Historic Powhatan State Park

Location: Powhatan Courthouse; Black Rock, Arkansas

Date: November 13, 2009

The courthouse

The Powhatan Courthouse, situated in northeastern Arkansas on the line dividing the Ozarks and the Delta, did not have the most alarming reputation of paranormal activity, but its nearby location and history of lynching and suicide made it a logical destination for SPI (which, on this occasion, once again included Samantha). 

The jail.

We investigated two structures on this night: the hilltop courthouse and the small jail that sat in its shadow.  Before the night was over, we investigated the courthouse attic, the upstairs courtroom, and the jail.  All three of these locations yielded solid paranormal evidence.

Orb in the courtroom.

I captured an eerie phenomenon in the courtroom fairly early in the investigation.  I snapped dozens of pictures in the courtroom (along with Samantha, Hayley, and my mom).  Orbs were very prevalent among these, but more interesting than any orb was the irregularly-shaped spot of light that appeared on the room’s back wall and, through a series of photos, made its way down the wall towards a bench, where it disappeared.  Our video camera also picked up several flying “orbs” in this room, although most serious experts would question the credibility of these, as it’s possible they were just insects or dust particles.

Orbs caught above Mitch's crossing divining rods.

Above the courtroom, in the attic, I snapped two consecutive pictures: one, which contained nothing of interest, showed my dad walking down a plywood plank; the other was essentially the same picture, but it was packed with orbs—many of them large and bright.  Dust particles?  Insects?

The only orb in the jail.

K2 meter detecting energy on the table where the EVP was  caught.

The jail provided our last significant evidence.  After asking the suicide victim who had died there if she would say something if we promised to leave, our audio recorder captured a ghostly response: “Uh huh.”  Following this, the lights on the K2 meter began to flash, and they glowed steadily for several minutes.

Considering how much we (human beings) don’t know about the paranormal, I think there is a simple philosophy for determining whether or not a place is haunted: does it offer the unexplainable? 

The Powhatan Courthouse did.  Several times.

Mitch