Episode Recap: Edith Wharton Estate

The team heads to Lenox, Massachusetts to investigate the allegedly haunted estate of author Edith Wharton. The property, now known as "The Mount," was built in 1902 and has been used since then as a boarding school for girls and the private house for a theater company, Shakespeare & Co. Many residents and workers of the estate have reported sightings of the paranormal. An actress, with Shakespeare & Co., was speaking on the phone to her boyfriend when they both heard what sounded like a scream and choking noises intercepting their phone conversation. During one of the company's performances, another actress recounts an experience where she saw a full-bodied opaque apparition of a man who looked at her in frustration and said, "What is all the commotion?" There is also a rumor that a servant hung herself in the cupola of the mansion after she learned that she was pregnant.

Since the estate is an estimated 49.5 acres large, TAPS enlists the help of other investigators, Kristyn Gartland and Britt Griffith. They also introduce some newer, more powerful equipment to aid in the hunt. Jay and Grant begin their research in the top level of the mansion using the thermal imaging camera to pick up heat signals and in doing so, they happen upon an extremely large, 10-inch handprint on one of the doors. Knowing that they are the only ones on this level of the mansion, they are certain that this imprint must have recently been made by a paranormal of some sort. Then, while in Edith Wharton's apartment, the hunters hear footsteps but can feel no vibrations. At this time, they decide to use the "geophone" a device that picks up subtle vibrations by lighting up.

Later on in the investigation the two hunters survey the attic and stumble across some of the old yearbooks from when the property was used as a school. When reading the information in the books aloud Jason and Grant notice high frequency readings on the K2 meter. Meanwhile, Dave and Steve critically analyze the butler's pantry where the actress was on the phone and heard a scream intercepting her phone conversation. The ghost hunters use their EMF detectors while in the space and realize that there are extremely high electromagnetic field levels in that area, which most likely caused to the actress's hypersensitivity to increase. When this occurs a person can experience temporary hallucination, nausea and headaches, which Dave and Steve believe was the cause of the noises she thought she heard.

Convinced that there is paranormal activity in the attic, after feeling a deliberate pat on her head earlier, Amy takes investigator Britt back to the location with her. They utilize the "black box", which is similar to an EMF detector yet it uses sound, rather than lights, to detect paranormals. The closer a spirit gets to the box, the louder the noise becomes. Much to the surprise of both hunters, the black box makes a loud shriek when they are conducting their EVP session. They then hear loud footsteps that appear to be running away from the room they are in and down the steps. Amy uses the two-way walkie-talkie to correspond with the other hunters, and learns that she and Britt are the only two investigators in the mansion, leading both her and Britt to belive that the footsteps were caused by a paranormal.

After a lengthy and eventful investigation, TAPS are ambiguous as to whether or not the Edith Wharton estate is haunted. They did encounter a variety of eerie experiences, such as the large handprint captured by the thermal camera, the high K2 meter readings Jay and Grant found in the attic, and the definite response of the black box while Amy and Britt were investigating. Yet, there were also other instances that were easily explained such as the high EMF levels in the butler's pantry that are capable of causing hypersensitivity people to temporarily hallucinate, believing that they've experienced a supernatural encounter. And upon further investigation, Kris Williams learned that the legend of the servant who hung herself was false. TAPS looks forward to revisiting this case at a later date to see if they will have more definitive instances of paranormal activity.