Sherry Wingrove, owner of the R&R Station Restaurant and Hotel, has believed for many years that her Mt. Pleasant establishment is haunted.Specters apparently have been spotted in rooms and hallways, and loud thunks and whispering voices have been reported throughout the 17-room building.
"I can't tell you how many stories we have heard over the years," Wingrove said. "People have seen things, heard things and felt things."
The R&R has been the site of many seances and readings, with numerous investigators roaming its halls and reaching out to the spirits. But a new group with a new approach contacted Wingrove to test out the ghost theory.
"We heard of this place when one member of our group came here for dinner and saw a copy of the tape, 'Haunted R&R Station,'" Shawn Kelly said. "So we contacted Sherry about bringing our group here."
Kelly is the president of the Pittsburgh Paranormal Society, a research and investigative group that follows and documents ghost stories, sightings and supernatural sensations.
A ghost hunter who has been at his trade for 20 years, Kelly formed the all-volunteer group in 2006 and has a team of 13 technicians and spiritual interpreters who visit sites all over Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
Spending two days at the hotel revealed evidence, according to the paranormal society members.
"We find something about 75 percent of the time," Andrea Pinigis said. "More times than not we catch something on film or on video or on the voice recorder."
The group sets out to find the truth, whether it be to prove or disprove a reported entity.
"They spent a lot of time working on this," Wingrove said. "And we were excited over what they found."
Members of the group used recorders to register voices and electromagnetic fields using numerous digital camera and camcorders.
"We asked her (Wingrove) to show us different areas where people have reported something," said Donnie Wagner, one of the volunteers. "And we listened to the claims of activity. We then went to each hot spot and each room and set up. We divided into groups of two and started recording."
Part of the procedure was the recording of activity, where one member would ask the spirits basic questions and wait for a period of five seconds, with hopes of hearing an answer when the tape is replayed.
After gathering data, the group returned to Pittsburgh.
"It takes us about one week to process each site," volunteer John Pinigis said. "We listen to the voice recorder very carefully. Sometimes I may not hear something that someone else does or they may hear something that I missed."
After processing the data from the R&R, the paranormal society requested a second visit during which more photographs were taken.
"We captured images from the top floor and you have to see them to believe them," Wagner said. "Come and listen to the stories of the personal experiences that we experienced."
Wagner said the group does not visit sites for fun.
"We take what we do very seriously," he said. "We're not just a bunch of kids running around with cameras."
Wingrove and the volunteers will present what they found at 6 p.m. Saturday at the restaurant.
"I'm really excited that they have provided different evidence on my paranormal activity, " Wingrove said.
Haunted Railroad Station Mt.Pleasant
Haunted Railroad Station Mt.Pleasant
