Carnegie Hall Ghosts?

As I sit here and look out the window at sleet falling and snow and ice on the ground, it is hard to think ahead to warm ghost hunting season. Of course, here at the haunted office, GHOSTS are always in season but to the average investigator, warmer weather is required. The older I get though, the more I can agree to that statement! Warmer weather, please!

There is ONE location here in West Virginia that I am anxuous to sink my teeth into. Pardon the vampire reference- but it gets my blood flowing when I have a new location plump for the attack...err....study.

Carnegie Hall is located in Lewisburg West Virginia and was built in 1902 by steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie as a classroom building for the Lewisburg Female Institute, later the Greenbrier College for Women.                              

Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, WV

Carnegie Hall was incorporated in 1983 as a regional not-for-profit arts and education center. According to their website, the cultural center annually serves more than 75,000 patrons with live performances by outstanding companies and artists from around the world. One thing it neclgets to mention at the website is that they have visits from other dimensions. That's right! There are many a person who whisper of the odd events that happen on occasion. Poltergeist activity, shadow people and a few apparitions have been reported in the halls (and some of the rooms) of Carnegie Hall. It's no wonder as the entire town has a haunted history dating back to the Civil War era. remember those tried and true theories of imprinted energy and residual?

Lewsiburg was home to the Battle of Lewisburg which took place here. Going waaay back in history, Lewisburg was formally established in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. uring the Civil War a number of engagements were fought in and around Lewisburg. Several of the present buildings in town were used as hospitals and barracks by both sides in the War Between the States. Bullet marks can still be seen in some today!  The Virginia Supreme Court library, which was located in Lewisburg and served as the Greenbrier County Library until 2008, was used as a hospital and has preserved a section of wall with soldiers' graffiti. Can you imagine? 

Up the road from Carnegie Hall is the Confederate Cemetery. A gray garbed soldier has been seen walking from the old Stone Church cemetery in town and up the hill past Carnegie Hall while he makes his way towards the Confederate cemetery.

The old Stone Church Cemetery

The Confederate Cemetery

The entire town has stories to share of darker history and paranormal events- you just have to know who to ask. As usual, there are some folks who don't believe or think its a bunch of "hogwash". But then again, there are those who I have spoken to who believe and in hushed tones, have shared with me their experiences.

All in all, I am very excited at the prospects of having another Ghost Hunting class in Lewisburg thru the New River College. I am hopping it all works out schedule wise and that one evening this Spring, we will be packing our equipment into the hushed hallways of Carnegie Hall and ready for a night of investigating.

Exit stage left.......

Stay tuned! For more info on Paranormal Classes: 

The first blog of the year...and it's already February!

Yes, I measured snowfall with a bottle of Wild Turkey. Call me creative. :-)
 Besides, it's handy to have around for medicinal purposes...of course.

Yep. It's February and I am blogging for the first time in 2013.

 I am not the resolution type of person...I never have been. Sure, I'd like to lose weight, be a better wife and mom, find more haunted locations, blog more than I do, improve my work writing habits, spend more time discovering the roots of my family tree and solve world peace, but where do the hours fly to? If I could do ANYTHING this year it would be to figure out how to get more hours out of the day.

Snow days in the years of my childhood meant sitting around watching TV, reading a good book or sled riding. I LOVED ice skating when I was in my teens and couldn't wait to hit the local ice pond at the park. The snow days of the last few years seem to revolve around getting more work done....cleaning....catching up on more work and if I am not working...I am THINKING about work. Aye, yi, yi! I thought as you got older you were supposed to slow down a bit?

Today was another snow day off from school for my son, Mason. There were 3 snow days last week and just yesterday I told my husband and son that I would love to go sled riding. We have about 10 inches of snow on the ground and everything is pristine, white and crisp. Did I go sledding? No. What did I do? I came into the office on a Sunday, worked a bit on the next book, organized my office a little and signed a few boxes of books for the next book event.

 Sigh....I looked out the window today at home and saw a huge hill calling my name while I wondered where my sleds were at.

Fog and snow on the hill

 

Even though we have had massive amounts of snow this year, the cats seem to enjoy it. We have 5 outdoor cats and they all weather well. Please don't think they stay outside in the horrid temperature's. Perry has a lovely 8 car garage with a cat door. They have it made!

 

Petey

 

I am looking forward to spring time this year as I never have before. The warmth of the breeze and the promise of warmer days, more sunshine and no more bone chilling nights with air so cold your nostrils stick together! It cannot get here fast enough.

 

                               The deer seem to not mind the snow

 

 

With spring arriving I look at my haunted calendar for 2013. I cannot wait till my first overnight ghost hunt of the year! April 20th will find me haunting the halls of the West Virginia Pen in Moundsville. I cannot wait to see old familiar friends, the great staff at the Pen and my home sweet haunt!

 

The West Virginia Pen cover shot from my book

"The Haunted History of the West Virginia Penitentiary"

 

Today, the sky is gray and there is hardly any sunshine. One day this week, I am hoping to go find my sled and perhaps steal a few hours away from the work schedule. I hope to dig my heels into the snowy slope and perhaps fly as fast as I can on that plastic saucer sled that keeps calling my name. I hope you get time to steal a few hours as well and perhaps do something fun. Snow Angels anyone??

 

 

 

 

December Musings

Well, here we are again. Winter weather is here!

It's the end of another year, and perhaps the end of the world if we listen to some of the folks who believe it all comes to a grinding stop on December 21st.  I am of the belief that perhaps this will not be the dire event that some people believe it to be, but rather a bit of an awakening spiritual for many people. I think the sun will set on December 21st and will rise again on December 22nd and life will continue on. (hopefully!)

It's been a busy year. Even though I cut my schedule down quite a bit, it was still chaotic! The last book came out in January, there were book signings to attend, haunted events to put together, overnight ghosthunts to attend, kids to enjoy, a house to plan, a husband to supervise and all while working on yet another book. 

It seems as if research is never done. I love the research part of any project to the point that I believe I must have been a project manager in another life. (that would be sandwiched between my previous life as a country singer and my other past life as a Confederate soldier LOL)

  Research on book #5 (2014 Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) will continue and I hope it will be out in late 2014. Before my favorite holiday of Halloween would be ideal! 

Book #4 should be out in a week or two...and will hopefully be a great resource for lovers of West Virginia hauntings and folklore. It is called "Fireside Folklore of West Virginia"

The new book will feature 24 chapters with each chapter focusing on old, and not so old, haunting's and folklore across the Mountain State. I was very happy to have Lisa Minney, owner and publisher of West Virginia's largest independent publication, write the foreward for the book. Thank you, Lisa and thank you Two-Lane Livin'!!

 To write a book is like giving birth. Cigars, anyone?

Power outages during the Franken -Storm

Halloween this year was very odd. Never before have I seen that much snow at one time!

We had the effects of a Noreaster hit us while Hurricaine Sandys moisture added to the mix. All in all we had about 3 feet of snow in central West Virginia. The power was off for 8 days. What fun though! I DID miss hot water, but it was great to slow down a bit and enjoy life. Farm chores had to be done in daylight hours, house cleaning was minimal, and water to wash with was warmed on the woodstove. I read by oil lamp and flashlight at night. Kinda cool. On the down side of the storm, people lost homes, business roofs collapsed (8 here in Nicholas County WV) and food spoiled. Many people lost entire freezers and fridges full of food. Gas stations couldn't pump gas if they did not have electric and of course, that added to the chaos. We survived though!

Snow on the Swinging Bridge and broken trees

Website Updates!

Tour dates, festivals, conferences, and events that I am scheduling will be posted at my website this month www.HauntedHistory.net  

 I have already listed the Ohio State Reformatory dates for 2013. They will go up for sale online on Saturday January 5th at noon. The Reformatory holds a warm spot in my heart...and always will. Strange how a building can "grab" you like that. One of the volunteers told me years ago that the building picked her...not the other way around, So true!

The Ohio State Reformatory

Mobile Phone update

Our website is now a more mobile friendly website with text that is much easier to read on smaller screens and a sleeker more simple design. Check it out on your smart phone at www.HauntedHistory.net

    

As the month draws nearer to its end,

 I hope you have a great Christmas season and a wonderful, memory filled New Year!

Sherri Brake

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum ghosthunts in 2011

Call me crazy.

Why would anyone want to walk and roam the halls of the 2nd largest stone cut building in the world with the lights out?

We rented out the entire old hospital in Weston West Virginia for two nights in 2011. It was called the Weston State Hospital in 1913 but has now reverted back to the original name: the Trans - Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  Each night, we packed in ghosthunters, skeptics and wanna believers who all admired the architecture, history and ghost stories. Most hoped something of the paranormal sort would happen, and to some, it did!

Darrin and Danielle did not expect to have it happen to them but it did. It occurred on a day time tour! Darrin and Danielle both felt as if "something" moved thru them when they took the history tour at TALA before our private ghosthunt there on Friday the 13th of May 2011. It happened at the same time and caught them both off guard.

Why investigate this building? Come on! Looking at the history alone, one can almost imagine what kind of energy has been left behind here. Lobotomies, electro shock therapies, insulin therapy, and cold water immersion? The list goes on and on.

The hospital structure was begun in 1858 using prison labor and eventually the help of European stone masons. Construction was halted during the American Civil War for almost a year. The final stage was completed in 1881 but patients had already begun arriving in 1864. The first patients were several housewives from Ohio. Hmmm....

Some of the faces carved by irish immigrants on the wall outside the Civil War section

The hospital was originally built to house about 250 and ended up blowing that number away by 1950 with around 2400 taking up residence. The hospitals original grounds were 666 acres. Yes.... 666..  The hospital had its own dairy farm, gas well, water supply and its very own cemetery. It was all intended to make the hospital self sufficient and it pretty much did.

The famous clock tower. One side does not have a clock face so workers could not look up and see what time it was while they were hard at work!

The hospital building commands your attention.
It was designed by the renowned architect Richard Andrews following the Kirkbride plan, which called for long rambling wings arranged in a staggered formation, assuring that each of the connecting structures received an abundance of therapeutic sunlight and fresh air. The Kirkbride plan influenced the construction of over 300 similar facilities throughout North America. Other Kirkbride buildings include the Athens Lunatic Asylum in Athens Ohio, Columbus State Hospital, Danville (PA) State Hospital and the Maryland State Hospital for the Insane to name a few.

                                                       Weston State Hospital aka TALA


On our July 16th 2011 hunt at TALA, one participant was thrilled to get her first "ghost voice" or EVP on tape. Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP  can be captured on audio tape, which means video recorders and voice recorders. She emailed me this:

" I've not gotten through my pictures yet, but I started listening to my audio (not all the way through all of them yet either). My FIRST recording, where I had walked in on a group doing a light session in the children's ward, I got something that literally made me go "Ho-Lee Shit!" (pardon my .... not french).  During the session the guy who was asking questions was talking.  Over that, you hear a male (sounded about 20 years old) say "Go away. Please leave me alone".  The recording was no one in the group!"
Needless to say, this was just one of the many EVPs captured on our ghosthunt at the old hospital.

One of the paranormally active areas in the hospital. Children's voices have been recorded here when no kids are present. People have placed toys and balls in this room as trigger objects.

The Medical Center building

This is the location of the Morgue

Inside the morgue area

We look forward to more investigations in this grand old building in 2012.

Check our website for information!

But in the mean time, swing by their website or stop over and do a day tour.

You'd be crazy not to.