Episode Recap: Civil War Spirits

Jason, Grant and the team head to Chadds Pennsylvania to investigate a 300 year old farm house that sits on the land where the Battle of Brandywine (also known in your textbooks as the bloodiest battlefield of the Revolutionary War) took place. George Washington fought there, thousands of soldiers died there and to date, a few masked graves still scatter the land. So, TAPS has been called in to see if the spirits of these Revolutionaries are still present.

The living room of the main house was used during the war as a hospital room to treat wounded soldiers so Jason and Grant begin their EVP session there. Before long, they hear a loud humming sound and then someone goes thump in the night in the room upstairs. The hunters follow the clues to the room that belonged to Katie, an orphan child who lived in the home during the war. Witnesses have claimed to hear the sound of Katie crying during the night. Yet, when Jason and Grant enter the room they find it empty, but they're certain that Katie's ghost had just been there.

Meanwhile Amy and Kris brave the cavernous Spring House which was used as a holding cell for prisoners during the war. According to legend, a prankster spirit roams the space, closing doors on people while they're inside and moving objects when people sit them down. Though Kris is usually a big fan of provoking spirits, she and Amy decide to make nice since the spirits are such a pivotal part of American History. But despite their courteous efforts, the prankster and no other spirits appear for them. Dave and Steve didn't have much luck either while investigating Katie's room. The two hunters even sit on the floor to play a game of marbles to see if that would engage the child's spirit to come out, but alas, no dice.

But, we all know that this show's not over until the paranormals say so. Jason and Grant head to the Spring House to do a follow-up investigation and find that someone wants to play. The flashlight Jason is wearing around his neck is turned on unexpectedly Sheer coincidence? Harldy. He removes the flashlight and sits it on a ledge and challenges the spirit to turn the light on again. So the jovial spirit shocks the Ghost Hunters once again by turning on the flashlight two more times during the EVP session.

And in case that wasn't enough evidence for ya, back at Central Command, the team also found that their digital recorder picked up the sound of someone chuckling in the Spring House. Yep, you guessed it— Thornberry Farm gets TAPS official stamp of approval as being haunted.

 Alexandria, Virginia, Lee Fendall House

The team heads down to Virginia to analyze the Lee Fendall House, which was used during the Revolutionary War as a hospital and is now used as a museum. People have claimed to see a female apparition in period clothing roaming the house. And during a staff meeting; board members heard an unexplainable jingling that sounded like a 1930s style telephone. Another board member reported having feelings of utter dread while on the second floor staircase. Also, a witness said she saw a woman and a child on the back staircase which used to be the servants quarters. TAPS steps in to get to the bottom of these claims.

Jason isn't able to make it to this investigation so Britt from the West Coast team is called in to help out with the hunt. Grant and Steve kick things off on the second and third floor staircases. They utilize their K2 meter and EMF detectors for this EVP session but both devices only received minor hits that don't chalk up to much conclusive evidence.

Dave and Kris survey the servant's quarters to find evidence of the woman and child who were seen there on the steps. While on the staircase the two are startled when the front door alarm goes off. Was it spirits leaving the house? Nope, unfortunately, they find that it was just Amy and Britt exiting that area.

Yet before they leave the first floor, Britt and Amy make some very significant findings. The two hunters notice that there are high levels of EMF (electro magnetic fields) throughout the house, particularly on the first floor. The numbers on the detector spike the highest along the floor so Britt and Amy head down to the basement to further investigate. While there, they find tons of exposed wires routed along the ceilings and walls. This leads TAPS to believe that the high levels of EMF the board members and guests of the house are exposed to on a daily basis are causing slight mental hallucinations which can cause feelings of dread and false sightings.

The team is also able to debunk the 1930s style ringing that the staff heard during their meeting. In the kitchen, there are jingles over the door that shingle when the door is open. And since the team wasn't able to gather relatively any contextual evidence during the hunt, TAPS decides that this property is not haunted. Case closed.