CLARKS SUMMIT — Homes aren’t supposed to shake on their own. They may creak, they may grumble, but a living room’s walls usually won’t shudder without a catalyst. Despite logic, that’s what we experienced in the living room of The Bedford House – and it wasn’t even the most illogical thing to happen on a recent Monday night.

Owners Kevin and Anne Marie Frederick bought the century-old home in September 2014. Their initial plan was to remodel and rent it, but the first tenants left after six months, citing unexplained occurrences.

Paranormal Forensic Investigator Joe Shock set up cameras as Anne Marie gave an incidental tour of The Bedford House. While there, we experienced a few inexplicable happenings: A voice captured on a recorder, shuttering walls, flickering lights and a crystal reacting to Shock’s explicit commands.

The 25-year investigation veteran led us to the basement’s cobweb-covered coal bin. Shock said the small room once stored furnace fuel but now is a portal to the other side.

I used an infrared thermometer to monitor temperature changes while Shock watched an electromagnetic frequency (EMF) reader for spikes.

He asked questions. If someone is here, lower the temperature, he asked.

A slight drop was recorded, but was it a paranormal presence or just the setting sun?

In the attic, Shock asked more questions. Is there a child present? Were they angry with our presence? Did they want us to leave, he asked.

No audible responses.

Shock said TV shows make paranormal investigations look suspenseful, but in reality they’re similar to a fishing trip.

“Ghost hunting is not like what you see on TV, not even close,” Shock said. “Sometimes it gets boring, sometimes you’re sitting there; you hear nothing. It’s the amount of things when you’re sitting there and you’re going through the recordings and you actually hear a voice respond to your questions that I find so amazing.”

Shock was right.

While going through an audio file that my personal voice recorder picked up, there seemingly is an answer to one of shock’s questions.

“Is there are child here,” he asked.

“Yes,” a wispy yet clear voice seems to respond.

It could be a convincing piece of evidence, but there was more to come.

In the living room, a spacious area to the left of the home’s main entrance, Shock retrieved an amethyst crystal attached to a chain he said mediums use as a communication tool.

The crystal reacted differently to each person. When I held it, the chain vibrated and it became cold. It also moved “clockwise” and “counter-clockwise” and even “stopped” when Shock asked it to.

Our attention was drawn away from the crystal by the front porch’s motion lights. They flickered on and off like camera flashes, stopped for a few moments, then repeated the erratic outburst.

Then the house shook.

We tried to explain it rationally. There are train tracks nearby; the home sits close to the street. But it didn’t seem to originate outside — it started inside, with the reverberation shaking the radiator, windows and ceiling. Anne Marie described it as “coming from two sides.”

It’d be possible to fake these experiences, sure, but they’d be elaborate ruses, very well-hidden in an otherwise empty house.

Whether it’s really paranormal activity, or just old walls at The Bedford House, a unique and unexpected experience had this group second guessing whether they were in the company of some who could not be seen.

Paranormal investigator Joe Shock sets up a camera in a small basement room, originally used to store coal. Homeowners allege the Clarks Summit house is haunted and Shock said an initial investigation revealed this room as a ‘hotspot of activity.’
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-1.jpg.optimal.jpgParanormal investigator Joe Shock sets up a camera in a small basement room, originally used to store coal. Homeowners allege the Clarks Summit house is haunted and Shock said an initial investigation revealed this room as a ‘hotspot of activity.’ Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Times Leader reporter Gene Axton holds up a chain as paranormal investigator Joe Shock asks a spirit to cause the stone hanging from it to spin in a counter-clockwise direction. Although the rock didn’t spin as Shock requested, slight vibrations of the chain were observed.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-2.jpg.optimal.jpgTimes Leader reporter Gene Axton holds up a chain as paranormal investigator Joe Shock asks a spirit to cause the stone hanging from it to spin in a counter-clockwise direction. Although the rock didn’t spin as Shock requested, slight vibrations of the chain were observed. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Homeowner Anne Marie Frederick stands with her back to a fireplace through which she claims people have seen a ghost enter the Clarks Summit house.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-3.jpg.optimal.jpgHomeowner Anne Marie Frederick stands with her back to a fireplace through which she claims people have seen a ghost enter the Clarks Summit house. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Camera cords run through an upstairs hallway, where a spirit was allegedly seen passing through the bathroom doorway on the left into the bedroom doorway on the right. Owners believe the Clarks Summit house is haunted and paranormal investigators set out to find evidence.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-4.jpg.optimal.jpgCamera cords run through an upstairs hallway, where a spirit was allegedly seen passing through the bathroom doorway on the left into the bedroom doorway on the right. Owners believe the Clarks Summit house is haunted and paranormal investigators set out to find evidence. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

A thermometer uses a laser to determine the temperature of the room as paranormal investigator Joe Shock challenges the alleged spirits to cool things off. Temperature readings fluctuated slightly for several minutes, but no dramatic rise or drop was recorded during the investigation of the Clarks Summit ‘haunted’ house.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-5.jpg.optimal.jpgA thermometer uses a laser to determine the temperature of the room as paranormal investigator Joe Shock challenges the alleged spirits to cool things off. Temperature readings fluctuated slightly for several minutes, but no dramatic rise or drop was recorded during the investigation of the Clarks Summit ‘haunted’ house. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Paranormal investigator Joe Shock unloads his equipment for the investigation of a an alleged haunted house in Clarks Summit. Infrared cameras, thermometers and voice recorders are just a few of the items he brings along.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-6.jpg.optimal.jpgParanormal investigator Joe Shock unloads his equipment for the investigation of a an alleged haunted house in Clarks Summit. Infrared cameras, thermometers and voice recorders are just a few of the items he brings along. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Paranormal investigator Joe Shock relies on voice recorders during his investigations in order to pick up sounds that may initially be missed by the human ears.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-7.jpg.optimal.jpgParanormal investigator Joe Shock relies on voice recorders during his investigations in order to pick up sounds that may initially be missed by the human ears. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader

Times Leader reporter Gene Axton participates in a paranormal investigation in the attic of an alleged haunted house in Clarks Summit. A red laser pointed at the corner measures the room temperature as investigator Joe Shock asks the ghosts he believes present to cool down the room.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL-Haunted-House-8.jpg.optimal.jpgTimes Leader reporter Gene Axton participates in a paranormal investigation in the attic of an alleged haunted house in Clarks Summit. A red laser pointed at the corner measures the room temperature as investigator Joe Shock asks the ghosts he believes present to cool down the room. Elizabeth Baumeister | Times Leader
Do eerie happenings in attic and living room prove that ghosts are here?

By Gene Axton

gaxton@timesleader.com

VISITING THE BEDFORD HOME

If you’re interested in seeing for yourself whether spirits or ghosts are present, contact Kevin or Anne Marie Frederick at 570-309-6824.

If you’re interested in learning more about paranormal investigations, contact Joe Shock at 570-586-8686.

Visit www.bedfordhaunts.com for more information and for details about upcoming seminars for groups or for details to conduct your own ghost hunt at The Bedford House.

Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts