is too much to say about the place, so please follow the link to read the full story.
The InvestigationCLPS was extremely excited to investigate their first-ever fire station. Even more exciting was the fact that we could give something back to the men that put everything on-the-line for us each day. This investigation was truly a mutual treat. While we were given a tour of the second floor as well, there was not much to be said concerning paranormal activity. All the activity seemed to surround the most populated first floor of the building; so, while investigating the whole building was crucial, it was clear the first floor needed the most attention. The three investigators of the evening, Olivia, Lisa, and Joe, set up the equipment, focusing on the first floor. They began their investigation. The equipment was properly placed to capture video documentation of all purported apparitions, and to capture audio documentation of all disembodied sounds and voices abovementioned. Base temperature and EMF readings were taken, and with these attributes reported normal, the three investigators began focusing on each individual claim. While nothing could be said to disprove the claims, we didn’t experience most of them first-hand. A few things did happen, though. At one point, all three investigators heard what sounded like the fire truck latches being rattled. To become more susceptible to some of the claims, Joe instructed Olivia and Lisa to investigate the engine room and kitchen while he sat in the office. This strategy was designed so that we could have eyes and ears in multiple locations. One hope in particular was that Olivia and Lisa could conduct an EVP session and walk away with a male voice to primarily back up the idea that the former chief Howie is the suspect. While Joe was in the office, he was able to experience footsteps walking down the hallway. We were hopeful that our EVP strategy would be just as successful. Towards the end of the night, an unusual twist was unveiled. We say this because we set up a flashlight on the table just outside the kitchen in the engine room. We were standing on the other side of the engine room when Joe saw a three foot tall black shadow dart behind one of the trucks. Upon turning on his flashlight, he saw the same black shadow dart past once again. Up until this point, all attempts to communicate using our flashlight had failed. However, the three foot tall anomaly gave Joe a new idea. As soon as he started to refer to a child, the light began reacting. It was pretty consistent anytime a camera was not focused on it. While not documenting this on film is disheartening, experiencing it was a chilling discovery. Aside from these few experiences, the overall night was pretty quiet. No footsteps were heard on the grate, our cardboard prop was not moved, no doors opened or closed, and no white mist was seen…or, so we could only assume.
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The Debriefing:
The equipment was left to do its job. As you can see, we were able to document quite a few things with all of our equipment. As mentioned earlier, we were hopeful that Olivia and Lisa had walked away with a male voice. Our strategy seemed to work well, because Lisa and Olivia were able to document a male voice. The most surprising find of the investigation was that of a little girl’s voice. We were highly disappointed that we weren’t able to document our light reacting to our discovery of a child; but, it was comforting to catch an EVP of a child’s voice at that time. With a few pieces of evidence correlating with and corroborating claims, City Lights Paranormal Society was comfortable in assessing the Riegelsville Volunteer Fire Company as haunted. Our investigation gave us not only solid proof, but gave us an opportunity to dedicate our time to those who dedicate so much of their time to us. It is rewarding to assist such passionate, dedicated people. In the end, we are the lucky ones who were able to render a service to them and gain their friendship at the same time. In closing, CLPS would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Riegelsville fire crew, and, yes, your fire station is haunted!