Investigators on the Scene: Marty Seibel, Robin Tapley, Mark Higgins and Chris Stephens of Spirit Search Paranormal Investigations
Weather: Scattered Clouds, 84.2 degrees, 70% humidity, Wind: Calm
Moon Phase: waxing crescent with 2% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
Background History
The Exchange Hotel was built in 1860 next to an important railroad junction, where it offered a welcome stopping place for weary passengers on the Virginia Central Railway. During the civil war in 1862, because of its location, the Exchange Hotel became part of the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital, admitting more than 23,000 sick and wounded in less than a year. Although this was primarily a Confederate facility, the hospital treated the wounded from both sides. Twenty-six Union soldiers died here. By the end of the war more than 70,000 men had been treated at the Gordonsville Receiving Hospital and just over 700 would be buried on its grounds.
In the reconstruction period, the hospital served the newly freed slaves as a Freedman's Bureau Hospital. As the United States healed and the railroads boomed, this building again became a hotel and enjoyed a fine reputation until the 1940s when it went into decline.
Over the years, the staff and employees here at The Exchange Hotel have experienced a significant amount of paranormal activity. Experiences have included voices heard, people have been touched, apparitions have been sighted, items misplaced and shadows have been seen.
Investigation Objective
Our objective in conjunction with Mark Higgins and his team,
Spirit Search Paranormal Investigations is to record and document any paranormal activity at The Exchange Hotel and its surrounding grounds, including the small building just outside the hotel called the summer kitchen.
We will also seek to rationally explain those occurrences which can
occur due to natural causes. Because our time is limited, the need to stretch this investigation into a series of investigations is needed.
Investigation Data
Scattered Clouds and a recorded temperature 84 degrees at time of the investigation. SVPS investigated the Summer's Kitchen next to the main building while SSPI conducted their own investigation of the main building.
Exchange Hotel (Main House - SSPI Investigation)
Main House (SSPI Investigation)
Data: Numerous evps captured in the main house. Thermal Video: Thermal Flir Camcorder captures door opening on third floor. Personal Experience: On the second floor landing the sound as if someone was rushing up behind Mark Higgins with feet shuffling. No one was there when he turned around to look.
Photographs: 4 photographs of interest including a sequence shown below
where a shadow appears to cross over one of the hospital beds, leaving the covers slightly disturbed as noted below.
"Why " Main House -- Recorded by Chris Stephens and Mark Higgins of SSPI 8/21/2009
"Wild Wisher" Main House -- Recorded by Chris Stephens and Mark Higgins of SSPI 8/21/2009
"Get out of here " Main House -- Recorded by Chris Stephens and Mark Higgins of SSPI 8/21/2009
"Hey, they are coming " Main House -- Recorded by Chris Stephens and Mark Higgins of SSPI 5/16/2009
Gunshot Sound Main House -- Recorded by Chris Stephens and Mark Higgins of SSPI 5/16/2009
Below is a sequence of photographs showing a shadow
going across a bed upstairs in the main house. Notice the change in the covers.
The video below was captured using a thermal flir camcorder on the third floor in a back bedroom used by Dr. Libby. There is a door in the background that is slightly ajar. One of the investigators shuts the door securely and made sure it was tight. Seconds after he walks away, the door flys open on its own. Strangely enough, this is the same room that SVPS captured a bright light appearing in the room out of nowhere on an investigation back in May. Then our camera shuts on and off on its own, which simply does not happen with this camera.
Summer's Kitchen (SVPS Investigation)
Summer's Kitchen (SVPS Investigation)
Data: K-ll Meter goes completely dead despite having a new battery. Video: of orb coming from seated position of chair across the room, changing direction and coming towards the camera at a high speed. Personal Experience: 10:00 while taking IR cameras down for the evening, Marty Seibel went upstairs to disconnect cameras. While entering the back bedroom Marty was startled by noise on the floorboard and a noise from the far right corner of the room. He also managed to catch a glimpse of a dark shadow, out of the corner of his eye. It alarmed him enough to cause him to
jump suddenly. We tried in re-create the scene over, especially the floorboard noise. We walked over, jumped on, stomped on every floorboard in the room to no avail.
Marty Seibel and Robin Tapley of SVPS started their investigation in the upstairs bedroom of the Summer's Kitchen. From there they would proceed across the hallway and eventually end the investigation down stairs by the fireplace. For the evening, upstairs would prove to be far more active than downstairs.
Areas investigated
DVR Setup
Upstairs (Active)
Upstairs (Active)
Video Results
IR cameras were placed upstairs and downstairs and were ran in every room we had access to for the evening. The following three videos clips we found very interesting. Video one, a single orb will rise from the chair, change direction and move across the room. Video two, Robin Tapley describes a tingling sensation in her hand (she mentions a feeling as though someone or something is in the room) to which an orb moves at a rapid pace across the room. Video three, in the lower right hand corner of the screen you will see a large slowing moving orb change directions and is followed by a glowing light.
Video 1 Video 2 Video 3
Audio & Photograph Results
To our disappointment, SVPS was unable to capture any evps while in the Summer's Kitchen nor capture any photographs of interest or unusal nature. SVPS remains hopeful to capture a quality evp at the hotel, something that has escaped us on our two visits to the Exchange Hotel.
Final Conclusion: Haunted
After two investigations of the Exchange Hotel, the combination of evidence submitted by both groups, SSPI and SVPS make the hotel an overwhelming choice of being haunted. Clear audio clips, unexplained photographs, numerouse videos and incredibile personal experiences have all been obtained from the hotel. In regards to personal experiences, they were experienced by investigators who have had very few if any and investigate with a skeptic/rational mind.
Equipment failure combined with new batteries that drained very quickly to the point where they were useless, basically dead. Is the Exchange Hotel haunted? We think so!
