Investigation: Undisclosed Hotel & Cafe

Prologue-This is an old hotel and cafe with alot of history surrounding it. Being built in the early 1900's it has seen it's share of visitors both real and ghostly. It has housed many travelers and even seen it's share of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. It is no longer in business but it's history and background all tell a story. The Hotel's name is being witheld due to client's request. We would like to express our gratitude for allowing us to investigate this historic Hotel.


Historical Background- This beautiful Hotel and Cafe was built in 1925. It has been a hotel, a quaint bed and breakfast with a cafe, and has even housed Hurricane Katrina evacuees. It has 24 guest rooms, a lobby, and front desk area. Also, it does have a kitchen and seating which was used as a Cafe. After our prelimenary investigation we did some research into the history of the hotel and it did sustain major damage due to a fire. According to the Hotel caretaker there have been persons who have passed away in the Hotel. He did not know if they had been by natural causes or other means.


Reported Paranormal Activity- According to the stories, personal experiences and interviews with personnel and the hotel catetaker this is a place of possible paranormal activity. Shadow persons have been sighted, items being moved and unexplained noises have been heard. Also, a general sense of foreboding accompanies you while in different areas of the hotel.


Investigation Team- Rudy, Veronique, Minerva, and LeeAnn

The Investigation Details- We were given access to the location for 5 hours. We took this time to set up two cameras. One was placed upstairs facing down the hallway and the other downstairs by the banister. Many Digital Pictures were taken and several hours of audio was recorded. We concentrated our investigation for 2 1/2 hours upstairs in the hallway and various rooms and 2 hours downstairs in the lobby, front desk area, and kitchen. Two Video cameras, Three digital cameras, one 35mm camera, two Olympus digital recorders, and two Sony digital recorders were used. Also, a digital thermometer, and a K2 EMF Meter were used.

Findings-
Personal Experience-During the investigation of the upstairs area Investigator Veronique sensed an uneasiness and felt very hot. She had a difficult time breathing and jotted this down in her notepad. After the investigation and our research we discovered that there was indeed a fire at this hotel which may correlate with the reasoning behind what she experienced.
Personal Experience - Both Investigators Minerva & Rudy saw what appeared to be a white ball of light the size being equivelent to a tennis ball appear from an upstairs wall and descend down the flight of stairs. Both Investigators wrote this occurence in their notebooks and there is an audio clip where they both see it and make a note of it audibly.
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Upon reviewing the hours of audio recordings there have been three significant EVP's captured.

This first EVP was captured early into the investigation when Veronique asks if anyone would like to make their presence known. The reply sounds like "sure".
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This EVP was captured towards the middle of the investigation. This was captured upstairs and about 5 minutes prior to Minerva and Rudy seeing the ball of light. It sounds as if a woman says "There they go".
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The last EVP captured was at the end of the night. An unexplained and unidentified tinkling sound was heard while Investigator Minerva spoke with the caretaker. After a follow-up visit we could not determine the location or source of such a sound. This was not heard at the time of the recordings.
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The EVP's have not been enhanced.

Here are some pictures of that night's investigation.













Conclusion- These are our preliminary findings and we have been asked by the owners to return to this location for further investigation. We will continue to analyze video for any anomalous activity or unexplained movements, etc. This evidence warrants another investigation and more research into the colorful history of this building.

Investigation: The Driskill Hotel

Prologue-On a recent trip to Austin, Texas our team had the great opportunity and received permission to conduct an investigation at a beautiful hotel built in 1885-1886. This hotel is a gorgeous vast building with three grand entrances and splendid decor.


Historical Background-This building is located in Austin, Texas. Built in 1885-1886 this beautiful building was commissioned by cattle king Col. Jesse L. Driskill. It took one year to build the original 2 stories of the hotel. (Interesting trivia note: the Driskill was the site of Lyndon B. Johnson's first date with his future wife, Lady Bird, in 1934.)


Reported Paranormal Activity-After conducting a preliminary investigation with employees several of them reported having seen or heard many things they believe could be paranormal. This hotel is rumored to be a very haunted location and is known for it's paranormal activity. The Driskill is supposedly haunted--by more than one ghost, in fact, including Colonel Driskill himself. He reportedly makes his presence known by the smell of cigar smoke. He is believed to turn bathroom lights on and off in several guest rooms on the top floors of the hotel. Another apparition is the four-year-old daughter of a US Senator. She haunts the grand staircase leading from the mezzanine down to the lobby. The little girl was playing unattended with a ball when she slipped and fell to her death on the marble floor at the bottom of the stairs. The front desk staff has heard the child bouncing the ball down the steps and giggling.

In the early 1990s, a Houston woman took a trip to the Driskill from Florida to try and recuperate from a wedding that her fiancé called off on the actual wedding day. Staying in Room 29, she decided the best way to help herself would be to go on a week-long shopping spree with her fiancé's credit cards. She was last seen coming out of the elevator on the fourth floor with her arms filled with numerous bags and packages, and her body was discovered three days later when the housekeepers became concerned that she hadn't left the room to eat. Her body was found lying in the bathtub; she had shot herself in the stomach, muffling the sound with a pillow. The Austin Police Department crime scene photographer reported that it was a sad to see such a young women commit suicide when she could have had a long, happy life ahead of her.


Investigation Team- Rudy, Veronique, and Zelina.

The Investigation Details- The team was given permission to investigate room 29 where the woman reportedly committed suicide. We also had the opportunity to investigate the hallways of the upper floors. During the investigation a base reading was taken of the room and a video Camera was placed in the room recording it and part of the restroom. Multiple digital audio recorders were used, Digital cameras, 35MM Cameras, a parabolic microphone and a Digital EMF Reader were used.


Findings-No Video or Photo anomalies were found during the review of this particular investigation. We did note that while doing an EVP session in Room 29 the EMF meter spiked while the team asked several questions and the actual replies were heard via parabolic mic at the time of investigation. Several EVP's were recorded and after analyzing the audio we have compiled these EVP's.

This first one was captured in Room 29. We believe it says "Just Passing" as investigators Veronique and Zelina are tagging their recorders.
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This second EVP was also captured in Room 29. This one says "Don't Forget Her".
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This really interesting EVP was captured as Rudy enters the bathroom and makes an observation that there is water on the floor. You will hear the wood floors creak then you will hear "Go Away" after Rudy speaks of the water.
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This EVP was captured on the marble staircase where the child fell to her death.
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Conclusion-The activity and personal experiences told to us by the employees, bellman, and the assistant manager on duty plus the research we did online concerning the Driskill Hotel coupled with the actual EVP and EMF meter evidence we captured would make it hard to dispute that paranormal activity does in fact occur at this Hotel and particularly in Room 29.