Do you like those “ghost hunting shows” on TV? Have you ever watched them and thought, “I could do that?” Well, stop thinking like that! According to Vince Wilson and the Paranormal Investigators Coalition (www.paranormalcoalition.com) you are going about things the wrong way.“Contrary to current popular belief,” says Wilson, “Paranormal investigations of psychic and ghostly phenomena have been going on for centuries.”
Wilson, an author, writer and paranormal researcher, and his colleagues contend that modern paranormal investigators are not getting the proper training. That is why they have created a paranormal research facility Harpers Ferry, WV to train and assist the next generation of would-be ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. It is the Booth House, the so-called “Haunted Cottage of Harpers Ferry”.
THE BOOTH HOUSE
According to information recently uncovered, this home belonged to relatives of John Wilkes Booth and he stayed here when visiting Harpers Ferry. In fact, he stayed here when he came to see the 1859 execution of John Brown in nearby Charles Town. After he committed the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he planned on making his way back to Harpers Ferry to his fiance'. Those plans were cut short by a broken ankle, a fire and a bullet.
According to Wilson, over the years, locals have reported many strange things at the Booth House (also called the haunted cottage). Glowing lights from the slave quarters and apparitions passing by the windows when no one is home. “Although we know that at least 12 persons past away there,” adds Mr. Wilson enthusiastically, “research has yet to uncover how or why. We do know that slaves we kept on the property and were, more than likely, treated very poorly. The cellar gives off a sense of foreboding that makes even me uncomfortable, and I have been to many, many haunted places!”
The Paranormal Investigators Coalition will turn the Booth House into a Paranormal History Museum and a Paranormal Studies Training Center. There will be a library of over 500+ books for researchers and interactive displays. Ghost hunters will also be able to rent the property, which is nearly a ¼ acre in size with the fairly large five bedroom house at the front, for 3 hour, overnight and weekend investigations.
In addition to everything else, there will also be what Wilson believes is the 1st physical National History Museum. “For those that think those guys on TV created ghost hunting, there will be a chronological display of the history of paranormal research.”
For more information on the Booth House, aka The Haunted Cottage, go to www.thehauntedcottage.com.