This investigation took place in North Rapid City. The client contacted Black Hills Paranormal Investigations and told us that they had been experiencing some strange, yet troubling activity. They claimed that they were seeing and hearing things on their outdoor cameras. They were wanting answers as to why this was happening. The client claimed that they had seen a shadow figure or two in the house but they had never done anything so they weren’t worried about that. They wanted to know what is outside and why. Black Hills Paranormal Investigations agreed to investigate the location and we were surprised with the results.

Here are some of the EVPs we caught.

Introduction

A single mother contacted BHPI afraid the strange activity-taking place in her duplex apartment was going to negatively affect her young daughter. Since cases involving young children are a priority for our team we set up an interview.

During our initial meeting, this mother explained she had on a few occasions seen an apparition of a little girl in her bedroom and other rooms of the apartment. She told us that at times while she and her daughter would be in the living room, she would hear knocking coming from her daughter’s bedroom. She admitted at first she thought the knocking sounds might be coming from outside, but when she went to investigate she found no one outside.

The client told us about one disturbing incident that became the catalyst for calling us. One night her niece was visiting and playing with her daughter in the living room while she was in the kitchen. She heard her niece cry out and went to investigate. She stepped into the living room and saw her glass top coffee table levitating above the floor, then slam to the floor breaking the glass top. Her niece or daughter were near the table and were not injured.

The client also explained that on several occasions she has seen items fly off the kitchen counter top. She also reported seeing shadow figures in the hallway leading to a bathroom.

Investigation

Since the home is a small two-bedroom one-bath apartment, we determined to use only three investigators to mitigate any contamination during the investigation.

Three static IR cameras were set up in the kitchen, in the living room, and in the daughter’s bedroom. Digital recorders were placed next to each camera not to mention the digital recorders each investigator held during the investigation.

We began our investigation by conducting an EMF sweep. There were no anomalous readings that could be an explanation for some of the claims of activity.

It wasn’t long before we started hearing knocking sounds coming from the daughter’s bedroom. One investigator immediately went outside while the other two went into the room. The knocking stopped. There was no one outside and our client’s neighbors were away. We decided to conduct an EVP session and asked for more knocking. Soon after asking, we heard a couple knocks. We could not determine the source, and ruled out water pipes or any heating/cooling ducts.

Later on, two investigators were standing in the living room while the other investigator had moved into a back bedroom. Both investigators in the living room witnessed a ball of visible light form in the doorway between the living room and kitchen. This ball of light moved across the opening then disappeared. Both investigators said the light resembled a fourth of July sparkler. We were excited that we might have captured the light anomaly on our DVR system however we were not so lucky. The cameras were angled in such a way that this part of the doorway was not captured.

After this incident, one investigator sat at the kitchen table while the same two investigators who witnessed the light anomaly sat in the living room hoping to see the light again. During this time, the investigator in the kitchen heard a metallic clicking sound coming from the counter top. When he went to investigate, he found one of the fasteners on his equipment case opened. This investigator explained he had made a conscious effort to close and fasten all of his cases because of the client’s claim of items being thrown off the counter top.

Later in the night, all three investigators sat in the living room when we all clearly heard the doorknob on the daughter’s bedroom door rattle as if someone was on the other side trying to open the door. We opened the door and checked the room, but found nothing that could have manipulated the doorknob. Later on, in the night one of the investigators claimed he’d seen a tall dark shadow figure in the same doorway. He did say he was watching the monitors just prior to this and glanced at the doorway. We all suspected it might have been a trick on the eyes from watching a bright screen then looking at a dark room. The investigator claiming to see the shadow figure agreed this could have been possible.

It seemed we were starting to get a lot of unexplained activity surrounding the daughter’s bedroom. Each one of us decided to take turns sitting in the room to see if we could experience further activity. We each conducted several EVP sessions and one investigator captured a rather interesting EVP of a little girl.

We finished our investigation and began the process of reviewing and analyzing our evidence. We viewed our video and found nothing unusual. However, after analyzing our audio evidence, we uncovered a few interesting EVPs that we could not debunk. With regard to the knocks and door rattling incidents, we checked the USGS website and learned there were no seismic events during this time period.

Conclusions

Based on our experiences during the investigation along with the audio evidence we captured, we believe there is paranormal activity taking place in the client’s home. Although we did experience some events in the living room and kitchen, the daughter’s bedroom seemed to provide us with the most evidence of activity. At no time during the investigation did our investigators feel uncomfortable or afraid. We felt the activity was benign and playful.

We have no explanation for the claim of the coffee table flipping over. Even the client admits to coming into the room as the table crashed to the floor. If this event was in fact paranormal this incident gives us some pause for concern. It is possible the client’s niece and daughter was playing and inadvertently hit the table causing it to tip and break. The client said this was the only time anything this destructive has occurred.

EVPs

This investigation took place in west Rapid City. The clients contacted BHPI and told us that they had been experiencing some strange, yet troubling activity. The wife claimed that she was being affected negatively by the activity including experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. We immediately advised the wife to seek medical attention, but she claimed it was not medical in nature. The wife claimed that she had seen a woman staring out the upstairs bedroom window at her. The husband, who at first thought the activity was the overactive imagination of his wife, woke in the middle of the night to see an apparition of a woman standing over their bed.

We learned that the home had caught fire during our initial contacts. Although somewhat damaging, the clients had decided on remodeling. During our initial contacts with the clients they claimed that they would often hear footsteps upstairs. They would investigate only to find the rooms empty. The husband checked the attic for any animals that might have settled in, but found the attic void of animal life.

We learned the wife was a fan of some of the paranormal entertainment shows on TV and she believed there was something evil in her home. We assured her that we have as yet never experienced or investigated a claim where paranormal activity has harmed anyone. As we are not doctors, nor do we claim to be, we pleaded with the wife to seek medical attention for her seizures and bouts of unconsciousness since we believed there was an underlying medical condition for what was going on–not paranormal reasons.

Because of the claims we heard, we decided to conduct an investigation in an effort to hopefully provide some help and solace to the wife.

Investigation

BHPI investigated the home on three different occasions. During our two investigations, the home was still under construction and our last investigation was when the home was completely remodeled.

Prior to our first investigation, two investigators had arrived and were conducting EMF sweeps of the home. They were in the basement conducting their sweep when a metal tray was flung across the room. Both investigators went about trying to debunk the incident, however, they could not find any reasonable explanation for the activity.

During our first investigation, the home was gutted on the inside. The walls were open to the support beams and studs. We set up our command center in the mudroom at the back of the home and set up static IR cameras throughout the home. We placed an IR game camera in the basement in an attempt to capture a repeat of the activity there.

Throughout the night, investigators experienced hearing footsteps, and on one occasion, an investigator had a loud bang happen next to him.

When we analyzed the evidence for the nights investigation we were surprised to have captured on the game camera located in the basement wires moving on their own. We returned to the house and tried to debunk the movement of the wires by having someone walk and stomp on the main floor directly above the wires. The wires never moved. We thought that the wires might have moved when the door to the basement was opened and closed. The difference in air pressure might be responsible. We opened and closed the door, but nothing we did would cause the wires to move. We finally grabbed the wires and moved them physically, but could not recreate the movement of the wires we saw on video. We checked with the USGS website to determine if seismic activity happened on the night of the investigation, however, there was no seismic activity noted. The home sits in a residential neighborhood and we determined no heavy trucks or traffic was present during this activity. There was no wind that night, and because it was cold out, there was no window open in the basement. We could only determine that we either have not determined a reasonable explanation or it could be paranormal in nature.

Our following investigations were interesting as well. Two investigators were on the second floor when they heard what they described as a pack of elephants stomping around on the main floor where the other investigators were located. These investigators came downstairs and advised the rest of the team their movements were contaminating their investigation. It was learned that no one was moving and when one investigator went to play back his recording to prove his claim–none of the stomping or noises were recorded. The recording was completely quiet. None of the investigators downstairs heard the stomping.

This same anomaly was experienced by two other investigators on another investigation when they were in the basement. They heard stomping on the main floor and came upstairs to complain about the noise. The only investigators in the home were at the command center and sitting down. The investigators manning the command center had not heard the stomping and none of the recorders had documented the anomaly.

During the last investigation, the remodeling of the home was complete. When we arrived the clients sat with us in the living room discussing our past two investigations. As we talked, we were interrupted by very clear sounds of footsteps walking across an upstairs room above us. The clients said no one else was in the home. We investigated, and found no one. Our clients said they have started getting used to hearing this type of activity.

History

We learned the home was built in the early 1900’s and was part of a larger parcel of land that was later sub-divided and turned into a housing development.

Our client claimed that a family who owned the property originally had experienced tragedy. The husband was a drunk and had been known for beating his wife and son. The current owners claimed the man killed his wife in a fit of drunken rage and buried her in the basement then had a concrete slab poured over the shallow grave.

During our research, we could not find any records of who this person could be or that this incident ever occurred. We did uncover that this property was owned by a early Rapid City family who owned a rather large parcel of land and now the area where this home is located is named after that early family. Most of the records we found listed some members of the family, but most records have been lost to time.

We did learn that in Rapid City’s early history, this area was occupied by a few hearty souls, but after immigrants coming to the area were killed in an Indian attack, this settlement was abandoned and some moved into Rapid City proper or left the area all together.

Evidence

After we analyzed our evidence, we uncovered some interesting captures. This first audio is interesting in the fact that we hear what sounds like the name Kara being whispered. When we played this to our client, they showed us a piece of board that they recovered in the walls while remodeling with the name Kara written on it.

This next audio capture was interesting in that it sounded Native American. We contacted Mr. Ernie LaPointe, great-grandson of Chief Sitting Bull. He listened to the audio and told us it sounded like the dialect of the Nakota. He seemed to think it sounded like “What are you saying” or “What do you mean”.

This EVP sounds like it is calling out two names. What is a little creepy about this is these are the names of two of the investigators who were at the investigation, Mark and Mo.

We decided to provide the game camera video of the wires moving. As we indicated, we could find no reasonable explanation for the wires moving. You can see some of our investigators in the basement when this happens, but we learned our presence was not what made the wires move.

After we revealed our findings to our clients, we saw that the wife appeared much more relaxed. We explained that we still felt her physical reactions to what she believed to be paranormal was medical in nature, and made every effort to get her to seek medical treatment. We told them that it appeared this activity was benign and most if not all was residual in nature. However, we do believe that the manipulation of objects could reflect intelligence, we do not believe it to be malevolent. Only an attempt to get their attention. Once they acknowledge the fact the activity is occurring, and cannot hurt them will they learn to coexist.

Not long after conducting the investigations, the family moved out of the home. They report they no longer experience anything paranormal in nature. The wife has not experienced further seizures or unconsciousness.

EVPs

Wires Moving Video

You can see some of our investigators in the basement when this happens, but we learned our presence was not what made the wires move.

Introduction

We were contacted by a client who told us not only she, but also her dog has been experiencing strange activity in her home. She told us the activity seems to be getting more pronounced and would like us to investigate.

She told us she had been in the military and has made her own attempts to find out what is going on, but she can’t find any reasonable explanations for the activity.

She said she started noticing her dog staring at different areas of the home and acting strange. At first she just thought maybe the dog heard mice in the walls, but she told us the home is a new build and she has never seen or heard any evidence of mice. What made her really start to take notice was the night she was in the kitchen and her dog started acting funny. At that moment she clearly saw a ball of light race past her and disappear. On another occasion she was in the bathroom when her dog started acting strange and she looked down the hallway and saw a shadow figure.

Our client told us she has also had experiences in the finished basement. When down there working out she would get strange feelings of being watched. She has also noticed picture frames will be knocked over.

The home is a recent build in a newer development with all the modern amenities.

Investigation

We kept our investigation to four members of the team. The client and her dog were also present for the investigation. We began with an EMF sweep of the location. We found no anomalous readings that could be attributed to the claimed activity.

We set up three static IR cameras in the areas where our client claimed most of the activity was taking place. We placed digital recorders at each camera. Once we started it seemed so did the activity. We started hearing unusual noises coming from the basement and noticed the dog alerted to the sounds. The dog stood at the top of the steps staring down into the basement, but at no time did the dog go into the basement.

We moved into the basement and sat in different rooms while we conducted an EVP session. During this time, we noticed movement would start to happen upstairs. We split up and left a couple investigators in the basement while the other two went upstairs with the client. Soon after this the investigators in the basement heard a loud thump that echoed throughout the house. The dog began barking. We could not determine where the thump had come from, but we did know it came from the basement inside the house. We later checked the USGS website and found there was no seismic activity reported during this time.

Throughout the night, we continued to hear noises that sounded like movement. We could never pinpoint the noises. It seemed as if each time we’d hear something and go investigate, there would be another noise in another part of the home.

Once we finished our investigation we reviewed our video and audio evidence. We found nothing of value in our video, but we did uncover a few interesting EVPs that we could not debunk.

Conclusions

We tried to research the property, but could not locate any significant history to this location. It was at one time all open range. We did know this was an entry point for many pioneers during the early history of Rapid City and the Black Hills. We suspect, but cannot confirm that the activity in our client’s home is possibly related to the property, and that activity is residual in nature. With what our client told us later that many of her neighbors have also confided they too have experienced some of the same things she had, makes us even more confident in our findings.

We told our client we felt confident that the activity was residual in nature and benign. We did check in with her a few weeks later and she told us she has had a few more experiences, but now she isn’t afraid.

EVPs

BHPI was contacted by Sarah Carlson, executive director of the Historic Homestake Opera House located in Lead (Pronounced Leed), South Dakota. She indicated that some of the actors in plays and staff have witnessed strange activity.

We spoke to a few witnesses who told us while preparing for plays, they would see people walking past the doorways leading into the theater. These witnesses knew they should be alone, and when they went to investigate found no one in the building. Other witnesses claim that when they enter the basement, they get a feeling of being watched. Some have even claimed to have witnessed shadow figures. They also claim that at times they notice movement behind them on the stage. The dressing rooms located below the stage are also active, and witnesses claim to hear sounds of voices and movement coming from this area when no one is there.

The basement of the Opera House at one time housed a swimming pool that has now been covered with concrete to make room for offices and storage. However, the pool itself remains and those who have been in this area have witnessed what looks like an apparition of someone floating as if swimming.

Through our research we learned that Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the widow of George Hearst owner of the Homestake Mine along with the mine superintendent Thomas Grier conceived of the idea of building an opera house for the hard rock miners and their families.

The Opera House was built and opened its door in August 1914. It provided plays, and entertainment for miner’s families throughout the years. The Opera House was also used as a hospital when the influenza struck the Black Hills in 1918-19. There were records of deaths that took place in the Opera House during this dark time, but soon the Opera House went back to doing what it did best–provide much needed entertainment.

In April of 1984 tragedy struck when fire struck the grand structure. Many thought this was the end of the Opera House, but like a great phoenix rising from the ashes the Opera House was saved by Lead residents and is undergoing renovations.

Evidence

The Opera House was one of the larger venues BHPI has investigated. With claims of activity taking place on each floor, we had to determine the best placement of our equipment. We decided to concentrate our efforts on those locations within the Opera House where witnesses reported the majority of the activity.

The theater being one of those locations was covered with two static IR (Infrared) cameras along with several digital audio recorders. We also placed digital audio recorders in the dressing room area below the stage. We placed a standalone IR camera and digital audio recorders in the pool area. Any additional audio recorders were carried by the individual investigators who also carried digital cameras. A hand held digital video camera with IR was used as well. After placing our equipment, we conducted a safety briefing and began the investigation.

Three investigators headed to the stage area while three other investigators headed to the pool area in the basement. The investigators on the stage reported they were experiencing strange activity toward the back of the stage and the dressing room area. As they investigated, they were able to debunk some of the sounds as creaking floors. One investigator thought he might have heard the sound of something moving in the dressing room, but when investigated, nothing could be located. However, when we analyzed the audio from the dressing, we distinctly hear what sounds like a piece of furniture being moved.

Meanwhile, the investigators in the pool area were experiencing some strange activity that they could not debunk. One of the investigators was using a thermal camera and captured what could best be described as a cold spot moving away from an investigator then disappearing. We tried debunking this video by recreating the conditions with flashlights and IR cameras, but nothing we did could recreate the anomaly that was captured.

The investigators on the stage realized that some of the activity reported came while people were on stage entertaining. Lucky for us, Sarah Carlson, Executive Director of the Historic Homestake Opera House was with us and she volunteered to stand on stage and sing. As Sarah sang, investigators noted several strange sounds and shadow figures at the back of the stage.

During this time, investigators in the pool area captured on video and audio a significant paranormal event. One investigator decided to sit farther up in what was once the shallow end of the pool. As he sat there we all heard a rock hit the floor. The investigator sitting told us that the rock had in fact landed very close to where he sat. As we looked for possibilities, another rock hit the investigator on the hand. Another investigator sat down next to this investigator and picked up a larger rock and tossed it into the shallow end of the pool and asked for whoever was throwing rocks to throw it back. Within minutes, a much larger rock was thrown back in their direction. In a period of less than ten minutes, we had three rocks thrown at our investigators.

The investigators at first thought the stones might be falling from the ceiling, but the ceiling of the pool is made of metal. We searched, but could not find a reasonable explanation for this incident.

Once the investigation came to a close we took our evidence and began analyzing our audio and video. We were surprised that we did uncover some interesting EVPs and video evidence.

We revealed our findings to the board of directors of the Historic Homestake Opera House. We did find that some of the experiences their staff has had can be explained by old flooring, however, we did have to concede that some of the claims were unexplainable. Based on this and our audio and video evidence, we believe the Opera House does experience a certain amount of paranormal activity.

EVPs

Opera House Thermal Capture

Opera House Rock Throwing Incident

Opera House Photos

View of theater seating from the stage. These doors are where witnesses see shadow figures walking.

View of the stage where many report fleeting glimpses of shadow figures. The dressing room is located under the stage.

View of the balcony

The Historic Adams House Museum located at 22 Van Buren Street, was built by Deadwood entrepreneur Harris Franklin in 1892. It is reported in local newspapers as one of the finest in Deadwood and west of Omaha. Harris sold the home to his son Nathan in 1905 for one dollar.

In 1920, W. E. Adams bought the home. Adams and his brother arrived in Deadwood in 1877. Adams tried his hand at gold mining while his brother opened a grocery business. Adams found gold mining was not working out and went into business with his brother. Adams eventually took over the business and grew it into a successful grocery wholesale business. W. E. Adams became one of the richest men in Deadwood, but tragedy struck, Adams wife Alice diagnosed with cancer traveled to California to be with their daughter Helen who was about to give birth. While there, Alice passed away. The stress caused Helen to go into premature labor–she gave birth to a girl. The stress was too much and Helen died. The baby also named Helen lived for only a few hours. W. E. Adams had lost his family in less than forty-eight hours.

A couple years later Adams met Mary Mastrovich Vicich and they were married. This coupling started tongues wagging in the Deadwood and Lead communities. Adams at the time was 73 and Mary only 29.

W. E. Adams had become a rich man over the years and he saw the need to give back to the community that had given him so much. He donated the money for a museum which was completed in 1930. The Adams Museum is a popular museum to this day.

On June 7, 1934, W. E. Adams suffered a stroke. He was brought to his home where he died on June 16, 1934. His body lay in state in the museum he was instrumental in having built and later buried in the family plot in Pasadena, California.

Adams left his wife Mary the home, but she could not find herself living alone in the home. She closed up the house and moved to California. Every year she would travel back to Deadwood, but she would never stay in the home. Instead, she elected to stay at the Franklin Hotel. When asked why she would never stay in the home, Mary claimed it was haunted. Whether this was a clever plan devised by Mary to keep trespassers away or not, it seemed to work. The home remained unmolested until she sold the home in 1987.

At this time the home was turned into a Bed & Breakfast. In 1992, the city of Deadwood purchased the home and continued running it as a B&B until 1995. The home was left in disrepair and in 1998, the city decided to restore the home. In 2000, the Adams House opened to the public as a museum.

Evidence

BHPI was contacted by Mary Kopco, Executive Director of Deadwood History who told us that staff and guests were experiencing paranormal activity in the Historic Adams House and Museum. Kopco told us that she has also witnessed first hand this activity and believes she has actually seen W. E. Adams apparition in the house.

Kopco said she came to work for Deadwood History in the capacity as Adams Museum and House director in 1995. She happened to live next door to the Adams House and on several occasions noticed lights on in the house after it had been closed for the night. She would enter the home and ensure no one was in the house and turn off the lights and then send messages to staff in the home to be more diligent in turning off the lights. The staff claimed that every light was turned off and they had no explanation as to why the lights were still on.

Kopco told us on one occasion she was looking out a window toward the Adams House and saw a shadow of a tall thin man pacing back and forth in front of an upstairs window. She said that the home was closed at the time and no one should be in the house. She told us she knew she should call the police, but her son told her, “No mom, that’s just Mr. Adams, he likes you.” Kopco said she entered the house, but found no one there. She told us all of the doors and windows were locked.

Kopco also told us about a claim she heard from an employee of the house when it was a B&B. This employee told her that she was standing out back smoking when she turned to see a tall older gentleman staring at her. The employee said she turned to put out her cigarette and when she turned back the man was gone. Kopco said the employee didn’t think anything of the incident until she saw a picture of W. E. Adams and realized that was the man she saw.

We spoke with the curator, Hayley Chambers who admitted that she has had some interesting experiences in the house. Chambers said she spends a lot of time in the home cleaning and restoring artifacts. On several occasions she claimed she would hear what sounded like several people speaking in different parts of the home. When she would go investigate, she would hear the talking coming from another part of the home. Other times, she would get the feeling she was being watched.

Chambers told us that when she would close at night she would walk through the house and turn off all lights then lock up the house. She said the next morning she would get emails from Kopco telling her to make sure she turned off the lights because she would have to come to the house and turn off light. Chambers said she knew she turned off the lights, but could not figure out what was going on. Chambers said one night she turned off all lights locked up the house and was standing outside waiting for her ride. She said she started taking pictures of the house and when she came to work the next morning, Kopco had sent her a message that lights were on in the home. Chambers said she checked her pictures that proved the lights were off.

We spoke to a docent who told us that he was giving a tour in the home and experienced something strange. He told us that he was standing at the top of the stairs leading from the kitchen talking to a small tour group. He said he heard footsteps walking up behind him. He thought it was another docent coming to assist, but when he turned no one was there. He said he turned back to the group and a lady at the top of the steps said she had heard the steps, too.

On another occasion, this docent told us he was giving a tour and was upstairs. The people on the tour walked into the turret bedroom and asked him how he managed to arrange the rocking chair to move. He told us he entered the room and the rocking chair across the room was rocking back and forth. As they all watched, the rocking chair suddenly stopped rocking as if someone had reached out and stopped its movement. He had no explanation as to how this could have happened.

After hearing the claims of activity, BHPI conducted several investigations at the Adams House. During each investigation we conducted, we experienced what sounded like talking coming from upstairs. We proceeded upstairs to locate the voices, but once upstairs it sounded like the voices were downstairs. We contacted our command center to determine if someone was outside the house talking. We learned no one was around the house.

On another occasion, we were walking up the steps from the kitchen to the second floor when an investigator heard footsteps coming up the stairs behind him. He turned to find no one on the stairs. The investigator had a video camera and on playback, you can clearly hear three footsteps on the audio. We were unable to debunk this experience, and found it compelling since a docent experienced the same thing on these very steps.

During one investigation, three investigators were in the library room when they all heard whistling. One of the investigators whistled back and they were all surprised when they heard a whistled reply.

After our investigations, we analyzed our evidence and we obtained several interesting EVPs. Based on the history of reported paranormal activity and our captured evidence, we do believe the Historic Adams House and Museum is paranormally active.

EVPs

Footsteps on Stairs Video

We could not debunk this experience. The investigator told us that he actually thought someone was there. He was surprised to find he was the only one on the stairs.

The Bullock Hotel is located on Main Street Deadwood, and was built by Seth Bullock in 1894 after his and Sol Star’s hardware store was once again burnt to the ground.

Seth Bullock and Sol Star were keen entrepreneurs and when the gold rush came to the Black Hills they saw a great potential and loaded up their wagons with much needed supplies and headed to Deadwood. They arrived in Deadwood on August 1, 1876, one day before Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down.

They promptly went to work building their hardware business. After the great fire of 1879, Bullock and Star rebuilt their business. After a fire in 1894, the only part of the structure that remained was the brick warehouse known as a fireproof. Bullock saw an opportunity to build and decided to build a luxury hotel. The hotel originally had sixty-three rooms with a bathroom on each floor. The hotel also boasted a restaurant that sat one hundred people.

Seth Bullock was not only an entrepreneur, but Lawrence County’s first sheriff. It was said Bullock never once had to use his gun in the performance of his duties. This was a rare accomplishment in Deadwood’s early years let alone western law enforcement. It was said Bullock had an intensity about him and a stare that could diffuse the most intense confrontation.

In 1884 while riding his ranch property near Belle Fourche he came across three scruffy looking characters. Bullock questioned them about their presence on his ranch property, and he learned two of the hard looking men were lawmen transporting a prisoner to prison. One of those lawmen was a future president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. This chance meeting started a life long friendship between Bullock and Roosevelt.

When the Spanish-American war broke out, Bullock enlisted in Roosevelt’s Rough Riders as a captain. After the war, Bullock was appointed supervisor of the Black Hills National Forrest at the suggestion of then Vice President Roosevelt. When Roosevelt became president, Bullock was invited to the 1905 presidential inauguration. That same year, President Roosevelt appointed Bullock U.S. Marshal for South Dakota.

When Roosevelt died in 1919, Bullock was instrumental in having a monument erected in Roosevelt’s honor on what is now Mount Roosevelt. Bullock was gravely ill as well and soon followed his friend in death. Bullock died September 23, 1919 at the age of seventy at his home in the Ingleside district of Deadwood, not room 211 of the Bullock hotel as most believe. Bullock had secured a plot above Mt. Moriah that had a direct view of Roosevelt’s monument.

Evidence

BHPI was invited by management of the Bullock Hotel to investigate the paranormal activity that has been experienced in the hotel over a period of several years. In fact, the Bullock Hotel staff embraces the stories of paranormal occurrences so much that a book has been placed near the front desk for anyone to document their experiences.

We were aware of the many claims and knew there is a long history of hauntings that have been reported. One of those claims is many have seen what they believe to be Seth Bullock’s apparition walking the hallways of the hotel, and some have even claimed to have captured Seth’s likeness in photographs. Another interesting claim is a little girl by the name of Sarah is often seen running around in the basement where Seth’s Cellar is located. Employees and guests have reported shadow figures, disembodied voices, apparitions, items moving, and being touched.

Since this is a working hotel, some of the rooms were occupied by guests and the main floor that has been converted to a casino remained open. Because it was snowing and the off season for tourists, the hotel was not busy. Although concerned about contamination, we proceeded to set up our equipment in the basement where a bar, Seth’s Cellar is located. We were given free access to rooms that were not occupied, and started our investigation.

Three investigators went to the basement while three other investigators began investigating some of the rooms provided. While the investigators were in the basement they noted that some of the equipment in the basement could be responsible for what some have reported as disembodied voices. During one of the investigations of the basement we began asking if the little girl named Sarah could do something for us. During this time, the investigator who had a thermal camera saw a strange anomaly appear on the screen in the form of a small object darting from a doorway then back. There was no heat to the object, and several investigators who were looking in that direction saw no movement. It was an interesting capture. Unfortunately, we could not upload the capture. Although interesting, it still did not provide us proof.

While investigators were investigating the rooms, they were using a flashlight as a communication tool. They placed the flashlight on a flat surface and as they asked questions the flashlight did come on. At one point, the flashlight was forcefully pushed off the counter.

While investigating another room, we opened the adjoining doorway and occupied both rooms. While asking for a sign, a drinking glass was forcefully knocked over. We tried to debunk the falling glass, but could not. We continued our investigation in the room and one investigator using a digital video recorder with over sixty minutes of battery life left asked for the spirits to give a sign. Within seconds the video recorder completely shut down, and could not be turned on. After the investigation the investigator advised the battery was completely drained.

While in one of the rooms an investigator saw a shadow under the door coming from the hallway. The shadow lingered at the door and the investigator went to the door and opened it expecting to see someone standing outside the door. However, when he did open the door, no one was there. This happened to several investigators over the course of the investigation.

Later in the night two investigators were sitting at a table in the basement when the table shook. Neither investigator moved. When they tried to recreate the movement, they could not without it being obvious.

After about six hours of investigation we collected our equipment and began the process of analyzing the evidence. We were surprised when we obtained several electronic voice phenomena (EVP) recordings.

EVPs

In February 2011, BHPI was invited by Dawn Wexo owner of the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming to investigate some of the paranormal activity that has been taking place in the hotel. Our investigation encompassed two days, Friday February 4th and  Saturday February 5th.

The Occidental Hotel is located at 10 North Main St. in Buffalo, Wyoming and occupies the original site Charles Buell built his original hotel in 1880. The original hotel had six rooms. In the day, the hotel had a reputation for hospitality which was a draw for many colorful characters of the era including, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Tom Horn, General Phil Sheridan, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Teddy Roosevelt. Owen Wister, author of “The Virginian” is said to have written his book at the hotel and based many of his characters on the cowboys and gunslingers he encountered while staying at the hotel.

In 1918 two ranchers won the Occidental in a high stakes poker game. Since neither rancher had any use for a hotel let alone knowing the first thing about running one, made plans to sell it. In the meantime, one of the rancher’s wife, Margaret Smith ran the hotel. It turned out that Margaret’s management of the hotel was successful and she would end up managing the hotel for another 58 years until her death in 1976 at the age of 92.

Dawn told us that her and her late husband bought the hotel in 1997, and began restoring the hotel. She told us that the hotel had sat vacant for many years and was in a severe state of disrepair. As the restoration proceeded on the hotel, she along with several of the workers began experiencing strange activity within the hotel.

Dawn told us about a 7 year old girl named Emily who is said to have perished in the hotel back in 1902 due to Typhoid fever. She told us the girl was a daughter of one of the prostitutes that worked out of the hotel. Dawn told us that many guests and employees have seen the apparition of Emily as well as seeing objects move on their own.

Dawn told us about a guest who left the hotel in the middle of the night, allegedly run off by paranormal activity. She received a phone call from the guest who was in a panic. He told her that while asleep, someone pulled off all of his covers. He reported that items were being thrown around in the room. Before she could provide him another room, he had left the hotel never to return. Dawn went to the room and found the room was in a mess. Nightstands were knocked over, the bed was moved and items strewn on the floor.

We could not substantiate this claim, but one of our investigators stayed in this same room for the duration of the investigation without incident.

Dawn provided us with rooms on the second floor where we set up our command post. Because of the time of year, there were no other guests staying in the hotel, so we had the whole second floor to ourselves. The Occidental Saloon was open, but closed at midnight.

Based on Dawn’s and others experiences we concentrated on the north wing of the hotel around the north hallway and rooms 18 and 19 where many claim to see items move and doors open and close. There were also reports of people being touched and seeing shadow figures in this part of the hotel. We placed static IR cameras and digital recorders in these rooms and hallway and began our investigation.

Two of our investigators were in a small kitchenette making coffee when they both heard what sounded like a female voice. During playback of the recorders placed in the kitchenette, we did capture this disembodied voice.

Soon after this experience, two other investigators were investigating rooms 18 and 19. They were conducting an EVP session. One investigator walked into room 19 through an adjoining doorway and stood just inside the room. This investigator had a hand held IR video camera and filmed the room. We had been told that the bathroom door has been seen opening and closing on its own and were trying to capture this on video. As the investigators asked for the door to open or close they were surprised when the closet door in room 19 opened. At the same time the investigator sitting on the bed in room 18 let out a scream. She was poked in the stomach. (See video in evidence section)

After the initial shock of the experience the investigators began looking for reasonable explanations. The closet was void of air vents, which could cause positive air pressure pushing the door open. There was nothing inside the closet that fell against the door. The video revealed that the door was securely closed, and you can clearly hear the door knob turning as the door opens. As the investigator stood at the closet looking for an explanation, he was touched on the back. No one stood near him during this experience.

On the second nights investigation, two other investigators were in rooms 18 and 19. Both investigators went into room 19 and sat on the bed. One of the investigators had a clear view into room 18 when she saw a shadow figure. She described the figure standing about five foot two inches and she could clearly make out the outline of the head and shoulders, but could not distinguish legs. The shadow figure appeared for a few seconds and faded. The ambient light coming into the room was blocked out and the investigator could not see through the shadow figure. We attempted to debunk the shadow, but we could not recreate the shadow the investigator witnessed.

We went downstairs to investigate the Occidental saloon, but the doors were locked. We stood in an adjoining room and were discussing our next step when we all heard glasses tinkling coming from the bar area. We looked through the windows, but could see no one in the bar. This was one of the claims we heard about the saloon, but because it was closed, we could not investigate to find a reasonable explanation to what we experienced. We did note that there was no vehicle traffic at this time.

After our two day investigation we began the long process of reviewing our evidence. We obtained a few pieces of audio evidence in the form of EVPs as well as the video of the door opening in room 19.

Based on the evidence and personal experiences, there is no doubt some form of paranormal activity is taking place at the Occidental Hotel.

We were not able to determine a little girl by the name of ‘Emily’ is responsible for the activity, or for that fact did we capture any evidence to support any specific person is responsible. It is interesting that we did have experiences consistent with stories others have related.

We found the Occidental Hotel to be a most interesting location. It is steeped in history and is what one would imagine when thinking of an old-west hotel. There are many reminders of the wild days with bullet holes still visible in the walls and ceiling of the saloon. There are also old cowboy spur marks on the back stairs. On one room door, the indentations of a cowboy’s six-shooter are still present.

Dawn Wexo has done an incredible job of taking a diamond in the rough and shining it up to its past glory. If you happen to visit Wyoming, make the Occidental Hotel one of your stops, you will not be disappointed.

*When remodeling the hotel, Dawn found many of the original furniture pieces actually used in the hotel. She has incorporated these items back into the hotel. As well as original tin ceilings and wallpaper.

Evidence

Closet Door Opening Video

This video speaks for itself.

Photos

The Occidental Saloon contains many of the original paintings that hung in the original saloon. There are still 23 bullet holes in the walls and ceiling.

This is the closet door in room 19 that opened on its own.

This is the north hallway looking toward the room Owen Wister used while writing “The Virginian”.

The Occidental Hotel front desk.

Front lobby of the Occidental Hotel.

Introduction

BHPI was contacted by the management of the Lucky Nugget Casino who reported their employees were experiencing strange happenings when they had to go to the storage areas on the second floor. Some employees said they had experienced feelings of being watched; some heard footsteps while others reported being touched. Others had seen shadowy figures and even experienced phantom smells of perfume. One employee reported seeing an apparition of a little girl that disappeared before his eyes. The experiences had scared the employees so much that some refused to go to the second floor by themselves.

During interviews with employees, many claimed that while working on the main floor of the casino, they would hear footsteps coming from the second floor. This wouldn’t be odd except for the fact no one was upstairs.

We spoke with witnesses, and toured the second floor where the activity was reported to have taken place. The second floor was in various stages of disrepair, and cluttered with building materials and old furniture. The unique architecture of late 19th and early 20th century was present. Attempts had been made to modernize other rooms. It was apparent that it had been some time since anyone had occupied the second floor.

Through extensive research, we learned the current buildings the Lucky Nugget Casino occupied were rebuilt during the late 1890’s into the early 1900’s after fire destroyed most of this section of town in 1894. Lower Main Street, also referred to as ‘The Badlands’, housed the original #10 saloon where ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok was shot and killed on August 2nd, 1876.

Various businesses occupied the buildings throughout the years. Sometime during this time brothels moved into the second floor. The brothels flourished until raided and shut down by the federal government in 1980. It was said the whole second floor from one end of the block to the other housed brothels.

Note: Lucky Nugget Casino no longer occupies this location. Other businesses have since moved into the location.

Investigation

Within thirty minutes of arriving for our first investigation, one investigator was conducting baseline EMF sweeps when he experienced a phantom smell of perfume in one of the rooms. He noticed his EMF meter spiked during this encounter. When he stepped out of the room into a hallway, he clearly heard hard-soled shoes walking down the hallway. When he went to investigate, there was no one there. When this investigator was telling his experience one of the employees of the casino was present and became visibly shaken. He explained he had experienced a phantom smell in that same room, but had not told anyone as he felt people would think he was crazy.

Throughout the many investigations conducted, we experienced shadow figures looking around doorframes, heard disembodied voices, heard movement and knocks, and a couple investigators experienced being touched. We also documented abnormal EMF spikes that would wander through rooms into the hallways and disappear. We also captured some compelling recordings of EVPs.

During one encounter two investigators were investigating in a short hallway. One investigator walked into the hallway and saw a dark mass approach him. He stepped back and put his hands up to protect himself as the mass passed by him. The investigator at the end of the hallway said he saw the investigator become enveloped in a dark mass at the same time.

One encounter with a disembodied voice left the investigators struggling to find a reasonable explanation. After setting up our equipment, we decided to send out the female investigators on our team while the rest of us stayed to monitor the cameras at the command post. A short while later, those of us stationed at the command post clearly heard a female call out, “WooHoo” in a singsong voice. Thinking the female investigators were trying to elicit a response during an EVP session, we ignored the voice. When the female investigators came back to the command post, they made it known that it wasn’t funny trying to scare them. During the exchange, the female investigators had also heard the female “WooHoo” and thought we were responsible. Once we determined none of us were responsible, we checked our digital recorders and were amazed we had captured this unknown voice. We attempted to debunk this, but we never came close to replicating the female’s voice we all heard.

Conclusions

Since BHPI never enters into an investigation trying to prove there is paranormal activity taking place. We worked hard and were able to debunk some of the activity we encountered. However, many of the experiences we had just could not be explained. We can reasonably say based on our experiences and investigation, plus that of other outside witnesses, the brothels have a high rate of paranormal activity.

EVPs

Brothel Photographs

This is a photograph of Main Street Deadwood. This is the area that was once referred to as the ‘Badlands’. The second floor of these buildings once house the infamous brothels that were shut down in 1980.

Many people claim to witness apparitions looking out of the second floor windows of the old brothels. We suspect it is the mannequins they see instead of a ghostly figure.

We heard several claims about this hallway. Some have heard boot steps walking while one casino worker claimed she was held against the wall by some unknown force. During our first investigation of the brothels, an investigator heard boot steps in this hallway. When he went to investigate, he found no one there.

Two investigators experience a shadow figure in this hallway.

These last two hallways continued to provide investigators with interesting experiences. We experienced seeing shadow figures and whispering. This was the area where we obtained the voices of children on a couple EVPs.

*Disclaimer*

We in no way claim that we captured an apparition or ghost in this photograph. We simply provide it as an unknown anomaly that was captured during our investigation. This photograph has left us all scratching our heads. You can see what appears to be someone standing at the top of the stairs. Where the head should be is a flare from the brass railing. We took several photos of these stairs throughout the investigation, but this is the only one that we captured this anomaly. The witnesses told us they see a small boy playing on these steps, and this photo tends to lean toward a small person. We present this to you to view and make up your own minds. We know some of you will believe and others will question the veracity of the photo. We ask that if anyone out there has a reasonable explanation for this photo, please contact us at bhpihelp@yahoo.com. We appreciate any constructive feedback we get.