The Belmont Plantation is truly haunted, at least according to findings by a group of investigators led by a paranormal research expert.
“The Haunting of Belmont Plantation,” hosted by Camille Collins and Cody Ruth, on Saturday welcomed a group of about 30 people who had come to explore what paranormal activity, if any, awaited them and David Childers, co-founder of the Mississippi Paranormal Research Institute.
Childers is well known for his paranormal investigations and has been featured on “Ghost Adventures,” “Paranormal 911” and “Haunted Hospitals” on the Travel Channel.
Established in 1857, Belmont Plantation was thought by many in the investigative group to definitely have some residuals of history lingering between the walls and gates of the estate.
“This place has a lot of history, so ain’t no telling what kind of paranormal activity we gone get,” Childers said before the event started.
Contrary to popular belief, Childers shared the only thing a dark setting does, or little to no lighting, is provide a “creep factor,” as spirits are out in the daytime, too.
Another detail that Childers shared about his research in paranormal activity is some spirits do like to hide and are intentional about it.
“Spirits are around us all the time,” he said.
What is unclear, he noted, is why the spirits are present and why they still linger.
As somewhat of a prelude to the investigation, Childers began by having the group at Belmont watch a short video clip from the episode of Ghost Adventures he was featured in and Paranormal 911.
Childers led the group through hands-on investigation training — holding the equipment and asking questions — just as it is shown on television.
Investigative tools the group used include flashlights and a ghost box or EVP, a device used to verbally communicate with spirits or to listen for disembodied voices and an electro magnetic field (EMF) meter.
After the investigators congregated and ate in the dining room, the investigation commenced.
The group was split up into two teams — Team 1 began on the inside and Team 2 started at the outside.
The two teams had 45 minutes to investigate each area and rotated at the end of the 45-minute period.
Splitting the group into two teams, according to Childers, made the areas less susceptible to contamination when the team members were using their voice recorders.
A few of the participants already had experience with paranormal investigations and are followers of the ghost hunting shows that Childers is featured in.
One participant was certain she had picked up a strong aroma of cigar smoke that warranted no obvious earthly explanation. Childers referred to it as a “phantom smell.”
Collins explained the room she was sitting in was in fact used as a gentleman’s parlor in its early days.
Some participants exchanged tales of encounters with paranormal beings inside their own homes and other places.
Even though he began with Team 1’s investigation on the inside of the house, Childers floated between the two teams to monitor their progress and he noticed the difference in paranormal activity responses between teams.
Team 2 (comprised mostly of females) noticed the most paranormal activity while they conducted their investigation.
Team 1 picked up some activity, but it wasn’t quite as substantial as Team 2.
When Childers, the only male with them at the time, joined Team 2 at a certain point in their investigation, he asked, “Would you like me to leave?” and a disembodied voice responded “Yes, now.”
Childers, heeding the admonishment, left the room and walked around.
Returning for his jacket, the same voice said “Get out now,” and Childers said he did just that.
What really amazed Childers was the (EVP) device transmitting whole words and sentences from what were possibly spirits.
His theory is that since there were female voices coming through the device, it’s possible that the spirits simply did not want to communicate with the males.
Childers also gave the assurance that while there are spirits that linger at Belmont Plantation, none of them are evil.
“All the spirits in there are good spirits, they’re fun,” he said. “After 26 years of doing this, Belmont Plantation is probably number three on my ‘Most Haunted’ list.”
