the car or outside?” He got a response, “Outside.” He continued and asked, “What side of the car are you on?” The response was, “Your side.” Eddie was a little creeped out about this and wanted to find out who this ghost was. He asked the entity to identify itself but after about three more attempts, there was no response. With his patience growing thin he commanded, “If there is someone here, say something or forever hold your peace.” He was shocked at the reply: “Get out of the car.” He explained to the ghost that he was not getting out of the car and continued with more questions, but didn’t get an answer until he started to ask some questions about Ms. Mitchell. He found out through the answers that were coming through the recorder that Ms. Mitchell had been riding with them in their truck when they would leave the bridge for home. She admitted that she liked talking to Eddie but also wanted him to take her back to the bridge.
Once I had collected my information about this haunted location, Chuck and I drove to the Colville Bridge by the way of Paris Pike, one of the most scenic roadways in the Kentucky Bluegrass Region. This quiet route affords spectacular views of horse farms amidst the historic rock fences that line the road for twelve miles. These classic natural beauties reminded me of the stone fences I passed as I traveled the roadways while I lived in Scotland, and there is good reason for that. The rock fences of Kentucky were first constructed by Scotch-Irish who brought this tradition of dry stone masonry from their country and used slave labor and Irish immigrants to build these barriers. What I find so amazing about these fences is that they are constructed without using any mortar. The secret lies in the skill of how they are stacked, so that the force of gravity and frictional resistance holds them in place. If they are built correctly, these fences will be resistant to fire, water, insects, and earthquake and can last up to 150 years.
A blanket of shadows formed around us as we entered the blackness of night along the country road. We turned off onto a more primitive road, and shortly the headlights revealed a bright white-and-green covered bridge directly before us. Why was it painted white and green? I learned from Patrick that when these bridges were built, it was decided to give each state its own bridge color. Kentucky chose white and green.
We pulled off the road and stopped before entering the bridge. I grabbed my flash light and left the car to go stand in the middle of the bridge. It was a cool October evening with a slight breeze that carried the scent of the water below. There was no moon that night so the only light that brightened my path was the torch in my hand. Chuck called out from the car, “Hey, Patti, don’t go too far, I don’t want to lose sight of you.” I yelled back, “I’m okay, don’t worry about me!” and at that moment I felt a slight touch on my shoulder. I jerked around and flashed the light towards where I was standing. Nothing was there. Just about that time, a set of headlights came up behind me, and as I turned I could see that it was the rest of my investigation team. I had decided to invite Pete Eclov and Mary Beth to join us at the bridge. They were two of my newer ghosthunters and needed to get more experience in the field. I knew their expectations would run high, which, to me, seems to render better results on a ghost investigation. It sure did pay off because we started to get results as soon as we began gathering our data.
Patti captured this spirit orb hovering near Chuck Starr and Pete Eclov as Pete recorded an EVP that says, “Yes,” when Patti asked if Ms. Mitchell was present.
After we had discussed some of the bridge legends, which included the teenage couple who drowned under the bridge and Ms. Mitchell, we decided to turn on our EMF meters, recorders, and the Ovilus. While walking down the center of the bridge, our EMF meters started beeping, alerting us to a disturbance in the electromagnetic field. Even though the disruption only lasted for a couple of minutes, we were able to get responses to a few of our yes and no questions. The Ovilus, which indicates energy through reciting words, started to talk shortly after the meters registered. As I lifted the Ovilus up, it spouted out, “Car lights,” and we looked at each other in amazement, since one of the stories involved car lights coming up behind a parked car on the bridge.
Then I asked if Ms. Mitchell could come through, and shortly after that question the Ovilus said, “Sarah Mitchell.” This name is not programmed into the vocabulary of the Ovilus, so you can understand our astonishment. Mary Beth said, “Are you here with us, Ms. Mitchell?” Pete decided to rewind his audio recorder to see if we got a response to the question. Sure enough, we heard a woman’s voice clearly answer “yes” to Mary Beth’s question.
I always tell people that I do not have proof that ghosts exist, but I’ve been known to get some pretty convincing evidence. I feel the evidence we collected that night at the bridge was a good indication that the Covered Colville Bridge is definitely haunted and worth the trip to investigate.
CHAPTER 5
Hall Place Bed-and-Breakfast
GLASGOW, BARREN COUNTY
ON OUR WAY TO SCOTTSVILLE, to speak at the Allen County Public Library and complete a ghost investigation of The Haunted Hospital, Chuck and I arrived in Glasgow and checked into our place of lodging. David Dinwiddie, owner of The Haunted Hospital, had graciously booked us at Hall Place, which is about twenty miles from Scottsville. I told him I was looking for places to write about in my next book, and he felt that we would love this old historic and possibly haunted bed-and-breakfast.
Glasgow is located in and is the county seat of Barren County, Kentucky. It was established in 1799 and was named Glasgow by John Matthews, who was from Glasgow, Scotland. That is why the city is well known for its annual Scottish Highland Games. The Highland Games are a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage. They hold competitions in piping, drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics. The games also include entertainment and exhibits related to other aspects of Scottish culture. The Kentucky Tourism Council named the Glasgow Highland Games as one of the “Top Ten Festival Events” for the summer.
Our trusty GPS brought us to our exact destination of Hall Place, located in the historic downtown district on Green Street. As we drove up to the front yard, we saw a tall wooden sign that read Hall Place at the top. Below that it said Theodosia’s Tea Room. I learned from Gary and Karin Carroll, the owners of Hall Place, that the house was built in 1852 as a dowry for Theodosia Tompkins, who married Dr. James Hall. The Carrolls named their bed-and-breakfast and tea room in honor of the Halls. We parked the car in back of the building, amidst a beautiful garden and seating area. Even though it was dreary and raining, I could imagine how romantic it would be to sit in the garden and enjoy a glass of wine and watch the fireflies on a warm summer eve.
We grabbed our bags out of the trunk of our car and headed for the entrance. As the door opened, a delicate ringing sound came from a small bell that was placed at the top of the door to alert the innkeepers of our arrival. A tall and slender lady wearing a blue floral blouse and a long, dark midi-skirt joined us at the front desk. She introduced herself as Karin Carroll and welcomed us to Hall Place. Seeing our ghosthunter vests, she realized that we were the ghosthunters she was expecting, and she seemed genuinely excited to finally meet us. She was quick to share some of her stories about weird and strange events that she and her husband had experienced in their inn.
After hearing a few of her stories, I looked at Chuck and said, “Honey, I think we need to book another night so we can investigate this place while we are here.” Chuck agreed and we signed in for two nights instead of one. We went up to our room, which is called the Theodosia Room. It was a large suite with a queen-sized, antique half-tester canopy bed, covered in a finely stitched quilt. The room was furnished with an antique armoire, fireplace, and an oversized private bath that used to serve as a treatment room for the doctor when he owned the home.
The
