History Buffs and Ghost Hunters, I need help!

[Aethian]

So it is possible that it was a small kitchen used to house a second wood/coal stove...more heat, happier tennants, more money per month. *shrugs* But honestly I still don't see the use in it. The point of having a kitchen in the square back or in the corner is to use the heat going up the stove pipe to heat the second/third floor. And with that much weight the floor beneath has to be extra thick. Those stoves weren't lightweights, hell even now they are heavy.

What about apartment statue earlier? I deliver to a house now that was once a single family home, boarding home, single family again, one level = one apartment, and once more single family home. So they have three places where there is a stove/oven combo. Hence three kitchens.

[SengaKitty]

I honestly don't know. I do know that in 1933 it was listed as a boarding house, and then in 1938 it was listed as furnished apartments.

[Aethian]

Right there in 38 could have been when it needed a second kitchen and then was changed again. Very interesting house Red. Now I wanna visit just to try and get to see the blueprint. Bit of a hobby mine...too look for dead space in old buildings. Never know what your going to find. Old comics, papers, coins, money, whole nother rooms. Or one time, a whole nother floor. Course I didn't find that, was found before I was born but it was amazing as to how it was hidden.

[SengaKitty]

You're more than welcome to visit at anytime I can't guarantee sleeping space, but I've got a good size closet we could probably fit you into :-P

[Aethian]

LOL Love ya Red. I don't take up much space but if I could I would rather be in a hotel then taking up space that isn't available.

[protege]

When my grandmother's house was built, in 1864-65, just after the US Civil War, it was still common for the kitchen to be separate from the house. In those days, it wouldn't surprise me if the kitchen's second floor was used as servants' quarters. Construction upstairs was pretty crude-it seemed they used the scraps or whatever came to hand. On several walls, dates painted on, or scratched into the walls, hinted that the kitchen building was built about 20 years prior.

1920 rolled around, and the house was modernized. Not only did it gain a kitchen, but indoor plumbing (still somewhat of a novelty in rural areas), bathroom, and another bedroom upstairs. Added about the same time (we think) were the 3 porches. It's obvious that they were added later, because the bricks used aren't as weathered as those in the house.

Not sure when the "carriage house" (garage) was built, but it was probably built at the same time as the house. This had a large door at both ends--the carriage (or town car) could proceed through the building, and then pull under the side porch. In fact, the wheels from said carriage were still in the garage back in the '70s. This building was actually pretty large--you could probably fit a few cars downstairs, and at least two upstairs. Not that I'd put a car up there--Grandpa kept the tractor up there, along with the sheep pens.

Those weren't the only buildings--3 barns were also on the property. One, was atop the big hill behind the house. Not sure when that was built, but I do know when it came down. It fell down during a storm in 1980. The other barns, were torn down when the road was widened. Up until then, one was used for storage, and I'm not sure what was in the other one.

Nearly all of that information came about after several hours of poking around the county records office. Not all of the information was easy to get though--records were lost over the years, some were damaged in a 1925 fire (which took out most of a city block, plus the courthouse )

The most interesting piece of info...had to be about the family that built the house. Seems that there's *another* house, just down the road...which is built to the same plans. However, it wasn't "squared-off" in the '20s, but left to the original L-shaped building.

When you consider how many people have lived in the area--even before colonial times, I'm surprised that there aren't more hauntings.

[Eireann]

It's possible that the basement was used as servant quarters in the post-slavery days. Other possibilities:

Old graveyard.
Someone who died in the house was buried in the basement.
It's the site of a suicide.
Someone died there of natural causes and can't let go.

[AccountingDrone]

First, thank you for the advice The main reason we believe that the slaves and/or servants lived in the basement is that the back stairs connect to the basement stairs and go to the second floor, but not the third. There is no attic in this building (to my knowledge, but I live on the second story). I will contact Ghost Hunters, as that would be very cool to bring them through here Old Louisville is known as one of the most haunted neighborhoods in America, and as I've seen the ghost we call The Lady of the House on several occasions walking up and down the front stairs, I know this building is haunted.

As for the Ouija board. No. Not just no, but HELL NO. I won't let one of those things within a 200 sq. foot radius of my house, let alone IN it.

And yes, I believe there are quite often perfectly scientific reasons for things happening that seem paranormal. However, walking into your apartment to see your dishes moving, or coming out of your apartment to run into a see through woman coming up the front stairs generally tell you something non-scientific is going on

GOod choice on the ouija board, used as a parlor game, they can be fun, but unfortunatley as I said before, I do believe in the paranormal and randomly asking spsirits to come around can be a *bad* thing.

That being said, you would be amazed what can happen in an old building, we used to always come home to find stuff on the lower shelf in the library in disarray, turns out that slightly loose floorboards on the front porch were causing enough subtle vibration that the glass pieces were being gently moved around. We found that out when my dad decided to stay home one evening when my mother, uncle, aunt and paternal grandparents went out for dinner and he watched the collection move.

Taps has also mentioned that electromagnetics can trigger hallucinations. You may or may not actually be seeing a full apparition. What you might try doing right now for the heck of it is taking a tape recorder/mp3 recorder, going down into the basement, setting it on something across the room. Sit down, and start asking questions, leaving a few minutes between questions for whatever to answer. Electronic Voice Phenomena is an interesting area, if whiile sitting there you hear someone upstairs walking, or droping something, or you sneeze, or make a noise, call it ... just say thud was me tripping, noise was me sneezing. THen when you go back an listen to it, if there is noise that you didnt hear, you have something to offer whomever comes to check the place out. You can also try setting up a webcam down there, or a regular video camera [whatever you have on hand] I seem to remember that someone Taps was working with picked up something on one of the video baby monitors.

Take anything you want with a grain of salt, my experience with the paranormal was an imaginary playmate when i was 3 years old that was my great grandfather who died in 1931, and the only picture of which was in florida. I didnt get to florida until I was 5 years old. The shrink my parents brought in was pretty convinced that I was honestly playing with a long dead relative, as I described him, and his tic [eye twitch] and manner of dressing [always in a fairly formal business suit, and always a red bow tie, and always a white flower in his lapel.] As this was 1964, and the paranormal was still considered a form of insanity, do the math....

and if you want to see the house in question - home It is on the market, I would kill to be able to buy it and move back but there are no jobs in the area at all. I think at least 30% of the homes in the town are up for sale right now=(

[SengaKitty]

Oh WOW That house is gorgeous!

Well, update: I've contacted the Northern Kentucky Paranormal Society, who ARE willing to come out and investigate, but I've got to talk to the land lord first, and he's got to give them permission. Knowing what I know about LL, I'm sure he won't have any issues. Heck, he may use the fact that it's haunted to market it, either for sale or to get new tenants. (Have I mentioned the people in Louisville are wierd, and I love them?)

I've thought of getting some EVPs in the basement... But that requires me GOING INTO the basement, and that's very hard for me to do, not only because of the haunting, but also because of my debilitating fear of heights. The stairs to the basement are EXTREMELY steep, and are mostly just wooden slats, with not very many hand holds.

I might just try to get some EVPs in my apartment, and possibly in the back and front stair wells.

[protege]

Thought I'd mention this too. I do know of one house...not far from my grandmother's that supposedly *is* haunted. That would be the Yablonski house. At the time, "Jock" Yablonski was trying to clean up the corruption in the miners' union. He, along with his wife and daughter, were murdered New Year's Eve in 1969. Anyway, I've heard stories about strange noises at night--usually moaning, but also screaming. Red spots sometimes appear on the walls too. I've never been inside the house--it's been boarded up since the murders, but I've been past it a few times. The house's isolation only increases the overall "creepy" factor. I sure hope the people who bought it know what they're in for...

[AccountingDrone]

Oh WOW That house is gorgeous!

I've thought of getting some EVPs in the basement... But that requires me GOING INTO the basement, and that's very hard for me to do, not only because of the haunting, but also because of my debilitating fear of heights. The stairs to the basement are EXTREMELY steep, and are mostly just wooden slats, with not very many hand holds.

I might just try to get some EVPs in my apartment, and possibly in the back and front stair wells.

Thanks, I loved the place, we sold it to family friends so I spent a lot of time there even after we sold it. Like I said I really want to buy it back so much

EVP in the apartment would be good, if you can get something to have when the investigators come out would be fantastic. You might consider keeping a written log of the stuff that happens as well. Any research you already have would also help out.

[TOLady]

Check with PowerBoy - his sig. has him as a real Ghost Hunter and to PM if you have any problems and need help.

My old hotel had quite a few of them and I used to work the midnite shift. Really weird to seem them coming halfway down the stairs and just disappear right there, but I got used to them after a while. Never face on, just always out of the corner of my eye. I definitely never went downstairs by myself though.

[wagegoth]

I agree with AccountingDrone on the EMFs. A lot of old homes were quickly and not safely wired for electricity long after they were built, so there is a lot of exposed wiring and improperly insulated boxes. Being around them can give you a general feeling of illness and/or dread. If you can borrow a meter, go around the basement and check it out.

Also, basements are usually surrounded by rock, which seems to act (especially granite) as a kind of psychic tape recorder. Going underground, of course, is often a very uncomfortable thing for people nowadays, as basements are much less common, and food storage is no longer necessary underground.

Besides avoiding the OUIJA board, I would also avoid scrying and mirrors. If you're comfortable with hearing things you may not want, then try recording EVPs. But, remember, you may hear something you don't want to.


TAPS lists the following contacts in Kentucky as members of their ghosthunting family:

KENTUCKY
Kentucky Shadow Chasers
Contact: KSC@the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com

PsyTech
Contact: PSYTECH@the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com


And, now, you MUST let us know what happens.

[SengaKitty]

Woooo! Thanks for that! I just sent off an email to both Lets get this place investigated!

[Luna Baby]

RHPG, Are you by chance in an area of Louisville that is currently undergoing 'renovations' of sorts? As mentioned in my intro (somewhere) I am in Kentucky. I have lived in Louisville for several years previously and my m-i-l lives there now. Your house looks vaguely familiar, but I love old buildings and really watch the streets when we go to the m-i-l's house and then drive around. Good luck with the g. hunting.