TOPS investigates the Stone Academy
By JENNIFER L. MANFRIN
ZANESVILLE - In hopes of finding more ghostly activity in Zanesville, The Ohio Paranormal Seekers, or TOPS, recently investigated the Stone Academy.
TOPS is a group based in Columbus that investigates paranormal phenomena in places thought to be haunted.
"I'm skeptical but open-minded. I'm the type of person who needs evidence before I come to any conclusions," said Jim Geyer, director of Museums of the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County.
TOPS spent the night on Aug. 2 to try to locate paranormal activity there.
"I'm definitely excited about the investigation," said TOPS lead investigator Chad Houghes.
TOPS investigated Secrest Auditorium in May, and found it to have a lot of paranormal activity.
Steeped in rich historical background, the Stone Academy, located at 115 Jefferson St., was built in 1809 and is one of the oldest buildings in Muskingum County. Originally constructed to serve as a state house, it also was used as a court, various private schools, a meeting house and a church. In the 1830s it was used for two Ohio Anti-Slavery Society conventions as well as abolishonists meetings. It became a private residence in 1840, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Actress, author and feminist Elizabeth Robins lived in the structure in the 1870s.
The Stone Academy is now a museum operated by the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County.
"I would consider it the most significant historical building in Muskingum County," said Gary Felumlee, author of "Ghosts in the Valley."
Felumlee, who is on the board of the Muskingum County Pioneer and Historical Society, said there have been several ghostly sightings by others at the Stone Academy. His book details these, as well as other possible Ohio hauntings.
"I'm a skeptical believer," he said.
Though the Stone Academy is thought by some to be haunted, TOPS did not find a great deal of activity.
"I guess it wasn't active that night, but it happens. We caught a couple EVPS, but can't say if it is 100 percent paranormal because the floors were so thin," said Brent St. John, TOPS founder and investigator.
He added that sounds travel easily through thinly built floors.
EVPs, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon are recordings thought to be sounds and voices made by spirits. TOPS used a four-camera DVR system with night vision, as well as digital cameras, audio equipment, and special meters specifically for detecting spirit activity.
Jennifer Boyd, TOPS case manager, said that though no hard evidence was found, there is still a chance that the Stone Academy is haunted.
"We aren't saying that there isn't paranormal activity," she said. "For one it is a very old building. For two it has a lot of history."
Boyd added that the team couldn't debunk the reason why a picture fell off an upstairs wall, hitting investigator D.J. Culver.
"We thought that was out of the ordinary," she said.
St. John wasn't discouraged by the findings at the Stone Academy.
"My theory is this, ghost hunting is like fishing," he said. "You got to be in the right place at the right time."
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