The Ghost Tour

After dinner, and before our bourbon sampler, we took the ghost tour.  This was nothing like the ghost tour in New Orleans.  Nothing like the Ghost Tour in Colonial Williamsburg.  Both of those tours focused on the history of the place.  This tour talked about history, but focused on ghost sitings.  When we ran across the street and bought our tickets we had no idea that we were signing up for an evening of ghost hunting with Patti Starr, certified Ghost Hunter. 

Patti Starr at the Chapeze House

She took us to the Chapeze house and told us about the people who used to live there, and about the ghost who has been seen there.  She encouraged us to take pictures of the window behind her, she said we might get a picture of a little boy’s face.  None of us got a picture of a little boy, but one woman did get a picture with a reflexion on the glass that looked like a cat. 

Mr. Happy looks for ghosts in the cemetary

Next we went to the cemetary.  This is a very old cemetary.  Patti said that there were a lot of ghosts here and had people line up and raise their hands.  She asked the spirits to go to their hands and encouraged us to take pictures to see if any orbs appeared.  None did.  Then she told us to be very quiet and very still for 30 seconds while she recorded us on her iPhone.  Then she played it back for us.  She captured a lot of traffic noise and insects.  There was also two footsteps and a click. 

Ghost hunting at the jail

Next we went to the old jail (which happens to be the B&B Eric and I were staying at).  She told us the ghost story and then encouraged us to take pictures of the window.  No ghosts appeared. 

Next she took us to Talbott’s Tavern.  She used to work there, back in the 1990’s, before the fire.  She was the manager, but the real reason she was working there was her interest in ghosts.  Apparently the place is very haunted.  She took us to one of the upstairs rooms and turned the lights down to their lowest setting.  She then told us some ghost stories and told us that sometimes the ghosts turned off the lights, or opened the door.  During the time she was talking both happened.  She also told us about all the wonderful video she has of ghosts in that building, but we can only see it if we take one of her ghost hunting seminars.  She had people stand at one end of the room and encouraged everyone to take flash pictures of the person.  She asked the ghosts to appear near their hands.  Out of all the picutres taken, there were two where “orbs” appeared.  These orbs are what I always thought were specks of dust in the air, or just a bad picture, but she was promoting them as ghosts.  For more examples of this check out her website.  Then she took out her iPhone and turned on the ghost radar application.  It showed several ghosts popping in and out of the room.  Next she turned on another application that was supposed to help us communicate with the ghosts.  When it said a nonsense word Patti said that it was calibrating.  If it said something that could be construed as meaningful then she said it was a ghost.  Next she picked up an EMF meter.  It blipped.  She said that meant there was a ghost in the room.  She asked how many ghosts were in the room.  It blipped 17 times.  Then she moved over about 5 feet and asked the ghosts to find her over there.  They never did.

Eric and I were both glad to get out of there when the talk was over.  We went to the bathroom and headed downstairs to the bourbon bar.