When I knew I was going to be doing locations in Iowa this week, I knew there was a team I needed to reach out to. I had met Chris Nielson and Kelly McCarville at The Haunted Horror Film & Paranormal Investigation Festival. They are the paranormal investigators that make up Travelers Moon Paranormal. While at the festival, I really enjoyed getting to know them and learning about some of the techniques that they use. They were the ones to introduce me to the Estes method which the spirit box technique you saw Paranormal MIT use during the investigation at our house a month ago where one person uses headphones to listen to a spirit box but they can’t hear questions being asked by the team during the session. It’s a way to get unbiased answers from the spirit box in real time. Anyways, I knew I wanted to reach out to Travelers Moon Paranormal because they have experience with both of the locations this week. Especially today’s topic. Kelly and Chris go to Edinburgh Manor every few weeks and have had some interesting experiences.
When Chris emailed me about Edinburgh Manor he said “The place is alive. Some strange type of organism. Each individual spirit in the building contribute to making the Edinburgh Manor a ‘living’ thing, like cells in the body. The halls speak. The walls have eyes. If you listen closely, you can hear it breathe.” While most people may be nervous to check out a location described like this, I personally love locations like this. I hope to be to go investigate Edinburgh Manor at some point.
I guess we delve into the history before we discuss the paranormal. Edinburgh Manor is located in Edinburgh, Iowa. Originally the land was deeded to be a courthouse but that changed when the county seat moved to Anamosa. The landed was then used to build the County Poor Farm. According to the Edinburgh Manor’s website, the Jones County Poor Farm was described as “comfortable retreat for the lazy, able-bodied and willingly dependent applicants” when in all actuality the tenants were the poor, the incurably insane, and the disabled. The tenants would work on the farm in exchange for food and board. The farm remain opened and operating from 1850 to 1910. By the time the farm was demolished in 1910, there were over 150 deaths documented on the property.
After the farm was demolished, a new building was erected in 1911. What would become known as Edinburgh Manor would be a facility that would house and care for the incurably insane, the poor, and the elderly that didn’t have family to take care of them. The facility housed both men and women. Edinburgh Manor would stay open until it lost state funding in 2010. It has since be purchased by private citizens who have opened the facility to day tours and overnight tours. For tour information, go to this website.
What kind of paranormal activity can you expect at the Edinburgh Manor? A lot to be honest. Between the experiences that Chris sent me that he and Kelly have experienced and the experiences I read from other visitors, there is a lot that you can experience if you go on a tour there. The basement seems to be the most active portion of the building. A tall male spirit who wears a cowboy hat has been seen often in the basement kitchen office. A spirit known as The Joker is a tall, slender male spirit that is thought to be a malevolent spirit. He has been known to throw dishes in the basement dining room. Also in the basement is a room referred to as the Padded Room because it it use to be a padded room. Good Ol’ Zak Bagans claims to have been possessed in that room by a spirit… Of course, you know I believe that as much as I believe I am the Queen of England.
On the first floor of the manor, there is a little girl that has been heard often. She can be heard laughing, singing, or playing with her toys. Most people call her Susie. In Room 105, people report feeling a bad feeling. Most people think that the feelings they feel in that room are due to a violent rape that happened in that room many years ago. In Room 108 and Room 121, a male spirit has been experienced. He is believed to be a former tenant that had hung himself in the mop closet. On the second floor, the current owner was sleeping in Room 200 when he woke to his big toe being squeezed hard. His dog, who was sleeping in the room with him, was barking and growling while staring at his owner’s feet. On the stair landing, a woman in white has been seen standing by the stairs.
In Chris’ email, he told me about some of the experiences he and Kelly have had during their many visits. He said that they have heard “blood curdling” screaming. People have asked why they were screaming inside the manor but it wasn’t either of them. Chris said that the sound echos down the hallways. Another thing that Chris said that he has experienced is hearing an infant crying. He said that hearing it really unsettled him. He said that a former employee was talking to him during an investigation when the former employee said that he use to hear an infant crying while he worked the night shift. Chris also said that sounds are constant in Edinburgh Manor. He said that knocks, taps, bumps, voices, doors slamming and other noises are constantly happening. He said that the first night he spent the night at the manor, he was only able to sleep for maybe half an hour because of all of the noises. “The manor has a way of playing cat and mouse with whoever in it.” He recounted a time during an investigation that the group he was with listened to a full on conversation between an older man and what he assumed was a child.
Chris also talked about other occurrences that happened while they were there. He said that he has heard both plates and chairs being thrown. He also warned that people do get touched. Some of it is light touches or hair being lifted up but they have seen bruises and other marks from the not as polite spirits that roam the halls.
Chris also explained two of the spirits in his email. He talked about the little girl I mentioned earlier. He said that they don’t address her as Susie because she doesn’t refer to herself as Susie. Kelly is a true psychic who has the ability to speak with with spirits and Chris is a sensitive as well, so I trust when they says that Susie isn’t the little girl’s name. According to Chris, they have experienced disembodied humming, a small green light, and even a full bodied apparition. They have also played peek-a-boo with with a shadow form. Chris also had a note about The Joker. He said that Kelly believes it is a former tenant who had a mental disability that kept him from socializing normally. Chris thinks its an old maintenance man who believes he still has a claim to the manor and likes to try to keep the manor his.
I really appreciate Chris’ help with this post. Having their insight on such an interesting location has been invaluable. He and Kelly have been amazing with helping with these locations. Chris has written a book about Edinburgh Manor. You can check it out here (This is not an affiliate link. I make no money by you clicking on this). I have also listed their social media links down below. Go show them love and see pictures of Edinburgh Manor. They are amazing folks and they truly know what they are talking about when it comes to the paranormal world. Be sure to come back Thursday for another post featuring Travelers Moon Paranormal.
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