WHITE HILL MANSION - PART THREE

Continuing on with our investigation, we are about to tour the foundations of the mansion.

The Cellar

Down this hallway...

Through this door...

And down these steps...

You will find yourself in the dark basement of White Hill.

The first part you enter is the 1920s Rathskeller.  The last time we investigated, NJGO got their equipment to respond to various questions, and a shadow person was spotted. I personally saw light anomalies on the camera set up on the tables. This time, my folks felt like they were not alone. I'm not sure if Karen's portion of the team had any results.

In this photo, you can see the stairs coming down. The bar area would be on the person's left when they came off the steps.

Here's a shot   of the bar itself.....

And a slightly different angle...

Here is Claude at one of the tables, trying to communicate with any spirits there might be. This would be a view from the staircase.

You'll notice to the left of the photo, past the bar, is a table set aside. This is the alcove - the semi-circle seen on the layout.

I have seen, on Paranormal Lockdown, the docent  advise that there is a male presence behind the bar that resents the intrusion of the living. She also mentioned that this speakeasy was frequented by the mob, who used the tunnel (we'll get to that) for dumping their "hits" in the Delaware River. We were told none of this. No one during our investigation picked up on a cranky publican (but that doesn't mean he's not there).  I realize illegal drinking went on, and gangster types had come here, but floating dead bodies in the river doesn't sound like a practical disposal solution. BUT...stranger things have happened....

The bar has some nice touches, from the remains of a possible

dumbwaiter...

... to photos of flappers (or, possibly, "soiled doves"?) on the walls.

If you were to come down the stairs and turn right instead of left, you would enter a short hallway painted turquoise. There is a row of coat hooks in this area, so one could conclude it served as a coat check area in its day.

This is an area which really frightened John. It was pitch black and, when he took a live photo shot, the hall was swimming with orbs.  There were so many that he compared them to fireflies. Unfortunately, I'm not able to reproduce the live photo, and the obs are not captured on the static shot. Here is his photo. Do you get any vibes from it?

 At the end of this hall. if you make a right, you'd be back in the rathskeller, next to the bar.  If you make a left, you enter the actual cellar areas via a rough plaster and lathe hall.

Here is John's shot from the hall looking back towards Claude and the bar...

And here is his shot looking down the other way, to the end of the basement...

As you walk down this passageway, you pass a restroom, and a small electrical room, on the right. On the left you'll see the 1800s cellar and its various pieces of equipment.

Continue past this section and you come to the 1700s cellar, and a flight of wooden stairs that return you to the kitchen area.

Following the passageway to the end, you can just manage to make out the curved top of the small wine cellar doorway.

You can see a panelled wall to the left of the above photo.  This is actually a box-like area containing a small room, purpose unknown.

Finally, back by the wine cellar, we have the blocked off tunnel. I had mentioned earlier that it was reportedly used as a type of "body chute" to the Delaware for gang victims. More likely it was used to bring in illegal liquor for the bar.

Many have sensed a shadow man in this portion of the basement, including me. I also believe he moves from the tunnel to the turquoise hall, where he can cause harm to those using the stairs.

Even the picture of the tunnel area gives me the chills. What do you think?

Next time we'll take a tour of the second floor and its hidden stairways,

Have an enchanting week!

WHITE HILL MANSION- PART TWO

Continuing now with our Good Saturday investigation, we take a look at the ground level ...

The Main Floor

When you arrive at White Hill Mansion, the first thing you notice is the security fence. It rather surprises you, but then you focus on the building behind the gates. Initially, you're struck by it crumbling beauty, then it sense of history... and then something else. I discovered on my first visit that there were - most likely - burials nearby,  either settlers or natives. The ground and the trees seem to hold their essence, and the feeling is enhanced by the Delaware River flowing closely behind the building.

The entrance to the main floor is decorated with the year the structure was built, and a historical marker.

This doorway leads you into the main floor. As you enter, you are immediately confronted by the staircase leading to the second level.  My first time in the house, I felt a strong female presence on the landing, and later two of us heard the tromping of children's feet. This time, those perceptions were gone, although I felt as though the children were hiding elsewhere in the mansion.

In the photo, you can see the entrance leading into the hallway. As you enter, there is a series of rooms to your left. The hallway runs back to a restaurant (which was a later addition),  and also the stairs to the cellar. To the right of the entrance is the formal parlor, where I was located..

This is a picture taken from the hall, looking into the parlor. (That's Claude sitting on the distant chair.)

This is a shot from the corner of the parlor, looking out towards the staircase. My wheelchair is in the center of the room.

Here is the view from my chair, looking towards the hall. If you were to make a right, you would be heading down to the newer, restaurant portion of the mansion.

..You can identify the restaurant from the outside of the building by taking note of all the windows.

In its prime, it must have been a grand place to dine. Even today, the view out its elongated windows is rustic and peaceful. The Delaware flows gently by.

This is the view from the hallway, looking back down to the entrance. About where the photographer is standing, to his right, are the stairs to the cellar.

..

Going back to the entrance (and looking at the floor plan) you will notice a series of additional rooms. The first is the Crossley Room.

It still has this beautiful fireplace and sections of lovely wallpaper, but - alas - age has taken its toll. For instance, the ceiling is falling away.

And yet, back in the formal parlor, we have this breathtaking chandelier. 

The Crossley room leads into the the original dining room, which then links up to the new restaurant.

If you were to continue straight through the Crossley room (the doorway is to the left of the fireplace), 

you would pass from the restaurant kitchen into the Field's kitchen.

Last year, Bob caught an interesting shadow in the Field's kitchen. He was alone, no one was behind him, there was no strap on his camera to interfere, and yet he caught this image:

Before I continue, let me introduce you to my part of the team.  This is (from left to right) Bob, John, and Claude. In the following picture is Claude, standing next to me and my wheelchair.

You can tell from the looks on our faces that we were not happy people. I had been terribly sick only hours before, and Claude complained of her sore back. Bob left an ailing wife at home, and John... well, John is hard to explain. He is a bit of a "man child" that has so much distracted energy that he bounces around like a human Tigger,  This is what he proceeded to do as Karen's team and I set up our various stations.  He truly tried to assist, but moved so quickly (and before directions were given) that things went flying.

  I had provided clipboards, pens, floor layouts, and protective black salt to everyone.  They were to go through the house using only their senses first. If they felt/saw/smelled something, they were to note it on the layout so it could be compared later.  We never got to the point of comparison. Were the layouts used? I'm not sure.  John was literally bouncing in place; he could not be contained. I finally handed him a lantern and told him to go.

Meanwhile, Karen had entered the parlor just as I noticed an immense cold spot behind me. I reached back with my arm as Karen said, "A shadow figure just passed across the fireplace." This was near where Claude was seated, but she said nothing.

Bob had located for me a small wire table on which I could lay out my candles, protection sprays, and singing bowl. I was trying to organize these when I felt a wave of tension behind me. Suddenly, Claude spoke. "Just because YOU aren't feeling well doesn't mean you get to strike out at John!"
Strike out at John? Humm. I looked over my shoulder and simply said, "Claude, don't start."
  "DON'T START??" Now, she was practically yelling. "Just because YOU'RE sick doesn't mean you can lash out at others!"

Again, I turned to her and said softly, "You know I never use this term, but you need to shut up now. Seriously."
That lit the tinderbox. She rose to her feet, gripping her cane, and screamed. "YOU shut up! F**k you! Go to Hell and F**K yourself!" And, with that, she stormed out of the room.

The atmosphere in the parlor got warmer. You see, I knew something Claude and John didn't. The spirit of Mary was said to be seen often in the parlor, sometimes crying. She loved this house and probably had many instances when she despaired of keeping it out of British hands.  John and Claude walked into the parlor and immediately started chatting how they would change, redecorate, and refinish the room...not something the spirit of the protective homeowner would want to hear.

Claude advised later that, as soon as she left the room, she couldn't figure out why she had just attacked me. She wasn't even angry.   Could she have been "jumped" by a spirit? There's no way to tell.

My various protection tools and singing bowl

Two other things happened on this main level.  Claude did return to the room, and the chair she had previously occupied. From outside the parlor window, we both heard a low growling.  Also, she stood and moved to the hallway, in order to take a picture up the staircase. As she raised her camera, we both heard a deep male voice say, very clearly, "Claude". (Her name is pronounced with a long "o" sound, like "clood") The voice said her name with the proper French pronunciation. Interesting to note that other investigators have also heard someone speaking French on these stairs.

SOMEONE defInitely knew she was there.

Next time: The Cellar. Until then, have a boo-a-ful week!

Investigating White Hill Mansion

                                            Part One

Before I start this blog I would like to apologize. I've been fighting a slew of different health problems since November, and they have really impacted the amount of time I've been able to focus on writing. I will strive to do better. This first part of the investigation is a mere introduction. The others will be longer.


I love haunted houses.. not the fun house type, but the bonafide real deal. Fortunately, there is one not that far from home, in the town of Fieldsboro.  On the Saturday evening before Easter,  three of my friends and I met up with members of the New Jersey Ghost Organization to have another go at investigating White Hill Mansion. (I had gone on a prior investigate last year. My experience became an article on Fate Magazine's website.)

I had intended to have my folks do "old school" investigating, combined with NJGO's more technological approach. Like most plans, things didn't go quite the way I envisioned, but we did get interesting results. In a series of blog posts, I'll talk about the Mansion (based on my Fate article), provide the layouts for each floor, provide pictures, and discuss what we did - or didn't - discover.  This will only be from the perspective of me and my crew: we have yet to have a reveal with NJGO.

The Mansion

The front view of White Hill

Side of Mansion

The rear of the Mansion...

...And the property in back, along the Delaware

The Property at night

Fieldsboro is a small community located between Bordentown and the Delaware River. The area was originally known as "White Hill", and Robert Fields was one of its wealthier residents. The town was named "Fieldsboro" after his family in 1850.

Robert held anti-British sentiments. On his way back from a meeting in Philadelphia, he mysteriously drowned, leaving his wife Mary to shepherd the family through the Revolution. Cleaver and strong-willed, she dealt with patriots, British, Hessians, and interfering neighbors. These caused the British to raid the home on several occasions, on suspicion that Mary was harboring revolutionaries...

After the war, her son married Robert Stockton's daughter, and the house was enlarged by linking the original home with that of a neighbor. However, the mansion passed out of the family's hands in 1804.

The house had several illustrious owners, and wore a variety of faces including bordello, restaurant and speakeasy. It finally sat empty, after plans to convert it into offices fell through. It was finally rescued by the town and is maintained by The Friends of White Hill Mansion.

The one constant through the years has been paranormal activity. There have been quite a few teams investigating, and just as wide a range of results.  

EASTER SATURDAY INVESTIGATION                                                   

The Mansion has three stories and a basement. Following are the layouts for each floor:

Cellar Floor

Main Floor and Entrance

Second Floor

......

Attic

In part two of this blog, I will start with activity on the Main Floor. This is the only level to which I had personal access, due to my disability. However, members of my crew took extensive photos...and got surprising results!