“Who ya gonna call?”

by Vanessa Goodwyn

Andy Emmons takes a reading of the electro-magnetic field in a room. Van’Go’photo Everyone has seen the 1984 hit "Ghost Busters", starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. The movie followed a team of investigators checking out paranormal activity in Manhattan. And while the show was pretty silly, the investigation of unexplainable phenomena -- ghosts, if you will -- has always piqued our interest. Today there is growing interest in paranormal investigations, thanks to new technology and television programs like "Ghost Hunters" and "My Ghost Story", which boast a strong fan base. This week, a team of investigators came to Buffalo to check out paranormal activity reported at the old Lyon Hotel on Railroad Street.

The original building dated back to the 19th century, but that wooden structure burned down in the late 1800s. The Lyons family built the present three-story building in 1911 and for many years it was a hotel that served passengers on the newly-constructed railroad. Dr. Archie Van Wey later bought it and it became his clinic/hospital. It has also served as a cafe and a library and it housed a church before the current owner, Wayne Best bought the old place in the 90's and began to restore it as a residence, beginning on the ground level and working his way up. The building is for sale and not currently occupied, but some believe it is still "home" -- to some otherworldly residents.

Jacob Gonzales reinacts coloring and being aware of children watching him. Van’Go’photo Sandy Bates Bell, curator at the Freestone County Historical Museum, heard stories of paranormal activity in the old Lyons Hotel, and arranged for a team of investigators with Wide Awake Paranormal to spend the night in the house last Saturday, November 27, and see what they might find. The Texas-based group specializes in investigating historical buildings and museums, and five members of Wide Awake Paranormal arrived on Friday afternoon, armed with a wide array of infrared cameras and recorders. A survellience system was set up to monitor several strategic locations in the house and record throughout the night. The Wide Awake Paranormal crew members also carried night-vision cameras and voice recorders as they worked around the house and the other building on the grounds which once housed the clinic. Electro-magnetic fields were measured as well as ambient temperatures, humidity and barametric pressure.

Jimmy Billman with Wide Awake Paranormal describes the recording and monitoring process. Van’Go’photo The investigation appeared to be very scientific, but it was also clear that the team members were excited about the opportunity at hand. The participants are all selfdescribed "history buffs" and most have had a long-time interest in paranormal activity. Bell explained, "Some people fish, some hunt. THIS is what we do. It's fascinating and in- teresting and it does change your perspective." Bell went on to admit, "They've helped me deal with the activity at the museum where I work. (Before that) I ran out of the building a few times!"

Several members of the Best family were on hand Saturday to share first-hand stories of activity they observed while living in the Lyons Hotel. Wayne Best and his nephew Clayton Best both reported hearing footsteps in the unoccupied upper floors, and Wayne repeatedly saw shadows in the stairwell leading to the second floor. Catherine Best also heard noises upstairs when she lived in a second-floor bedroom -- "a lot of activity -- not like critters." She reiterated, "It wasn't constant, but we lived here a good three years and heard it all the time." Several guests also mentioned hearing kids running. One guest from Arlington even went downstairs to reprimand his own children for being disruptive late at night, and found them all fast asleep...

Catherine and her son Jacob Gonzales, now twelve, shared some fascinating stories. Jacob lived in the house during the first three years of his life, and his mother noticed that when he was an infant he would sometimes focus at a spot somewhere behind her and smile or laugh. She kept a baby-monitor in his room to keep an ear on the child and when he was old enough to talk, she sometimes heard one-sided conversations, where he would insist, "No, stop!" or "Not now." One night they were in a second-floor bedroom where she was doing paperwork and the toddler was on the floor coloring. Jacob suggested that they move into his room, and Catherine responded that the lighting was better in the present room. "I don't want to stay here with the children," he replied. Asked WHAT children, the toddler pointed to an empty area of the room and said, "Right there, Momma." He described a girl and two boys, one wearing a black shirt. Relating the incident last Friday, Jacob said, "These kids used to be there. Sometimes they could be kind of mean and sometimes playful."

Bell pointed out that it is not unusual for small children to perceive paranormal activity that adults do not see or hear. "Children don't have a filter -- your 'window' closes as you age," she explained.

The next step in the Lyons Hotel investigation will be a careful review of the many hours of recordings made on Saturday night. The Wide Awake Paranormal team has promised to report their findings, and the Press will report it to you, our readers. In the meantime, we will probably all find ourselves watching that building just a little more closely when we pass by, won't we?

Finally, what if they DO find evidence of ghostly activity? Well, it may not be a bad thing. Bell reports that at the Freestone County museum where she works, the attendance has quadrupled with the awareness of paranormal activity "and they still get a history lesson!" In fact, the term "Paranormal Tourism" has been coined to describe one of the fastest-growing genres of tourism.