48-Hour Ghost Hunt Promises “100% Proof” of Paranormal Activity

Have you ever heard of the Welles House in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania?

Neither have I. And judging by its ghetto-esque, sad-looking exterior, you wouldn’t jump to that conclusion when passing it on the street.

In December, the house was purchased by San Franciscan ghost hunter and creator of LiveSciFi Tim Woods. Woods had always wanted to own a haunted house, and after seeing the “haunted” aspect trumped up in the real estate marketing for the property, he couldn’t resist. Perhaps the strongest sell is how the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader compared it to the Amityville Horror in articles going back as far as 1979—the year the Amityville Horror movie was released.

It should be no surprise then that Lorraine Warren herself dropped by in 1980 and agreed that yes, the house was “definitely haunted” (even though she wasn’t allowed inside by the owners):

“Haunting phenonenon has definitely taken place here. Vibrations still remain here. I can feel them… People who lived here were driven to self-destruction of the body through drugs, alcohol, even suicide.”

Though it sounds like a clichéd summary of Amityville Horror, there were suicides at the house in 1940 and 1950. But adding more to the Amityville similarities is the fact that former owner Walker Bennett moved out of the house in 1978 because it was haunted, according to him. According to the Susquehanna Savings Association, the house was foreclosed on because Bennett couldn’t keep up with payments. It stood vacant for a year before being rented out to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gailey who “never heard a noise” out of the oh-so-scary-and-evil house.

Fast forward to 2013 when ghost hunters start visiting the house and capturing evidence. What kind of evidence? Electronic voice phenomena (EVP), “strange balls of light” (i.e. orbs), electromagnetic fields, tugged clothing, scratch marks, and “negative feelings”. Perhaps it’s not the most impressive list of evidence, but it seems Woods is determined to blow our minds.

Beginning at 9:00 PM EST on February 15, Tom Woods and his crew will be joined by haunted object aficionado John Zaffis for a 48-hour marathon ghost hunt at Welles House, broadcast live via the internet. Their press release promises “100% proof of paranormal activity” at Welles House. While I’m not too optimistic on the “100% proof” part, anyone who wants to sit back and watch people hunt for spooks for two solid days non-stop can view the stream for free on the LiveSciFi YouTube Channel.

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