INVESTIGATION #004 Bridgewater College (Cole Hall) Bridgewater, Va. Date Of Investigation: December 2-3, 2006 Time: 12:00-2:30 AM Investigators on Scene: Marty Seibel, Lisa Rose, Kristine Bunk and Melanie Duvall Additional Help: Marcie Ferguson and two other students, one Bridgewater Professor. Weather: Clear and Cold , Solar Activity: Active, Geomagnetic Activity: Quiet, Moon Phase: Waxing 98% Full The Stories/Lore Both of these tales were found from the Shadowlands website.    We have attempted to contact and verify the source, but have had no response from either party to date.    Bridgewater - Bridgewater College Campus - Is a very beautiful campus, but it has many secrets.   Founded in 1880, it is built on Native American hunting grounds.   It is said to be haunted by the ghost of its namesake, Mr. Cole.    His ghost has been sighted many times by members of the drama club, musicians, and audience members.   Usually seated on the balcony, the ghost appears when he is particularly pleased with a performance.   Once, at the end of a play, the lights overhead began to flicker rapidly, and a cold spot was felt near a particular seat on the balcony.   Once again, Mr. Cole was pleased. Background History Cole Hall itself was built in 1929.   From the Bridgewater website "Cole Hall was erected in 1929 as the auditorium/theatre section of a future administration building.   The auditorium/theatre seats about 650 people and is equipped with a modern stage, dressing rooms, a stage lighting system, motion picture and sound equipment, one artist grand piano, and a three-manual Moeller organ with 51 ranks of pipes which was installed in 1974.   The name of the building perpetuates the memory of Dr. Charles Knox Cole.   It is a gift of his daughter, Mrs. Virginia Garber Cole Strickler.   The Reuel B. Pritchett Museum was established by the Rev. Reuel B. Pritchett of White Pine, Tennessee, who gave his large collection of books, rare Bibles, and articles of antiquity to the College in 1954.   The collection consists of 175 rare books, including a Bible published in Venice in 1482, and seven Bibles printed in Philidelphia in the eighteenth-century by Christopher Sauer.   Over 10,000 artifacts are included in the collection. " The Investigation Data Photo Results: Kristine Bunk 159 digital photos (Photos of interest - 3) Marty Seibel 159 (Photos of interest -2) Comments: While a few of the shots included interesting ‘orbs’, none were compelling evidence of paranormal activity. Audio Results: Kristine Bunk – (2 full hours of audio- no evidence found), Melanie Duvall - (44 minutes of audio – no evidence found), Marty/Lisa- (Minutes used on Microcassette recorder--20 mins. – no evidence found), (Minutes used on Digital Audio Recorder--22 mins) Comments: No evidence found as recordings were attempted in all locations of the building. Video Results: Marty Seibel (Minutes used on DCR-DVD105 Video Recorder--60 mins. – no evidence found) EMF/Dowsing rods Results: Kristine Bunk – – (no evidence found), Melanie Duvall/student – some activity near the main entrance of the hall, but the source was determined to be of a natural source.   The mechanical room and lighting fixtures below the hall were bleeding an electro magnetic field into the upper auditorium. Tempature Results: No recorded cold spots or temperature changes (other than a few minor changes recorded near a window with a detectable draft). Personal Experiences Some spikes were registered in the upper auditorium by Lisa and Marty.   The professor also detected a variance with the copper dowsing rods in the same area.   As Lisa was asking questions, EMF were registering spikes as though it was responding to the questions.   No natural source of the readings was evident, and they disappeared after approximately 20 minutes.   They disappeared at the same time Kristine and Melanie started getting readings near the front door.   Lisa Rose did feel a ‘spider web’ sensation on her hand in the main auditorium near the stage while doing EVP work. Final Conclusion: Not Haunted While we did get a few emf spikes, no compelling evidence was found during the investigation of Cole Hall at Bridgewater College.   Perhaps the activity is confined to performances or Dr Cole was tired from the performance held earlier in the evening.   For now, we are unable to confirm paranormal activity.   The investigation did provide a valuable training opportunity for our group. References Bridgewater.edu Shadowlands Page (Virginia) Shadowlands (Cole Hall Experience) Haunted Venues Copyright © Marty Seibel