The Old Pillsbury Funeral Home - Lisbon, NH

The Old Pillsbury Funeral Home

Lisbon, NH
With NEPI – Anthony, Lewkis, Nancy, Michelle, Faith, Dustin (part time investigator) and introducing our newest trainee, Amy.
Special Guests – Dave and Kathie

First let me give a special thanks to Amy Ruccio for giving us the opportunity to investigate this old funeral home and also I would like to welcome her to the NEPI family as well as she is going to start training with us. Hope it works out and welcome to the team.

Our story takes place on Main Street of Lisbon, NH where Dave and his mother, Kathie, have experienced some activity at their home. Their home is where the Pillsbury Funeral Home used to be, until Dave renovated it to this spectacular house. He used to be in the funeral home business, owning various ones in Memphis, Tennessee as well as one in Littleton at one point. He tried to continue the one in Lisbon, but he said that he just couldn’t do it. He retired from the business and now calls it his home when he gets back from traveling the world as a flight attendant.

Dave started out as what he calls the “the biggest skeptic you could find.” If you asked him previous to this investigation if he believed in spirits, he would say no. He also said that being in the business of dealing with deceased people that one would think he’s had an experience or two. He hasn’t, until now that is. Before we get to his experiences and the investigation, let’s go over some bullet points of the history of the home.

The history is courtesy of Dave who has done his research quite well, so it was very helpful to this article. The house was built in 1875 by Herbert Moulton who owned what is now DCI, which was then called Parker and Young Manufacturing, which was at one point the largest manufacturer of piano soundboards. The interesting fact of this home was that a lot of the house was built from the wood of what is now DCI. The home was a wedding gift to Herbert’s first wife, Carolyn, whom would die in the home. His second wife didn’t want the house which was for his deceased wife, so he built another mansion. If you’ve seen this home you wouldn’t think it is a mansion, but in that time period, this home was considered a mansion for the area of Lisbon. In the early 1900’s, Herbert would sell the home to the Atwood family, who turned the home into a boarding house. In the 1920’s there was a fire where there were some deaths. The Atwood family decided to not restore it and it laid vacate for a number of years before Tom Pillsbury turned it into a funeral home in 1950. Dave would buy the home from Tom and when he tried to renovate it, problems rose at his businesses in Memphis, so he had to go back there to rebuild the business. Eventually he would close and sell all his businesses and move back to Lisbon. The only problem was that this home was cleaning out all of his cash, so he tried to sell it, but it wouldn’t sell. He decided that maybe he’ll just keep it and eventually finish it.   

Some ghost hunters would say that renovating a home can be a fire starter for spiritual activity and that’s what Dave was thinking, but eventually we would find out that it wasn’t the case at all, but I’ll get to that a little later. Let’s start from the beginning and work our way down, like we usually do. NEPI likes to break into groups, this time we went with a boys’ team and girls’ team. Dave would join up with various groups during the investigation.

 

(Anthony and Michelle setting up the DVR equipment. Just look at this place!)

 

(Oh sure, mistakes happen at investigations. You may break a twenty dollar vase, accidentally step onto a five dollar DVD. This place? I was on edge the whole time. It wasn't for the spirit claims either. It was because if I broke anything here, I'd be screwed!)

 

 The boys’ team would start out in the cellar where Anthony says he thought he saw shadows and heard voices. I had my Real Time Digital Recorder going, but didn’t hear anything. We would go back to the first floor where we went to the bar area and sat down and tried to get more answers. After spending nearly twenty minutes in this room, something would spark Dustin’s interest to go into the other room. I and Lewkis followed him and tried to see or hear what Dustin was witnessing. Upon returning back to the room where we just were, Dustin said he thought he heard a musical instrument like a violin playing in the other room. There was a radio on when we first met with the clients, but we made sure he turned off the radio once the investigation started.

We were then joined by the girls who said they felt a presence and could see the same shadow figure that Anthony was saying he saw in the cellar. The ladies also said that they felt that this spirit is actually intelligent rather than residual. After a short break the boys and girls would switch, with the boys having the upstairs quarters and the ladies having the downstairs. Around this time we started to do the Ghost Box (the P-SB7). In previous investigations we were not getting accurate or no responses, but this time it was talking and giving us intelligent responses to our questions. Dave would join us and this is where the investigation started to get uncomfortable for Dave.

Dave asked what the spirits names are and we got a Chris. What’s funny is that Anthony has this app on his iPod that acts like a “ghost detector” as well as an Ovillus like program. Personally I am very wary of this device and think it’s just a prop, but what’s funny is that just before, maybe seconds, the app said the name “Christian” and that’s when the ghost box said the name “Chris.” Is it coincidence or are they interconnected somehow? This would only get stranger later in the evening. But what we found out from the ghost box, through Dave’s questions, was that the spirit who we believe we got in contact with is not resentful about what Dave did to the house, but of his lifestyle. This was most probably a punch in the gut for Dave as he was noticeably uncomfortably after he got the response of yes, the spirit is resentful towards Dave’s lifestyle and his preferences.

After that we were not getting any responses from the box and I tried getting answers, but for some odd reason I was focused on Dave’s closet. Just when I was going to put my head back to the box, I saw this shadow walk past the door frame, stop for a brief moment, and then disappear. Anthony was roaming around at this point, but he was not in this room. This shadow was black like it had a presence of its own. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as shadow people or shadow figure. What’s funny is that Kathie said that one of her experiences was seeing the shadow of a male, but with a bowl like cap. I will kid you not that this shadow looked like it had a bowl like head as if it was wearing a hat described like Kathie’s.

Anthony and Dustin came back from browsing different rooms around the area. Specifically the room where Dave had his experience. He has said that every time he is near this room, which serves as a guest room, he feels very uncomfortable and rushes past the room to try and avoid it. This room would play as a highlight for the night for Anthony and Dustin. They said they were in the room and light was coming in from the window. This was until, as they say, the room abruptly turned pitch black as if the light from the window was blocked. They said that after the light came back into the room and the uneasy feeling they just had vanished.

After this we decided to call the girls up and have a Pendulum session where we would get interesting results. One of the first questions asked was if the spirit we got in contact with is name Chris or Christian and it spun yes. The main question was if Chris would harm Kathie and it said no. But when Nancy asked if Chris would harm Dave, it said yes. Dave obviously didn’t like it, but he said he was going to stand his ground and that this is his house and there’s nothing the spirit can do about it. He apologized to the spirit that he may not like Dave’s lifestyle, but that’s how Dave is and there’s nothing that can change that.

We decided to pack up and bid Dave and Kathie farewell. Hopefully it’s just for now and I’m sure I speak for the rest of NEPI where I think it would be beneficial to do a follow up investigation to see if the spirits are still there or have come to terms with Dave.

 

(Oh yeah and a freaky photo just for the hell of it. I saw this while peeking around the corner and my heart skipped a beat!)

 

That’s all for this edition of Scared Sheetless. Sorry for being absent last edition, it’s been a pretty hectic week with being sick with the flu and losing two family members in a matter of a week doesn’t help either. As always, thanks for reading and happy hauntings!

Do you think you have ghosts? Give NEPI a call and get in contact with Anthony by calling him at 603-444-7142. It’s free of charge and instead of reading about it, you’ll get to see us in action. 

The Gray House

The Gray HouseLisbon, NH
With Special Guest NEPI

(Please Note: Do NOT email me or NEPI asking where this location is. I can understand looking for a midnight fright, but we need to protect the clients privacy. I mean, honestly, who wants strangers snooping at their house?)

Typical houses could bore someone, they just look like every other house on the block, but sometimes, you get that typical house that isn't so ordinary inside. Case in point is the Gray House located on one of the many back roads in Lisbon. When Nancy Fortin, one of the co founders of NEPI, was a caretaker at the house, NEPI was able to use this house as sort of a training area: test out new equipment, try new techniques, kind of like the way my garage is now (will write on that one at a later time). The Gray House was a perfect spot to hone NEPI's skills, because the best part is that the house is very much active with ghostly activity.

Some residents who stayed at the house (which at the time was a house to rent) said they would see ghostly faces looking out the window, the cellar door opening by itself, and a lady in white has also been seen. A tragedy of any sorts has never been uncovered or revealed to NEPI prior to their investigations there. But they have had a few unique memories at the house:

-One such experience is a favorite among Anthony Ardolino, co founder/lead investigator of NEPI, to tell: one investigation, the power got knocked out, so the place was pitch black. They were up in the master bedroom, doing an EVP and Pendelum Session, when something told Anthony to look up. He sensed that something/someone was in the doorway as he looked at that direction, a car went by and it's headlights illuminated what looked to be a white figure standing in the doorway. Anthony, upon natural human instinct, did what he likes to call "The Scooby-Doo Reaction" where his feet was moving, but he was NOT.

-Another experience happened to Nancy when the cellar door kept on opening by itself. Every investigator, whether a amateur or a pro, should always try to debunk any evidence like this. Doors can open by themselves whether because of a slight breeze or maybe even the residence isn't leveled enough. But when they tried debunking this by closing the door, the door was latched tightly to the point where it wouldn't open by itself.

-Some EVPs, or Electronic Voice Phenomena ("Ghost Voices"), have been recorded in the house a few times. One such EVP was when they asked if they minded them being in there and they got a "No" back as a response. They seem to enjoy company, at least.

You can live in a typical, American house, but sometimes it's the typical ones that are the most suspicious. If you have a haunted residence, give NEPI a call at 444-7142 and we will gladly (and for FREE) come in and investigate your place. Don't be shy, we love the business!

Haunted Lisbon? by James Paradie - Lisbon Town Hall - Lisbon, NH

Haunted Lisbon?(Extended Edition)

2nd Edition: Lisbon Town Hall-Lisbon, NH

Written by: James Paradie

Publish History:

News Paper(Published on February 6th, 2009)

3/18/17 Update: I was trying to find an article for a throwback on the Scared Sheetless Facebook page and I bumped into this one. I did not know this looked weird as it does. I tried fixing it, getting rid of some of the gaps, but unfortunately I couldn't. I will try again. Also, the NEPI website is not in operation anymore, which is why I removed the hyperlink. Pretty much NEPI isn't in operation anymore either. I mean, they'll do an investigation if asked, but we're kind of "officially" disbanded. I don't know. Maybe we'll be back. I do plan on doing an article on my adventures with NEPI soon. I also plan on re-doing this article as it was written when I first started. I tend to really hate my original articles, because I tend to oversell everything, I notice. Like the first paragraph in this made me go, "I actually freaking wrote that." But I mean that in a bad way. 

Every town has a myth, a legend, but who created it is the biggest mystery of all. This myth is in the town that I’ve been a citizen of for the past seventeen years, Lisbon. Lisbon is a small town of just 1,587, according to a census conducted in 2000, but is their one more denizen to add to the list?

Our story takes place in the center icon of the town of Lisbon, the Town Hall. The Town Hall began construction in 1901, after it’s predecessor, that was located on main street was destroyed in a tragic fire of 1901. In 1902, the building was near completion and ready to be used. The Town Hall, at one time even had a balcony, which all together(including the 700 seated below)could fit a grand total of 850 people. However, the balcony, which was also called the “golden horseshoe”, was eventually torn down in the 1950‘s, so it could be easier for those to play basketball. If you go to the Town Clerk’s office, and look to your right, on the wall there will be a picture of the balcony. Course, when I was there asking questions about the Town Hall and also getting information of a paranormal investigation that took place there, I found myself observing the picture to see if I could see someone sitting up in the balcony, but nobody was in the picture, or that was visible to the eye at least.

I’ve heard for about ten years that the Lisbon Town Hall is one of the biggest, haunted, hot spots in the local area. I forget who told me the story first. I swear at the age of 20, I already have dementia. The original story of the cause of the haunting has now been deemed as false, but for those who didn’t know the original story, here it is: one night, a worker, in the 1950‘s, hung himself off the staircase, and the rest you could say WAS a haunted history. But when I went to the Town Hall to further investigate this myth, nobody, not even the Town Clark, Charlotte even knew about it and she‘s been working their for 42 years, so like I said, the story is untrue. However, she did tell me that when she first started working there, she had the night shift, and would hear someone walking down or up the steps when she was the only person in the building.

The ghost does like to keep everyone on their toes though, especially the police, who are located on the ground level of the town hall, said that they could hear footsteps on the stairs above, and upon further investigation they were the only ones there. There’s also been other occurrences as well, such as during a 3rd grade play, a girl saw a man sitting on the stairs, and when she asked her parents who that was, they saw nobody there, but the girl still could! Did the girl really see a spirit or was it just those great over reactive imaginations that kids tend to have?

Finally, an investigation was called in, and the North Eastern Paranormal Investigators were the ones called and on October 25th, 2008(how coincidental, six days before Halloween!)the answers were finally going to be answered. I had the privilege of having a on the phone conversation with both NEPI Co Founder’s, Nancy Fortin and Tony Ardolino about the case. They said that they thought the case was a success even though that the weather and the age of the building defiantly played some factors in the investigation. The building is well over 100 years old, so of course it’s going to creek and settle, but as Nancy said that anyone can tell the difference between a house settling and human footsteps. Also, during one point of the investigation, they were upstairs-Nancy and another NEPI team member-and suddenly they heard someone walking up the stairs…at them(keep in mind, NOBODY was downstairs)! If that doesn’t cause goose bumps(or ghost bumps)then I don’t know what will. Also, they brought motion detectors with them and that also went off when there was nobody there. NEPI had a raffle and a meet and greet before the investigation went on where two lucky winners, one male and one female, got to go on the investigation with them. According to Tony they both saw a grey figure or a shadow. Now, when one person see’s it, and nobody else does, then of course anyone’s going to be skeptical, but when two people see it the chances of it being false just about goes out the window. NEPI hopes to do a second investigation at the Town Hall at some point.

Before I end this column, I would like to thank Nancy and Tony for their time to explain how the investigation went. I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot more of the NEPI crew in my future columns. For more information on NEPI, check out their website @ http://www.northeasternparanormal.com/ and if you‘re wondering if you have a ghost in your house, then they‘ll check it out free of charge-donations are welcomed though. I would also like to thank those two wonderful ladies at the Town Clerks office at the Town Hall and Andrea Fitzgerald for giving me historical facts about the Town Hall. Thank you! And, to those Graveyard Disciples out there, Happy Haunting!

Photo was taken by me at the P and D Quickstop in Lisbon. I frequent the store quite often, because my aunt owns the store and she'd kill me if I went across the street. Come in and say hi!

If you would like to send feedback, or even a story of your own ghostly experience that MAY even be used in a future edition of Scared Sheetless, then feel free to email me at scaredsheetlessncn@hotmail.com or if you’d like to redistribute this story on your publication or your website, etc. then please email me at the same email address. Thanks for reading!