STOUGHTON, Wis. — There will always be a fascination with trying to explain what seems unexplainable. One Stoughton store owner is looking back at the history of her building to explain why she feels she’s never alone.
Several years ago, Vicky Elsing and her husband fell in love with a 118-year-old building in Stoughton and opened a business at the location. They say the business isn’t all that moved in. The Elsings say there is something else there that refuses to vacate.
“My first experience, I ran out of the building,” said Elsing.
Once skeptics of the paranormal, the Elsings’ purchase of the former Grand Hotel in Stoughton changed their minds, WISC-TV reported.
“We really didn’t believe that stuff. After we came in and started painting and fixing up some stuff, things started happening,” said Vicky Elsing.
Whatever else resides in the building, Elsing isn’t quite sure, but she’s trying to find out. To do that, Elsing has enlisted the help of the Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee.
“You’re just trying to piece together the puzzle, put your equipment in the areas of the shop where you know there is activity, and just hope you’re in the right place at the right time,” said lead investigator Noah Leigh.
Saturday night, the group performed its tenth investigation at the store.
“There’s definitely activity here,” said Leigh.
Using special cameras, sound recorders, and sensors, investigators said they have evidence, including an image passing in front of their camera and the sound of a voice in the empty building.
“You need to have an open mind, and look at this evidence that I caught, and these are the things that I did to control the situation. So I know it’s not ‘X,’ I know it’s not ‘Y,’ I know it’s not ‘Z.’ Now what do you think?” said Leigh.
Elsing said she believes that among other paranormal activity, there’s the spirit of a little girl.
“I also think that there is an entity in the back room, which is not ‘friendly,’ I guess we’ll say,” said Leigh.
“This shelf used to be full of these little figurines, and my husband came in one morning and this little figurine lifted up right in front of him, came out about here, and then went down,” said Elsing.
The Elsings said that they believe they’re not alone, and say they’ve learned to live with their uninvited guests. After all they say, the spirits were there first.
Whether or not someone believes the Elsings’ story, it sparks the curiosity of everyone who walks through the door.
“During the day, I work here by myself and I’m not afraid, but don’t ask me to come into the building alone at night,” said Elsing.
The ghost story has been a big draw for customers who want to get a glimpse of something out of the ordinary.
As for the Elsings, they say the spirits that haunt the building can stay. They simply want to know what they are and what happened in their past.
The investigators — who don’t charge for their services — will continue to search for evidence of a “residual” or “intelligent” presence at the store.
Full source: Channel 3000
