HPI Investigation Report

Location: Local theater - Manitowoc, WI

Investigation Date: November 17th, 2007

Investigators present: Barry, Mark, Rhonda, Krista, Kurt, Chris (former member of HPI) and Matt (Midwest Preternatural Research).

INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW:

The members of HPI and Matt arrived at the building around 10:30. Some of the group had been there earlier that evening for a walkthrough, and the remaining group members who hadn't been on the walkthrough spent this time walking through the building and listening to some accounts of what the client and other people have experienced in those locations.

Around 11:00PM, we started the investigation.

The entire group spent the first part of the investigation sitting quietly in the theater, stationed at various places around the room, and listened to environmental sounds for anything out of the ordinary.

Then the group moved upstairs and once again spread out across the area and sat quietly, listening to the surroundings.

After this, the various group members went to whatever location they wanted to go to and they were free to try for EVP, photos, video, or just to observe the surroundings.

After this, the group once again gathered in the theater and did an EVP session with their recorders, asking questions and trying to get a response.

Then, the group moved upstairs once more and gathered in the projection room to do an EVP session.

After this, around 2:30 AM, the group gathered their equipment and ended the investigation.

EXPERIENCES DURING THE INVESTIGATION:

Several times throughout the investigation, Krista reported hearing a "very faint mumbling in both the theater and up in the projection room. It was always a male voice but never loud enough to understand what was being said, and usually fleetingly enough that once I realized what I was hearing, it would stop..."

Almost all of the group members reported seeing lights on the wall in the theater while we were sitting in it. Most of the times, the lights were very fleeting, lasting only a second or two, and usually seen out of the corner of our eyes.

Several sounds (creaking, shifting, etc) were heard in the theater during our investigation.

Both Matt and Krista reported seeing something in the theater. Matt said that he saw a shadow move in the room while he was in there. He said that he saw this straight on, and not out of the corner of his eye. Krista also saw something in the theater. She reported "it was a dark, round shape just above the radiator to the right of the stage - just up the short flight of stairs. It was one of those things that was there, and then gone when I looked back..."

Both Krista and Kurt felt very uneasy in the kitchen on the second floor, with neither of them knowing the other felt that way until after the investigation. To both of them, it felt as if they were being watched from the back area of the room by the sink. Kurt saw what seemed like movement come from that area while he was sitting in the kitchen, but nobody was there.

While upstairs in the projection room, Kurt saw what looked like a shadow move from the door of the break room and into the projection room, running along the wall of the projection room before it dissipated. Matt was in the break room at the time, but after Kurt asked him if he had just moved, Matt replied that he hadn't.

During the EVP session in the projection room at the end of the night, several members of the group heard a male's voice say something shortly before Chris started speaking. This was caught on audio (SEE 'CLIP 3:  PROJECTION ROOM').

Also, during this session, Chris reported feeling uneasy several times, and he felt like someone was watching him. Other members reported feeling like paranormal activity was increasing during this session.

PHOTOGRAPHIC/VIDEO/AUDIO EVIDENCE:

Photographic Evidence: None

Video Evidence: None

Audio Evidence: 3 sound clips: 'CLIP 1: STAIRS', 'CLIP 2: THEATER'. 'CLIP 3: PROJECTION ROOM'

EVIDENCE ANALYSIS:

While several members of the group reported feeling strange several times during the night (feeling like they were being watched, etc), it must be emphasized that NOBODY in the group claims in any way to be 'psychic'. These feelings COULD be paranormal, or they could be attributed to suggestion, overactive imaginations, etc. The uneasy feeling in the kitchen could have been caused by the hum of the running machinery. Thus, they can't be used as solid evidence, and are here only for informative purposes and for future reference.

High levels of EMF (electro-magnetic frequency) does NOT account for the feelings of uneasiness, as the EMF levels in the building were well within normal range.

The sounds heard in the theater (creaking, etc) could easily have been caused by the contraction and expansion of the room. It was a cold night, and the heat would constantly be turning on and off in the room, which could cause the noises we heard.

The lights that most of the members saw in the theater can't be explained away as easily. While we believe that the lights may have been caused by traffic outside the building, we aren't sure that the angle of the door or the angle of the passing cars would allow for this. The lights seem to have been witnessed further down the wall than the windows in the door would make possible. Until this can be studied further, we cannot adequately explain the lights.

The shadows and fleeting images that were witnessed by Matt and Krista in the theater and Kurt in the projection room are also difficult to explain. If the lights seen in the theater ARE caused by passing cars, it is possible that this also accounts for the shadows, but again, more evidence is needed to say one way or the other. The same goes for the shadow Kurt saw upstairs.

The sound clips are also hard to explain. Both CLIP 1 and CLIP 2 sound very clear...like it was someone actually in the room and NOT someone outside or on a radio. CLIP 3 is especially interesting, as several members of the group actually HEARD the voice before Chris started to speak. While the voice does sound muted, it also doesn't sound 'distant'.  While there is the possibility that it COULD be someone outside or nearby, it sounds like someone either in the room with us, or in a nearby room, speaking quietly. It doesn't sound like it's from outside the building.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

While some of the experiences we had there do have possible explanations, other experiences are harder to adequately explain away. And while we didn?t get much in the way of solid evidence, the few pieces we DID get are very strong.

Because of this, while we may not feel comfortable saying with 100% accuracy that the building is 'haunted', we feel that the evidence we caught and the experiences we had are enough to make us think that there may indeed be some level of activity going on in the building.

If it would be ok, we would love to come back for a follow-up investigation. Now that we know the experiences we had and the locations where we seemed to get the most activity, a follow-up investigation would let us focus more on those areas, attempting to prove or disprove theories, while hopefully providing new data and evidence for us to study.

HPI and Matt would like to sincerely thank the client for letting us conduct an investigation at her place of business, and we hope to keep in touch.