Case 016 Final Report and Analysis
Black Diamond Paranormal Society
"We are the light that cuts the darkness. Therefore, when you see... truth must be honored."
Final Report and Analysis
Case 016
Hebrew - Bryant Cemetery
August 29, 2009
Coopers, WV
Investigators
Rodney Shortridge, Mike Brown, Amy Flick & Samantha Hull
On August 29, 2009 the BDPS team investigated the Hebrew - Bryant Cemetery located in Mercer County in the town of Coopers, West Virginia. I would like to take this moment to thank Tom Childress for contacting BDPS and giving us permission to investigate such a historical site. We decided to use two teams to investigate this site. The first team consisted of Amy and me. The second team consisted of Mike and Samantha. We started our investigation around 9:00 p.m. and finished around 11:30 p.m. This was a short investigation due to weather.
Equipment used at this site included (6) DVR's (Digital Voice Recorders), (1) Microcassette Recorders, (0) Camcorders with night vision, (4) digital cameras, (1) K2 Meter, (1) EMF Meter and (1) Laser Thermometer. As we try to do in all of our investigations, we placed the DVR's in areas that have reports of paranormal activity or areas of interest in hopes of getting audio evidence. The microcassette recorder was held by me as Amy and I investigated the cemetery.
We started the investigation by dividing the cemetery into two grids for each team. Team 1 consisted of me and Amy investigating the front and lower front of the cemetery. We covered an area about 50 yards from the top of the cemetery down to the lower front near the entrance of the cemetery. Team 2 consisted of Mike and Samantha. They investigated the back section of the cemetery and covered an area about 50 yards. Each team worked on a rotation of about every two hours and each team rotated to the area of the last team. Due to the weather getting bad, we rotated for a short period of time. This was a great experience for the entire team to be investigating such a historical area, considering the controversy surrounding this cemetery. Mr. Childress felt that the loved ones in this cemetery may have been disturbed in some way and wanted us to find any evidence that would show just cause for his concerns.
History:
*This article of the events surrounding the Hebrew - Bryant Cemetery was written by Bill Archer of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and was published on July 16, 2009
Town to temporarily hold cemetery deeds
By Bill Archer
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
July 16, 2009 10:22 pm
- POCAHONTAS, Va. - Two historic cemeteries located in Mercer County near Pocahontas, Va., were on the verge of being prepared for development by a land owner, but a local non-profit organization
stepped up to take temporary ownership of the property until the deeds of the cemeteries could be transferred to the appropriate parties.
Thomas B. Childress, treasurer of Historic Pocahontas Inc., explained the situation to his fellow board members at the board's regular meeting Thursday night. According to Childress, although the
eight-acre tract of land that served as two cemeteries - an early plot that was used as a Hebrew cemetery for 15-20 years, and a larger section that was used as an African American cemetery called
Bryant Memorial Cemetery should have been tax exempt, the plot remained on the Mercer County tax rolls and had been sold at least twice for back taxes.
The most recent buyer hired a local contractor to do the clearing process, and the contractor removed some sections of 100-year-old wrought iron fence around the Hebrew section of the cemetery. A man
who lives near the cemetery, Terry Collins, told the contractor he was stripping a cemetery, and locked a gate to the property and called Childress who in turn, called David Katz, a Bluefield
attorney who is also treasurer of Congregation Ahavath Sholom, a Jewish congregation in Bluefield.
Katz, Childress and Collins spoke with Mercer County Assessor Bill Blankenship, who determined that the original property owner, Isiah Johnson, as well as his heirs had failed to properly deed the
cemetery as a cemetery. The developer wanted to get the property back into the hands of the appropriate parties, but wanted to make sure the cemeteries went to a not-for-profit entity.
"We are coming here tonight with hat in hand," Katz said to the board. "Please help us."
Acting on a motion by Art Hewitt, chairman of Historic Pocahontas, the board voted unanimously to temporarily hold the deeds to the cemeteries until the appropriate parties could receive the
deeds.
Katz expressed thanks to Collins and Childress for preventing any more damage to be done to the Hebrew and Bryant cemeteries.
- Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photo evidence: We captured many orbs and unexplained mist.
EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomenon)
We heard the following EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon) and unexplained noises on our DVR's (Digital Voice Recorders) & Microcassette Recorders:
Unexplained Click
Unexplained (Something moving around with no explanation)
Unexplained voices (these were un-auditable)
Whisper "What"
Unexplained humming (when audio was slowed down sounds like someone speaking, again un-auditable)
Male Voice speaking a foreign language (we were unable to interpret what was said) with Female Voice yelling "Good"
Unexplained Bang
Female Voice "Just Feel Better"
Male Voice speaking a foreign language (we were unable to interpret what was said)
We have come to the conclusion that the Hebrew - Bryant Cemetery has low paranormal activity in the form of EVP's, orbs and unexplained mist. We look forward to the chance to once again investigate such a historical site with more advanced equipment and weather permitting. This was our sixteenth investigation and it was a success. We have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be working with such a historical site as the Hebrew - Bryant Cemetery at the request of Tom Childress. This cemetery is located near the historical town of Pocahontas VA where we have had great success and have worked alongside Amy Flick and Mayor Adam Cannoy. I feel honored to have had the success we've had and to be working alongside such a professional team.
I look forward to our next investigation. If anyone would like for us to do a paranormal investigation of their home, business, church, property or a family cemetery please contact us. If you would just like to speak with us about any paranormal activity you may be having we would love to hear from you. No problem is too small. We would be honored to help and we do not charge for our services. Contact BDPS to set up a time and place for us to discuss your paranormal questions and or problems.
I feel honored to be working with such a great team. Without the team's hard work and professionalism BDPS would not be what it has become today.
New investigator
Samantha Hull
*Check out our website:
http://blackdiamondparanormalsociety.ieasysite.com
I hope everyone enjoys the photos and the analysis sheet along with the new video we are providing. Also we will have our EVP's, photos and any video evidence on the site for everyone to view and listen to. You can judge it for yourself. If anyone has any questions or comments we would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think.
Thank you,
Rodney Shortridge
Founder/Lead Investigator
Robyn Belcher
Case Manager/Lead Investigator
Black Diamond Paranormal Society
276-988-6690