By JIMMY JOHNSON
JAM Paranormal Director

NAPANOCH, N.Y. — At the entrance of the Shanley Hotel, a sign above the door reads, “The Spirits Are Inn.”

After more than eight hours of investigating and an overnight stay, JAM Paranormal, working with the Pennsylvania Valley Paranormal Association, is in agreement with that phrase.

With myself, six investigators from PVPA and an additional five from S.C.A.R., a paranormal research group based out of New Jersey, the Shanley Hotel was covered from top to bottom throughout the entire night.

In review of the evidence, we caught multiple EVPs and disembodied voices all throughout the three-floor structure that was constructed in the 1800s and lifted to prominence by owner James Shanley. (Click Here for History of the Hotel)

The second and third floors of the hotel were designated for hotel rooms, while the bar and dining room were on the first floor. There also was a gentlemen’s quarters and a brothel — the Bordello — attached to the back of the hotel.

The basement also was part of the investigation. It was a place where liquor was stored, dead bodies were kept in the winter and slaves were stashed away as a part of the Underground Railroad.

We were able to capture EVPs in all of the aforementioned parts of the hotel. Most investigators were able to experience something paranormal in every room, as well.

Because this investigation was so large, this report will be split up into five parts: the Bordello, the gentlemen’s quarters, the basement, the second floor and the third floor.

The Gentlemen’s Quarters
This room, located off the back of the hotel next to the old bar room and below the Bordello, was a place for card games and drinks, but more notably, it was a room for men.

It currently has four beds and a round table with four chairs. The owners say the room is watched over by the “Guardian,” a spirit of a man who keeps an eye on the room. Women have reported being touched in this room and have reported smelling cologne.

Throughout the night, we had numerous personal experiences in this room. One investigator, Heather, reported that she was touched multiple times, and PVPA director Dave, along with Heather, all heard a disembodied voice in the room around that time.

This voice came out of nowhere while Dave and I started talking about early 1900 Yankees baseball, in an attempt to simulate a conversation that may have taken place in that room during that time period.

Shortly after this conversation, two EVPs were caught — the first one sounds like a child responding to the K-2 meter in the room. Dave asks a spirit to light up the red light on the K-2, and a voice says, “Is it red?” (EVP_13)

About 10 minutes later, after Dave and Heather left the room, and investigator Brett joined me at the table for a fake game of poker, an EVP is captured. I say, “I’m really disappointed.”

At this time both Jimmy and Brett heard two distinct knocks that came from inside the room. The knocks were captured on audio recordings, as well as a voice that says, “Get out,” just prior to the knocks. (EVP_14)

One of the best EVPs we caught came when Heather prepares to leave the room and go outside for a smoke. She says, “Are you guys going to meet me back in here …. I’ll be like five minutes.” Before Brett and Dave speaks a voice comes in and says, “Are you sleeping with him.” Then Brett says, “I need a break real quick” and Dave says, “My IR light went out anyway.” It’s a very interesting piece. (EVP_12)

The Bordello
This is quite possibly the most active part of the hotel as it was for us during our investigation.

As a former brothel, it features two beds in the main room and three single bedrooms without doors all reachable through the main room.

Reports of activity from the owners included the sound of a woman crying, many EVPs, footsteps on the stairs leading up to the room and the feeling of being touched on the back and head.

Several investigators from all the groups experienced the feeling of being touched throughout the night. Also, shadows were seen moving from room to room or within the rooms.

We were able to catch several EVPs in the brothel, including one on a mini-DV that recorded while Dave, Eric and myself slept there. This EVP, heard over a loud air conditioner in the room, sounded like a woman saying two words, or possibly crying.

Other EVPs include a recording in which we believe we caught the voice of a young girl named Rosie, who resided in one of the rooms in the brothel. As I was walking into Rosie’s room, Heather said, “It’s OK, Rosie. You don’t have to be afraid of him.” And then a soft voice comes in and says, “OK.” (EVP_3)

The Basement
Just your typical basement — you know, an old hideout for the Underground Railroad on one side, a dead bodies room on the other.

OK, so it’s not that typical, but it was the perfect place to experience something paranormal.

A spirit named T.J., a veteran of the Vietnam War, is said to haunt the basement, but we were able to catch children’s voices in the basement as well.

It is our opinion that there is an intelligent haunt (possibly more than one) in the basement.

Several EVPs involved interaction and while investigating with the members of S.C.A.R., I experienced a possible spirit interacting through knocks. A member from S.C.A.R. tapped out the first few notes to “Shave and a Hair Cut,” and twice there was a response. Also, I must note that on the next three tries, there was no response.

An EVP was caught when Brett asked if there “were any ladies down here?” A faint “Yes” comes in and even Brett reacts to it at the time of the investigation. (EVP_11)

Dave also caught a good EVP, a child’s voice maybe saying “Bah boom,” in a very playful manner.

Heather felt uncomfortable in the basement and reported being pushed, but that was the only case of any negative actions in the basement — or in the whole hotel, for that matter.

Second Floor
The second floor, which is fully renovated and includes several rooms for guests, brought out some of the best EVPs.

The top EVP on the floor came from Brett’s recorder when he was in one of the rooms on the second floor. He introduced himself, “Hello, my name is Brett.” And then a little boy’s voice comes in and rambles off a pretty lengthy sentence. What is being said, I cannot say, but it’s clearly a voice in the room that did not belong to anyone who was investigating. Also, after the boy speaks, another voice comes in and whispers: “Brett… Hi.” (EVP_8)

Mark also received a response when he asked in one of the rooms on the second floor if “somebody was in here with us?” A quick, weird-sounding yes comes in. (EVP_10)

Third Floor
The two main rooms of investigation on the third floor include Joe’s room and Jonathan’s room.

Joe is said to be a former hitman and in the room adjacent to his is Jonathan’s, who is said to be the spirit of a playful 6-year-old boy.

While setting up for this investigation, we placed two steady cameras on the third floor — one looking down the hallway and another in Joe’s room that incorporated both Joe’s and Jonathan’s room in the shot.

During the setup of the camera in Joe’s room, I saw a chair lift up about three inches off the ground and drop quickly right near him. Dave was just walking in the room when this happened. He heard it, and the audio on the camera I was setting up caught it, too. Unfortunately, no video evidence could be found so this will go by the wayside as just a great personal experience.

Jason, from PVPA, caught on his recorder a voice saying his name on this floor and PVPA’s camera in Joe’s room caught a disembodied voice, a woman yelling, which was heard by members of S.C.A.R. After the yell, which is enhanced through amplification and noise reduction tools on SoundTrack Pro, an investigator on screen turns immediately to another investigator and says, “Tell me you heard that.”

Many EVPs were caught on the third floor — both on mini-DV cameras and digital recorders. A few EVPs were caught when nobody was even on the second or third floors. They are all listed to the right.

Conclusion
All in all, the Shanley Hotel was an amazing place. In the opinion of JAM Paranormal and PVPA, the Shanley Hotel is definitely haunted.

But if you find yourself going to the Shanley Hotel, do be careful when investigating. It’s crucial not to jump to conclusions too quickly for the hotel can play some tricks on you.

First of all, the floors are very uneven throughout — some floor boards will rock back and forth, and up and down while your are on them, creating this seasick feeling. This dizziness, lightheadedness feeling can easily be mistaken for something paranormal. There are certain spots where it hits you more so than others.

Also the walls are very shiny and there are a lot of mirrors, many of which are bent in such a way to create a “funhouse” effect. This again can cause someone to jump to a paranormal explanation when it’s quite clear that there is a logical explanation for it. The shiny walls and mirrors can also play with your digital cameras, creating orbs and objects — and sometimes spirits — that are not actually there.

Still, there’s no “funhouse effect” reasoning that can explain the multiple EVPs and video evidence that JAM Paranormal and PVPA collected during its investigation.

I look forward to going back to the Shanley sometime in the future, but for the time being, JAM Paranormal will be working on some other local cases.

Details of this case

This is an investigation that I, Jimmy Johnson, participated in while I was working closely with a group in Northeastern Pennsylvania in 2009.

I worked with the Pennsylvania Valley Paranormal Association, a group that no longer exists, while I was living in Hazleton, Pa., for a year.

Audio Evidence

The explanations for each of these EVPs are throughout the report. They are not in number order, but rather, they are listed in the order in which they appear in the report.

Remember to use headphones for the best chance of hearing what we have caught.

EVP_13

EVP_14

EVP_12

EVP_3

EVP_11

EVP_8

EVP_10

Audio Evidence

Video_1: In this video clip, you see an orb appear and fly into a ball that is said to be played with by a 6-year-old boy named Jonathan. Generally, JAM Paranormal does not publish orbs, but this one was interested because it appears and disappears and has a weird floating path toward the ball. It does not mimic the flight of a bug and it's too large to be dust. The clip replays twice, with a little different color corrections each time.

Video_2: This video clip doesn't include any visual evidence. The same location as Video_1, we hear the voice of a young boy, perhaps Jonathan, say a few words. It's hard to make out what is being said (perhaps, "They found me"). Nevertheless, no one is on the second or third floors at this time.

Video_3: Again, this video is more for the audio. This EVP is captured in the bordello, where three investigators are sleeping. A woman's voice comes in, but is completely unclear in terms of what is being said.