Haunted by the spirits of the Eastland disaster

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"Apparitions are often confused with hauntings. The difference is that apparitions are “live” (intelligent consciousness) and hauntings are “recordings”."

It’s not Oprah, girlfriend! It’s a ghost! It’s been reported that the Harpo Studios in Chicago is haunted by the spirits of the Eastland disaster and saying it’s haunted is a total understatement.

On July 24, 1915, the Eastland Steamer was set to sail up the Chicago River to Michigan City, Indiana amd take the employees and family of the Western Electric Company on a day cruise and picnic. The Eastland was one of four ships that were to set sail that day. Unfortunately, the Eastland hardly made it past the port and no sooner than they were to sail off, the ship began to lurch. Within seconds it was on it’s side with water flooding the vessel. The Eastland capsized into the Chicago River, killing 800 passengers.

Since then, paranormal investigators and visitors have stated that between the Clark and LaSalle bridges, paranormal activity has taken place. People have reported terrified screams and calls for help. Orbs will often appear in photographs taken at night at the spot in the river where the boat was docked that tragic day.

The photographer of the above photograph claims the orbs were not present in any of his other shots.

Of the Eastland disaster, almost 200 of the bodies were transported to a nearby Armoury that served as a morgue shortly after the disaster.

That Armory is now known as Harpo Studios where Oprah Winfrey tapes her renowned talk show. Employees have stated that they’ve heard marching footsteps of a large crowd, phantom laughter, doors slamming shut without anyone being around, mournful sobbing, whispers and the faint sound of old time music playing. One spirit that has been spotted regularly is what employees have nicknamed, “The Gray Lady”. The Gray Lady has also made an appearance on security camera feed and is said to be in a floor length dress and wears an old fashioned hat, just like the women wore in July of 1915.

A security guard that has worked for three years at the Harpo Studios is confident the place is haunted, telling reporters and investigators, “I can say for sure that there are spirits walking the halls.”

A security guard received a call from an Oprah employee who was working late night at the studio, frightened beyond belief stating that there were people outside her door and she could hear them laughing even though she was the only one on the floor. Once the guard arrived to check on her, she admitted to opening the door of her office to see no one present but the sound of laughter and talking continued.

Oprah did a taping back in 1996 for her show and discussed the paranormal activity that took place in her studios but since then has refused to talk further about the hauntings she and staff have encountered. Various paranormal investigators have offered to investigate the studio grounds, however Oprah refuses any sort of contact with the spirits from anyone and wishes for them to find rest and peace.

Could it be that the unrested spirits of those who were brought to the Armory haunt Harpo Studios? Is the mournful sobbing heard residual energy from the emotional loss families endured or while having to identify the bodies of loved ones? Maybe the laughter is from the children and families, excited about their journey for the day but have not yet realized they have moved beyond this world. One may never know for sure.

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A man from Queensland has been experiencing some poltergeist activity in his home for the past six months and has been documenting over at his YouTube channel, collecting various footage from around his house and some EVP sessions. He gives his viewers a small glimpse of what is going on in his house but it is no measure to the affects it has on his family and day-to-day life as the poltergeist is a constant bother, opening cupboards, throwing things off shelves, shaking his closets and whatever other various noises it can make in order to get his attention.

On his blog, he mentions that he’s a professional photographer and when working at his art gallery late nights, he’d park his car behind the building. In order to get to his car, he’d have to walk through a basement which we believe is under the art gallery. While working at his art gallery and getting to his car, he started noticing strange paranormal activity occurring; objects moving, shadows and as a result he decided to film what was happening in the basement, either by himself or with the help of some interns.

“When I would see something move out of the corner of my eye, I would just think it was a rat or a possum or something like that. Then, as the weeks went on, I would start to see things that could not possibly be a rat or a possum, like a box moving or an empty bottle sliding across the floor. Seeing actual objects move was when I first realized that I had to be dealing with something paranormal.”

“Sometimes no activity would occur for days or weeks at a time, so I didn’t think too much about it when in early December, 2010, the activity stopped in the basement. But then I started noticing stuff being moved about in my house. I could not believe it. Either I was the most unlucky or lucky (depending upon your point of view) person and I was dealing with two separate poltergeists, or somehow, this thing had followed me to my house.”

An example of such paranormal activity occuring in his house happens to be when he’s asking questions in the bedroom.

The video shows him asking various questions to the entity in the room and how it responds to him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=idbEA_iMh5A

The second video is the same video above but of just the EVP he captured using his cellphone while asking questions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ieMslW1fMR8

If you listen closely to the EVP, somewhere between 0:29-0:35 seconds, you will hear the faint whisper of a what sounds like a woman, saying: “Get out of my house”.

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A ghost story in Anderson, South Carolina captured national attention two years ago when a video of a mysterious blur was caught on camera moving around in a credit union office in a Municipal Business Center. The center is new but the land dates back to the 1800s, when a large estate called Echo Hall stood on the present property.

A security guard said he was working late one night and saw something move out of the corner of his eye. As he went back to check it out, he noticed movement on the surveillance camera. No one was present in the office at the time and describes it, “Just like a little ghostly figure, walking around.”

Staff of the credit union office have tried to come up with reasonable explanations for the blur thinking it was an insect or glare from the outside but after closing the blinds, the blur becomes more prominent and gets clearer than before.

Paranormal investigator Joe Wright analyzed the video, and thinks the image may just be dangling matter from a spider web but that explanation doesn’t sit well with staff, who’ve cleaned the camera lens and area surrounding the device but the blur just keeps coming back and saunters over to the office chair.

As for the history of the location, it is remembered that the property was a place where people sat around and talked about politics. However, anyone who knows the history of the spot says it seems to have 150 years of peace and quiet which reflects the white blur, who hasn’t brought any trouble to the staff of the credit union.

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"…hauntings do not just happen. It is not merely by chance that you are there when the ghost walks. A physical presence is needed not only to see the apparition but perhaps to cause it to appear."