Episode Recap: French Quarter Phantoms

The U.S. Mint? No kidding!  The TAPS team are the first every paranormal investigators invited to investigate the most haunted vault in America’s most haunted city.

The historic Mint building, in New Orleans, was built in the 1800s and now stands as a museum.  Paranormal activity includes stories about the ghost of a confederate gambler who was hanged on the front lawn.  But only the Ghost Hunters will be able to confirm this.

Other claims are of temperature fluctuations and sightings of torsos of ghosts, light flickering and alarms going off.  Jimmie Jackson, a security guard, has seen one particular entity five times.  It has black hair, tattered clothing and randomly disappears.  Jimmie maintains that he doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he’s seen this one, which could be the ghost of William Mumford. Other people reportedly heard Mumford’s mother moaning and saw her throughout the building.  Or it could be the ghost of the man who was crushed to death by the money printer.

K.J. is joining the team, which will help given the large size of the building.  Steve and Tango lead off the night checking out the balcony where the hanging occurred.  As they are talking, the door behind them opened and then slammed shut- even though Steve had closed it.  For the first time ever, the guys are speechless. 

Jason and Grant are in the basement, and hear banging from upstairs and faint voices.  They call out to Mumford as Grant picks up high K-2 readings.  Then they see shadows that they can’t explain.  Down in the jail, KJ and Amy try to figure out what’s making the noises they’re hearing.  Amy thinks the camera crew is moving, but it turns out they weren’t there! So… who WAS that??

Even more crazy stuff occurs when Steve and Dave hear an untraceable clicking noise, and they try- without success to trace it to the elevator.  (PS: Steve gets his arm jammed in the doors and let’s out a few howls!) 

In the jails, Jason and Grant hear voices from above- just as Amy and Adam had.  It’s like they’re emanating from between the second and third floors.  They can’t track it down! 

Chains, rustling and shuffling noises taunt Amy and Adam on the second floor, and Steve and Tango use a geophone (which picks up footstep vibrations) on the second floor.  They see flashes of light glowing on the third floor- and then it disappears!  THREE times! There was shuffling and movement, but there was NOTHING there and there weren’t even windows to generate the light!  A genuine mystery.  Steve is convinced it wasn’t a person.  These guys are excited!

Evidence-wise, the recorders caught the footstep noises in the jail and a voice that appears to be saying “William”.  As in Mumford.  Awesome find!

Is the U.S. Mint in Louisiana haunted?  There’s just not enough evidence to say it is for certain, but there is definitely something suspicious going on in this place.