Investigation Report
Date: March 28th, 2009
The John Wornall House and Museum, Kansas City, Missouri
Investigators Present: Rob G.,Dominick
Guest Investigators: Dayna and Carlina from Kansas City Paranormal Investigations
Guests: Kate from John Wornall House, Charlie, Denny and Patricia
The Layout
The John Wornall House is a 19th century home built in a Greek Revivalist style by John B. Wornall in 1858. The home once sat on the 500 acre Wornall farm which encompassed the region along the Missouri/Kansas border.
During the Civil War, the home existed in a region which was under extreme strife and it sat in a sort of no mans land between the Union and Confederacy. The home was one of the few surviving homes in the region during the war. This was at a time when many were burned to the ground in retaliation attacks.
In 1864, during the Battle of Westport, Missouri which raged across the Kansas City region, the John Wornall house was the scene of some bitter fighting. The home also served as a field hospital by both the Confederate and Union forces during the battle.
History
The reported phenomenon at the location is varied. A man has been seen standing on the stairwell smoking a pipe and the smell of his tobacco has also been reported.
Toys in the children’s room being moved, unexplained voices, footsteps, cold spots, doors opening and shutting and an occasional apparition are other activity that has been reported throughout the home.
The Investigation
This is the third trip for the members of ELITE Paranormal of Kansas City to the Wornall House. The previous two visits being with Kansas City Paranormal Research. On the previous visits we had very little in the way of results at the location. This time was very different.
The investigation was challenged by a freak March snowstorm. The storm prevented Wes from being able to participate in the investigation but Rob G. and Dominick arrived around 8:00 P.M. to begin the investigation. We started with mapping out a plan for the Quad DVR camera system and in which locations we wanted to place them.
It was decided that we place a camera in the Dining Room, Sitting Room , Music Room and the Master Bedroom. We decided to cover the Children’s room with a Hi-8 Sony Camera in order to utilize a new piece of equipment, the IR Strobe.
Shortly after setup , the members of Kansas City Paranormal Investigations, Carlina and Dayna, arrived to work with us on the investigation. Also three guests of Kate the Wornall House Representative arrived to observe the investigation. They’re names were Charlie, Denny and Patricia.
We started the actual investigation by splitting into two teams. One team consisted of Rob G., Kate and Carlina and they started in the home. The other team consisted of Dayna, Dominick, Charlie, Denny and Patricia and they started in the Carriage House.
EMF sweeps and EVP sessions were done in both locations by each team. During the EVP sessions with Rob G., Kate and Carlina, creeping cold spots were felt in both the Children’s Room and the Master Bedroom.
During the EVP session in the Master Bedroom it was decided to use the Ultraviolet strobe in order to use it like a beacon.
At one point during the EVP session in the Master Bedroom, both Rob G. and Carlina heard and audible voice from what seemed like the stairwell area. This voice was found on the digital voice recorder later on after review.
After both teams had investigated both buildings, it was decided to do a joint EVP session on the Stairwell. During this time, the Hi-8 video camera and IR strobe were used in the Children’s Room which was right next door to the team.
The final part of the investigation was done in a LOCK DOWN mode. All members of the teams removed themselves to the office area of the home and let the cameras and digital voice recorders run with no human contamination.
The team spent over 6 hours investigating the home.
The Evidence
DVR Quad Cameras: Unfortunately,the DVR camera system suffered a malfunction at some point in the investigation and either lost or did not record during the investigation. There seemed to be something in the air with the camera equipment that night.
Sony Hi-8 Video Camera: During the use of the Hi-8 camera in conjuction with the IR Strobe, the camera malfunction after some minutes into the taping and all that was recorded was blue screen. It has not been determined what caused the camera to malfunction.
Handheld Mini-DV Cameras: Nothing out of the ordinary was captured on these cameras.
EMF Detectors: No out of the ordinary EMF fields were discovered which could not be explained by natural sources within the home.
Digital Sound Recorders: There was quite a bit of success using these devices. Several EVP’s were picked up throughout the home. Some even were captured during the LOCK DOWN session in which no one was in that part of the house. The audible voice that Rob and Carlina heard was also captured. It is noted here that in past investigations we had little success in the Wornall House but on this occasion we had great success. Could it be because of the use of the Ultraviolet strobe as a beacon? It is too early to say but this device will be used in other locations in the future to measure results.
Full Spectrum and Digital Still Cameras: There was nothing captured on any of the still photographs that could not be explained naturally.
The Team Consensus
It is the consensus of the team that the John Wornall House and Museum does contain some levels of paranormal activity. However, this activity seems to be random in nature and may not occur all of the time. We cannot truly say that a haunting is not a constant in the home but it does seem to come and go. This is based on three different visits by members of this team to the location. Do the spirits of Civil War soldiers and of the Wornall’s still visit the home? Our EVP evidence points to yes.
EVPs
Headphones Recommended
Photos
