Investigative Summary: The Spitzer House

N. Reiter / L. L. Schillig

02 February, 2000

BACKGROUND:

We were first made aware of the history of ghostly activity at the Spitzer House Bed and Breakfast, in Medina, Ohio in early 1999. Some initial consultation with Chris Woodyard, as well as Janet Rogers, owner of the establishment, indicated that this location was something of a rarity in our investigative dealings; a "classical" haunted house. We have pursued a number of cases in the past that in the end have turned out to be complex amalgams of possible ghosts, residual energetic patterns, and emotional turmoil influences from past or present living participants. From the accounts given to us, Spitzer House is a proud old Victorian home, with at least one genuine Victorian "dead person" in it!

Initial contact was made with Janet Rogers, who provided us with a number of stories of the activity at The Spitzer House. Janet also provided a thorough debriefing of the history of the home, although these details were not given to LS in advance, per our usual protocol. Among phenomena experienced by Janet, and her many guests:

• Occasional apparitional glimpses.
• Feelings of presence.
• Light touches or taps from an invisible source.
• Small objects moved or re-arranged.made some changes
• Cold spots without rational cause
• Murmured voices heard when no guests were present
• Notes heard emanating from the parlor piano with no player present
• Young girl laughing
• Lights flickering on and off
• Lights going out
• Someone walking around in Evalyns room
• Slamming doors

The history and a thorough description of Spitzer House is recounted in Janet Roger’s website: www.spitzerhouse.com

Janet informed us that her slow season was usually mid-winter, and we made tentative plans to visit the establishment for an investigation.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

On the 23^rd of January, 2000, we spent the afternoon and early evening at The Spitzer House. Weather conditions on the day of our arrival were overcast, but dry, with temperatures in the high teens F.

We included our usual assortment of instrumentation and camera equipment, however we were fortunate to have been able to also borrow a Mavica FD-71 digital camera for the day!

As one arrives at The Spitzer House, the gaily but historically accurate painted exterior shines like a beacon among the whites and tans of the surrounding neighborhood. Medina is a lovely town, with a surprisingly well preserved history. The Spitzer House fits in, like a Victorian garnet or amethyst on an ornate old ring.

We began our visit with a preliminary tour of the downstairs sections available to us, then to the upstairs with where there were four guest rooms, and two large bathrooms. LS led the way, using dowsing rods, and I followed at a distance taking several rounds of colour, BW, and digital photos.

After taking a number of initial notes, we then made forays to the various rooms with cameras, thermometer, and magnetic field detector.

During this time, a woman who had recently contacted Janet, and who had expressed an interest in the Spitzer haunting, Ms. Robyn J. (not her real name) dropped by to walk through the house, and to observe our study in action. Following our walk-throughs, all present gathered in the delightfully cozy dining room and we discussed our observations; and gave Janet, her husband, and Robyn an overview of our previous cases and results.

A fascinating synchronicity became apparent during our socializing! Oddly enough, it turns out that Robyn is the niece of a woman from the Canton area who is the owner of a house that we investigated in early 1999! Furthermore, Robyn was the same woman who had first informed Chris Woodyard of the Canton case, several years ago... We once again marvel at the little surprises, sometimes bursting with apparent meaning, which throw themselves into our investigative path!

Following, are the physical results of our investigation. The intuitive and dowsing results of LS are recounted separately, as taken from her notes.

Physical Investigation Results:

The Parlor and Foyer:

(click pic to enlarge)

Assorted photos taken. Magnetic background very stable, no anomalies noted. We find one digital photo that seems to show a very faint orb, or orb-like patch near the fireplace. One observation of use concerns the patterned, highly colored wall paper and décor found throughout most of the house. We note that this sort of backdrop may have made it rather hard to pick out orbs or other fairly faint anomalies.

The Dining Room:

No anomalies of any sort noted. A fairly neutral atmosphere, subjectively speaking.

Anna's Room:

No magnetic anomalies. We ran about 45 minutes of audio tape for EVP in this room, however nothing recognizable as anomalous was heard upon playback. Assorted photos taken. Probably the best digital photo showing a small but well formed greenish orb was taken of the main stairway from the landing outside of this room.

Evelyn's Room:

No magnetic anomalies noted. The single colour film photo from the whole set containing a possible anomaly shows a hazy orb-like patch in front of the dark wooden armoire in this room.

Ceilan's Room:

No anomalies of any sort noted.

Sydney's Room:

Of all of the guest rooms, this one seemed to both LS and I to contain the strongest atmosphere. Although no magnetic anomalies were seen, the room had a definite cold, creepy feel to it. We ran about 20 minutes of EVP tape outside of this room, although upon playback, nothing unusual was heard. We also set up our "Watch-dog" motion sensitive camera system here, for about an hour. Upon examination of the shots from this roll, we found that all triggered shots were accounted for, as either test shots, or from accidental tripping by myself or Janet's guest Robyn. No photographic anomalies were noted here.

The back stairway outside of Sydney's room had a curious unsettled feel to it, and often drew my attention throughout the day.

The balance of the house was not explored, as it constituted Janet's private residence.

INTUITIVE IMPRESSIONS AND DOWSING RESULTS (LS):

Remote Impressions:

• No efforts at remote viewing were used.

On-site Impressions:

• Parlor
  • Heaviness of atmosphere near the piano (to the right of the fireplace)
  • A dowsable area was found to the left of the fireplace
  • Crying
  • Military connections
• Foyer
  • The staircase left me with an intuitive impression of thick roped garland decorations at the holiday season
  • I sensed a young woman standing on the staircase reminiscent of a debutante
• Dining Room
  • Heaviness near fireplace also detectable with dowsing rods. I sensed a servant girl/young woman
  • The left hand window of a bay window left me with the impression of a young woman longing for a beau whose presence would never be welcomed in her home. She seems to be watching for a glimpse of him.
  • This area was also dowsable.
• Top of Stairs
  • Stern male, probably the debutante's father, a banker or some type of businessman that involved a desk job. Very overprotective/controlling of her. I vaguely sense her sadness on the front landing area.
• "Anna's" Room
  • (bedroom facing the front of the house) Upon first entering the room, it seemed to have a lighter energetic feeling, but after spending some time in solitude, a different feeling came over me. I sensed a woman in her 30s who seemed to be suffering from depression. There was a dowsable stick over the night stand.
• Green Bath
  • Heavy feeling
• "Ceilan's" Room - (bedroom with bay window directly over dining room)
  • I sensed a very elderly male on his deathbed being watched over by caretakers.
• "Evelyn"s Room (bedroom across the hall from "Ceilan's" room)
  • Very comfortable feeling. Extremely strong sense of motherly love. I sensed a woman experiencing intense love after the birth of a child (possibly after experiencing several miscarriages). I sensed the name Helen. Very strong dowse at the foot of the bed and on around towards the window.
• "Sidney's" Room (bedroom near back staircase)
  • I sensed trouble, illness, fear. May have been used for a playroom. I sensed a young boy.
• Back stairs
  • Servant/maid; young woman. There is something not right about her, but I cannot pin point it exactly. She does not appear to be morally trustworthy. I refer to this as an indication of character. I believe that she knows something or probably has done something that she has made an effort to hide. I want to connect her with the boy in Sidney's room. Did she do something to him? Inadvertent poison? Is she pregnant with the master's child? Something very fishy.

Interviews:

The owners were able to confirm the following facts through historic records:

1. The one owner was a Brigadier General and went on to become a banker.
2. Evelyn Spitzer Woods did have a daughter named Helen

Intuitive Conclusions:

I believe that the residence is permeated with what I consider to be residual energy patterns from former tenants. If there is indeed a true ghost, then I would have to say that the servant inhabiting the upstairs hallway would be the only one that may have any degree of consciousness.

I was able to sense a number of different energies, however I feel that the banker upstairs and the military connection in the parlor all emanate from the same individual. I also questioned as to whether or not the boy might also be this individual in an earlier stage of his life.

I believe that the current tenant(s) are probably also exuding some form of pent up psychic energy that is contributing to the energy already present in the house. This is allowing enough force to present itself through poltergeist activity.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:

While we had initially hoped that this case would contain only "spirits", Spitzer House demonstrated yet again more evidence of a phenomenon that we have suspected for quite some time. In a historical residence, of great age and many generations of human drama, the patterns of love and hate and sorrow generated by those now in the grave live on. We cannot rule out that there may have been more ghosts of a traditional spirit sort lurking in the house, however the young woman near Sydney's Room and the back stairs seemed to be the only one of it's "type" definable to LS. We note that Chris Woodyard seems to have encountered this very same ghost, in the same general area of the house.

Additionally, while no strong physical anomalies, such as magnetic deviation were noted, the short-lived "olfactory" impression of antique perfume was quite vivid. Could this have been a residual energetic pattern as well, or did a ghost complete with Victorian smell walk by me at that point in the afternoon?

The most important element of this case actually has more to do with the congenial symbiotic relationship that Janet and her husband have with their ghost(s). Despite occasional spooky surprises, there appears to exist a pleasant balance and rapport between the living and the dead, in Spitzer House. We have no desire to alter this arrangement, and wish the Rogers all the best in their future dealings with their home!

In closing, we would like to thank the Rogers for their cordial hospitality and patience. And of course, we acknowledge with gratefulness, the assistance and input of Chris Woodyard.

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