Visionsmagazine.com EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION

Coulterville CEMETERY
by Joseph robert Jobe with Tara Ciampa - EDITOR 

..Being as that one of our production offices, as we found out, was only just within an approximately ten short minutes or less drive in reach of a Local Legend known as “Coulterville Cemetary”, I decided to send out our Staff video cameraman-writer to investigate this historically, reportedly haunted site. We were not expecting to see what they had actually found. Our guide here was Seth - the source of most of the information, location, and history of this secluded local cemetery for this investigation

..The history being of this "Legend" was (as explained to us here and researched through numerous other sources including online information articles and in person interviews) that this was a very old, obscure, long - ago abandonded grave site has seems to have had a long history wrought with reported supernatural activity, usually experienced in the dead of nite night...

..Even after countless hours researching online (myself along with our EDITOR) for detailed old references regarding this local area Legend's of reported paranormal activity, visions, etc, informative found results were extremely vague and vary far between (review the few "REFERENCES of ONLINE RESEARCH" below this article to see what we found) . Limited accounts of hearsay and Legend is what I was basing this investigation on. We were pretty much going into this investigation blindfolded.

..Report of Activity: an apparition of a fire that happened at an orphanage in the 1800’s. seeing a burning building, hearing children screaming, bells clanging, and horses.

..Report of Activity: At the bottom of Coulterville Road: “13 bends”, when you must make a 90-degree right turn, is where strange activity has occurred. If you turn up Eighth Street and made a left at the top of that street and continue down to the end, there was an old church and a small cemetery. You can hear footsteps and children and see figures out of your rear-view mirror.

..Legend of Activity: (Seth): "The roots of what I know actually go back some five generations - my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather: "COULTER" BUTCHKOWSKI - the town's founder. A lot of what I know about this area comes directly from my Grandfather, who learned about it through -his- Uncle, this ongoing story and recounting of events being handed down through these many years. As the Legend goes... back in the 1800's the Coulterville Orphanage was totally destroyed by fire (cause UNKNOWN). Local firemen in horse-drawn carriages and residents tried to save the building via the use of water buckets in those days to no avail - no survivors".

..Handed down stories: An erie glow in the woods of the long past fire, the ringing of Bells from the Orphanage/School. Silhouettes of, and the crying of, the school children buried being heard -and- seen on the grounds, plus recounts from other close "witnesses" that have confided their own first-hand stories to me has prompted the continuing of this Legend till this very day.

What follows is a first hand investigation that was experienced on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 during a 40 degree drizzling overcast sky.

..(JRJ): I arranged to meet my local legend guide Seth at 4:35 p.m. After a twenty minute drive from the North Huntington - Irwin area on a ridiculously windy, barely paved one lane highway leading into South Versailles - White Oak, PA, I was told to park our vehicle along the off edge of this isolated, quiet road. This precariously dangerous and secluded road that we had just traveled on (I later find out) was the legendary and aptly referred to as “13 BENDS” in our area: 13 bends into town - 12 bends to get out of town - one way each way.

..Preparing, testing out and protecting the digital video and photo equipment from the slightly heavy, cold pouring rain, I followed and video taped our walk back up the road closely behind my guide Seth. He was leading the way over to and through an overgrown, rain drenched, slightly off-road, isolated open field that was to be the location of the long gone foundation of the COULTERVILLE abandoned church and orphanage - destroyed by fire long ago.

..Proceeding cautiously though the mud trails due to the storm conditions at hand, only about ten minutes into and cutting through the woodland overgrowth, Seth abruptly stopped his lead. He pointed to a slightly elevated up rise in the leaf and dead tree limb covered landscape in front of us.

..(Seth): “Here is where the foundation of the old church / orphanage is -believed- to have been built. Look at the trails surrounding this uprising of the land right here. This is more than likely it.”

..(JRJ): Thinking to myself... (What the ...? Likely it... what am I supposed to be looking for here ?). I shot the area of footage he indicated as the location of the church’s foundation - indiscernible as it was due to possibly its age and the natural over-growth. Something was definitely built there a long time ago... one could make out a building foundation of sorts, all be it now overgrown and hidden on first glance. Indeed something could be seen, no doubt man-made there on the spot.

..Slowly walking onward through waist high reeds, long grass and mud puddle trails, I followed and photographed behind Seth as he was leading us to what I now thought was the “Coulterville Cemetery” location of Legend. As Seth led the way, cutting away thorn - ridden branches in our path, he paused once again. This time he stopped at the high side edge of a very deeply sunken, very dense overgrown, dead tree foliage filled up pit in the earth.

..(Seth): “Now... there is a fifty-fifty chance that -THIS- (2nd location) is the possible location of the abandoned church. Its been so long that its really up for grabs and nobody really knows.”

..(JRJ): Right now I’m thinking to myself: the first location, being on more level ground and more (constructed like) in appearance, and being located nearer to the main road seemed to be a better choice for the COULTERVILLE church location. This second location Seth pointed out (to me) seemed way too over-grown to really tell one way or another. This (2nd location) was basically a huge pit in the landscape, severely over wrought with foliage.. but to Seth’s advantage, the actual graveyard we were looking for in the first place was within only about fifty feet from this (2nd location) and just in sight... right front of us.

..Following right behind Seth leading the way again, walking 30 seconds later and cutting through even more wooden over-growth, we can see the heavy, iron - cast hanging sign of “St. Patrick Parish” (private property-visitors prohibited). We are now at the “Coulterville Cemetery” graveyard. Seth abruptly stops just as we enter the site.

..(Seth): “This is where all the children are buried... a lot of them.”

..(JRJ): Seth points over toward a huge pine tree (# 1 - the "ONLY" growing, flourishing tree in the whole cemetery - strangely out of place here) located at the far right of this very small circular cemetery. I would venture to guess that I saw between only forty to fifty (marked) graves - not a lot, really. Some of these very old weathered tombstones are dated back to the 1900s. A lot of the grave sites themselves have sunken downward at least a foot deeper than intended into the ground, leaving a deep depression before the tombstones. This place was very old, over run and abandoned.. no doubt. Nobody would want to come back here - even if they did it is very hard to get to. No visitors, nobody in a long time.

..With video camera in hand, I slowly headed downhill into the cemetery toward the solitary pine tree on the property (which in my estimation - had to be well over 80-90 feet high). The ground underneath surrounding this solitary pine tree was oddly barren - no grass, no leaves, no needles, nothing but dry dirt.. even on this cold, rainy day. I thought this rather strange... nothing seems to be able to take root and thrive under the tree. (As I was later told by people who have lived on -FARM LAND- their whole lives... THIS IS NORMAL: The acids in the fallen needles prevent under - growth)

..(Seth): “Right here under this tree is the spot for the children.. probably some of the Teachers are buried right next to them.” (# 2)

..(JRJ): I started walking slowly down hill with camera in hand, shooting down along the half dozen tombstones lining up along the left of the tree. Just as I reached the row of tombstones, still video taping, the video camera goes completely haywire: picture spinning, streaking, camera control buttons not working.

..Now, I have created thousands upon thousands of images on film, digital stills and video for more than over 25+ years Professionally. As I am standing still.. I am looking at the video camera’s LCD viewfinder, the image is spinning, blurring and going crazy. I AM STANDING STILL, CAMERA STEADY IN HAND, AND YET THE IMAGE IS SWIRLING AROUND, SIDE TO SIDE, UP AND DOWN (These are the actual VIDEO FRAME GRABS below - 4 RANDOM FRAMES from the sequence).

..The camera was completely covered and protected with a plastic bag from the rain, as well as being kept under my jacket so as to protect the electronics. THIS IS A VERY STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR VIDEO TAPING IN THE FIELD.

..I turned the camera off, I turned the camera on, then on/off again. Camera seems to be functioning a little slow, but comes around to working properly. Again, in over twenty-five years of shooting, this is the first time this has -EVER- happened to me or the equipment I have been using. I have never seen anything like this before.

..(JRJ): Concentrating on one of the the "Legend -HOTSPOT- Areas" underneath the tree (many early-death newborns were to have been -eledgedly- been buried in this spot) with our Editor’s EMF detector in hand, and the video camera seemingly coming back to it’s senses, Seth started scanning one by one the six 100+ year old tombstones lining up along the left side of the tree for possible EMF activity. On the first tombstone he tested, the lights went -absolutely crazy-. So crazy even Seth was impressed. He directed the EMF meter back towards myself and then toward the video camera in my hand - no reaction but a steady one from the EMF meter - one single light reading only. Moving back to the first tomb stone, again.. a violent light reaction upon the EMF meter signaling electro magnetic activity - this was exempting interference possibly from us and the video camera.

..Mind you, this Cemetery location is completely isolated and abandoned. There are NO outside power lines, NO cell towers, or even homes in the surrounding area to cause outside interference with this meter’s rather limited range. Directing the EMF meter towards Seth, myself and the video camera in hand CREATED -NO- REACTION. Aiming and scanning the EMF meter toward, around, and over a few of the tombstones -DID- CAUSE A REACTION.

..Tombstones number (2 and 4) yielded virtually no reaction from the EMF meter. Testing upon, scanning over, around tombstones (5 and 6), again, violent reactions of light readings emanating from the EMF meter leading into the higher ranges - this conveying changes in the bands of electro magnetic activity and strength.

..I decide to call it a day here after the EMF meter tests on the row of tombstones. I'm starting to feel really tired, both physically & emotionally - even becoming a little more "quick tempered" than I usually am. This is not unusual for anyone who really knows me.. it could be the cold, rainy weather, it could be the cigarettes, it could be stress of just about anything - not at all sure.

..I wipe a little of the cold rain off from my cameras and my glasses. We start to hike back up hill on yet another slippery pathway making our way back to the main road before we lost what overcast daylight we still have left. It is now almost 6 pm, and it's getting darker by the minute...

THIS IS THE FOOTAGE OUR GUIDE / SETH, and OUR VIDEO CAMERAMAN / J.R.J., shot during this EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION. For time restraints here, only the minimal edits were made. This is the whole story as the scenes unfold - "UNCUT". Click - on the "QUICKTIME" logo on the story pic to experience this investigation for yourself.

	COULTERVILLE			COULTERVILLE
	INVESTIGATION #1: QUICKTIME MOVIE			INVESTIGATION #1a: QUICKTIME MOVIE
	RUNTIME: 3:54			RUNTIME: 4:00
	13.0 meg / 300 x 200 / STERO			13.4 meg / 300 x 200 / STERO

..(JRJ): I was approaching this local LEGEND investigation just as I always do with this type of work: I DOCUMENT WHAT HAPPENED - I don't have an agenda - It's just a job... ..The reader -COULD INTERPERATE- a few of these events (that we had witnessed) as to being OUT OF THE NORM. Was I physically and psychologically exhausted after this, sure I was. Do (I think) we experienced something unnatural in our understanding... the equipment we used MAY HAVE indicated just that... ..This 2 hr. daytime investigation, results, and research documention were all very well covered here as they could be. The video is exactly what it is... A DOCUMENTATION. What specifically would cause these strange results of intermittent camera malfunction and EMF...	Coulterville CEMETERY The RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS	..(Editor’s Note): One could conclude that where there is Death there are also signs of Life. Some tombstones did not emit EMF ENERGYS. Not all souls choose to take up residence in their own cemeteries. With my own mother's passing, I swept the EMF meter over her resting place - not a single hint of an EMF reading. .. HOWEVER, when my -EMPATHIC- daughter tells me she sences the presence of my mother in my very own home, YES... EMF readings then occurred, and have so very often. . It's always exciting to see someone who questions almost everything with skepticism (our cameraman) to see undisputed results with their own eyes and own equipment - an unbiased first hand account of what V I S I O N S is all about.
	...I just don't really know... but I'm really kinda glad we left Coulterville Cemetery when we did.

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