Newport Kentucky has a long, seedy, violent history.  The neighborhood this home is located in, was in an affluent section, that was spared most of that ultimately.  Tucked away on Newport’s east side is a large, once prominent, Victorian era neighborhood on the banks of the Ohio river.  Col. James Taylor’s Mansion (father was founder of Newport) presides over the area, with it’s tall yellow brick walls, sitting on top of what is now a small hill on 3rd Street.  The other historic houses include the home of the Wiedemann family, founder of of Wiedemann beer, and the Barney Kroger home, founder of Kroger’s grocery chain, among others.  Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe stayed at a local family bed and breakfast in the neighborhood, when they performed at Beverly Hills Supper Club, and John F. Kennedy appeared in the area with military wives at one point.  The mafia (the “Cleveland Syndicate” ran Newport at one point), rampant prostitution, and corrupt city government are well-known legends of Newport’s past.  Surely there is a good chance spirits are abound in an area where murders, battles and Indian ambushes were so abundant for so long.  And on the east side, the victorians built extravagant homes, that at the time, were the center of their universe, for most of their lives.  Here the law makers, clergy, business tycoons and ex-military officers and government land grant beneficiaries, built mansions for their families that spanned multiple generations.

Living in an active home, affords the time and opportunity for on-going study.  I’ve had Southern Ohio Paranormal Research (group I’ve been involved with) over to investigate in late January, 2007, and also had Victor Paruta over, to do a reading and walkthrough.

The Newport home, which is a Victorian Queen Anne, with some gothic attributes on the front facade, was built in 1895.  The activity was first noticed late in December 2006, after living here for about five months.  I saw a small “dot” of bright orange light, about the size of a silver dollar, with a trail, pass over the couch next to my desk, in the front room.  I knew this was not something that was natural, or normal, despite only seeing it out of the corner of my eye.  I decided to start recording with the video camera in IR mode, and produced a number of video files containing paranormal objects. 

The two different entities that seem to make themselves visible most often, are the orange-red, bright ”dots” of light, and the white, ecto-like blobs.  There are also the somewhat classic red orbs, flat in appearance, somewhat transparent, not as bright, that move in a straight line, usually vertically up or down, very quickly.  These are usually seen on the large, thick curtain blinds on the front window.  The others are usually seen along the walls, reflecting off of the black desk, or the dark colored recliner, and wall behind it.

The 1st floor, where I live, was rennovated a little over a year ago, by the way.

In addition to the visual anamolies, I’ve managed to record several EVP’s.  The first was a little girl’s voice, that sounded very close to the recorder, whispering “he’s happy.”  It is quite clear.  The 2nd, was a male voice answering, after asking if anyone was here.

Another exasperated male voice in one of the EVP’s, whispers “help me please….help me.”  That was a first (and last) time I’ve heard anything “desperate,” or that indicated something traumatic happened here.   The night of the SOPR investigation, we did all hear a live voice, that sounded like a tiny young girl, and was also able to record that.  That was the first time I’ve heard something with my own ears here, and as of now, the last time.

There is some history of the building next door to us, that I can’t go into for privacy reasons, but it did burn down via an arsonist with a grudge, around 1840.  It was rebuilt shortly afterwards.  Yet, the home I’m in was built in 1895, and was probably a part of the lot to the historic home next door.  It’s possible this home was built on top of an existing carriage house or other structure as well.  History on this home is extremely difficult to find prior to 1950.

You do get the pressure changes in this room, there are subtle cold wafts of air that go by you, candles flicker for no obvious reason, etc…, but the slightly drafty condition of these old windows make “cold chills and spots” subjective and questionable to an extent - depending on the conditions outside.  Often, there is a definite feeling of someone standing behind you - when the air pressure changes or your hair raises on end a little.

EVP’s here are rarely caught, and simply a matter of spending enough time recording, to catch one.  Video or visual activity is much more frequent.  The activity has a sense of intelligence to it at times, as evidenced by a reply I received on the audio recorder, or the videos showing the anamolies moving towards me or following me.  There is apparently some sort of “vortex” in the upper corner above my desk.  See my page on Victor’s walk through for more information.

Visit the links below for audio and video files:

Video Evidence Files Page

Audio Evidence Files Page