Lead by JUMPS leader Doug Hogate, Jr., the team arrived at the Old Salem Courthouse at approximately 6:00 PM. When the team arrived, the team discovered a meeting was being held by the Salem County Tourism Department. After the meeting was complete and lead investigator Doug had a few conversations with members of the department, the team began setting up equipment and preparing for the investigation.
The claims of activity were not available to the team. Therefore, historic events that occurred within the location are what the team was concentrating on while investigating.
At approximately 8:00 PM, the team had completed the equipment set up. Base was set up in the judge’s office located on the west side of the building in the rear of the court room. Four infrared cameras were set up throughout the building. The locations of the cameras were as follows:
- The attic recording down the walkway looking toward the bell tower
- The second floor hallway showing all doors to the rooms
- The courtroom showing from the center to the left
- The courtroom showing from the center to the right
After the equipment was set up, the team began the investigation at 8:30 PM.
Team leader BJ remained at base to observe the cameras with a visitor from the Salem County Tourism Department. Group leader Doug took investigators-in-training Katelyn and Kevin to the second floor to begin their sweep of the several hundred year old building. Beginning in the meeting room, Doug operated a hand held digital camcorder to scan the room and keep a look out as a fourth pair of eyes. Kevin operated the digital EMF detector and digital voice recorder, taking readings of any high electromagnetic fields that may be present in the room and recording any voices or noises that may occur. Katelyn operated ‘The Ghost Meter’ attempting to communicate with any spirit that may be present. The team began asking for any spirit to give a sign of their presence, such as knocking, moving an object in the room, or touching an investigator. In the time spent in that room, nothing unusual occurred.
Next, the team continued investigating the hallway and available rooms, attempting to make contact with any spirit that may be present. Some very light knocks were heard, however were not consistent enough to be ruled as being paranormal.
Next, the three investigators moved to the attic. While investigating, the team took notice of the old construction of the courthouse. The old framework was discovered being held together by old wooden stakes. Also, it was discovered that the old brick structure is still very strong and intact. During the investigation of the attic, the team, again, asked any spirit present to give a sign. The team also asked questions, attempting to find out any spirit’s name, age, what year they believed it was, if they were sentenced to death, if so, what for, and so on. Nothing unusual occurred during the sweep of the attic, so the team returned to the second floor, where they were joined by case manager Laren.
This time, the four investigators sat in different areas of the second floor and remained silent to let the atmosphere settle and observe any noises that may be caused by something paranormal. After a significant amount of time, the team returned to base to regroup and plan the second sweep.
Next, the team of BJ and Kevin proceeded to the second floor, while Doug and Laren headed to the court room, and Katelyn remained at base. Like the first sweep, the two investigators began asking questions and attempting to make contact with any spirit that may be present. They also checked for situations that may cause someone to believe they are having an experience but it is nothing but a natural occurrence. Surprisingly, the outside noise was not as loud as JUMPS anticipated prior to the investigation. Shadows were observed when some traffic passed by, but it was very limited.
Next, the two investigators went to the third floor. Outside noise could be heard more from this area because of the thin barrier between the inside and outside. It was also discovered that in some spots, there are high electromagnetic fields caused by the air conditioner units, copper piping, and electrical equipment. While this equipment does produce high electromagnetic fields, it does not create enough to cause anyone harm if exposed for a long period of time. After determining these occurrences, the team sat down to observe the surrounding area and continue asking questions. After a few minutes, team leader BJ asked if a woman was present that was accused of witch craft. Instantly, he noticed the EMF detector numbers slightly raise from a .2 to a .7. Although this is a small increase, he continued speaking directly to the woman. Throughout the questioning, the team observed the electromagnetic fields fluctuated after each question. As time went on, the activity began decreasing and everything went back to normal. The team, then, returned to the second floor. This time, BJ remained alone in the meeting room and Kevin returned to base.
During BJ’s alone time, he experienced unusual feelings and goose bumps appearing on his arm after each question, but no physical evidence was recorded.
While BJ and Kevin investigated the second floor, investigators Doug and Laren began a sweep of the court room. Immediately, the team began asking if any convicted criminals were present that were sentenced to death. They also asked if anyone was present that was accused of treason during the Revolutionary War. Laren sat in a chair at one end of the room while Doug sat in the Judge’s chair, acting as if he was a judge himself. With the provoking and questions, nothing unusual occurred during their investigation.
After the second sweeps, the investigators returned to base to regroup and let the atmosphere settle down. After about 20 minutes, BJ and Kevin returned to the second floor to investigate more on the feelings BJ was experiencing during his alone time and Laren and Katelyn proceeded to the court room to attempt to experience anything as being the only females present. During the times spent in each location, nothing paranormal was observed.
For the final sweep of the courthouse, investigators-in-training Kevin and Katelyn made their way to the attic to attempt to capture evidence while being observed by group leader Doug. During their time, they began asking questions and requesting signs of any spirit that may be present. While investigating, they began hearing knocks and bangs. After several times, they decided to leave the area. Suddenly, the investigators became ‘spooked’ when they observed the attic door slightly open, believing they closed it all the way when they entered the attic. This resulted in the investigators returning to base to regroup what they could not explain. After reviewing the evidence, it was discovered that the two investigators did leave the door open slightly.
At approximately 10:50 PM, the team packed up the equipment and the investigation came to a close because the building was arranged to be locked at 11:00 PM.
After 7 days of reviewing the evidence, JUMPS was only able to capture one possible EVP and one piece of video.
The Findings
- The one EVP recorded occurred while investigators Doug, Katelyn, and Kevin were in the attic. Doug was talking about the construction of the building and comparing it to a story investigator BJ told about his parent’s house. While Doug was speaking, an unusual female voice was recorded. This noise sounds as if it is a moan, however it is undetermined if it is an actual female moan or a part of a sentence. In theory, a ghost uses the surrounding energy to move, speak, manifest, etc. If the surrounding field is limited, the recording may be only part of a sentence.
- A personal experience was recorded that occurred while investigators-in-training Katelyn and Kevin were investigating the attic. They both heard a knock and acknowledged it at the same time.
- The video clip recorded shows a group of orbs beginning to move around. Then, a bright orb moves in a circular motion, ‘shoots’ away from the camera into the air, and then moves to the right before disappearing. Orbs are not signs of paranormal activity. However, when orbs do appear on camera, the possible paranormal energy are those that are solid white, blue, or green. These orbs give off their own light and look as if someone is throwing a ping pong ball across the screen. At the beginning of the clip, the several pieces of orbs appearing are believed to be dust moving around. What makes the orb flying across the room interesting is that it still gives off its own light after it moves away from the camera. It remains bright as it makes its way to the far side of the court room and moves to the right. This orb is not a manifestation of a ghost, but a collection of energy that a ghost is attempting to gather to give the team a sign of its presence.