Date: July 2009 Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Conditions: Overcast; thunder/lightning storm was beginning towards the end of the investigation.
Background: Construction of the Burlington County Prison Museum was completed in 1811 and the
prison was so structurally sound, in remained in use until 1965. Located in historic Mount Holly, NJ, the Burlington County Prison Museum is now a National
Historic Landmark. Architecturally, the jail is nearly fireproof with its construction of poured concrete, brick, and stone. While the vaulted
ceilings give the prison an artistic appearance, we found that the structure was extremely efficient at carrying sounds.
The historic Burlington County Prison was the location for many public hangings, which were held in the prison yard on gallows built for each hanging.
The last hanging at the prison was held in 1906; today, a replica of the gallows stands in the location of its predecessors.
Investigation Notes: The structure seems relatively small at first, but there are quite a few
areas with reported activity. We could have - and would have loved to - spend hours on each floor. Unfortunately, our
time there was limited to a total of 3 hours.
Personal Experiences: Every investigator had some type of personal experience during our investigation, from the feeling of cold spots to
hearing barely audible whispering.
Technical Recordings: Our air temperature scanner registered a sudden drop in temperature by over 6 degrees within less than one minute.
At one point during the investigation, an EMF meter started fluctuating wildly and was followed by one investigator feeling a touch on her
skin. A moment later, the EMF meter went flat (to 0.0) and showed no further readings above 0.0 in that room.
Audio Evidence: There was a lot of whispering heard by investigators throughout the investigation and it is also heard
on our digital recorders. We are not posting the whispering as it is not clear what is being said, but it was so
continuous during the investigation, it was to the point of being distracting. The whispering seemed to be the most
pronounced on the top floor (the floor where the maximum security "dungeon" is located). There were also many audible
sighs that were not made by any investigators and were captured by our recorders.
A recorder that was left in the dungeon recorded quite a bit of ambient noise. After the recorder was started and the
investigators went to other floors, sounds of someone breathing, walking around, shuffling their feet, and sighing as well as
banging noises, unintelligible whispering, and general movement within the cell can be heard on the recorder. At
one point, it even sounds like someone touched or breathed on the recorder, but no one was even on that floor at
the time. One of the EVPs below also comes from this recorder.
EVPs: There were a lot of sounds heard and recorded at this location, but we're just going to post the ones
that sound like actual words. (However, Terri's favorite EVP from this investigation is the sound of someone sighing, almost
with resignation, after she and another investigator left the kitchen area in the basement; the recorder was left recording in the room.)
Click the "Play EVP" button to hear the EVP. You will probably need to turn up the volume on your computer. For best results, we recommend that you listen with headphones.
Try listening to the file first to decide what you think is being said before revealing the EVP Result.
This was in the women's wing. We had been in the basement when we heard a loud noise from the women's wing, so we went
up there to investigate. An investigator asked, "Is there anybody in here?" and we got a reply. Note that I attempted to amplify the reply so you may be able to hear it a little more easily; you will be able to
notice the point at which the volume is amplified.
This was found on the digital recorder that was left in the "dungeon" on the top floor. No one was on that floor at the
time of the recording. The recording has been amplified to assist in hearing it.
An investigator asked, "Can you tell us why you're here?" and there seems to be a reply. Again, an
attempt to amplify the reply was made for your convenience.
It came from a recorder that was left in the women's wing on the second floor. No one was on that floor at the time of the recording and
it does not show up on any other recorder.
Long, indistinct cry
This sounds to us like someone crying out, perhaps for help or in anguish.
Summary: Our experiences and evidence gathered has us convinced that there is definitely something of
a paranormal nature at the Burlington Country Prison Museum and we believe it to be haunted. Three hours just was not enough
time to give this location the attention it deserves and we would love to go back to investigate further.
We also recommend visiting the Burlington County Prison Museum even if you are not doing an investigation. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and more than happy to answer your questions, including the ghost-related ones. Visit their official web
site at www.prisonmuseum.net.
