DETROIT ROCK CITY PARANORMAL
www.DetroitRockCityParanormal.com www.Facebook.com/DRCParanormal
586-298-1836
FINAL CASE REPORT #190715Henderson
Investigators: Mike, Kellie D, Carrie, Kristie, Kim
Times: 8:00p -11:30p Weather: 80s & overcast
Equipment used: KII, Spirit Box, Kinect, Portal App, flashlights, digital & video recorders
The historic location investigated is known as The Henderson Castle. It was built as a home for Frank and Mary Henderson on a 3-acre piece of land that Mary inherited. The 11,000 sq. ft. Queen Ann style mansion was constructed using Lake Superior sandstone and brick in the late 1800s atop the steep “West Main Hill” overlooking downtown Kalamazoo.
Frank Henderson died in 1899, his wife Mary, in 1907. Their children inherited the home and sold it in 1919. The mansion has been sold to 10 different parties since. In 2011, the building was purchased and renovated by Master Chef Francois Moyet. It currently operates as a full Inn with a restaurant, bar, garden, vineyard, day spa, pool and hot tub.
There have been several claims of paranormal activity through the years. People have reported the ghosts of Frank, Mary, Clare (Veteran friend of their sons), a little girl and even a dog. There have been several reports of a woman’s apparition in what was Mary’s changing room and also seen at the top of the main staircase. Others have had the feeling of a presence on the same stairs. Two women while staying at the Castle (at different times) had an experience while sleeping. They both said someone was tapping on their arm and when they woke, were told “go away”. Some of the miscellaneous reports have been doors opening and banging, footsteps and odd sounds.
D.R.C.P. arrived and met with the owner, Francois. We received some history from a couple people and then we were off to investigate. We began in the basement where we heard some sounds but were able to debunk them as not paranormal. There was a lot of EMF activity but we realized it was most likely coming from the electric appliances in the area.
We went upstairs to the ballroom. Some of us went through the ballroom to the sauna area and up to the rooftop bar and hot tub area for a bit. On our way back down to the ballroom, Kristie heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. During an EVP session in the ballroom using the spirit box, we heard the name “Henderson”. We asked if there was a child with us and received a “yes”. Mike then asked what the child’s name was, we heard “Harold”. We also received the same responses a second time. These responses were from an “intelligent spirit (can interact/answer questions). During our research after the investigation we were able to locate an “H. Henderson” in the cemetery across the street. We are not sure that this was our “Harold” but felt it was worth mentioning.
The Team’s collective opinion based on the evidence heard on site and after listening to the recordings off of site, is that The Henderson Castle does have some paranormal activity. Besides receiving the intelligent response of the little boy Harold, we feel that most of the activity is residual energy (seeing people on the stairs…). Residual energy causes an activity to repeat itself over & over as a playback of a past event, images reliving their past experiences. They cannot interact with us.
We enjoyed touring The Henderson Castle and appreciate the opportunity given to investigate it. It is a beautiful location inside and out.