Linville Manor, Part II: Henry and Alouisious

 After the refreshment break, the group went outside for grounding and a prayer of protection, led by Tom. Since the attendees all had previous experience with the paranormal, it was decided that the group would stick together throughout the evening and investigate as one. Several folks had brought their own equipment, but for simplicity it was decided that only a few instruments would be used at a time. Tom and Rob had developed a relationship with the ghost that resided in the basement, so they decided the evening’s investigation would start there. 

The speakeasy in the basement of Linville Manor.
Images courtesy of linvillemanor.com

The group, which numbered a little under 20, sat in a circle in one corner of the basement. Tom and Rob gave some background about the ghost named Alouisious (I’ll call him Al for short). He was a servant in the house - a black man who was framed for setting the original house on fire. Tom and Rob invited him to come speak to the group through one of the tools we were using, but he was hesitant. As Tom and Rob discussed with Al, I felt someone walk up behind me. I turned to find the owner of the home standing behind me taking pictures. I thought he was the one who had walked up, but he had been standing there for a few minutes. We all sat in silence listening for someone to come through on the portal box, when I heard the name “Henry” loud and clear. I said to the owner in front of everyone, “Do you have a Henry here?” He replied that yes, Henry was in fact the name of one of the children ghosts on the property. “He’s here with us. That’s who snuck up on me just a moment ago.” I said. 

    The group spent a few minutes trying to engage Henry, but he was really hesitant to come forward. There was a MIP, a motion sensing robot, running around. The MIP had made a beeline for me as soon as it was set on the floor, despite the fact that I remained completely still. It had sensed Henry. I heard Henry say “I don’t want to talk to these people.” I told the group what he said. He was incredibly shy. One of the investigators tried tempting Henry with a toy train, promising to bring one for him the next time they visited. “I don’t want a train,” Henry said. I relayed that to the group as well. The owner tried enticing Henry with sweets, and brought cookies to the center of the circle. Henry remained hanging out in the background, peeking around the corner of the pillar I was sitting next to. Another had brought a doll and placed it in the center of the circle. Henry said “Eww, dolls!” At one point, Tom had gotten up and found Henry hiding in the corner opposite of where the group was sitting. Tom relayed to the group that Henry really was hesitant to engage with us. It was then that the owner of the property said that the children rarely come down into the basement - they usually hang out on the first floor. He said they’d occasionally come down the stairs to see what was going on but that was typically the extent of it. 

    After a few more minutes, it was apparent that Al wasn’t going to converse with the group through the portal box, and no other ghosts were either. The energy in the basement was really quiet. The investigator who had stayed the night prior thought it strange, since there was lots of activity the previous night. We would all learn later that there was a reason it was occurring. We decided to leave the basement and to go up to the 2nd floor of the house.