Middleboro Town Hall deemed haunted

The Enfield Paranormal Society, of Enfield, Conn., the second paranormal group to investigate the building, claims it has found evidence of ghosts in the building, which was built in 1873.

“It is the opinion of the Enfield Paranormal Society that the Middleboro Town Hall contains paranormal activity in the form of several residual hauntings and at least one active, intelligent haunting (probably many more that went unnoticed)” a report submitted by EPS to the selectmen Monday night concluded.

Selectwoman Marsha L. Brunelle, who accompanied the investigators when they visited on July 18 at 9 p.m., said there was a full moon that night and a thunderstorm came through as they searched for ghosts.

Brunelle said she found it “very interesting.”

EPS agreed with the Paranormal Institute of New England that conducted an investigation last March and also photographed an orb in the balcony of the town hall auditorium.

Last May, pictures from a wedding held in the Town Hall auditorium were submitted to selectmen that appeared to contain photographs of orbs among the guests.

In an eight page report submitted to selectmen Monday night, a picture of the orb is shown as a white circle in the balcony railing.

Matt Kondracki, EPS tech team leader, told selectmen he “saw his breath” while he was in the auditorium stage area, even though it was mid-July and hot.

This indicated a “cold spot” or paranormal activity and he “saw a man in the balcony” and photographed it.

“That photograph proved to show the only orb captured within the investigation and was within the exact location of the reported ghostly figure,” the report stated.

They also sensed a woman on stage who “was seen in a repeated change of costume on or behind the stage,” the report stated.

The report also noted that Brunelle had closed all the shutters behind the stage in the auditorium and the group returned to find they were all opened.

Pat Martin, team documentarian, blames several factors on the hauntings. Town Hall is reportedly built on the grounds of an Indian village and a former school, and its height attracts lightning, which provides energy.

The building housed a jail and was the location of the famous “mob riot of Middleboro,” in which a citizen was arrested and tried to be freed by angry supporters.

According to the report, lead psychic Dee White Dove “sensed several spirits giving off residual energy” and sensed the history of Town Hall, though she had no prior knowledge.

“Radiating from the ground, she sensed Indians spirits and great suffering from disease and cholera,” according to the report.

Though the Paranormal Institute of New England had voice recordings of ghosts, EPS had no such luck.

To those who may feel spooked next time they visit town hall, Martin says there is no cause for alarm.

“It is our opinion that none of these energies pose any threat to the building or its occupants,” said Martin, adding “there’s nothing hurtful or malicious.”

Those wishing to read the Enfield Paranormal Society’s report may contact the selectmen at Town Hall or visit the EPS Web site at www.freewebs.com/enfieldparanormal.

Len Anderson and Ed Beaulieu spent the night searching for ghosts in Middleborough Town Hall with a hand-held laser that monitors sudden drops in temperature.
The ghost trackers who spent the night at Town Hall investigating eerie footsteps that echo upstairs said they found something that may indicate a paranormal presence.

The two-member team from Paranormal Institute of New England said their laser thermal detector -- which measures dramatic drops in temperature that some say indicate the presence of spirits -- went temporarily haywire, soaring up, not down. A digital camera Len Anderson was using also went on the fritz.

“That’s usually an indication of a presence,” he said.

Anderson and his fellow ghost tracker, Ed Beaulieu, are busy this week reviewing the film and audiotapes they obtained Monday night. Spirits are not visible to the naked eye, they say, but do register in photos, videotape, and recordings. The pair does not intend to release the full results of their excursion into the paranormal until next week, when they meet with selectmen, who allowed them to investigate rumors of the otherworldly in the 135-year-old building.

Beaulieu said he didn’t sense an unearthly presence in the cavernous room during the investigation, as he has in other locations, but that doesn’t mean there were no spirits present. It's also possible, he said, that spirits were scared off by the many members of the media who accompanied them on the exploration

Depending on what they find in their photos and on the tape, the pair may return, by themselves, for another check.