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Investigation #1 - Old Tennent Church Cemetery, (Tennent, NJ)
- November 9, 2011
Having done numerous investigations during the summer at Monmouth Battlefield, I had wanted to make at least one trip this year over to Old Tennent Church Cemetery, which borders right on the outskirts of the Battlefield Park. With plenty of paranormal activity occurring on the battlefield itself, I had no doubts that it would have extended itself to the church grounds also.
During the Battle of Monmouth, Old Tennent Church was used as a field hospital for wounded soldiers. They say that the pews inside the church still show the remains of saw marks (used during amputations) and blood stains still in some of the wood. On the outside of the church building, there is a plaque to note the historical significance of this event.
Also right outside the church is a marker to note a mass burial plot where a number of skeletons were discovered. Most likely soldiers, maybe civilians who perished in the battle and all placed into the same grave. Why? I haven't located an answer for that. But there are no names attributed to these lost souls, just a marker placed by the site in remembrance. Then outside of the church is an oak tree where supposedly a colonial solider lost his life when he was resting by the tree, a cannon ball fired by the British tore off his left arm and shoulder. Adding to this, people have buried here through the early 1700's through today. To me this is an ideal area to search for spirits who are not at rest.
Now there have been several paranormal groups who have visited Old Tennent Church over the years, but again the amount of information supplied on evidence and experiences is rather limited. I frankly don't understand why some groups will investigate a place and then keep their evidence and experiences to themselves. To me this is all about sharing. If my investigations help bring other investigators in and they find activity in spots that I have been at, then that would be fantastic.
In fact, (also as a shout out), my new friends Ian and Gabby, who have been investigating the Battlefield also, had been over to the cemetery before I did. The one problem they encountered was the traffic from the nearby roads was pretty busy and interfered with their EVP sessions. As they went late in the day, I was hoping that by going in the late morning, I would see less traffic, thus less noise to interfere with EVP work I wanted to get done.
When I first arrived at the cemetery, I parked my car in a parking area just behind the church. After I got out of the car, I had to take a picture of the tombstone directly in front of my car.
Fans of the TV show, Ghost Adventures, will of course know that one of the three man group is none other than Nick Groff! Since Ghost Adventures is the show that got me started ghost hunting. To me this was an omen of a good investigation to come. Note: I'm 99.9% sure there is no relation between Nick Groff and this plot other than the same last name.
My first order of business was to walk around with digital recorder in hand, take in the lay of the land and snap photos with my regular digital camera and my Vivitar IR camera. I did not catch anything odd in my pictures, but here are a few that I took as I walked around this historic place. It was a nice sunny day, so it was excellent for taking pictures.
The view from my parked car of the church. The plots up the hill and around the church are so close to each other you wonder how in the world everybody was buried without overlapping each other. A question I'll try to find an answer to one day.
The view from the other side of the church were I was parked. Burials on this are mostly from the 20th century and extend around this area for several hundred yards in each direction.
This view is closer to the church, more burials here from the 1700's and 1800's. In quite a few places you can note how closely they are placed together. Note: the red colored circles and the odd color spots in the pictures are nothing more than lens flare caused by the camera angle towards the suns position in the sky. This is not paranormal.
Another picture from the side, just a closer look at the old tombstones and close they are together.
More old tombstones and a unique one shaped like a table. Though I suspect this was done to keep the tombstone from falling apart. There were numerous tombstones in the area from the 1700's that had fallen apart. I think the large size, weight of the stone and the thin cuts would attribute to decay. It looks like by using those 6 white stands, they can evenly distribute the weight of the tombstone to keep it from falling apart. That is another question I will look into for the future.
The church itself is locked up, so I could not go inside to see the saw marked, blood stained pews for myself. It's too bad because this would have been a great time for EVP work. However, I could put my camera up to the glass and take photos of the inside. I was hoping to maybe catch an orb or apparition of a soldier or doctor walking about. However, this camera and the IR camera did not catch anything noteworthy.
However, I did pick up several EVPs while exploring the grounds. The bad thing was that there were lawn tractors in the area, so a few of them are so washed out by the tractor noise (not listed below), it was impossible to make out what words are being said. Again these are best heard with headphones on or ear buds in a quiet room.
Old Tennent Church EVP #1 - I am near the old tombstones on the hill where I parked my car. This faint EVP was captured, though what it is saying I cannot make out. The EVP is played back, looped twice at the end with the audio amplified to hear it better.
Old Tennent Church EVP #2 - About 20 minutes later I picked up this EVP. The first part is the original recording. The 1st loop after you hear it is with noise reduction. The 2nd loop is the noise reduction with the EVP amplified. To me it sounds like it is saying "Ted" or "dead".
Old Tennent Church EVP #3 - Approximately 18 seconds after EVP 2, this one was picked up as I walking about. Looped 3 times, can't do a noise removal as it cuts out the sound. A faint EVP, sounds like it is saying "keep walking".
Old Tennent Church EVP #4 - Five minutes later as I am looking at some of the older tombstones, this faint EVP was picked up. The first part is how it sounded originally with the tractor mower nearby. The two loops that follow are with some noise removal and amplification. Now you can make out what sounds like "Help me".
Old Tennent Church EVP #5 - Just seconds after EVP #4, I have stopped in front of a tombstone and I am reading off the names and the date on it. At the 7 second mark as I pause in-between my reading, this faint EVP is picked up. After the clip the EVP is looped twice, sound reduction and amplification. It sounds like the voice is saying "answer me", but again its subjective because of how faint the EVP was.
Old Tennent Church EVP #6 - After the mowers finally moved off, I headed back to my car to get some more equipment to begin heading over to where the cemetery grounds meet up with the trails to Monmouth Battlefield. As I am getting my equipment ready, I ask if they have any family they miss. What follows is a very clear intelligent response to my question. You can hear it in the original audio, but I loop the EVP twice at the end enhanced.
Old Tennent Church EVP #7 - This is last clip is me heading off the cemetery grounds towards the Battlefield. In the 11.5 second clip, you can hear a couple of faint EVP surrounding a louder one (6 second mark), almost as if there is a conversation going on that I am not aware of. The clip is looped one enhanced (noise reduction, amplification). I have no idea what is being said, but it appears 2 or more spirits were following me when I was making my way off the battlefield. The buzzing noise you can hear in the background is one of my homemade EMF pumps, putting out energy that may attract spirits to it.
I set up near one of the plaques that you find on the trails around the Battlefield to do some EVP and a Ghost Box session.
This was an ideal place to set up for a ghost box session. Right on the fringe of the battlefield, no lawn mowers or people around so it was pretty free from outside noise, other than a bird chirping here and there. I set up my equipment and started the session. Here are the best responses I got.
Old Tennent Church GB #1 - About a minute and a half into my session, you hear me introduce myself and ask what there name is. 2 seconds later you hear a very clear name come out with an accent that says 'Chuck Horton". Followed up a second later with a female voice saying "Chuck".
Old Tennent Church GB #2 - A little while into the session, I am asking about "Clint", a spirit whose name was given up to me as one of the voices that calls out for the "Bishop" at Monmouth Battlefield and had apparently crossed when I tried to cross-over sprits on a previous investigation. As I am asking if Clint is still around, at 3 seconds you hear a fast voice say "goes to them". When I ask if he comes back, a voice at 5 seconds responds by saying "goes.........he did". This is followed up at the end by a singing voice saying what sounds like "he went through!" Incidentally, the radio was set to AM scanning and not FM, which is what I typically do in the central New Jersey areas.
Old Tennent Church GB #3 - In this clip, I had been asking about my new friends Ian and Gabby who have been investigating in the area also. I mention that (in an EVP) they were told to sit down and was it them who said it. After what sounds like somebody saying "Uh oh", a male voice with a British accent replies, "Ghost, if I'd been thar", immediately followed by somebody saying "Ian". I heard the word "ghost", so I asked if a Ghost had told him to sit down. At 10 seconds the name "Howard" is said, followed by a "yeah" to end the clip.
Old Tennent Church GB #4 - Here I am asking if they are stuck or allowed to leave the area. At 4 seconds you hear a voice reply, "You.....pass it on", followed by another voice saying "right". A second later voices say, "not...possible" and then "adventures!" I don't follow the tie in from all this. Are some stuck but some allowed to go? Saying the word "adventures" clicked since I call my site "Chuck's Paranormal Adventures"! Then as I am about to speak, a female voice comes in and says, "I passed Patrick". This is followed by a male voice saying, "Hey, it's a damn walk!"
The female saying "I passed Patrick" was interesting because earlier I had asked if any spirit wanted to cross over, all they had to was follow my spirit guide or guardian angel and go into the light. Was this the voice of my spirit guide or a guardian angel letting me know that they crossed somebody named Patrick? Of course there is no way to prove such a thing happened, but what if it did?
Old Tennent Church GB #5 - This clip starts off with a voice saying "Bill", I respond by saying, "Bill?" and it answers back right away by saying "yes"! I then ask where Bill is at and a voice responds saying very fast what sounds like "He died." As I try to acknowledge this by repeating the words, at the same moment a female voice talks at the same time as me, also saying, "he died".
Old Tennent Church GB #6 - Another great clip. I start off asking if they can say my name for validation. In the middle of asking this question, you hear my name being said. At 5 seconds you hear a female voice say, "He said just his name......../static/......"Friedman". Well my name is not Friedman, but maybe that was the name of the female? As I acknowledge that I can hear the female talking, she faintly responds at around 10 seconds, "Chuck you know me!" I tried to get her name but could not make out a response.
Old Tennent Church GB #7 - In a bit of a joke question for friend of mine that I play Dungeons & Dragons with on Sundays after work (yes I still play and its still fun, though we spend a lot of time BSing about stuff), I am asking who is a bigger "cheating dog" in the game. I don't get an answer as to who, but this British sounding female voice responds with her own question, "You say they're cheaten on ya?"
Old Tennent Church GB #8 - This last clip comes as I have finished the ghost box session and I am about to shut it off. I say my good bye and get the reply "See ya!"
With time winding down, I packed up and headed back into the cemetery, doing a sweep to the left toward a section with more recent burials from the mid 1900's and up. While I was walking around, I did manage to pick up two more EVP's before I left for the afternoon.
Again best heard with headphones.
Old Tennent Church EVP #8 - As I am walking, I picked up this EVP saying the name "Patrick". Looped twice at the end to hear it again. Is this voice saying "Patrick" to further acknowledge the female spirit that said to me on the ghost box "I passed Patrick"?
Old Tennent Church EVP #9 - This last EVP I caught is very, very faint, but sounds like it is calling out my name. Looped three times at the end (with some noise reduction) after the original clip.
While it seemed like a quiet day at Old Tennent Church and the cemetery, again the evidence review told quite a different story. While there was no video evidence of paranormal activity, the audio responses (EVP and Ghost Box) were well worth the time spent there. Of course for 2012, I will have to make several more trips over there. Hopefully without the riding lawn mowers making all the noise that washed out some of my catches.
