Investigation into reported Paranormal activity at:
The Rocky Mountain Paranormal
Research Society was contacted in late October 2006 because of multiple
cases of paranormal events with multiple witnesses.
An investigation into the history and interviews of the witnesses started the following week.
A rendering of the original United Brethren Church
By local architect Mark Nelson
An investigation into the history and interviews of the witnesses started the following week.
A rendering of the original United Brethren Church
By local architect Mark Nelson
History of the location:
The first owner of the property from 1885-1889 was "R. C. Bristol" who during this time left the property to his wife Ruth Bristol.
1890 the property was give to the Church Erection Society by Ruth Bristol.
The property was purchased in 1911 to build the Church of the United Brethren.
The first Revered of the church was Rev. J. Oliver. In 1911 the church was headed by Rev. Henry Kohler
The Ladies Aid Society of United Brethren Hosted "Chicken Pot Pie Dinner" every Thursday from 1911-1953, this helped pay for church activities, decorating & mission work.
It was first known as the "Tourist Memorial Church". However the construction had not started with the exception of a large hole that had been dug for the basement. The 200 member of the church covered the hole with a tent and it was then referred to as "The Hole in the ground church".
Several times the tent was ripped in the high winds of the area and the women from the church would bring their sewing kits to repair the tent before the services.
The church was under the supervision of Dr. R.S. Parret during this time.
Between 1911 and 1915 the congregation run by; I.A. Chivington was split and only 27 families remained.
In June 1916 Rev. W.G. Schaefer was sent directly from seminary to head the church. Reverend Schaefer started a "Buy a Brick" campaign to help build the funding for the church. The campaign sold 200,000 "Bricks" and enabled the church to to secure a loan from the Church Erection Society based in Dayton, OH.
The church changed its name to "The First United Brethren of Christ Church"
1917: he parsonage was built to the South East of the church.
1950: After selling Green Gables ( A location that was used for Sunday school) for $60,000.00 the administrative board voted to build an educational wing to the East side of the building. It was called the Schaefer Christian educational unit" The addition was planned to hold twelve Sunday School rooms, four assembly rooms, and an enlarged social room capable of seating 250 persons. The general contractor for the project was George O. Teats and Sons. Grant A. Wilson was the architect. The addition was dedicated in May 1952.
1957: Reverend George & Helen Edie were assigned to head the church by the annual conference in Sterling, Colorado.
1958: The Reverend Bruce Grauberger was appointed assistant Pastor.
1960: The main sanctuary was remodeled.
1963: Reverend Paul Gamber was the new Pastor.
1968: The Evangelical United Brethren & the Methodists merged and the church became the "Central united methodist church"
1970: Reverend Tom Bennauzar was brought in because of the retirement of Rev. Gamber in 1971.
1971: Reverend Keith Spahr was the head of the church.
1973: The church moved to a new location and the building was sold to the Colorado Springs Police department. It was used as the Police training academy as well as a center for many local youth programs including the District Attorneys Juvenile diversion program.
1993: The building was purchased by the Smokebrush Foundation. They created the Smokebrush center for the arts. The location was remodeled to include Art studios, Galleries and a 200 seat theatre. The Art center closed in 2002.
1993: The building was purchased by the current owners, The Colorado Springs Independent (Business name: Codependent)
A Story from a person who was posting on a "Survivor" web site:
" I do not have contact with my parents, through my choice. My mother was in a satanic cult, and our church organist. My father was our Minister in the Evangelical United Brethren Church and he sexually abused me. I believe I've been able to let go of the grief and loss surrounding these relationships"
Property Information:
County: El Paso
City: Colorado Springs
Historical building name: Tourist Memorial Curch/United Brethren Church
Address: 235 S. Nevada Ave.
Stories: 1,2
Building dimensions: 106x80
Special features: Porch, Chimney. Decorative Cornice, Stained glass, cornerstone of the southwest corner reads "United Brethren Church 1912 and 1917"
Building style: Late Victorian/Romanesque Revival
Construction history: The basement of the original building was completed in 1912 and the upper portion in 1917. An addition to the east and south was added in 1951-52. The church appears to have the same footprint today as it did on the 1962 Sanborn fire insurance map. The one story building to the east is shown on the 1962 map.
Reported paranormal activity:
Jen: On 1st day of work, she saw a woman with long red hair being
dragged down the steps in the front of the building. When she ran outside to
check it out, nobody was there. She has seen a woman waiting in the lobby.
She looked so real the first time that she saw her, she asked if she could
help her. She describes her as having dark brown hair, a black and white
dress (50-60’s style) and a hat. She also reports having seen a Priest 3-4
times. Usually by the kitchen and the “morgue” She describes him as about
6ft tall brown hair in his 60’s. He is described as looking like he is
preparing for something such as a talk or a sermon. She has seen him fixing
his collar in the mirror, shuffling papers and at one point she states that
he walked right towards her but did not see her. She has also heard a little
girl saying “help me” (always on a Monday) in the kitchen or bathroom area.
She has seen a child run around the front counter, and vanish. She has also
reported a breeze in her office when all of the doors and windows were shut.
She was in the “morgue” putting away some papers and heard typing coming
from the business office, when she looked to see who it was she found
nobody. She also states that there is the sound of footsteps in the lobby by
the “morgue”.
The "Morgue" (Storage area for papers not bodies)
Carrie: Assistant Publisher: Saw “floaties” while sitting at
the desk in the choir loft around 6:00am.
Jamie: Sales Assistant: She went to the back and got a cup of water
and claims that she saw “ripples” in the water like something was disturbing
the cup. She says that this happened 3 times. She attempted to recreate the
effect by stomping around but it did not work.
Kathy: Art Director: During the renovation of the building a couple
of the construction people said that after hours they reported hearing
footsteps upstairs and also doors closing while nobody else was in the
building.
Sally: Graphic Designer: She has worked late a few times and reports
the feeling of someone watching and cold drafts.
Chris: Distribution Manager: He was alone in his office, when he
heard footsteps (he describes them as heavy, weighted, something with a
heel) He called to the person and got no response, he went to see who had
come into the building and found that he was alone. When he returned to the
office the paper that he was working on was missing, and it has never been
found.
Yvonne: Classified Sales: She claims that she has heard the voice of
“The angry man who goes between the basement and the parsonage She has
heard that it is the spirit of a man who police followed into the building
out to the parsonage and the police ended up killing him. She heard that
this took place in the 80’s or 90’s. She also reports the feeling of a
presence that is distracted in the lobby.
Anthony: IT Tech: One day he was working in the server room and felt
a chill, he says that this is a common occurrence so he ignored it. However
he saw the reflection of a person in a monitor looking at him, when he
turned around it was gone. He has talked to the spirit to see what reaction
he could get and claims that it worked but will not tell what he said.
The reason that we were contacted to investigate the activity was because of a recent incident.
The women's room on the first floor has had the hot water turned on and while nobody was in the room. It is always on all of the way and has been reported by multiple witnesses.
Matt works on the movitoring area.
The 1st investigation:
Saturday November 18, 2006
Colorado Springs Independent
Video monitoring of 6 locations:
2-Main Lobby
1-Upper Hallway
1-Lower ramp
1-Hallway leading to break room
2- Break Room
Bill Taking readings in the Main lobby
Microphones located:
2-Main Lobby
1-Kitchen
2-Computer room by ramp
Temps at the beginning of the night were between 67.6 and 74.8 in the 3 monitored sections of the building.
Quiet started @ 0:35
EMF readings:
Started @ 11:30
Main Lobby: 1-Piano 2-3 Ft from fire alarm 3-Front counter corner 4-Stairwell
Hallway Upstairs 1-Womens room 2-Paperwork office 3- Back office
Break Room
1-Dutch door 2- Mid Room 3- Back room 4- Near Fridge
Hallway to Break Room
1 reading in center of hall
540 recording 1 “voices”?
Recording 1 stopped at 1:15 Readings taken
2:09 Started recording again… Put 2 people in the break room and 2 people in the Stage area
400 track 2 music and woman’s voice?
Basement Theatre
545 Woman singing? Back from Break Room and same report
600? People singing?
Same time: 2:30 Matt saw person walk through hall towards rest rooms and both him and Bryan saw shadows moving in door frame
2:45 audio 2 stopped
Recording started back at 3:45
Temps @ 3:37 66.6-75.2 throughout the building
Audio 4 560 Voices? 630 Voices & Bangs
Recording Stopped and readings taken @ 4:00
The main entrance to the building
Recording started again @ 4:40
Stopped recording at 5:00
Took last readings
EMF Results:
Measurements were taken at 11:30,1:15,2:45,5:00. There were 4 locations picked because of reported activity in the areas.
Main Lobby: Readings were taken in 4 locations. The readings ranged from 0.0milligaus to 4.0milligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes. In the main lobby it was noted that there were high levels of EMF near the front desk by the computer and near the South side of the main entrance by a large collection of electrical boxes.
Upper hallway (behind the back of the original building on the second floor):
Readings were taken in 3 spots down the length of the hallway. The readings ranged from 1.75miligaus to 3miligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Break room on first floor:
4 spots were selected in the room and ranged from 2miligaus to 12miligaus. There was one area that was near the vending machine was unreadable because it was too high to read. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Hallway to Break room:
There was only one area monitored in the hallway due to the limited size of the area. The readings ranged from 12miligaus to 14miligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Storage area leading to break room
Due to the events of the evening we will be returning to the location to continue monitoring the areas that activity was observed.
We will post any evidence that we have collected when the investigations are complete.
The first owner of the property from 1885-1889 was "R. C. Bristol" who during this time left the property to his wife Ruth Bristol.
1890 the property was give to the Church Erection Society by Ruth Bristol.
The property was purchased in 1911 to build the Church of the United Brethren.
The first Revered of the church was Rev. J. Oliver. In 1911 the church was headed by Rev. Henry Kohler
The Ladies Aid Society of United Brethren Hosted "Chicken Pot Pie Dinner" every Thursday from 1911-1953, this helped pay for church activities, decorating & mission work.
It was first known as the "Tourist Memorial Church". However the construction had not started with the exception of a large hole that had been dug for the basement. The 200 member of the church covered the hole with a tent and it was then referred to as "The Hole in the ground church".
Several times the tent was ripped in the high winds of the area and the women from the church would bring their sewing kits to repair the tent before the services.
The church was under the supervision of Dr. R.S. Parret during this time.
Between 1911 and 1915 the congregation run by; I.A. Chivington was split and only 27 families remained.
In June 1916 Rev. W.G. Schaefer was sent directly from seminary to head the church. Reverend Schaefer started a "Buy a Brick" campaign to help build the funding for the church. The campaign sold 200,000 "Bricks" and enabled the church to to secure a loan from the Church Erection Society based in Dayton, OH.
The church changed its name to "The First United Brethren of Christ Church"
1917: he parsonage was built to the South East of the church.
1950: After selling Green Gables ( A location that was used for Sunday school) for $60,000.00 the administrative board voted to build an educational wing to the East side of the building. It was called the Schaefer Christian educational unit" The addition was planned to hold twelve Sunday School rooms, four assembly rooms, and an enlarged social room capable of seating 250 persons. The general contractor for the project was George O. Teats and Sons. Grant A. Wilson was the architect. The addition was dedicated in May 1952.
1957: Reverend George & Helen Edie were assigned to head the church by the annual conference in Sterling, Colorado.
1958: The Reverend Bruce Grauberger was appointed assistant Pastor.
1960: The main sanctuary was remodeled.
1963: Reverend Paul Gamber was the new Pastor.
1968: The Evangelical United Brethren & the Methodists merged and the church became the "Central united methodist church"
1970: Reverend Tom Bennauzar was brought in because of the retirement of Rev. Gamber in 1971.
1971: Reverend Keith Spahr was the head of the church.
1973: The church moved to a new location and the building was sold to the Colorado Springs Police department. It was used as the Police training academy as well as a center for many local youth programs including the District Attorneys Juvenile diversion program.
1993: The building was purchased by the Smokebrush Foundation. They created the Smokebrush center for the arts. The location was remodeled to include Art studios, Galleries and a 200 seat theatre. The Art center closed in 2002.
1993: The building was purchased by the current owners, The Colorado Springs Independent (Business name: Codependent)
A Story from a person who was posting on a "Survivor" web site:
" I do not have contact with my parents, through my choice. My mother was in a satanic cult, and our church organist. My father was our Minister in the Evangelical United Brethren Church and he sexually abused me. I believe I've been able to let go of the grief and loss surrounding these relationships"
Property Information:
County: El Paso
City: Colorado Springs
Historical building name: Tourist Memorial Curch/United Brethren Church
Address: 235 S. Nevada Ave.
Stories: 1,2
Building dimensions: 106x80
Special features: Porch, Chimney. Decorative Cornice, Stained glass, cornerstone of the southwest corner reads "United Brethren Church 1912 and 1917"
Building style: Late Victorian/Romanesque Revival
Construction history: The basement of the original building was completed in 1912 and the upper portion in 1917. An addition to the east and south was added in 1951-52. The church appears to have the same footprint today as it did on the 1962 Sanborn fire insurance map. The one story building to the east is shown on the 1962 map.
Reported paranormal activity:
Jen: On 1st day of work, she saw a woman with long red hair being
dragged down the steps in the front of the building. When she ran outside to
check it out, nobody was there. She has seen a woman waiting in the lobby.
She looked so real the first time that she saw her, she asked if she could
help her. She describes her as having dark brown hair, a black and white
dress (50-60’s style) and a hat. She also reports having seen a Priest 3-4
times. Usually by the kitchen and the “morgue” She describes him as about
6ft tall brown hair in his 60’s. He is described as looking like he is
preparing for something such as a talk or a sermon. She has seen him fixing
his collar in the mirror, shuffling papers and at one point she states that
he walked right towards her but did not see her. She has also heard a little
girl saying “help me” (always on a Monday) in the kitchen or bathroom area.
She has seen a child run around the front counter, and vanish. She has also
reported a breeze in her office when all of the doors and windows were shut.
She was in the “morgue” putting away some papers and heard typing coming
from the business office, when she looked to see who it was she found
nobody. She also states that there is the sound of footsteps in the lobby by
the “morgue”.
The "Morgue" (Storage area for papers not bodies)
Carrie: Assistant Publisher: Saw “floaties” while sitting at
the desk in the choir loft around 6:00am.
Jamie: Sales Assistant: She went to the back and got a cup of water
and claims that she saw “ripples” in the water like something was disturbing
the cup. She says that this happened 3 times. She attempted to recreate the
effect by stomping around but it did not work.
Kathy: Art Director: During the renovation of the building a couple
of the construction people said that after hours they reported hearing
footsteps upstairs and also doors closing while nobody else was in the
building.
Sally: Graphic Designer: She has worked late a few times and reports
the feeling of someone watching and cold drafts.
Chris: Distribution Manager: He was alone in his office, when he
heard footsteps (he describes them as heavy, weighted, something with a
heel) He called to the person and got no response, he went to see who had
come into the building and found that he was alone. When he returned to the
office the paper that he was working on was missing, and it has never been
found.
Yvonne: Classified Sales: She claims that she has heard the voice of
“The angry man who goes between the basement and the parsonage She has
heard that it is the spirit of a man who police followed into the building
out to the parsonage and the police ended up killing him. She heard that
this took place in the 80’s or 90’s. She also reports the feeling of a
presence that is distracted in the lobby.
Anthony: IT Tech: One day he was working in the server room and felt
a chill, he says that this is a common occurrence so he ignored it. However
he saw the reflection of a person in a monitor looking at him, when he
turned around it was gone. He has talked to the spirit to see what reaction
he could get and claims that it worked but will not tell what he said.
The reason that we were contacted to investigate the activity was because of a recent incident.
The women's room on the first floor has had the hot water turned on and while nobody was in the room. It is always on all of the way and has been reported by multiple witnesses.
Matt works on the movitoring area.
The 1st investigation:
Saturday November 18, 2006
Colorado Springs Independent
Video monitoring of 6 locations:
2-Main Lobby
1-Upper Hallway
1-Lower ramp
1-Hallway leading to break room
2- Break Room
Bill Taking readings in the Main lobby
Microphones located:
2-Main Lobby
1-Kitchen
2-Computer room by ramp
Temps at the beginning of the night were between 67.6 and 74.8 in the 3 monitored sections of the building.
Quiet started @ 0:35
EMF readings:
Started @ 11:30
Main Lobby: 1-Piano 2-3 Ft from fire alarm 3-Front counter corner 4-Stairwell
Hallway Upstairs 1-Womens room 2-Paperwork office 3- Back office
1-Dutch door 2- Mid Room 3- Back room 4- Near Fridge
Hallway to Break Room
1 reading in center of hall
540 recording 1 “voices”?
Recording 1 stopped at 1:15 Readings taken
2:09 Started recording again… Put 2 people in the break room and 2 people in the Stage area
400 track 2 music and woman’s voice?
Basement Theatre
545 Woman singing? Back from Break Room and same report
600? People singing?
Same time: 2:30 Matt saw person walk through hall towards rest rooms and both him and Bryan saw shadows moving in door frame
2:45 audio 2 stopped
Recording started back at 3:45
Temps @ 3:37 66.6-75.2 throughout the building
Audio 4 560 Voices? 630 Voices & Bangs
Recording Stopped and readings taken @ 4:00
The main entrance to the building
Recording started again @ 4:40
Stopped recording at 5:00
Took last readings
EMF Results:
Measurements were taken at 11:30,1:15,2:45,5:00. There were 4 locations picked because of reported activity in the areas.
Main Lobby: Readings were taken in 4 locations. The readings ranged from 0.0milligaus to 4.0milligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes. In the main lobby it was noted that there were high levels of EMF near the front desk by the computer and near the South side of the main entrance by a large collection of electrical boxes.
Upper hallway (behind the back of the original building on the second floor):
Readings were taken in 3 spots down the length of the hallway. The readings ranged from 1.75miligaus to 3miligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Break room on first floor:
4 spots were selected in the room and ranged from 2miligaus to 12miligaus. There was one area that was near the vending machine was unreadable because it was too high to read. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Hallway to Break room:
There was only one area monitored in the hallway due to the limited size of the area. The readings ranged from 12miligaus to 14miligaus. The readings did not have any unusual changes.
Storage area leading to break room
Due to the events of the evening we will be returning to the location to continue monitoring the areas that activity was observed.
We will post any evidence that we have collected when the investigations are complete.