Licking County Jail – Investigation

Licking County Jail

April 27, 2019

Newark, OH

Investigation

Situated in the small but beautiful town of Newark, Ohio, the Licking County Jail was originally only meant to house minor criminals and be a holding block for those who were to be held at more well secured state-run penitentiaries. With the poor conditions and plenty of illegal activity which occurred in the small town, especially in the town square with brothels and speakeasies, the prison became quickly overcrowded and acted as a longer length stay prison. Some prisoners stayed at the jail for up to three years, where others were shipped directly from Licking County to their ultimate fate of the electric chair.

Plenty of deaths occurred in the jail, but not just those of criminals. Four sheriffs mysteriously passed away in the same room from heart attacks. Three died in that very room, one was deemed dead on arrival at the nearby hospital. Quite a few notorious prisoners made their homes at Licking County Jail, some they say, never left.

The jail is partially under construction as the Licking County Governmental Preservation Society is currently working towards restoring the jail to its’ original 1889 state. The majority of the building is still in decent structural shape. There is rust throughout the cell blocks and the living quarters are still a work in progress, but without preservation groups like this, we would lose the historical value and beauty that once was such a large part of the area. Hopefully, soon enough, we will be able to experience how the jail truly looked in its’ hay day. To this point the LCGPS has done a wonderful job renovating and maintaining the space.

After our 2.5 hour drive and checking into our hotel, we pulled up to the ominous stone building as the rain just began to come down. Teri and Holly met us at the door and warmly greeted us. As we began to snap some exterior photos, the rain really started to come down, so don’t think those large specks are orbs…it was raining. We opted for the tour, and boy did they deliver. The tour itself was very extensive and lasted about an hour and a half, and we still probably didn’t get half of all of the interesting stories behind those stone walls.

Teri and Holly shared with us some of the more active locations throughout the jail, as well as their personal experiences. Holly’s 4^th aunt was actually murdered by an inmate in the jail!

The investigation itself began at approximately 9:30 PM. It lasted until roughly 3:00 AM that next morning. Our equipment included two recorders, a K2 meter, one steady night vision camera, one handheld night vision camera, an SB7 spirit box, a temperature gauge, a Rempod, and an Ovilus.

Two of the most active areas in the jail were in David’s room, on the 4^th floor of the administrative wing, and the shower in the cell block on the first floor. There were voices and communication throughout the building, but most of the communication seemed to be captured after the fact or as residual energy. Aside from the spirit box, there were a few moments where noises also were heard, like a squealing in the basement and footsteps in the Sheriff’s bedroom. There were also physical touches to both Dan and Holly as she joined us for a short period of time in the shower area.

Below are our recordings and videos that we took throughout the night. We marked the locations we feel we received communication from the other side like voices, noises, anything and everything we captured.  Let us know your thoughts if you get the chance to listen and watch some of the footage.

As always, you have been warned, some of this is not for the faint of heart and can be slightly explicit:

Admin Building 4th Floor – David’s Room

A spirit named David has been said to dislike male visitors but be attracted toward females in his room. His shadow has been caught in photographs on a few occasions. Some visitors to the room have experienced David in the closet. As he manifests himself, he will make his way toward the males in the room, disappearing right before he reaches them.

Photos:

• We snapped a few photos around the room and in the closet but did not capture anything out of the ordinary.  We did incorporate two screenshots of the white entity moving from above Jason, toward Tiffany in the last two photos.

Recording 1 – Spirit Box:

• As we began talking as a group, we captured “Hi” at 1:09.
• We asked the spirit to identify themselves and we heard “Johnny” or “Tommy” at 1:35, so we asked how many spirits were with us and we heard “Just me” at 2:05.
• At 2:35, we heard a voice but it was indecipherable after we asked if the spirit was a prisoner at the jail.
• At 3:52, Dan mentions that he could see a small light move from above Jason’s head toward Tiffany. This can be seen clearly in the video.
• Tiffany then asked if someone if coming to see her to which we heard “No” at 4:12.
• We asked if the spirit would show itself to us and we heard “I’ll try” at 5:42.
• We began to capture short phrases through the spirit box but we are unsure who they are directed toward. At 6:06 we heard “Get out” followed by “Leave” at 6:13 and seemingly a laugh at 6:45.
• After we asked if the spirit could tell us something about this place we heard “Prick” at 7:46.
• At 8:15 we captured “Get out” again after we asked if there was anyone intelligent with us.
• We then asked if David was with us and at 9:17 we heard “Yes.”
• After we asked if the spirit could say hello, we heard “Hello” at 9:40 followed by “That wasn’t a question” at 9:46.
• “I didn’t die” came through the spirit box at 10:17 after we asked how the spirit died.
• We asked how many spirits were with us and at 11:44 we captured what sounded like “Four” but it was difficult to tell for sure.
• After we asked if the spirit just wants to speak with Gabe and Tiffany we heard “Leave” at 12:20. At that point, Dan and Jason left the room.
• As Gabe made his way towards the closet, “Stop” was clearly heard twice at 12:42 and 12:44.
• At 13:20 we heard “No” after we asked if the spirit wanted us in there (the closet).
• Tiffany moved closer to the closer and asked if that distance was okay, to which we captured “Yes” at 14:13 so she asked who is back there. As if the spirit wanted to be left alone, “No one” could be heard at 14:41.
• After we asked if the spirit could tell us their name, we heard “David” clearly at 15:16.
• The Rempod activity began to pick up as it went off at 16:33 after we asked if David was in the room.
• As we asked the spirit to get closer to the box, the Rempod was alerted at 16:53.
• The Rempod went off again at 17:16 after we asked the spirit to step close to the box and stayed on until 17:29 after we asked it to step away.
• We asked the spirit that if they were male, if they could step toward the box at which point, we heard “Piss off” at 17:48.
• Again, we asked if the spirit could step close to the box if they are male to which we heard “No” repeated twice at 18:10 and again at 18:16.
• Once more, we asked if the spirit could step close to the box to let us know that they’re still with us, and at 18:36 the Rempod was alerted.
• We asked if the spirit could tell us their name and at 19:04 the Rempod went off.
• At 19:50 we heard “I did” after we asked if the spirit worked at the jail.
• We asked if David worked at the jail and at 20:43 the Rempod turned on and stayed on until we asked the spirit to step away to which it turned off at 21:00.
• As Gabe and Derrick moved slightly, the Rempod went off at 21:15 only stopping once they stopped moving. Oddly enough, it seemed like Tiffany could walk around without an issue.
• At 21:33 we heard “Bitch,” but we are not sure who it was directed toward.
• Once again, the Rempod went off at 21:57 as Gabe and Derrick moved. As Gabe moved again, the Rempod went off at 22:36 and stayed on so we asked if the spirit could step away and at 22:51 the Rempod stopped.
• As Tiffany moved again, the Rempod stayed quiet but as Gabe and Derrick moved close to the Rempod it activated for the final time at 22:54.
• As we began to pack up, we asked if the spirit could say a word and at “23:25” we heard “Go back.”

Video 1:

• The video follows along with the recording, however, you can clearly make out the small white entity above Jason that moves toward Tiffany. The video also ended earlier as Dan and Jason left the room, turning the camera off in the process.
• We captured “Hi” at 1:08.
• We heard “Johnny” or “Tommy” at 1:34 and “Just me” at 2:04.
• At 2:34, we heard a response but it was too difficult to make out after we asked if the spirit was a prisoner.
• Around 3:30, the camera begins to focus on the small white entity above Jason’s head. It just hangs above his head until it moves towards Tiffany around 3:49 only to disappear right in front of her.
• Tiffany asked if someone if coming to see her to which we heard “No” at 4:11.
• We asked if the spirit would show itself and we heard “I’ll try” at 5:41.
• At 6:05 we heard “Get out”, “Leave” at 6:12 and seemingly a laugh at 6:44.
• We heard “Prick” at 7:45.
• At 8:14 we captured “Get out.”
• We then asked if David was with us and at 9:16 we heard “Yes.”
• We heard “Hello” at 9:39 followed by “That wasn’t a question” at 9:45.
• “I didn’t die” came through the spirit box at 10:16.

Video 2 – Cell Phone, Rempod Activity:

• This video is slightly difficult to see as it was shot on a cell phone. However, you can still see the red light of the Rempod and hear it responding to the questions asked. It is also notable that you tell that none of us are near the Rempod as it is alerted.

Cell Blocks 4^th Floor Women’s Ward –Mae Vern’s Room

It is commonplace for EVP’s to be captured on the women’s ward, but most often by women. This is also an area known for cells opening and closing on their own. A former inmate, Mae Vern, lit herself on fire less than 24 hours of being locked in the jail for an attempted suicide. It was later found out that she had killed herself on her husband’s birthday. Her husband previously passed away which lead many to believe that she was simply trying to join him in the afterlife. The guides at Licking County have left a music box in her room which is said to play on its’ own. Often, when Mae Vern’s voice is captured, it’s usually relevant to her husband.

Oddly enough, during our tour as we were standing in David’s room (right on the opposite side as the women’s cell block), most of us heard the music box playing. Once we ventured to Mae Vern’s room and played the music box, we confirmed that it was in fact the same exact tune we heard.

Photos:

• We did not capture anything out of the ordinary on these photos.

Recording 1 – EVP:

• This recording is actually a prime example of debunking. We thought we heard a voice at :40 saying “Help me” but upon further review it was Dan and Jason singing along with some Justin Timberlake tunes of “It’s gonna be me.”

Recording 2 – Spirit Box:

• Right away as we said Hi Mae, we captured “Leave” at :22.
• We asked whoever was in the room to come speak with us and we heard “I don’t want to” at :26.
• At 1:53 we captured either “Hello” or “Help.”
• As Tiffany spoke and said Hi Mae, we heard “Hi” at 2:22. The men tried to repeat this sentiment but only heard “Get” (pronounced “Git”) at 2:58.
• We asked if there were too many people in the small cell and at 3:25 we head “Get out.”
• “Husband” could be heard at 3:29.
• At 4:30 we captured “Welcome back.”
• We continued asking questions and heard “Lots of us” at 6:02 after we asked if there was anyone else aside from Mae around.
• At 6:56 we captured what sounded like a name of “Casey.”
• On the Ovilus we read “Short” around the 7:46 mark so we asked if Mae was being short with us, to which we received “Yes” at 8:02.
• Around 8:50 we read “Counter” on the Ovilus, so Derrick found the music box on the brick ledge and opened and began the music.
• We asked if the spirit liked the music and at 10:02 we heard “Yes.”
• Trying to stir some more energy, Derrick closed the music box to which Dan said that was mean. As if agreeing, we captured “That was.”
• At 11:02 we heard “Door” followed by “Now” at 11:32 as if signifying the spirit (or spirits) wanted us to leave.

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• We ran the video camera while we set up, but nothing is notable here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-aLEKl3qjQ]

Video 2 – EVP:

• This video follows along with the recording and actually helped us debunk this voice. We thought we heard a voice saying “Help me” but we could tell in this video that the voice was coming from Dan and Jason on the camera.

Video 3 – Spirit Box:

• We turned the camera on a little late and missed the first portion of the session but the video did follow along with the recordings.
• We heard “Hi” at :06. The men tried to repeat this sentiment but only heard “Get” (pronounced “Git”) at :42.
• At 1:09 we head “Get out.”
• “Husband” could be heard at 1:13.
• At 2:15 we captured “Welcome back.”
• At this point, the camera battery was completely drained.

Cell Blocks 3^rd Floor – Men’s Ward

On this floor, some of the more violent criminals were kept. Some of the notorious inmates were kept here like the “.22 Caliber Killlers,” two brothers who murdered ten people by shooting them while they lay in their beds and the “Proposal Murderer,” a man who slaughtered his fiancé with a butcher knife no more than 24 hours after she accepted his wedding proposal. Carl Ethrington, a young deputy who raided numerous saloons, brothels, and speakeasies. In, what Etherington considered self defense, he shot and killed a local saloon owner. He was taken to the jail to the third floor for his own safety. However, a mob supposed broke into the side door and overtook the guards on duty. The mob beat him with sledgehammers then lynched him in the town square. After the affair, it was revealed that Carl was only 17 and that the mob may have been an inside job, where the guards allowed the mob into the jail to save themselves.

Not only were the more dangerous criminals locked in here, but there were also seven deaths on this cell block while in operation. There have been numerous reports and photographic evidence of shadow people lurking around the far corners of the third-floor hallways. Teri and Holly referred to these shadows as the Peak-A-Boo man. This shadow is supposed to peer out the corner, just enough to see a head and shoulders, then disappear around the back of the cells. Carl’s cell has also been known to produce EVP’s and emit a heavy energy presence.

Photos:

• There was nothing paranormal caught in the pictures. However, we thought we captured this shadow in one of the photos (last photo down), but we were able to debunk this as an optical illusion with peeling paint.

Recording 1 – Spirit Box – Hallway:

• As we sat in the far end of the hallway, we immediately heard “Get out” at :33.
• Dan spotted Jason at the other end of the hall and told him that he did not see him there at first. Possibly thinking that Dan was speaking to someone else, we captured “What do you mean?” at 1:07.
• As the Ovilus said “Court” we mentioned it as a group then heard “What’s that?” at 1:40 as if a spirit was being facetious with the word court.
• At 2:09 we captured the name “Craig” on the spirit box.
• After we asked if there are any intelligent spirits with us, we heard “Fortitude” at 3:11.
• We followed up and said that we only wanted to talk and at 3:37 we heard “Why?”
• There was a subtle music heard at 5:35 in the background, definitely not coming through the spirit box. However, we were unable to find out if this was someone listening to music very loudly outside at midnight or if this was a true anomaly.
• As we began to pack up to move to a different spot, we heard “Hello?” at 5:42.

Recording 2 – Spirit Box – Hallway:

• Before we moved on, we tried once more to communicate with the spirit that had said hello but did not get much feedback. However, at 1:29, we heard “Wait” after we told the spirit to tell their story. Unfortunately there was no follow up here so we moved on.

Recording 3 – Spirit Box – Carl’s Cell:

• Knowing a little bit of the backstory with Carl’s age and how there may have been a slight cover up with the guard’s letting the mob in, we tried to get Carl to answer some questions about the guards and his very unique situation.
• After we asked how the guards treated him, we heard “Good” come through the spirit box at 1:29.
• We asked how long he was at the jail and we captured “A day” at 2:12 followed by “Not long” at 2:14.
• We heard “Carl” at 3:01 after we asked whose room this was. “Carl” was repeated at 5:19 after a slight quiet lag.
• At 6:52, after very minimal conversation, we heard “You” at 6:52 followed by complete silence before we decided to pack up and leave.

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• This video did not follow along with the recording session. Instead, Derrick and Dan opted to wonder off down the hallway in search of the shadow figure and Peak-A-Boo man.
• The majority of the video, we forgot to turn the light on but as we flipped it on, there was a black shadow standing at the end of the hallway. This can be seen around the 5:39 mark on the video. However, we did not seem to notice this figure even though we continued toward it.

Steady Cam 1 – Corner:

• We sent this camera up in the corner where the shadow figures and Peak-A-Boo man has been seen. We began this toward the beginning of the night and moved it toward the center after not too long to get a better view.
• Even though we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, right around the 1:35 mark, we could make out a banging noise.
• At about 5:37 we heard another bang noise.
• Another bang noise could be heard at about 7:18.

Steady Cam 2 – Center:

• After we retrieved the camera, we moved the camera to the center of the cell block so we could see both sides of the cells.

Cell Blocks 1^st Floor – Men’s Ward – Shower Cell

Some of the criminals here were more of the minimal security and limited time offenders. They seemed to be moved in and out quickly from this area. One of the more hauntings of this jail, and a personal one to Holly, is that of an inmate named Martin. Martin was taken into the jail after being found walking around fully naked. He went by an alias at first until he realized that the police were onto him. They found his clothes neatly folded and covered in blood. This was traced to a woman named Francis. Francis was actually Holly’s 4^th aunt. Martin was finally convicted of murdering Francis, but it’s also said that Martin had murdered more women in Pennsylvania, even though he was never convicted for them. Before he was to be shipped out to the state prison in Moundsville, Martin slipped into the shower and slit his own throat. He cut so deep that he was nearly decapitated. It was said that the other prisoners, even though they couldn’t see him, knew something was wrong based on the loud gurgling noises, and made loud noises to draw the guards’ attention. Martin had been drug outside the shower and died from his own wounds and choking on his own blood in the entry to the first-floor cell block. It has been reported that Martin still lurks in the shower area and has even been known to reach out and touch unaware visitors. In fact, Holly had been touched in the shower before, so naturally, we recruited her to join us in investigating the area.

Photos:

• Nothing abnormal was captured on the pictures, however, on the video it appears that we captured a shot of a dark shadow at the end of the hall after we stepped out of the shower and glanced down the hallway.

Recording 1 – Spirit Box:

• As we explained that if a spirit was present, they could speak into the red light and we could hear them. At :55 we heard “Go away.”
• We asked if Martin was with us, we captured “Yes” at 2:35.
• After we asked what the spirits feels, we heard “Anger” at 2:50.
• Holly was about to enter the shower cell and at 3:03 we heard “Wait.”
• After Holly greeted the spirit, “Hello” was heard at 3:56.
• At 4:02 some words were captured but it almost seemed like it was in a different language.
• Holly asked if Martin murdered her Aunt Francis, we captured “I did it” at 4:48.
• As we continued to pry, we captured an unhappy spirit say “Get out” at 5:28 and “Stop it” at 5:35.
• Holly then asked about Martin’s alias and if he went by another name to which we heard “Maybe” at 5:52.
• After we asked if Martin committed another murder in Pennsylvania, at 6:21 we heard “I did not.”
• At 7:48 we heard “Glass” after we asked what he cut his neck with.
• We followed up by asking if he committed suicide because he felt guilty and at 7:54 we heard “No” so we asked what it felt, to which we heard “Pain” at 8:41.
• Holly asked if Martin was in love with a woman named Eva and we heard “Go” at 9:21. Almost immediately after this we captured “Get out” at 9:27. At almost that exact moment, Holly was grabbed by something cold and tight.
• Holly couldn’t stand the overwhelming emotion (who can blame her?) so she got out of dodge. To note, Holly was fine after she was able to get away from the spirit and that area.
• In turn, Teri asked why the spirit touched Holly and we captured “You’ll get nothing” at 10:08.
• Right then, the shower area seemed to get colder as we asked if Martin is stuck there. As if the spirit was ignoring us, we heard “He’s coming” at 11:41 and “Get out” at 11:49. This phrase was very clear and still gives us goosebumps, even as we write this. It just didn’t sound or feel right.
• Following this communication, Dan was touched right around 12:03 on the back of the neck. He began to question the spirit, asking who touched him and why it doesn’t want to talk. It seemed frustrated as if it couldn’t scare Dan off and at 12:27 we heard “Stop.” We heard this and repeated that something said stop and at 12:36 we captured “Me.”
• Again, almost angry now, we captured “Leave” at 13:14 and “Get out of here” at 3:20.
• As Teri left the shower cell, we heard “Bye” at 14:07.
• As we stood outside the cell, we glanced to the right down the hallway and appeared to capture a black shadow in the corner.

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• We were delayed in beginning the camera here but the recordings did tend to match up with the video as we picked up the session after we asked if Martin committed another murder in Pennsylvania, at :34 we heard “I did not.”
• At 2:01 we heard “Glass” after we asked what he cut his neck with.
• We asked if he committed suicide because he felt guilty and at 2:01 we heard “No” and we asked what it felt and we heard “Pain” at 2:54.
• Holly asked if Martin was in love with a woman named Eva and we heard “Go” at 3:34. We then captured “Get out” at 9:3:41. At almost that exact moment, Holly was grabbed by something cold and tight.
• Teri asked why the spirit touched Holly and we heard “You’ll get nothing” at 4:21.
• The shower seemed to get cold as we asked if Martin is stuck there. We heard “He’s coming” at 5:54 and “Get out” at 6:02.
• Dan was then touched on the back of the neck right around 6:15. He asked who touched him and why it doesn’t want to talk. It seemed frustrated as if it couldn’t scare Dan off and at 6:40 we heard “Stop.” We heard this and repeated that something said stop and at 6:49 we heard “Me.”
• Again, we captured “Leave” at 7:27 and “Get out of here” at 7:33.
• As Teri left the shower cell, we heard “Bye” at 8:20.

Video 2 – Spirit Box:

• As we stood outside the cell, we glanced down the hallway and appeared to capture a black shadow in the corner. We followed the shadow and it disappeared as we got close.

Basement – Drunk Tank

Over time, this area in the basement became known as the drunk tank. It was used for holding unruly citizens shortly while they did sober up or until a friend or relative could pick them up. There have been sightings and EVP’s of a seemingly friendly spirit in this area known as Kevin. It is still unknown why this spirit is here but maybe he could just never sober up completely. Rumor has it that any time someone needs somebody to talk to, Kevin is there to talk.

Photos:

• We did not photograph anything out of the ordinary.

Recording 1 – Spirit Box:

• We did not capture much communication in this area, however, we did capture what sounded like an animal (or a drunk person) squealing at the :54 mark.
• Without much to go off of and barely any communication, we told the spirits, or lack thereof, that we simply wanted to talk. At 4:40 we heard what sounded like a name “Gavin.”

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• This same video was split between the Drunk Tank area and the Dungeon area. We’ll post the video twice, but we will only comment on the time stamps that are associated with the Drunk Tank area below.
• This video did follow along with the recorder and we captured what sounded like an animal (or a drunk person) squealing at :59.
• We told the spirit that we wanted to talk and at 4:45 we heard “Gavin.”

Basement – Dungeon Area

This location is in the back corner of the basement. No one really knows what it was used for, hell maybe just storage? But with a few drilled holes in the stone wall and wooden benches strewn about, it was rumored that the area was used to punish and torture unruly and dangerous prisoners. There are no facts to actually back this up, but it is simply a best guess at this point. This area is said to be known for poltergeist activity, where chairs will move on their own and doors will swing open and closed. One particular area in along the back wall where the former mayor’s spirit was spotted in a photograph. That picture is actually framed in the basement and the similarities between the spirit and the mayor’s actual picture are just uncanny.

Photos:

• There was nothing paranormal caught on camera. 

Recording 1 – Spirit Box:

• Right away, at :07 we heard “Pay attention.”
• We asked if there are any spirits with us to which we captured “Can you hear me?” at :10.
• The Ovilus read seven around :30. We assumed this was the total count of people in the room, five of us, two spirits.
• At :58, we heard “What are you doing here?” followed by “I got out” at 1:45.
• We asked if they are afraid to which we heard “No” at 2:30.
• At 3:17 we captured “Yes” as a response to us asking if they feel drawn to a certain individual.
• “Lust” appeared on the Ovilus at 3:48.
• We asked one another if anyone felt anything and at 4:52, we heard “Here comes.”
• We began to pack up and heard “Don’t go” at 7:17.

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• This same video was split between the Drunk Tank area and the Dungeon area. We’ll post the video twice, but we will only comment on the time stamps that are associated with the Dungeon area below.
• This second half of the video does follow along with the recording session and at 6:17 we heard “Pay attention.”
• We captured “Can you hear me?” at 6:20.
• The Ovilus read seven around 6:40. We assumed this was the total count of people in the room, five of us, two spirits.
• At 7:08, we heard “What are you doing here?” followed by “I got out” at 7:55.
• We asked if they are afraid to which we heard “No” at 8:40.
• At 9:27 we captured “Yes” as a response to us asking if they feel drawn to a certain individual.
• “Lust” appeared on the Ovilus at 9:58.
• We asked each other if we felt anything and at 11:20, we heard “Here comes.”

Steady Cam 1:

• There wasn’t a ton that stuck out in this area physically. However, we did record some unexplainable noises throughout the video and a few video anomalies.
• Right around 1:59, it appears as though the video picture is distorted momentarily followed by some small anomaly flying toward and above the camera at 2:09.
• Again, the picture was distorted at 3:59 and 5:57.
• Around 9:49, there is the noise of what sounds like a small rock or pebble being thrown or kicked. This occurs again shortly after at 10:41 and 10:48.
• The camera appeared to get distorted again at 17:50 followed by a loud humming noise at 18:02.
• The humming noise grew louder around 19:28 followed by another distorting of the video at 19:49.
• At 26:46, the video again became distorted.

Basement – Chapel

The chapel area is currently only used as storage. There is an open room and a back room that connects to it. Back when the jail was in operation, it’s hard to imagine any kind of services taking place down in the chapel in the dungy stone basement. This area has been said to get extremely hot in the summers and frigidly cold in the winters. There have been an array of EVP’s caught in this area in the past, but nothing seemingly intelligent. Our interpretation is that there is a vast amount of energy left in the room and that would account for plenty of residual hauntings, possibly of past sermons and gatherings. Laura Devlin, the Hacksaw Killer, was detained down in the basement holding area before transported off site. Mrs. Devlin chopped up her husband in small pieces and hid his parts throughout the home. She attempted to forge a letter stating that he died when visiting his relatives but the postmaster caught this and alerted the authorities. Laura never argued or had issues with being taken in, however, she originally refused an initial picture because her hair was messy. She has been spotted and heard in the Chapel area as well. However, beyond these more peaceful hauntings, lies something possibly darker. There have been three different crawlers seen in this area. These shadow figures do not take the form of a human, nor do they follow our laws of physics. These entities are pitch black, and will crawl, some slow, some fast, but they are not restrained to the floors. They have been seen crawling on the walls and even the ceilings. Once seen, they typically will disappear around a corner or at the top of the stairs. Naturally, with our curiosity peaked, we set up a steady camera to see if we could capture any of these beings.

Photos:

• We did not capture anything in the photographs here.

Recording 1 –Spirit Box:

• There was quite a bit of silence at first, that may be due to us all getting tried, in the process of getting our second winds.
• At the 2:05 mark we captured either “Gabe” or “James.”
• We asked if the spirit with us could give us a sign and at 2:43 we captured “Hello” followed by “I’m down here” at 2:45. As if a separate spirit was responding, we heard “Who is?” at 2:52.
• Around the 3:23 mark, we heard phantom footsteps followed by a question of “Hello?” at 3:32.
• We asked if the spirit could speak with us and we heard “I’m here” at 3:39.
• At 4:18 we captured “Asshole.”
• We caught words coming through at 5:11 but it was indecipherable.
• Around the 5:20 mark, our fully charged video camera battery was drained.
• At about 5:40, “Blanket” was seen on the Ovilus.
• There was an odd noise captured at 5:50, something that sounded like a soft laughter.
• Around 6:35, the Ovilus picked up “Common.”
• We asked what the area was used for and we heard “Construction” at 7:25.
• At 7:32 we captured a question of “See me?”
• We asked if the spirit could tell us their name we heard “Who me?” at 8:11.
• After we mentioned to one another that it was getting late we heard “Steps” at 8:56.
• We clearly captured “Good evening” at both 9:44 and 11:15.
• At about 11:24 when we began to contemplate finishing up, we heard “Don’t stop.”
• So we tried again, this time reaching out to Laura Devlin. We asked if she was with us and at 12:51 we heard “Hi.”
• We directly asked if Laura was with us and we heard “I am” at 12:57.
• After we asked how Laura’s hair was we captured “Messy” at 13:37.
• At 14:30 we heard “Did it” after we asked if she was sorry for what she did.
• As it was getting late, we began packing up. However, at 15:10 we heard “I wanna leave.”

Video 1 – Spirit Box:

• This video also followed along with the recordings, however, the batteries kept dying even though they were fully charged.
• At 1:57 we heard either “Gabe” or “James.”
• We asked if the spirit with us could give us a sign and at 2:35 we heard “Hello” followed by “I’m down here” at 2:37. As if a separate spirit was responding, we heard “Who is?” at 2:44.
• Around 3:15, we heard footsteps followed by “Hello?” at 3:24.
• We asked if the spirit could speak with us and we heard “I’m here” at 3:31.
• At 4:10 we heard “Asshole.”
• We caught a phrase at 5:03 on the spirit box but we were unable to clearly identify it.
• At this moment, the fully charged battery was fully drained. It would turn back on later as we were packing up and show a full battery life.

Video 2 – Spirit Box:

• Starting the camera up with a partially charged battery, it too was drained after only a minute or so in operation.
• We asked what the area was used for and we heard “Construction” at :13.
• At :20 we captured a question of “See me?”
• We asked if the spirit could tell us their name we heard “Who me?” at :59.

Steady Cam 1 – Towards Chapel:

• There was nothing unusual caught on this camera.

Steady Cam 2 – Towards Chapel Closet:

• This camera was ran toward the end of the night while we were investigating the 2^nd floor administrative building. We also allowed it to run during clean up and let it run the entire time, which is why it’s about an hour long. We did hear some oddities throughout but never saw anything physically even though this is the location where the crawlers are supposed to be seen.
• At 1:04 there was a small white light which moved out of the closet room of the chapel and over the camera.
• There was an odd clicking noise as if someone, or something, was toying with the camera at 4:30.
• Around the 45:16 mark, there is a soft whistling that can be heard followed by the sound of metal on metal as if a jail cell was being opened at 45:21.
• We could hear a muffled yell at 52:36 and some kind of heavy breathing at 52:44.
• The same sounding muffled yell occurred again at 53:27.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpCiDqpktlM]

Administrative Building 2^nd Floor – Sheriff’s Bedroom – Spirit Box

In the front bedroom, three sheriffs took their final breaths after heart attacks made them finally succumb. A fourth rested here before being transported to a hospital only to be deemed dead on arrival, again from a heart attack. The story of four heart attacks killing four different sheriffs just seems kind of odd and statistically improbable. EVP’s have been commonplace in this area, and even some full body shadows have been seen lurking about in the room from time to time. This is the room that is currently under construction, so we had to avoid ladders and tools scattered about.

Photos:

• There was nothing abnormal caught in the pictures here. 

Recording 1 – Spirit Box:

• We sat down and introduced ourselves and said hello. At 1:47 we heard “Hello.”
• After asking if any of the past sheriffs were with us we captured “Yes” at 1:59.
• We simply asked if there was anything they would like to say. At 2:22 we heard “Did you hear anything?”
• At 3:10 we captured “Gabe.”
• We asked which sheriff was with us and heard “Ed” at 3:20.
• We mentioned that it was a stretch for four sheriffs to all die of a heart attack and at 4:42 we captured “Awfully” followed by the Rempod activating at 4:45.
• We commented on the Rempod and asked if it went off and heard “Get out” at 4:51.
• As we continued our prior conversation, we said that it just seemed fishy and at 5:30 we heard “Little bit.”
• We asked if there was more to that story and heard a different voice say “No” at 6:15.
• After asking if the spirit could light the Rempod again we heard “I cannot” at 7:02 followed by “Do it again” at 7:10.
• We repeated and said just make it light once more to which we heard “How about you?” at 8:00.
• Around the 8:30 mark, we heard footsteps upstairs above us.
• We said that we heard footsteps and heard “It was me” at 8:45.
• As we asked what year they were born we heard “Who, me?” at 9:32.
• We discussed calling it a night and at 10:17 we captured “Yes, please” followed by a different voice at 10:20 saying “You can’t go.”

After investigating the Licking County Jail, we can confidently state that there was conclusive evidence of numerous hauntings throughout the jail. We feel that we experienced both intelligent and residual energies. The most intelligent activity was located in David’s Room, the 1^st Floor Cell Block Shower, and the Administrative Building 2^nd Floor Sheriff Bedroom. There were a few other locations where there was some slight intelligent activity, just not a lot, like outside Mae Vern’s Room on the 4^th Floor Cell Block, the Dungeon area in the Basement, and the Chapel in the Basement. Some of the more residual hauntings documented came from the Cell Block’s 3^rd Floor Men’s Ward, the Drunk Tank area in the Basement, and even some in the Chapel in the Basement.

The majority of the jail consisted of more peaceful feelings; however, this overall mood did change depending on our location within the stone walls. The Shower on the 1^st Floor Cell Block had a pushy and controlling vibe. It was in fact darker and definitely utilized this energy to reach out and touch two people while we were investigating. The air itself felt heavy and stagnant in this spot. The 3^rd Floor Cell Block on the Men’s Ward began with more of a sad, somber feel which tended to dissipate as we attempted to make conversation. We’re under the assumption that this may have been a lot of residual energy form the events that occurred here and that the feelings and air here change based on the current energy. The Administrative Building’s 2^nd Floor Sheriff’s Bedroom had just an odd feeling to it. IT seemed like a combination of sadness and the urge for us to leave. There seemed to have been multiple spirits in there and the sense we got was that some spirits were trying to talk to us and relay messages whereas the other spirit that came through in a different voice just wanted to shoo us along.

We received plenty of stories and accounts from Teri and Holly who have worked at the jail and even have personal ties to it. Between their stories, our experiences, and plenty of research on the location, we had plenty of information to go off of and analyze. Upon examining our recordings and video from the night of April 27-28, we can positively state that the Licking County Jail hosts a multitude of entities and spirits. We managed to record different names in David’s room including Jonny, Tommy, and David himself. We also managed to capture a small entity moving about the room during our investigation. We had a plethora of Rempod activity occur during our spirit box session as well. In the Cell Blocks on both the women’s floor and the men’s floor we gathered names of Casey, Craig, and Carl (possibly the infamous Etherington). In the shower, we had two investigators get touched to the extent of one of them leaving the area due to negative energy. Down the hall from the shower, we believe we caught a slight glimpse of one of the shadow people, known as the Peak-Boo-Men. In the basement we received names of Gavin and James. In the Sheriff’s Room we managed to capture Ed’s name, one of the former sheriff’s who passed away in the very room. The bulk of our evidence was captured through the SB7 spirit box throughout the jail. We did have Rempod activity throughout but in David’s Room in particular.

Based on our experiences and the evidence gathered, we can conclude that the Licking County Jail is home to many paranormal entities, most of whom just want to communicate, some that do are unaware that they are even dead, and others that do not want anyone in their space.