Before I get into the details of this report, I want
to thank the Epsom schoolhouse property manager for allowing access to the property and Ghost
Quest for showing me the ropes of how a real paranormal investigation is
done. The crew from Ghost Quest was very professional and incredibly
knowledgeable.
I also want to repeat that we had permission to be at
the Epsom schoolhouse. Do not attempt to illegally investigate at any location without
permission.
WARNING:::: The property caretaker has reported
that there has been many recent break-ins. All of which have been reported
to the Epsom Police Department and are under investigation. One arrest has
already been made! The owner of the property also stays at the school house
when in town, this is not an abandoned property! Hidden cameras are
also being installed both inside and outside the schoolhouse to catch the people
responsible. Those caught will face criminal charges.
The little one room school house in Epsom has been one
of my favorite reports to date since this site began. Even though the
investigation is over, I still find myself looking for history about the
schoolhouse. I will continue to update the information in this report as
soon as I
discover it.
History:
The history of the Epsom schoolhouse is very limited.
All of the history I was able to find so far is contained in this section
and updated quickly if new information is gathered. I contacted the Epsom
Town Hall, who gave me contact information for a local Epsom, NH historian.
The historian pointed out a few places to get information. One of them was
the Epsom Town Library. I visited the Epsom Library and found that they have
a small local NH history collection. I was able to find out that the school
was opened in 1834, was separated from the New Rye School District in Epsom
after a fire at the schoolhouse and made part of the Mountain School
District. The school was closed in 1911. Ten years later, the school was
sold to the Mountain School Club. The school was reopened for the 1926/1927
school year, then mysteriously closed and no further information is found
about the school itself. I also did not find any history yet that mentions
anything about the rumored school murders. I did find that the Epsom town
officials had replaced a teacher at this little schoolhouse at one point,
but with no explanation given. It appeared it was the teacher's choice for
leaving the district but that is an assumption on my part. I was also given a lot of information by someone I
would consider a highly reputable source (and also a wealth of historic
information about the town of Epsom NH) in the NH Tour Guide Forum (View
His Post). He told me that there is a
"Benjamin Wiggin" buried at the cemetery next to the schoolhouse (during
the investigation, the name Benjamin came up as well as his wife that I was
told by Ghost Quest during the investigation begins with an "M." The name
"Benjamin was also heard
on a recorded EVP below). This does NOT prove that Benjamin Wiggin or his
wife were involved (only first names were heard during the investigation),
Benjamin Wiggin died in 1844, his wife (Mary Dow) died in 1846. It is
important to note that the first names could be a coincidence. The names
Benjamin and Mary were very popular at the time at still are. There is also
no proof linking Benjamin Wiggin or Mary Dow to anything at all and could
possibly be a mere coincidence, I can't stress this enough. As far as child
deaths in Epsom NH: I began looking through the Epsom NH death records for
multiple child deaths and found that the death records did not record cause
of death in most cases during the 1700s and 1800s in Epsom. So instead of
searching, I had to browse through the
death records prior to 1844 and did find some multiple child
deaths. The most interesting was in October 1834 (the same year the school
opened) when 5 children died, the actual day of the month is not listed, but
what makes this interesting is that of the 5 children: 2 of them were from
one family, 2 from another family... 2 sets of siblings dying at the same
time... coincidental? Possibly. I find it odd that 2 families would each
lose 2 of their children at the same time and because the death records were
written together on the same line entry (ie: "2 children of.... "), tells me
that each of the 2 sets of children possibly died on the same day. There
were also a few other child deaths around that same time. There does seem to
be a lot of child deaths back then in the
NH death records, none that I found
list the cause of death. Again, not sure if this was a lack of medical
knowledge or otherwise that contributed to these young deaths. Please note
that no historic evidence found so far
supports the validity of the rumor, nor does it disprove it. The names
mentioned in this report does not in any way mean the people were involved.
Remember, there is no record of this event in the Epsom town records found
so far. The ghost investigation evidence could possibly be the
results of a different story. Listening to the EVP recordings below tells me
at the very least something happened.
The Investigation:
Upon arrival at the Epsom schoolhouse on this fall day I must admit, I
was a little skeptical of what we were going to experience.
I have had strange,
unexplainable events happen to me in the past that would convert
the most
hardened skeptic, but I still have a skeptical side to me that may never go
away.
First, the Ghost Quest members did an interview with
the property manager and took notes on events that happened. Then, two mediums
from Ghost Quest entered the school house at separate times in order to validate their
findings. First, Raven went in and returned a short time later to allow Beckah to enter the schoolhouse. While Beckah was inside the
schoolhouse, Raven began to tell us that there were many spirits haunting
the Epsom school house. She explained that there was a man (Benjamin) and a
woman who name began with an "M." Raven felt that they were married. She also explained that there were
12 children, 6 of which were kept after school everyday and abused, then
killed in the Epsom NH schoolhouse because they were afraid the news of the
abuse would get out. After a short time, Beckah returned and explained
almost the exact same story to everyone. Confirming each of the findings
from both mediums. The information they obtained from inside the schoolhouse
was also compared to some history found about the Epsom school.
With Raven's and Beckah's explanations about what had
taken place at this schoolhouse, we
entered the schoolhouse and temperature readings were taken, starting at
approximately 42 degrees. As the crew began to ask questions of the spirits
inside the school house, the temperature began to fluctuate from 42 to 60
degrees (almost 20 degrees in a matter of just seconds). The crew and myself
began to take pictures, videos and sound recordings as well. As the
investigation of the Epsom schoolhouse continued, Beckah began asking
Benjamin, the teacher, and the child spirits to change the temperature to
different degrees, and they cooperated with an unusual accuracy.
After approximately 30 minutes inside the schoolhouse,
it was obvious to the Ghost Quest team that the spirits that haunt this Epsom, New Hampshire
landmark were gone. When I left, I felt that I didn't capture anything at
all on my camera, video, or sound recorder. I left with some excitement to check my sound
recordings for EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). As I drove away I
listened to my sound recording and heard nothing. Realizing that I couldn't
hear well over my truck's engine and tires, I decided to listen again once I
got home.
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After reviewing the sound recording at home, I found
that there were a few strange noises that I couldn't explain and one of a
woman's voice that said: "God no.... Help Benjamin, he made them
do horrible things" After reviewing this sound file well over 200 times, and
seeing the photos I personally took, I find it hard to deny the Epsom
schoolhouse hauntings. Yet without solid historic proof, the rumors cannot
be validated. See below for EVP recordings and orb photos.
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