We conducted an investigation at a renovated castle that has been featured in several horror films. We heard many stories of women having strange experiences during our stay and hoped to experience something ourselves.
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Dates: December 21-23, 2019
Investigators: Chris, Matt, Jody, Jason, Zoe, Hunter
Location History
Once a private residence of the Henderson family, the castle is now open to the public as an inn and restaurant. It is rumored that Frank and Mary Henderson still walk the halls of the home along with Clare Burleigh, a Spanish-American War veteran who served with the Henderson’s son, and at least 1 child spirit.
Current and former staff members have reported paranormal experiences from seeing a female apparition on the main staircase, to hearing unexplained footsteps, to disembodied voices.
The Dutch room – Mary and Frank’s old twin beds pushed together
Our Experience
We reserved 2 of the rooms that have been said to have paranormal experiences – “ the Dutch room (Mary’s old bedroom) and the Victorian room. Upon arrival at the hotel, you get a foreboding feeling as you peer up to the inn sitting high atop a hill. As we stayed during the Christmas season, the inn was fully decorated and felt like a step back in time.
The hotel had other guests so we kept our investigation to our own rooms and a little bit of strolling through the hallways. We had set up surveillance cameras in both rooms but caught nothing out of the ordinary. We tried EVP sessions, used EMF detectors, laser grids, and a Rem pod. We did get a few beeps on the Rem pod but overall nothing compelling from any of our equipment.
Investigating with laser grid and REM pod
One of the staff members gave us a tour and shared stories as well as some of her personal experiences with us. As she once stood near the fireplace in the French Room giving a tour, she had some of her hair picked up and tossed over her shoulder. She also had someone come up and rub her back as she stood at the front desk, but turned to find no one there. She noted that oddly most of the people that have had strange experiences are women.
She told us of the nanny who has often been seen on the staircase. The nanny’s bedroom was the Tibetan room and people have reported strange occurrences in there as well. People have also heard footsteps on the servant’s old staircase and on occasion, the defunct old telephone near the stairway rings on its own.
Photo of the nanny
Servant staircase
While it seems the stories were abundant, in the 2 nights we stayed, we experienced nothing unusual.
Did we capture paranormal evidence?
No. The history of the home is rich and very interesting, but we did not experience anything of note.
If you’re interested in staying at Henderson Castle, visit their website and check out their Haunted History Dinner Events that include a tour and live EVP session.
