BECCARIA – Recently a few family members and I decided to try one of Mo-Valley Paranormal’s “Twilight Tours” at the legendary Hegarty Mansion at the crossroads in Beccaria Township.
Mo-Valley Paranormal is just one of many investigative groups in the country. Their founder, Tyson Lidgett, formed the group in 2012 which now has 10 investigators, including his co-lead investigator, Wendy Gordon.
Tyson says he is a state registered DBA, insured and bonded. He noted that most paranormal activity is nothing to be frightened of, and does not involve a demonic or evil entity.
Their motto is “dedicated to taking the fear away from the unknown.”
They have been busy the last few years investigating old homes and other historic buildings in the area. The group operates similarly to other paranormal groups such as those you may have seen on TV.
They first consider possible logical explanations to reported activity before beginning their paranormal investigations.
Because they don’t charge for their services, they started doing “Lock-Down” events which allowed members of the public for a fee, to join them on a night long adventure, to help finance their equipment.
They provide ghost hunting equipment, food and games to their participants.
This year they have added “Twilight Tours” to their activities. These tours allowed people to be involved in an investigation at a site in the early evening for about three hours.
The Hegarty Mansion which was built in the 1860’s and has a reputation for being haunted was the perfect place to try this new experience.
Our group had eight people who listened intently as Tyson explained the various types of paranormal activity.
Energy can leave an imprint on an area, he said. The Gettysburg Battlefield is a good example of a residual haunting because people often see troops marching or drilling.
A residual spot does not actually have a ghost or otherworldly entity but comes from the emotional impact of an event which has left a stamp on the area that people sometimes feel or can see.
Repetitive actions can also witnessed by people who regularly see someone going up and down the stairs, for instance.
What we experienced during our investigation is known as an intelligent response. This is when someone asks questions and seemingly gets answers via flashlights, a bell or a portal spirit box.
We watched as Tyson questioned if any spirits were around while two flashlights that should not turn off and on, did just that. He designated one for yes and the other was no.
The “spirit” was an employee of Samuel Hegarty, the owner of the house, and gave a few other details of his life.
Our highlight was a “conversation” with Samuel Hegarty himself who communicated by using a “dead bell” which is an old style reception bell that is triggered by an electromagnetic field (EMF).
When the responses were quick and seemingly intelligent, Tyson yelled for the owner of the home, Melissa Anders, to join us.
Via the bell, “Samuel” indicated that he likes what Melissa has done with the home but is not happy with the annual haunted house, known as “Ravenwood Manor”, held each October.
Tyson explained to “Samuel” that the funds raised during that event helps Melissa maintain and keep the home. When asked again if this was alright with him, Sam “ringed” that it was okay.
Trying to contact spirits several weekends in a row, has led to increased activity during the tours. Tyson told us that the night before he saw someone approaching him from behind, but when he turned, there was no one there.
We also spent time in the old company store where “contact” was made with a miner who loved ringing the bell, putting the intelligence response option in question. As the bell kept ringing, I mentioned that perhaps this was a clue to the identity of the spirit because there are many in the area with the name Bell, including Samuel’s wife, Josephine.
As if to comment on this, a voice said “really?!” from the spirit box. (A spirit box picks up radio waves and supposedly ghost voices.)
Whether you believe we really made contact with ghosts is up to you. It is always possible the devices could have been malfunctioning in a way that made them appear to be responding to questions. Or possibly our desire to have the lights, bell etc. react created an energy that gave us what we wanted.
Regardless, I can tell you we had a good time investigating this beautiful home.
Although the “Twilight Tours” are done for now, they are already planning more for June 2025.
Mo-Valley Paranormal and Hegarty Mansion both have Facebook pages, where you can learn about all their latest events.