GLENVILLE – Glenville State College students from the parapsychology class of Dr. James Davison took a trip the historic William Edgar Haymond House in Sutton, West Virginia recently. The Queen Anne-style house, built in 1884, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been known for prior paranormal events.
During their visit, students reported recording spirits speaking in different locations throughout house through an app called “Necrophonics.” When one group asked if it was okay for them to enter the office area, they received the words “come in” through the app. Another student then asked if the spirits wanted them to leave and they received the words “get out.”
The students also captured several photos of unexplained shadows and orbs and received positive readings on an electromagnetic field meter and divining/dowsing rods in several locations throughout the house.
“Our PSYC 399 class visit to the Haymond House gave me a peaceful feeling (places always give me a feel), and several students came away with words heard after they asked questions. Single case evidence, not replicable. But interesting nonetheless,” said Davison. “The house felt very inviting and welcoming; not spooky or scary at all.”
Davison has taught the parapsychology class at Glenville State College since 2017, focusing the class on the investigations started by William James, Father of American Psychology, in the late 19th century on the heels of the Spiritualist Movement. “James said experimental research is key to any science, but as evidence shows, single case phenomena do exist, and we cannot exclude these in our observations. I came to the parapsychological through my interest in the Civil War, as an amateur historian I was asked to give a tour of Gettysburg battlefield for parapsychological investigators at Susquehannah University in 2005. What we recorded and subsequently heard led to my continued interest,” said Davison.
The students in Davison’s parapsychology class have visited several “active” locations around the area this semester including GSC’s Robert F. Kidd Library, Loveberry Church, and a cemetery in Burnsville, West Virginia.
The William Edgar Haymond House is open to visitors to learn more about the rich history through guided tours and ghost hunts. For more information, visit the “William Edgar Haymond House” page on Facebook.
