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Long Island Paranormal Investigators: Investigation
August 2007
Long Island Paranormal Investigators:
Investigation
July 2008
Long Island Paranormal Investigators: Investigation July
2009 (scheduled)
Rolling Hills Asylum in Bethany, NY.
Side view of asylum building.
Prolog: In August 2007 Long Island Paranormal
Investigators performed our first investigation of this historic location in
Bethany, NY. We scheduled a "We're Alone!" (only the Long Island
Paranormal Investigators group,
by ourselves, locked in
the building for the full night!) investigation with Rolling Hills owner
Lori Carlson. LIPI performed a
lights
out investigation using digital
video recorders,
digital and
analog audio recorders,
IR and
thermal thermometers,
IR vision
systems, EMF and other electronic sensors.
LIPI members (L to R) Mike Cardinuto, Mike Bainbridge,
Craig Sordyl and guest Jaquline Morena
gather at the home of LIPI member Jaiem Fleischmann the night before we depart
for Rolling Hills.
Sunrise on the NYS Thruway, heading up to Bethany NY.
Historical Background: Rolling Hills
has a long and tormented history as a former
poor house, insane asylum, orphanage, and nursing home. Genesee County
purchased this property in 1826 and opened its doors to the poor in 1827.
They took in paupers, the insane, orphans, transients, unwed mothers, the
elderly, and anyone who could not support and care for themselves. They were
completely self-sufficient as they farmed on the 100's of acres owned by the
county. By the 1950's, the property was used for a nursing home only. The
residents were moved to the new facility in Batavia in 1974. The building
sat empty for nearly 20 years when it was then opened in 1992 as Carriage
Village, a mall of unique shops.
An artist painting of the Carriage Village mall that
was later renamed as Rolling Hills.
The name was changed to Rolling Hills
Country Mall in January, 2003, and became a co-op in January, 2004. The mall
has recently closed. (source:
Rolling Hills Ghost Hunts)
Official records show that 1750 people are buried
on site at Rolling Hills. Most likely the true number of people buried is
much higher.
Official/historical survey diagram of the Rolling Hills
land, circa April 1939.
Old keys and other artifacts from the operation of
Rolling Hills Asylum.
Location facts about the Rolling Hills Asylum:
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The East and West wings combined are 65,000 square feet (not including the
underground tunnels or outer barns and other smaller buildings).
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The corner acreage of 11.87 acres was bought privately from the county by Lori
Carlson and her husband (the current Rolling Hills Asylum owners).
-
The original Rolling Hills Asylum buildings were built from the late 1790's thru
early 1800's.
-
The original Rolling Hills Asylum buildings built during the above period are no
longer standing. Only a few old barn buildings remain.
-
The current Rolling Hills Asylum West Wing (the Y-shaped building) was
constructed in 1938.
-
The Rolling Hills East Wing (the Country Mall wing) was added in 1958.
Paranormal history: Rolling Hills Asylum is very well known for
shadows and
EVPs as well as other unexplained phenomena
in a number of locations, such as:
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Lori told us that especially between 3am and 5am on the
1st and 2nd floors of the East Wing shadows are seen.
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In the Christmas room toys can be seen to have moved from
where they were left as though someone had been playing with them.
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On the 2nd floor of the East Wing the sound of foot steps
and sliding can be heard coming from above - but there is no 3rd floor!
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EVPs are often taken in the first meat locker in the
kitchen area.
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The apparition
of a man with a goat-Tee mustache has been seen walking around.
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Even right outside the cafe area apparitions have been
seen. An old woman has been seen going into the woman's restroom.
Below is a famous picture of a shadow being taken by a
member of the Rolling Hills Ghost Hunting Society. The figure behind the woman
(her name is Grace, a mall employee at the time) is the shadow. This picture was
taken in the hallway of the East Wing. This is the exact same spot
that Long Island Paranormal Investigators' Craig Sordyl reported seeing a shadow
during our investigation as well!
Photograph of a "shadow man" in the East Wing of Rolling
Hills.
(picture courtesy of Lori Carlson & RHGHS. Reprinted with permission.)
Close up of the "shadow man" in the East Wing of Rolling
Hills.
(picture courtesy of Lori Carlson & RHGHS. Reprinted with permission.)
The asylum also has a reputation for strange noises and
objects moving on their own.
The Investigation Team: Nine
members and guests of Long Island Paranormal Investigators
took part in this investigation. The investigation was lead by LIPI lead
investigator Michael Cardinuto. Additional team members were investigators
Jaiem Fleischmann, Michael Bainbridge, Craig Sordyl, Justin DiGangi, Cheryl Wittmann, Thelma D'Amico
and guests Jessie McCarthy and Jaquline Morena.
Investigation background: Due to the
distant nature of Rolling Hills Asylum from our home base in Ronkonkoma, NY
it was decided to take a 3-day weekend to both maximize our investigation
time as well as be in the best physical and mental condition for paranormal
investigation.
We made excellent time driving up I87 then across
I90 to our hotel in Batavia, NY (about 20 minutes from Bethany).
Long Island Paranormal Investigators stops on the
road for a snack.
Arriving in Batavia.
Arriving at our hotel in Batavia.
After checking into our hotel we decided to go over to Rolling Hills to
confirm our directions and take some outside daytime photographs.
Front view of asylum building.
Main entrance side of the asylum.
Rear view of Rolling Hills Asylum.
Country Mall sign from when the mall was open.
LIPI member Jaiem Fleischmann is really happy to be
investigating Rolling Hills!
Long Island Paranormal Investigators member Craig Sordyl
takes video of the front of Rolling Hill.
Long Island Paranormal Investigators members (L to R)
Thelma, Mike Bainbridge and Cheryl
posing in front of Rolling Hills.
LIPI investigators check out the back of Rolling Hills.
After taking a good daytime look around
Rolling Hills we went back to the hotel for a "power nap" before the night's
investigation. We were scheduled to meet Rolling Hills Owner Lori Carlson at 9pm
to begin our investigation.
Long Island Paranormal Investigators Tech Manager Justin
DiGangi loads
our DVR equipment for the night's investigation.
Long Island Paranormal Investigators gets a quick dinner
at the
Ponderosa restaurant in Batavia before the investigation.
So after a quick dinner we drove over to Rolling
Hills for our investigation.
Long Island Paranormal Investigators Lead Investigator
Mike Cardinuto (left) and Tech Manager Justin DiGangi
outside Rolling Hills a little before 9pm the night of our investigation.
LIPI explores the grounds of Rolling Hills at sunset
before our inside investigation begins.
LIPI members Cheryl Wittmann (left) and Thelma D'Amico
(right) with LIPI guest Jaquilne Morena (middle)
outside a barn on the grounds of Rolling Hills.
A back door into the old Rolling Hills Asylum kitchen.
Lead investigator Mike Cardinuto checks the LIPI
equipment before it
is brought into Rolling Hills for the Night.
Craig gets into the spirit of the night!
At 9pm Lori arrived and let us into the building. We
quickly moved our gear into the old Cafe area. That would be our HQ/Command
Center for the
investigation. We could keep lights-on all night and close the double doors so
as not to effect the dark of the rest of the area.
We setup our HQ in the Cafe room for the night's
investigation.
Long Island Paranormal Investigator Jaiem Fleischmann
(right) and LIPI guest Jessie McCarthy
monitor the DVR in HQ while other investigators perform their investigation
sweeps.
After we met Lori and brought in our gear she gave us a tour of the
facility to highlight the active locations of the asylum.
Rolling Hills owner Lori Carlson talking with LIPI
members about the facility.
Lori guides LIPI on a brief tour of the facility.
The Equipment Setup: Long Island Paranormal
Investigators prepared for a lights out
investigation.
A screen shot of our DVR setup. Camera 1 was in the
basement tunnel next to the well;
Camera 2 was facing into the first floor (East Wing) hall way; Camera 3 was in
the Christmas room;
Camera 4 was in the basement recreation room.
A DVR camera (lower left) points into the basement
recreation room.
We set up two DVR
IR cameras as described above. We put our
Hi-8 video camera in the 3rd floor piano room and our HD video camera in the
3rd floor nurse's office.
Tech manager Justin DiGangi and investigator Thelma
D'Amico setup
the Hi-8 video camera in the 3rd floor piano room. It was very hot up on the
3rd floor!
A digital thermometer was placed in the basement
Christmas room and the basement morgue room. Finally, we placed our wireless
motion sensor at the far end of the 2nd floor hall way (East Wing).
The Investigation: Long Island Paranormal Investigators performed
a 6f hour investigation of the asylum. Our group was divided into 2 teams
that took turns going out into the building and stay behind to watch the DVR at
HQ. Teams would rotate assigned areas during the night to give everyone a
chance to investigate each location. Teams remained in contact via
Motorola-class walkie-talkie radios.
Investigating the basement floor:
The Christmas Room
This room was where both the orphans and local children
could come to meet Santa Claus. It has been reported that toys will move, the
rocking horse will swing, people will feel as if someone is holding their hand,
and if you sit on the bed you will feel as if a child is jumping on it.
The Christmas room in the basement. Note the toys on the
floor (the rocking horse and earth mover)
that were marked to see if they moved. Also note the bed on the back left.
Investigator Mike Bainbirdge checks
EMF readings in the Christmas room.
Investigator Mike Bainbirdge checks
EMF while trying to feel for the bed moving.
Note the white wire on the upper right - the probe from one of our digital
thermometers.
The Recreation Room and Chapel Room
This room was a recreation room for the residents/patients. On the side is a
smaller room that was used as a chapel and for smaller meetings/events. It is
aid photographs of this room sometimes have people sitting in the chairs. The
chairs themselves have been seen to move. In the chapel room the noise of things
moving has also been heard.
The recreation room in the basement. Note the dust orbs.
Not paranormal.
The chapel room in the basement.
The hallway from the recreation room looking towards the
Christmas room.
The Tunnel
Shadows have been seen in the tunnel and the storage room at the end.
The basement tunnel that runs along the asylum's well
area (on the left)
LIPI investigators head down the
basement tunnel.
The storage room at the end of the tunnel.
The Original Morgue Room
The original morgue is said to have many
EVPs.
The old morgue in the basement.
Lead investigator Mike Cardinuto notes the digital
thermometer temp on the morgue.
The Kitchen and Meat Freezers
The main kitchen for the facility is in
the basement. When the facility was operating as an orphanage and asylum food
animals were slaughtered and butchered on site. During the Tuberculosis
epidemics of the 1940's and 1950's when the morgue was full bodies were put in
the meat freezers. It is reported that sometimes nearly-dead patients were put
in the freezer too to die. EVPs and strong negative feelings are encountered in
the first freezer unit (the other two are less active).
The kitchen.
First freezer when you enter the kitchen. Said to be the
most active of the freezer rooms.
The meat hook that transported the asylum's meat (and
possibly TB patient bodies) into the freezers.
Investigators Mike Bainbridge (left) and Jessie McCarthy
check EMF and Geiger counter readings in the freezer.
The Basement Electric Shock Therapy
Room
The hospital/asylum used electric shock
therapy. One of the therapy rooms is in the basement. As you could imagine, it s
considered a hot-spot for EVPs.
The basement electric shock therapy room.
This room is directly beneath the Cafe HQ/Commend Center room!
LIPI investigators inside the basement shock therapy room.
The Basement Cafeteria Room
This was one of the eating facilities in the hospital and
asylum.
The basement cafeteria room.
Justin DiGangi checks temperature readings in the basement
cafeteria room.
Old Boiler Room
This is the old boiler room.
Stones forming part of the original foundation can easily
be seen.
The old boiler room.
The doorway on the left leads to the
room where the door seemed to close on Jason Hawes.
It is said that people who try to walk down the first set
of steps into the room have "something" push them down.
The first set of stairs leading into the boiler room.
People report being pushed down the steps by something unseen.
The "safe" set of stairs leading into the boiler
room.
This room is infamous from the episode of
"Ghost Hunters" when Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson investigated the small room
inside the doorway pictured above. In that episode the door seemed to close on
Jason by itself yet the hinges were nearly 'frozen' solid with rust.
A closer look of the door (inside on right) that seemed
to close on it's own.
Unfortunately in the time since that episode so many people have pushed and
pulled on the door it now swings much more freely.
The door that seemed to close on it's own. Note the sign
is new since that show.
LIPI investigators Cheryl Wittmann (left), Justin DiGangi
(behind) and Jaquline
take readings inside the "choking room".
People standing in side the room report
having an unseen entity try to choke
them!
Investigating the first floor:
The East Wing:
The main part
of the first floor is the East Wing. It is a long hall way with rooms
on both side. When Rolling Hills was a hospital and asylum these rooms
housed the patients. In more recent times it is where the mall stores
operated.
The East Wing at sunrise. This hall way is
well known for shadows and odd noises.
The East Wing ramp approach at night. Incredibly dark
hall way!
Inside the
East Wing hallway at night.
The end of the
the East Wing hallway at night.
Look how dark it is!
LIPI investigator Craig Sordyl takes EMF
readings in the East Wing
hallway.
Some items from the former mall stores remain
in the rooms.
These appear to be from an estate sale.
Investigating the second floor:
The East Wing:
The second floor East Wing hallway is also very well known for shadows and
noises like people walking on the roof.
Second floor hallway, end of the hall way where the
wireless motion sensor is.
Second floor hallway, other end.
Old Wing:
The old wing of the second floor, part of the original hospital and asylum, is
equally as active.
Walk way from first to second floor hallway.
Second floor hallway.
Second floor bath room.
Second floor electric shock room. This is where
Dustin from TAPS had his ear pulled.
Investigating the third floor:
Much of the 3rd floor was used as a "haunted house" event several years ago
(before Lori bought the facility). Many of the walls have bats, rats and skulls
painted on them (with glow-in-the-dark eyes too!).
The Piano/Organ room
The piano/organ is said to start paying on it's own.
Third floor piano/organ room. Note the
painted bats from when it was used as a "haunted house".
Investigator Craig Sordyl videos the organ.
Another view of the piano/organ room.
Fake blood from the haunted house is still in
the bathroom just outside the piano/organ room.
The Head Nurse's Office
The other end of the 3rd floor has the head nurse's office.
In this room doors are said to open and close, chairs move on their own.
Hallway leading to the nurse's office.
Note our HD camcorder on a tripod on the desk filming the room.
Inside the head nurse's office.
Nurse's bed room just off the nurse's office.
Investigating other areas:
After the night's investigation inside the main building Lori took us to explore
some of the outside buildings.
Well Building
Rolling Hills Asylum receives it's water from an underground well. During a
daytime tour of the grounds someone had reported seeing a man's face looking out
from the window in the well building.
The well system and water storage tank.
Lori leads LIPI investigators Cheryl Wittmann
and Mike Cardinuto
along the tunnel that leads from the well building to the main building.
This doorway leads to the basement tunnel in
the main building.
This is the inside of the window where it had been
reported a man's face was seen.
Lead investigator Mike Cardinuto shows just how high the window is (it's ground
level outside the building).
For someone to be standing inside the building and be seen through the window
the person
would either have to be nearly 7 feet tall or floating
Investigators Jaiem Fleischmann (back) and
Mike Cardinuto at one of the barns
on the Rolling Hills Asylum land the morning after our investigation.
Morning after the investigation:
After a long and exciting night's investigation the morning was a welcome sight!
Morning at Rolling Hills after the
investigation!
Morning at Rolling Hills after the investigation!
Packing to leave Rolling Hills.
After a very successful (and fun!) night investigation it was time to finally
leave Rolling Hills Asylum and get some much deserved rest.
The LIPI vehicles leaving Rolling Hills
Asylum after a great investigation!
After the Investigation:
We were exhausted! We went back to the hotel, got a quick
continental breakfast and got some much needed sleep.
Mike Cardinuto and Jessie McCarthy were out
like a light when we finally got to bed!
Mike Bainbridge just wants to rest after the
investigation!
The floor is fine for LIPI investigator
Justin "Incredible" DiGangi.
Later in the afternoon, the LIPI team relaxed poolside. That
night we had dinner at a local Applebees and got to bed early as we were
getting up early for the long ride back to Long Island.
Long Island Paranormal Investigators relax
poolside after a long investigation.
A beautiful sunrise the next morning on
the interstate heading home to Long Island.
A little fog on the road home.
Where did the sun go?
Findings: This investigation revealed the following evidence and
experiences:
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Personal Experiences
on Site |
- Date: Friday August 3, 2007
Location: Initial tour of asylum
Description: During
the initial tour of Rolling Hills, Investigator Mike Bainbridge said something
touched him on the back of his neck shortly after coming up the ramp to the
second floor of the East Wing. He turned around immediately and no one was
behind him.
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Date: Friday August 3, 2007
Location: East Wing hall way, 1st floor
Description: During equipment setup Investigator
Craig Sordyl was startled by a shadow figure passing next to time.
Craig was attaching a DVR camera to the railing at the entrance to the
first floor East Wing hall way when he said a shadow figure moved
quickly across the hallway next to him. He wasn’t expecting such an
event so early in the night, much less before the investigation
officially began.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: Christmas Room, basement
Description:
While taking digital
photographs of the Christmas room in the basement Investigator Jaiem Fleischmann
said that he saw a large black mass or orb-like object hovering in the air in
front of him a he snapped a photo. At the same time Investigator Mike
Bainbridge, also in the Christmas room, said his
digital EMF meter jumped
briefly from .01 to 2.4 then back down again.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: East Wing, 2nd floor
Description: Throughout the night the sounds of foot steps and
shuffling could be heard almost continuously in the second floor hallway of the
East Wing. Often the sounds seemed to come from the ceiling even though there is
no third floor on the wing! Other sounds clearly heard include the sound of door
knob being turned and what sounded like keys being
dropped.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: East Wing, 2nd floor
Description:
During an EVP and photograph session at the end of the second floor hallway (East Wing)
LIPI guest investigator Jessie McCarthy reported seeing a face in one of the
door ways. In the morning, after speaking with Lori Carlson and looking at old
newspaper clippings in the Rolling Hills Asylum museum room, Jessie identified the face as being Mr. Eream Happaugh.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: Nurse's office, 3rd floor
Description:
While investigating the nurse’s office on the third floor Investigator Jaiem
Fleischmann reported a sweet/flowery smell similar to a woman’s perfume. No one
in the room was wearing perfume or cologne.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: First floor woman's restroom
Description:
While going to the Woman’s restroom on the first floor (just outside HQ) the main door
to the rest room began to close quickly on Investigator Cheryl Wittmann. The door
had been left wide open all night and no one else was around at the time this
happened.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: East Wing, 1st floor
Description:
At approximately 3:30am Investigator Thelma D’Amico was standing half way down on
the walkway ramp leading downward from the second floor East Wing to the
basement. She reported seeing the figure of a head and shoulders on the basement
level just outside the Christmas room. No LIPI members where in the basement at
the time. The full LIPI team immediately went down the ramp to the basement and
searched the area for a person. No one was found, no sounds of foot steps (like
someone running away) was heard, and the emergency exit door opposite the
Christmas room was definitely closed tight.
- Date: Saturday August 4, 2007
Location: Cafeteria/dining room, basement
Description:
While investigating the dining room/cafeteria in the basement investigator Thelma
D’Amico reported that something flipped a lock of her hair over her head towards
her face. There was no breeze or draft in the room and she had been standing
still.
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Debunking Note: All night long we heard nearly continuous
"bangs" and other sounds from the East Wing 2nd floor hall way.
Rolling Hills owner Lori Carlson stated the heating system was off for
the summer and most of the water, plumbing & heating pipes
beyond the Cafe area were disconnected. Further, a test was conducted
where LIPI investigators were stationed in the East Wing 1st floor
atrium and 2nd floor hallway. Those in the 1st floor atrium banged on
the radiator pipes and the walls. The sound was barely
audible on the second floor despite the intense activity on the first
floor! We feel this debunks the idea that sounds from the first floor
were carried up to the 2nd floor through the walls and pipes.
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EVPs Recorded at Site
(Note: May require headphones to properly hear and review) |
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EVP
1
(full recording - 211kb)
EVP 2 (enhanced
EVP -
55kb)
Date: August 2007
Description: This is a Class
B EVP recorded in the in the East Wing 1st floor corridor at
approximately 3:45am. The first voice is that of LIPI EVP Specialist Jaiem
Fleischmann noting voices of other investigators in the area. The
follows a soft female voice that appears to be saying "Are you
there?".
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EVP
3
(full recording - 184kb)
EVP
4 (enhanced
EVP -
79kb)
Date: August 2007
Description: This EVP was recorded in the 2nd floor East Wing
hall way just before we began using a
white noise. It appears to
be a female voice saying "He's alone here" or "Leave us alone". |
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EVP
5
(full recording - 184kb)
WARNING! - Extreme content!
Date: August 2007
Description: This EVP was recorded in the HQ/Cafe room at
3:30am (remember that directly below the Cafe/HQ room is the basement
electric shock therapy room). The voices are the LIPI investigators organizing
for the final "shadow search" of the investigation. There are two EVPs
in this recording, one at the beginning and a softer one near the end.
The content of this EVP speaks for itself. May be too intense
for some people!
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EVP
6
(full recording - 3.1MB)
Date: August 2007
Description: This recording was made in the 2nd floor East Wing
hall way. The voices are LIPI EVP specialist Jaiem Fleischmann and
Video Specialist Craig Sordyl. Note the banging and other background
noises. This was very common only in this hall way - no where
else in the asylum! |
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EVP
7
(full recording - 314kb)
Date: August 2007
Description: This recording was made in the 2nd floor East Wing
hall way. Note the sound of glass being tapped or broken in the
background. The voices that follow are LIPI EVP specialist Jaiem
Fleischmann and other LIPI investigators.
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EVP
8
(full recording - 697kb)
Date: August 2007
Description: This recording was made in the 2nd floor East Wing
hall way at approximately 5:30am. First you will hear EVP specialist
Jaiem Fleischmann ask for 2-taps as a reply to a question. Then you
will here 2 taps! No one else was on the floor at this time. |
Conclusion: Long Island Paranormal
Investigators believes there is paranormal activity occurring at this
location. A follow up investigation will be planned for July 2008. The results
will be posted here.
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