In the dark recesses of the Victorian mansion in Hayward something lurks floating past visitors angrily to let them know they’re unwelcome. As visitors pass through the massive oak doors, they almost immediately are struck by the eerie nature of the front room juxtaposed with an almost unearthly beauty that betrays a deeper connection with the dark mysteries of eternity. And as they pass deeper through the halls of the old house they can’t help but feel something lies within watching them and demanding they leave.
The old Mansion has been suspected to be haunted for quite some time, but only recently was it finally investigated by a professional team. Since 1886, just around the time “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was to hit the markets, another depiction of the duality of human nature sprang up in the form of Hayward Mansion.
Now owned by an affluent family, those within have reportedly heard voices telling them to leave. One current resident, originally quite skeptical of the whole encounter, said she found herself on multiple occasions confronted by voices and the sounds of creeping footsteps. Always looking for a rational explanation, she has labeled the phenomenon ‘unusual’ but is still unsure of the cause of such mysterious goings on.
Electronic Voice Phenomena (or EVP as it is called in ghost-hunting shorthand) is one of the key components of paranormal investigation. EVP is easy enough to acquire, and often returns eerie and sometimes even quite historically telling information. Sometimes, those who have remained in a haunted location long will say the voices are very similar to those heard while encountering disembodied voices in the halls, sometimes unmistakably so. It was then with great excitement that some 25 researchers working with the American Paranormal Research Association discovered several voices imprinted electronically onto their recording equipment.
The voices carry with them a number of messages. At first the messages were imperative, “Stand back!” and a child’s voice saying, “Just tell them, Dad.” Eventually, however, the dead silence of the tape gave way to other voices and the tone quickly changed. “What year is it?” one voice asked curiously before another message, “Get out.” The final message seemed to carry with it the tone for the next few hours of investigation. As the investigators delved deeper into the house, they quickly became aware of visual entities appearing as well.
One investigator reported seeing on film a mysterious orb-shaped entity passing through their camera’s field of vision. Another reported seeing a mysterious shadowy entity outlined on their camera as though it were wearing a dress. As they looked up from the camera they realized they couldn’t see it with their eyes, but then looking back down to the viewing screen once again discovered that they could see a mysterious hovering dress shaped entity. As they walked to the closet where the phantasm had been standing before once again merging with the surrounding shadow, they discovered a closet with three dresses in it. Any one of them looked as though they could have been worn by the phantasmal figure.