Supplemental Investigation Report
Mississippi Belle
Submitted by Juli
When Erin, Josh and I got to the restaurant, we turned on our recorders right away to capture anything we could before the investigation formally started. I got two instances of male whispering on my digital recorder during this time
The investigation started with JJ and I up in the apartments above the restaurant. We started in Apartment 2. While in the Bar Area waiting for the front door to be unlocked so we could go upstairs, I got a female whisper on my recorder.
Apartment 2-
Just after entering the apartment, I noticed that the EMF detector that JJ held started going off almost immediately. This was in the living room. We moved into the bedroom and it was going off continuously in that room. We snapped many pictures in the apartment and I picked up the sound of an exhale or low whistling on my recorder while we were in the living room. In the kitchen, the EMF detector went off sporadically and I got a picture of a large round ball against the far wall of the kitchen the size of a beach ball. I sensed the presence of a young male in his twenties, very slim and gaunt with dark hair and eyes.
Apartment 3-
In Apartment 3, we were instructed to check out the loft at the back of the apartment. It had two levels with a large room on the lower level and a small room or hall in between a small walk-in closet and a small bathroom. I felt dizzy in that loft area and slightly nauseous. I got very intense feelings in that closet and in the bathroom. JJ stayed on the lower level and the EMF detector was giving out very high readings the whole time we were there. JJ also indicated that she felt dizzy as well. When I checked out the bathroom, I noticed a small door like a linen closet. The door would not open as if it was locked or nailed shut. I felt the presence of a child, male, perhaps three or four years of age. We went through the rest of the apartment and noticed that the bedroom in the main part of the apartment created those “intense” feelings as well. We agreed that our chests felt very tight and heavy throughout that apartment.
Apartment 1-
Apartment 1 was a much smaller apartment that felt just emotionally cold. The bedroom had a four-degree temperature difference than the rest of the apartment. It was definitely colder in the bedroom.
JJ and I as well as Judy, Jessica and Rich who were upstairs as well went down to the Dining Room to switch teams.
Dining Room-
In the Dining Room, I immediately felt the presence of a female entity at table 11 where most of the activity has been reported. I did some temperature readings on all four corners of the table. In the far corner of the table up against the wall, it measured 68.3 degrees. Judy got 66.5 degrees on the other side of the table near the wall. On the other side closer to the center of the room, Judy and I got 70.1 degrees. Rich touched the far wall at one point and said it didn’t feel cold at all. JJ and Jessica then went with Judy down to the basement and Rich and I stayed at table 11.
I got out the dowsing rods and asked some yes or no questions. I ask an entity to cross the rods for a yes answer and separate them for a no answer.
“Is there a spirit with us a table 11?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a female entity?”
“Yes.”
“Did you used to own the restaurant?”
“Yes.”
“Were you Audrey?”
“No.”
“Were you Veronica?”
“Yes.”
“Do you move things on this table sometimes?”
“Yes.”
“Are you pleased with how the restaurant is being run?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like to spend time in the Banquet Room as well?”
“Yes.”
“When you are up in the Banquet Room, are there other spirits there with you?”
“Yes.”
“Is the spirit of your sister here as well?”
“No.”
“Is the spirit of your father here?”
“No.”
Tim had entered the room with Josh while we were asking questions and I invited him to ask any questions he wanted to.
He asked, “Are you happy we’re back?”
“Yes.”
“Are you happy with what Hope and Bill have done here?”
“Yes.”
“Are you Veronica?”
“Yes.”
“Veronica, do you like to move the wineglasses?”
“Yes.”
“Do you move the wineglasses just to let people know you’re here?”
“No.”
“Do you move the wineglasses to scare people?”
“No.”
“Do you like to move the wineglasses because you don’t like people sitting in your spot”
“Yes.”
“Could you move one of the wineglasses now for us please?”
“Yes.”
“Could you please move the wineglass in front of Juli? Would you do that for us now please?”
We waited for a few minutes and nothing moved.
Tim then asked, “Would you like us to leave for a little bit?”
“No.”
“Would you like us to stay for a little while?”
“Yes.”
I asked, “Does it take too much energy for you to move the glass?”
“Yes.”
We spent a few minutes discussing pictures and experiences that we had up in the apartments. During that time, Josh said he felt something move the camera bag he was holding. No one was close enough to him to have done so.
We left the room for a few minutes and left some of our equipment on a table in the Dining Room including my recorder and an EMF detector that Kevin had been carrying. While we were gone, the EMF detector beeped about fifteen or sixteen times.
North Basement-
Rich and I headed to the north basement then and stopped in the small north most storage area where we had significant activity during our first investigation in August. I felt something brush past me in the room. We then spent some time out in the hallway outside that room and on the other side of the office. After only a few minutes, we both heard something shuffling a few feet away. It did show up on my recorder as well. We were the only ones down in that area of the basement at that time. I got the image of a man in his thirties with medium to dark brown hair and height of about 5’10”. He didn’t come across as malevolent at all, more curious. Both Rich and I saw dark shadows move at the end of the hallway near the stairs and a few flashes of red light at the other end of the hallway near the door to the office. At this time, I apparently got a few whispers on my recorder. Rich indicated that he’d been having sporadic problems with his camera all evening. After being in the basement for about half an hour, I witnessed shadows at the end of the hallway by the office door that seemed to change shape and density. Rich said he had observed something similar. We both also felt as though we were not alone in that area. While moving toward the steps, I felt as though all the air was being sucked out of my lungs.
Boiler Room-
We headed into the Boiler Room next. While we were there taking pictures, a short groan was captured on my digital recorder.
Office-
Rich and I stopped in the office briefly where I sensed a male entity. I’m not sure if it was the same one that I sensed out in the hallway earlier or not. We didn’t get any anomalous temperature readings there. It seemed to be a uniform 68.1 degrees throughout the room.
Banquet Room-
Rich and I then went to the Banquet Room and started taking temperature readings per Tim’s request. I got 77.7 degrees on the west side of the room, 68.8 on the north side, 66.3 near the windows, 69.0 under the chandelier in the center of the room, 69.5on the east side, 69.0 on the south side and 69.4 near the door. We sat down and I used the dowsing rods to try to communicate with any spirits present. Again, I asked yes or no questions.
“Is there anyone in the room with us tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Is this a female entity?”
“Yes.”
“Are you the same person who sits down at table 11?”
“No.”
Tim and Josh entered at this point and I asked Tim if he’d like to ask any questions.
Tim asked, “Are you a male?”
“No.”
I asked, “Did you work here?”
“Yes.”
“Did you work here while it was still a hotel?”
“Yes.”
Tim and Josh left the room at this point.
“Was there a fire in this building?” (There is record of a fire in December of 1899 in downtown Hastings.)
“No.”
“Did the fire affect this building?”
“No.”
At this point, my digital recorder caught what sounded like a female whisper. I couldn’t catch what was said.
“Were you affected by the fire?”
“Yes.”
“Were you a chambermaid in the hotel?’
“Yes.”
I had gotten the number 24 as relating to this entity.
“Does the number 24 mean something to you?”
“Yes.”
“Was that your age when you died?”
“No.”
“Was that the year you worked here?”
“No.”
“Did you work for the Doffings?”
“Yes.”
“Were you related to the Doffings?”
“No.”
“Do you know that you’ve passed on?”
“Yes.”
“Are you attached to the building?”
“No.”
“Are you attached to any of the spirits in this building?”
“Yes.”
“Do you feel that you have unfinished business here?”
“No.”
“Are you here because you feel obligated to the people you worked for?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have family in this town?”
“No.”
“So, you were here in this town on your own?”
“Yes.”
Tim and Josh returned at this point.
Tim asked, “Did you pass away in a building that was here before this building was built?
“No.”
“Did you used to work in a building that was here at one time?”
“Yes.”
I asked, “Was there a fire in the building that was here before this restaurant?”
“No.”
“Did you work here when there was a fire in the buildings around here?”
“Yes.”
Tim asked, “Were you 24 years of age when you worked here?”
“No.”
“Did you work here 24 days?”
“No.”
I asked, “Did you work here 24 months?”
“Yes.”
Tim asked, “Were you a maid or a helper at the hotel?”
“Yes.”
We thanked the spirit and got up. Just then, we heard a loud crash, which came out as a thud on my recorder. Kevin, who was outside the room said it sounded like someone just fell down a bunch of stairs holding a box of silverware. Everyone on the team met in the Dining Room to find out what had happened. No one seemed to know what made that noise. While we were discussing it, I got a male voice on my digital recorder that whispered, “Look…down there.” After further investigation, we found that a shelf in the office (which is in the basement) high up on the far wall was bent down at about a hundred forty-five degree angle from the wall. All of the books, three ring binders and a box of spoons had fallen off the shelf onto the floor. When Rich and I were in the office about 20 - 25 minutes earlier, the shelf seemed normal.
End of Investigation